Political Theory by Caio Bugiato
Lenin can be considered a theoretician of International Relations, since his ideas contained in b... more Lenin can be considered a theoretician of International Relations, since his ideas contained in books and articles, many of which are political interventions around and within the Second International, can be read together to think about a Marxist-Leninist theory of international politics. This is the purpose of this article: to understand Lenin as a theoretician of International Relations based on a systematization of his ideas. The article analyzes his reflections on capitalism, war and revolution and his classic work, Imperialism, superior phase of capitalism, in order to propose a Leninist theory of International Relations.
Leo Victor Panitch was one of the greatest contemporary Marxist theorists of imperialism. Among ... more Leo Victor Panitch was one of the greatest contemporary Marxist theorists of imperialism. Among his merits in theorizing about this phenomenon - often with the contribution of Sam Gindin - we highlight, firstly, his grounding in Marxist theories of the state and imperialism in the tradition of historical materialism, especially his reference to Nicos Poulantzas. Secondly, his theory of the informal empire is extremely important for understanding contemporary imperialism, centralized by the state and the US ruling classes. Thirdly, the polemics of his work around the inaugural debate ultra-imperialism (Kautsky) versus inter-imperialist rivalries (Lenin) also marked his trajectory. These are the three points discussed below in this brief text.
Chapter 7 presents Poulantzas' critique of the decline of the nation-state and Chapter 6 is our t... more Chapter 7 presents Poulantzas' critique of the decline of the nation-state and Chapter 6 is our translation, from English into Portuguese, of Bob Jessop's chapter entitled The Poulantzian Contribution to the Study of Imperialism.
This article aims to present the Marxist debate on imperialism after the Second World War. In ord... more This article aims to present the Marxist debate on imperialism after the Second World War. In order to do that that we revisited the writings of Harry Magdoff, Ernest Man-del and Nicos Poulantzas. The background is the internationalization of production and the military alliance between the United States and Europe. The debate between the authors inscribes and/or rectifies the theses and polemics between Lenin and Kautsky on imperialism in the light of the transformations in international political economy after the second great conflict of the twentieth century. We believe that the systematized writings contribute to understanding imperialism as a key-concept for the analysis of contemporary international politics, especially when we have in mind the debate on US imperialism and inter-imperialist conflicts and the role of interna-tional organizations.
The publication of the dossier Marxism and the Production of Knowledge in International Relations... more The publication of the dossier Marxism and the Production of Knowledge in International Relations comes at a time when the debate on international relations is gaining more centrality on the Brazilian public agenda. At least two facts have driven this debate. Firstly, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic made explicit the uneven and combined development of capitalism (TROTSKI, 1977) in the world and the development and distribution of the vaccine - a vaccine apartheid (PRASHAD, 2022) - highlighted the positions, conflicts and different resources of national states. Secondly, the triumph of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the presidential elections in October 2022 also had immediate effects on the repositioning of the Brazilian state in international politics. Demonstrations of this are the almost instantaneous recognition of his victory and Lula's participation in the Commission of the Parties (COP 27) before he even took office. These facts indicate that, while previously international politics and foreign policy were topics restricted to universities or perhaps to electoral debates, in 2022 we see a greater centrality of them in presidential speeches and measures.
Initially, the name given to this small dossier - the third we have organized - was (Un)Encounter... more Initially, the name given to this small dossier - the third we have organized - was (Un)Encounters between Marxism and International Relations: exclusions, clashes and in-sertions. But Marxist theory and analysis in the field of International Relations has developed so much in recent years in Brazil that the articles presented here are more like encounters. In order to support them, below we have tried to make brief considerations about Marxist theory and the studies brought to this publication, leaving these encounters for the reader to appreciate in our authors' own articles.
