Publications
The Left International Forum publishes literature on international issues related to our activities. When possible we also publish books in the languages of our partner countries, and translate current books from Swedish. Our publications can be ordered from Red Planet. For publications in other languages, contact info@vansternsinternationellaforum.se or info@redplanet.se.
Feminism för demokrati – “Feminism for Democracy” (2010)
Around the world women are fighting for their own liberation as well as for justice and democracy. The end of the Apartheid system in South Africa gave the majority of the population the right to vote and the proportion of women in parliament increased tenfold. In Latin America women have been at the forefront of advocating new constitutions to create plurinational and equal states. In Asia women are struggling to find openings in societies dominated by Islam. And everywhere women are restrained by male violence.
In "Feminism for democracy," leading women activists from 16 countries talk about the fight against colonialism and occupation, about socialist feminism and gender theory in the Third World. The book gives an insight into the "Third World" where the vast majority of women live and struggle. It depicts the difficult conditions but also the success and development of theory and practice.
Latinamerikanska röster - vårt Amerika i rörelse – Latin American Voices - Our America on the Move (2009)
In the 2000s, the political map changed in Latin America. The Bush regime's neo-liberal, so-called free trade agreement FTAA crumbled at the American Summit in November 2005. A new historic bloc is emerging that focuses on regional integration and is based on the transnational social movements in which indigenous peoples play a crucial role. New constitutions recognize indigenous peoples, give the elected institutions control over natural resources and promote political, economic and social democratization. With this publication, we want to open the door to a vigorous, comprehensive, innovative discussion in Latin America, one which non-Hispanics are normally excluded from. Naturally, the selection of materials is limited but they give an insight into why the Left has had such success in Latin America where the US has had superiority in well over 100 years, while the Left is receding in Europe and is virtually invisible in most parts of the neo-liberal globalized Africa and Asia. Contributors to this publication include Atilio Boron and Emir Sader from Latin America's Social Science Council, João Stédile from the landless movement in Brazil, Valter Pomar from the Labor Party in Brazil, Marta Harnecker from Miranda Center in Venezuela and Miguel Palacín from Andean indigenous peoples coordination. Carmen Blanco is an activist in Peru and Sweden, Stella Calloni and Eva Golinger are journalists in Argentina and Venezuela. Mayda Suarez leads the Women's Research Institute in Havana, where Dania González Couret, Jorge Peña Díaz ich Rubén Bancrofft Hernández teaches at the University of Technology.
Omvänt bistånd - från den fattiga till den rika världen – Inverted Aid - From the Poor to the Rich World (2008)
Concepts such as "aid" and "poverty reduction" shift our focus away from our own society. The problems are placed in the poor countries, where they are expected to be solved, while the rich world’s role is to "assist" in this. At the same time, the words hide the realities of development aid: The enormous wealth of a small elite and steadily growing inequalities both within and between countries. This publication deals with transfer of resources from the poor to the rich world in terms of trade, environmental degradation and migration. Aid as a tool to control poor countries is discussed. Finally, some examples of attempts to break with this world order are given. With this publication, the Left International Forum wants to draw attention back to our own society, towards the part of the world where the problems have their true origin. Contributors include Evo Morales Ayma, Bolivia's president, Eva Björklund of LIF, Jean Bricmont, noted ideology critic, Justina Inês Cima from the Association of Women MMC Brasil, Krister Holmberg, trade expert, Lennart Kjörling, activist and journalist, Diana Mulinari, Associate Professor, Kalle Larson, Member of Parliament and Ågot Valle, parliament member from Norway.
Folkmakt! Utmaningar för filippinsk vänster People Power! Challenges for the Philippine Left (2008)
The Philippines is a country of contrasts. Colonial legacy stands against own identity, the upper class’ outrageous material abundance against the poverty of the majority of the people, and military repression against popular resistance. The Philippine modern history is written in struggle and out of these contrasts strong revolutionary movements have formed.
At the same time, the Philippine Left failed to win elections and the movement has suffered badly from internal tensions and divisions. On January 30-31 2007 the Left International Forum organized together with local left-wing movements, an international conference on "Participatory Democracy and alternative forms of popular power." There were nearly 400 Filipino participants and a wide range of speakers from Indonesia, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Australia, Vietnam, Venezuela, Spain and Sweden. It was the first time that the Philippine Left gathered for a joint conference. This publication has put together some of the most important contributions to the conference about the Philippine history and freedom struggle, documents of importance to understand the challenges that the Philippine Left face.
NGO - Folkrörelse eller professionell lobbyverksamhet? (2007)
People’s movements, once progressive forces for social changes, are transformed into “non-governmental organisations”, dependent on financial support from the West. Is there a relation between the neo-liberal globalisation, the mushrooming of NGOs within the aid-industry and the political shift to the right within development assistance? Contributors include: Mikael Nyberg, journalist, Shahrzad Mojab, University of Toronto, Eva Björklund, VIF, and Hans Linde, Member of Parliament from the Left Party. The publication is a documentation of the seminar about development aid and imperialism, which was held in February 2007 in Stockholm. The publication is available in Swedish. Download Mojab's contribution in English here.
Perspektive participativne demokratije Goran Marković (2007)
A book about industrial democracy by the leader of Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Worker-communist party, the RKP-BiH.
Democracy lives. A world mosaic of participatory democracy experiences (2007)
The book Democracy Lives combines theory with practice and tells contemporary stories from around the world of living examples of people getting their act together and creating a much stronger democracy than what exists today in most parts of the world. The book is also available in Turkish and Swedish. The Swedish title of the book is Deltagande demokrati. En resa till Latinamerika och tillbaks på jakt efter demokratins framtid (Agora, 2006) and may be acquired through Swedish bookstores. For the Turkish edition of the book, contact VIF.
Sambidhansabha, rajyako punarsnarchana ra samabeshi loktantra Shankar Pokharel (2006)
Sambidhansabha, rajyako punarsnarchana ra samabeshi loktantra (Constituent Assembly, Re-structuring of the State and Inclusive Democracy) was published by GEFONT within the framework of the cooperation project with VIF. The book presents various suggestions towards a restructuring of the Nepalese state, in order to acheive a more equal society. The book can be downloaded as a pdf document.
Deltagande demokrati (2004)
Documentation in Swedish from the International Conference on Participatory Democracy October 9-10, 2004. The Conference was organized by VIF, ABF Stockholm and the Center for Marxist Social Studies. Contributors include Luiz Arnoldo Campos (Brazil), CH Hermansson (Sweden), Bernanda Herrera (Venezuela) and America Vera-Zavala (Sweden). Parts of the documentation of the conference are available at the homepage participamos.org.
Intifada - ett utvärderingsförsök (2004)
Intifada - ett utvärderingsförsök (Intifadah - an attempt towards evaluation) was published in 2004. In september 2000 the second Palestinian intifadah was initiated. What can be learnt from these years of resistance, for Palestinians and the international community? Which strategies have been successful and which can be seen as counter-productive? In what ways is the second intifadah different from the first, which ended with the Oslo process?
Abdel Majid Hamdan is the former general secretary of the Palestinian People's Party (PPP). The book is available in Swedish.
Förtryck och motstånd. Ett reportage om Turkiet (1999)
The book Förtryck och motstånd is a report on Kurds in Sweden and in Turkey. It looks at the oppression, resistance and the profiteering of the Western world from the arms trade. The book contains interviews with leading political activists and human rights advocates, and a historical and political background profile. The book is available in Swedish.
Informationsbroschyr om Vänsterns internationella forum
Information brochure on the Left International Forum. Available in English and Swedish.