Berne International

Berne International

The term Berne International refers to the skeleton continuation, formally called the International Socialist Commission (ISC), of the socialist Second International after the latter's break-up due to World War I. It was based in Berne (the capital of Switzerland).

When World War I began, most members of the Second International supported their national governments in the conflict, betraying the principles of international working class solidarity that had animated the International. This led to a break between the "social patriotic" and reformist right-wing leaderships of the parties (see social democracy), on the one hand, and anti-war elements, on the other. The latter included pacifists, the revolutionary left, and "centrists" who vacillated between reformist and revolutionary positions. After a "Vorkonferenz" (preparatory conference) at Berne in July 1915, the anti-war groups came together in September 1915 at Zimmerwald, near Berne in neutral Switzerland, in an International Socialist Conference. The Conference was chaired by Robert Grimm of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland. The Conference met again in Kienthal in April 1916. The centrist current, known as the Zimmerwald Centre, of which Grimm was a leading member, were dominant at both meetings. The centrists, notably Clara Zetkin, also dominated the International Women’s Socialist Conference concerning the attitude to be adopted towards the war in March 1915 in Berne. [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1915/jul/00ak.htm]

The Swiss delegates took on the task of maintaining the organisation of the International.

After the war, veterans of the Second International called for its restoration. They called a conference, known as the Berne conference, at Berne from February 3 to February 10, 1919. The conference debated the status of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The majority of delegates, led by Karl Hjalmar Branting of the Swedish Social Democrats, welcomed the revolution, but were critical of the path taken by the Bolsheviks after the revolution, while a minority, led by German Social Democrats Karl Kautsky and Eduard Bernstein, were critical of the revolution itself. A third faction, to the left, led by French socialist Jean Longuet were more pro-Bolshevik and advocated the new international not taking a position on it. The Berne conference undertook to send a delegation to Moscow to investigate the question, including Kautsky, Rudolf Hilferding and others, but the delegation never went. [http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/russian/Russiain1919/chap1.html]

During the First Congress of the Third Communist International, the Berne conference was criticized by Lenin, in particular its support of imperialist intervention and war in Soviet Russia, who described it as a "yellow international". [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1919/jul/14.htm]

The remnants of the Second International who had met at Berne in 1919 met again in Lucerne in August 1919 and Geneva in July 1920. This last meeting officially relaunched the Second International. The centrists, however, did not join it, and went on to form the International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP), known as the "Two-and-a-half International". The IWUSP met in Berne in December 1920 and was formally launched in Vienna in February 1921. The two finally merged in 1923 to form the Labour and Socialist International.

:"Note: After the break of the anarchists from the majority First International at its Hague Congress (1872), an alternative libertarian First International, known as the Anarchist St. Imier International was formed. This held its 1876 congress in Berne, sometimes known as the Berne Congress, and by the anarchists as the Eighth Confress of the First International." [http://www.marxists.org/archive/steklov/history-first-international/ch29.htm]

External links

* [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/feb/08.htm Lenin's speech to the ISC at Berne]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Berne — Infobox Swiss town subject name = Berne municipality name = Berne municipality type = municipality imagepath coa = Berne coat of arms.svg|pixel coa= image photo = Bern luftaufnahme.png image caption = Aerial view of the Old City of Berne.… …   Wikipedia

  • International Working Union of Socialist Parties — The International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP; also known as 2½ International or the Vienna International; German: Internationale Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialistischer Parteien , IASP) was a political international for the co… …   Wikipedia

  • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works — Berne Convention redirects here. For other uses, see Berne Convention (disambiguation). Berne Convention signatory countries (in blue). The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention …   Wikipedia

  • Berne — • Article provides religious and historic information Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Berne     Berne     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Berne Convention — n. An international agreement that establishes rules for copyrighting artistic works and regulating international copyright matters. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008.… …   Law dictionary

  • Berne (ville) — Berne Pour les articles homonymes, voir Berne (homonymie). Berne Bern Vue aérienne de B …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works — (Berne Convention) International An international copyright treaty created in 1886 that requires member countries to adopt certain minimum protections for artistic and literary works. More specifically, the Berne Convention: • Sets …   Law dictionary

  • Berne Opera Hotel Paris (Paris) — Berne Opera Hotel Paris country: France, city: Paris (Madeleine Opera) Berne Opera Hotel Paris Location The hotel is located close to the Opera, 5 minutes walk from a lively Saint Lazare district, and within walking distance of the Place de… …   International hotels

  • Berne Convention — can refer to:*Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; *Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats; *The Treaty of Bern, establishing the General Postal Union; and *Berne Convention (1906)… …   Wikipedia

  • International trade law — includes the appropriate rules and customs for handling trade between countries or between private companies across borders. Over the past twenty years, it has become one of the fastest growing areas of international law. Overview International… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”