The road to overcoming the capitalist mode of production was indicated by the founders of modern ... more The road to overcoming the capitalist mode of production was indicated by the founders of modern socialism, Karl
Marx and Friedrich Engels. This road is constructed in the political practice of the struggle between social classes,
which has particularities in each country and, therefore, is not a pre-made model to be implemented. It is a road that
should be guided by a theoretical framework that does not consist of a mere abstract lucubration but in a dialectical
relationship between real and concrete thought. In this sense, we find in the Marxian thought the basis of the critical
theory of the functioning of capitalism and the elements for its overcoming. Three of these deserve to be highlighted:
1) the resolution of the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production; 2) the conquest of
political power for the socialist transition; and 3) the disappearance of the social classes and the State as we know
them today, that is, the advent of communist society or the communist mode of production
This text presents the central axis of Marxist theories of imperialism in three successive debate... more This text presents the central axis of Marxist theories of imperialism in three successive debates: Kautsky and Lenin at the time of World War I; Magdoff and Polantzas after World War II; and Panitch/Gindin and Callinicos at the beginning of the 21st century
The controversial thesis of Louis Althusser about the epistemological rupture in the work of Karl... more The controversial thesis of Louis Althusser about the epistemological rupture in the work of Karl Marx created several divergences among the Marxists in the last decades of the 20thcentury. His main idea is the division of Marx’s thought into two moments: the young Marx, moment in which his thought would be inserted in the ideological problematic of the theoretical humanism of the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach; and the Marx of maturity, moment in which Marx would have established the science of history and created thesis and concepts for a new problematic, the historical and dialectical materialism. This idea is opposed to the interpretation about a linear evolution in Marx’s thought, as we can see in György Lukács. Therefore, by the aid of bibliographical analysis, the aim of this text is to rescue the thesis of Althusser about the epistemological rupture in Marx’s thought and, with this thesis, interpret the thought of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, one of the leaders of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Che’sthought about the new man with a socialist moral unleashed debates about the material conditions for the transition to socialism e promoted theoretical and concrete practices in the beginning of the revolution. Thus, this interpretation about the ideas and practices
Capitalism was fully consolidated and achieved significant spatial diffusion in the last quarter ... more Capitalism was fully consolidated and achieved significant spatial diffusion in the last quarter of the 19th century, creating the conditions for liberal-bourgeois democracy and imperialism. The partition of Africa in 1885, the series of imperialist wars that broke out in the Caribbean -between the US and Spain-, in South Africa -between the Boers and the British- and in China -also involving the British- between 1898 and 1901 outlined the terms of the theoretical and political problem to be faced, stimulating a more careful and grounded reflection on imperialism. The first serious attempt was made by the Englishman John Hobson, in 1902, with his work Imperialism: a study. The aim of this article is to analyze Hobson's pioneering thinking on imperialism through a survey of the international scene at the time and the author's own work.
With this book, which you have in your hands, we propose a meeting between Marxism and IR, bringi... more With this book, which you have in your hands, we propose a meeting between Marxism and IR, bringing to light contributions from Historical Materialism on International Relations that are unknown to scholars in the field. Aimed at the Brazilian academic community of International Relations, the book consists of a collection of texts by Brazilian authors that present specific concepts, theories and themes, as well as marking the beginning of a possible intervention in the intellectual framework. It highlights the reflections that each chapter brings to possible future theoretical developments and the promotion of analysis of concrete situations. Thus, the following ten chapters deal, from a multidisciplinary perspective, as is pertinent to the field, with themes from the main disciplines of International Relations courses and invite research into the cult of Marxism, as demonized as it is unknown in the four corners of the world, of capitalism in barbarism.
The aim of this work is, through theoretical research in the work of Karl Marx, to gather, presen... more The aim of this work is, through theoretical research in the work of Karl Marx, to gather, present and systematize his ideas on politics. Thus, we list Marx's notions about class formation, social class and class fraction, bourgeoisie and proletariat, social forces, class struggle, state, international politics, reform and revolution, socialism and communism, in order to at the end of the text trace out a Marxian theory of politics, pertinent and current to scientific analysis, at least as long as capitalism persists.
For a century, the field of International Relations (IR) has insisted on ignoring Marxism, its th... more For a century, the field of International Relations (IR) has insisted on ignoring Marxism, its theorizations and concrete analyses of international phenomena. Theories and analyses of this field, based on its mainstream (the theories of Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism), are content to ratify strategies of domination of states, governments and classes by universalizing abstract concepts that explain international relations without any link to capitalism. In addition to fitting what is outside the mainstream into the framework of "critical theories". Against this backdrop, our work brings to light one of Marxism's greatest contributions to IR, which is its theorizing and analysis of the phenomenon of imperialism.
