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Nationalism at a Crossroads: the Turkish Intervention in Syria

Late last month, Turkish military forces invaded Afrin, an autonomous Kurdish area in Syria. This is a further step of escalating the involvement of the Turkish AKP government in the Syrian war and in its conflict with the Kurds. In the wake of the so-called Arab spring, the nationalist-religious AKP government decided, after some hesitation, […]

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Political Strategy and Anti-nationalism in the Greek Left following Syriza’s U-turn

Note from LeftEast Editors: We are publishing an interview with Kostis Megalios from ARAN – Aristeri Anasynthesi (Left Recomposition) and Popular Unity conducted by activists from the Social Center Dunja, the party “Levica” and LeftEast, conducted in September, 2017 during the 2018 LeftEast autumn encounter. We are publishing this interview a day before a mass nationalist rally is scheduled […]

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Temporary Agency Work as a Form and Channel of Labour Migration

                  Among industrial relation specialists it is a common statement that in our times, atypical employment arrangements are becoming typical, or even the norm, and standard employment contracts the exception. This description fits well the recent rebound of employment via temporary agencies in Central Eastern Europe, and […]

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Solidarity undone: the left-green protest that didn’t happen in Bulgaria

The recent protests against the destruction of the national park in Bulgaria’s Pirin mountain reveals the relation of forces in Bulgaria’s green movement. The start of Bulgaria’s EU Council presidency on 11 January 2018 put the country into the focus of European public opinion. As usual, the spotlight was on the progress of Bulgaria’s integration […]

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‘’Bread, jobs and freedom”: A conversation with Soheil Asefi about the street protests in Iran, neoliberal policies and Imperialist threats.

Soheil Asefi is an independent leftist journalist and academic. At a very young age, he started writing articles and working for various media and publications, both in cyber and print media. As part of his work, he covered the Majlis [Iranian parliament] and has interviewed numerous high-ranking government officials in Iran. He was arrested in […]

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Russian Presidential elections 2018: predicable results with unpredictable aftermath 

Translated from the original Russian by Joseph Livesey According to forecasts, the upcoming March 18 presidential elections in Russia will proceed without any surprises, as just the latest legitimization of another presidential term for Vladimir Putin. However, this foreseeable ‘victory,’ gained via massive pressure on the electorate and the Kremlin’s tight control over the political […]

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Afrin Will Not Be Alone! (excerpts from the Call for Solidarity by the Democratic Administration of Rojava)

Note from LeftEast: In the last few days, the Turkish government and mainstream media, which has been brought in line by journalist arrests (at least 122 in prison so far, another 520 being tried) and other, less visible forms of pressure, have gone into war frenzy. What three years ago they used to neutrally call […]

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We knew, but we could not believe: a short essay about Iranians’ attitude towards the current protests

933 Of course everyone knew! Amidst family photos, selfies, and anecdotes, other types of pictures have surfaced on social media. These images have spread, bit by bit, news of horror across the country: homeless sleeping in empty graves, 3 to 7 million child labourers employed, humans used as border couriers in Kurdistan, an unfolding fresh water […]

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Call for Solidarity from Bulgaria: No Nazis on Our Streets, No to Fortress Europe

Note from the LeftEast editors: In January 2018 Bulgaria has taken the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the first six months of 2018. Meanwhile Neonazis will still be marching the on the streets of Sofia in February to commemorate General Hristo Lukov: the head of the interwar Legion and Minister of War […]

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Another crisis in Ukraine? The fragmentation of the pro-West bloc

The fragmentation of the pro-Western bloc in Kiev. This is the new stage of the political crisis in Ukraine. The division is not a new one but past weeks have shown to the world how deep runs the crisis between president Petro Poroshenko and the former Georgian president (and now pretender to power in Ukraine), […]