The Socialist International is a worldwide association of political parties most of which
seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of democratic socialist, social
democratic and labour political parties and other organisations.
Although formed in 1951 as a successor to the Labour and Socialist International it
has antecedents to the late 19th Century. Initially dominated by parties from Western
Europe, it has grown to include more than 160 member parties from more than 100 countries.
Its members have governed in many countries including most of Europe. The Party of European
Socialists, a European political party is an associated organisation of the SI, as is
its European parliamentary group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.
The current secretary-general of the SI is Luis Ayala, who has held the post since 1989.
The current president of the SI is the former Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou.
History
The International Workingmen's Association was the first international body to bring
together organisations representing the working class. It was formed in London on 28 September
1864 by socialist, communist and anarchist political groups and trade unions. Tensions
between moderates and revolutionaries led to its dissolution in 1876 in Philadelphia.
The Second International was formed in Paris on 14 July 1889 as an association of the socialist
parties. Differences over World War I led to the Second International being dissolved
in 1916. International Socialist Commission was formed
in February 1919 at a meeting in Berne by parties that wanted to resurrect the Second
International. In March 1919 communist parties formed Comintern at a meeting in Moscow. Parties
which did not want to be a part of the resurrected Second International or Comintern formed the
International Working Union of Socialist Parties on 27 February 1921 at a conference in Vienna.
The ISC and the IWUSP joined to form the Labour and Socialist International in May 1923 at
a meeting in Hamburg. The rise of Nazism and the start of World War II led to the dissolution
of the LSI in 1940. The Socialist International was formed in Frankfurt in July 1951 as a
successor to the LSI. During the post-World War II period, the SI
aided social democratic parties in re-establishing themselves when dictatorship gave way to democracy
in Portugal and Spain. Until its 1976 Geneva Congress, the SI had few members outside Europe
and no formal involvement with Latin America. In the 1980s, most SI parties gave their backing
to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, whose left-wing government had incited enmity from the United
States. In the late 1970s and in the 1980s the SI
had extensive contacts and discussion with the two leading powers of the Cold War period,
the United States and the Soviet Union, on issues concerning East-West relations and
arms control. The SI supported détente and disarmament agreements, such as SALTII, START
and INF. They had several meetings and discussion in Washington, D.C. with President Jimmy Carter
and Vice-President George Bush and in Moscow with Secretaries General Leonid Brezhnev and
Mikhail Gorbachev. The SI's delegations to these discussions were led by the Finnish
Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa. Since then, the SI has admitted as member
parties not only the FSLN but also the left-wing Puerto Rican Independence Party, as well as
former Communist parties such as the Democratic Party of the Left of Italy and the Front for
the Liberation of Mozambique. Following the Tunisian revolution, the Constitutional
Democratic Rally was expelled from the SI in January 2011. Later that month, the Egyptian
National Democratic Party was also expelled. As a result of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis,
the Ivorian Popular Front was expelled in March 2011. However, according to section
5.1.3 of the statutes of the Socialist International, an expulsion requires a decision of Congress
by a majority of two-thirds. On 22 May 2013, the Social Democratic Party
of Germany along with other social-democratic political parties founded a rival organisation
to the Socialist International known as the Progressive Alliance, out of criticism of
the perceived corrupt and outmoded nature of the SI.
Presidents, honorary presidents and secretaries general
Summits Members
Full members The following parties are full members:
Consultative parties The following parties are consultative parties:
Observer parties The following parties are observer parties:
Former members Fraternal organisations
International Falcon Movement – Socialist Educational International
International Union of Socialist Youth Socialist International Women
Associated organisations See also
African Socialist International Latin American Parliament
Reformism Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière
Third way Notes
References
Further reading Julius Braunthal, "The Rebirth of Social Democracy,"
Foreign Affairs, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 586–600. In JSTOR
The Socialist International by Nikolai Sibilev, 1984.
External links Official site of the Socialist International
Official site of the Party of European Socialists