This text is an approach to Marx and Engels' ideas on international and national politics. The fo... more This text is an approach to Marx and Engels' ideas on international and national politics. The founders of modern socialism tend to understand these two dimensions in an articulated way, but such articulation is insufficient in their reflections. Thus, our theoretical proposition is to refine such articulation in order to support contemporary analyzes of international relations inspired by Marxism. Hence we proceeded a theoretical research on Marx and Engels' view of international politics in general, stemming from the dynamics of the European state system in the 1850s, and published a series of articles in newspapers at that time. This vision in the light of the ideas of the Manifesto of the Communist Party forms a theoretical framework for analyzing international politics.
The text introduces the theories about imperialism of Karl Kautsky and Vladimir Lenin. The contro... more The text introduces the theories about imperialism of Karl Kautsky and Vladimir Lenin. The controversy between the authors surrounded the conception about imperialism and the consequences of this phenomenon for the international relations at the time. In one hand, Kautsky supports the possibility of coordination among the states and capitals, which would form a pacific alliance. On the other, Lenin ensures the inevitability of wars as long as capitalism endures. Therefore, this text aims to introduce deeply the global thought of both authors about imperialism, war and peace and to propose a theoretical conciliation that sustains analysis about contemporary international relations.
This paper approaches the theory of imperialism by Nicos Poulantzas contained in two of his main ... more This paper approaches the theory of imperialism by Nicos Poulantzas contained in two of his main titles: Classes in contemporary capitalism and The crisis of the dictatorships: Portugal, Greece, Spain. The works of Poulantzas are most frequently known by his thesis about capitalist state, power bloc and classes and fractions of social classes. However it is possible to verify that the author developed a rich theory that discusses in a complex way the international relations, founded on the class struggle, and that his contributions to the field of International Relations, despite of its current shyness, demonstrates enormous potential.
This article presents the conceptions of state in classic authors of Political Science, Max Weber... more This article presents the conceptions of state in classic authors of Political Science, Max Weber, John Locke and Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and how they are appropriated by twentieth-century authors, Hans Morgenthau, Karl Deutsch and Nicos Poulantzas, respectively, arguing that the conceptions of state of the latter are based on the classics, each in its own way. Likewise, we try to show how the conceptions of state of twentieth-century authors reverberate in their ideas of foreign policy formulation or foreign relations, which, besides affirming the classical affiliation of each author and distinguishing between them and their currents, attests the importance of state theory in International Relations.
The field of international relations is one of few corners of the social sciences in which it has... more The field of international relations is one of few corners of the social sciences in which it has been relatively easy to avoid an encounter with Karl Marx and Marxist thought. Arguably, the reverse has also been true. Whatever the reasons for that mutual ambivalence, this essay claims Marx as a serious theorist of the international, not just a pamphleteer or tactician. It does so primarily by rereading his response to the suppression of the Paris Commune, The Civil War in France. Marx's essay, lively and provocative, challenges the distinction between 'domestic politics' and 'international relations,' and suggests that the ontological building blocks of international theory-the state and war-are revealed as historically unstable by 'the most tremendous war of modern times.' While Marx later reconsidered some of his analysis, The Civil War in France retains its interrogatory power especially in relation to contemporary instances of international political violence.
In Twenty years of crisis, 1919-1939, fundamental work for the Theory of International Relations,... more In Twenty years of crisis, 1919-1939, fundamental work for the Theory of International Relations, Edward Hallet Carr distinguishes two currents of thought: on the one hand the Idealism or utopian thought and on the other Realism. According to Carr, Idealism was originated in classical liberal thought and after the First World War acquired predominance among bureaucrats, statesmen and intellectuals, who remain in the scope of ideas, without correspondence with reality, in the treatment of international relations and the problems of war and peace. From criticism of Idealism, Carr conceives what he calls Realism. Although it is often concealed, this author's conception refers to the writings of Marx and Lenin. Therefore, the main aim of this text is to demonstrate that the Realism presented by Carr converges to the thought of Marx and Lenin.
A influência nas ciências humanas do pensamento de Karl Marx e Friedrich Engels e de seus partidá... more A influência nas ciências humanas do pensamento de Karl Marx e Friedrich Engels e de seus partidários e suas partidárias ao longo da história não pode ser ignorada, mesmo por seus mais ativos críticos. Em História, Sociologia, Economia, Linguística, entre outras, foi intensa a contribuição dos marxistas para a epistemologia, a ontologia e a teoria destas áreas. Contudo, o mesmo não ocorre na área de Relações Internacionais (RI), no Brasil e no exterior. As RI, compreendidas tradicionalmente como relações (em geral conflituosas) entre Estados em um sistema internacional anárquico, foram sistematicamente distanciadas do pensamento inaugurado pelos fundadores do socialismo moderno.
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Political Theory by Caio Bugiato
Marx and Friedrich Engels. This road is constructed in the political practice of the struggle between social classes,
which has particularities in each country and, therefore, is not a pre-made model to be implemented. It is a road that
should be guided by a theoretical framework that does not consist of a mere abstract lucubration but in a dialectical
relationship between real and concrete thought. In this sense, we find in the Marxian thought the basis of the critical
theory of the functioning of capitalism and the elements for its overcoming. Three of these deserve to be highlighted:
1) the resolution of the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production; 2) the conquest of
political power for the socialist transition; and 3) the disappearance of the social classes and the State as we know
them today, that is, the advent of communist society or the communist mode of production
Marx and Friedrich Engels. This road is constructed in the political practice of the struggle between social classes,
which has particularities in each country and, therefore, is not a pre-made model to be implemented. It is a road that
should be guided by a theoretical framework that does not consist of a mere abstract lucubration but in a dialectical
relationship between real and concrete thought. In this sense, we find in the Marxian thought the basis of the critical
theory of the functioning of capitalism and the elements for its overcoming. Three of these deserve to be highlighted:
1) the resolution of the contradiction between productive forces and relations of production; 2) the conquest of
political power for the socialist transition; and 3) the disappearance of the social classes and the State as we know
them today, that is, the advent of communist society or the communist mode of production
most of this period, was hegemonized by the inner bourgeoisie, and the Bank, as an instrument of state economic policy, corresponded to the political to the political program of this bourgeois fraction.
(1914) hatened the crisis in the tzar´s
empire towards an utter uprising. The
October Russian Revolution in 1917
echoed through all regions of the planet
as a moviment of rebelion of the labour.
Between the years of 1917 and 1922 the
aftermaths of the internacional
communist moviment had an effect on
Brazil, where the factory proletariat arised
to the nacional scenery through the
constitution of the Brazilian Communist
Party (1922). Thereby, according to a
bibliographical review, this short paper
investigates the impact of the Russian
Revolution in Brazil during the period
from 1917 to 1922.
economic policy of financing large domestic corporations,
a policy that is implemented by the National Bank for
Economic and Social Development (BNDES). The hypothesis is that, during the two presidential terms of Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) the government, by using financing provided by the BNDES, helped increase the
activities and protect the businesses of the domestic Brazilian bourgeoisie from the competition of international
financial capital. This policy of BNDES financing favored
and supported the diversification of stakes held by such
corporations in a variety of sectors of the economy, and
enabled them, both at home and abroad, to boost their
revenues, expand their assets and create more jobs, turning them into national champions. This article, which is
based on on-going research and does not, therefore, as yet
provide a solid empirical body of research but rather secondary sources provided by Brazilian researchers on the
subject, nevertheless sheds some light on the BNDES’ financing policy for Brazilian corporations.
support for the Ukrainian state have brought up
the role of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) in international politics, a subject debated
in the press and media, in universities, in states,
and in international organizations. In hasty
assessments, the argument that emerges is that
the war, particularly the Russian administration
of Vladimir Putin, has given NATO a new reason
of life, since it no longer had any reason to
exist in the face of the defeat and dissolution of
the USSR. Our aim in this article is therefore to
demonstrate that NATO has always had a reason
to exist in order to fulfill the function assigned
to it by the Western powers: to eliminate
politically and militarily obstacles to the
expansion of Western capitalism. Because it is an
international political and military organization
linked to the capitalist powers led by the United
States, with its smaller European partners, it is
an organization whose dynamic is expansionist.
So, our object is NATO in its founding treaty,
institutional organization, strategic concepts,
summit meetings, geopolitical expansion,
partnerships, and military operations.
Keywords: NATO. Capitalism. Expansion.