The World Anti-Imperialist Platform (WAP or Platform) is a political organization formed in 2022, which describes itself as being opposed to American imperialism. Platform's membership is mostly composed of communist parties that adhere to the Marxist-Leninist philosophy. The organization has been criticized by some communist parties and groups for ignoring Russian neo-imperialism[6] and Chinese imperialism.
On 22 December 2022, the WAP released its "Belgrade Declaration". On 4 March 2023, WAP hosted a conference with the São Paulo Forum in Caracas, Venezuela, where it released a "Caracas Declaration".[20] A demonstration was organized by the PSUV, and simultaneous demonstrations were held elsewhere. On 7 May 2023, the WAP organized a Victory Day procession in Athens, in conjunction with the group Revolutionary Struggle, and the Workers Revolutionary Party.[21][22][23]
On 15 May 2023, WAP hosted a Seoul International Conference in South Korea, where it released a "Seoul Declaration", concerning what they stated as being the rising tide of global war in east Asia.[24][25] The declaration was read by Joti Brar, WAP spokesperson and CPGB-ML vice-chair.[26] The third congress of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) was held at the same time, receiving greetings from the Russian Communist Workers' Party, the PSUV, and the CPGB-ML.[27][28] Members of the Platform, as well as the People's Democracy Party joined protests against the 49th G7 summit, held in Hiroshima between 19–21 May.[29]
The Platform took part in an anti-war[vague] rally in Rome, on 27 and 28 October 2023.[30]
Between 26 October and 2 November 2024, the Platform organized its 7th international conference in Dakar, Senegal.[51][52][53] The platform celebrated the 100th birthday of Amílcar Cabral,[54] and released its "Dakar Declaration", which called for a global "strengthened anti-imperialist front"[55][56]
Reception and criticism
Marxism–Leninism
Marxist–Leninist critics, including the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), argue that WAP lacks a Leninist understanding of imperialism.[57][58] The accuse that WAP distorts reality by declaring that Russia and China are not imperialist powers. They accuse WAP of being selective in its anti-imperialist stance, focusing more on the form rather than the nature of imperialism. Following the WAP's Paris Declaration, the Communist party of Greece dissolved the Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties (INITIATIVE) after several member parties attended the WAP's first congress. The establishment of the WAP exposed and intensified existing ideological differences within INITIATIVE, particularly on the nature of imperialism and the correct stance on global conflicts. INITIATIVE, founded in 2013, struggled with internal disagreements and inactivity among its members. These issues were exacerbated by the differing perspectives on the war in Ukraine. Some members supported one side of the conflict, while others, like the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), condemned all imperialist actions, viewing the war as driven by bourgeois interests on both sides. This lack of consensus effectively paralyzed the ECI's activities, leading to its official dissolution in September 2023.[59]Academic Vittorio Caliguri notes that shortly after the reviewed English translation of Ruy Mauro Marini's "The Dialectics of Dependency" was published, revitalized discussions on the nature of imperialism arose in Marxist circles around the same time as the creation of the WAP and dissolution of INITIATIVE. The World Anti-Imperialist Platform and the Communist Party of Greece have both engaged with Marini’s work to support their respective views on the importance of international solidarity versus national sovereignty in the struggle against imperialism[60]
Ivan Pinheiro, former General Secretary of the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), criticized WAP as a well-funded effort to legitimize powers competing for world hegemony. He said:[61][62]
[T]he evidence that all the airfare and accommodation costs of the delegates from the organizations attending these meetings are fully covered by their main stakeholders[,] and the frenetic pace of a world event on average every two months, on different continents, should serve as food for thought and study as to what the primary reason is for the creation and financing of this platform, which is oriented against Marxism-Leninism and in uncritical and unrestricted defense of the strategic interests of powers competing for world hegemony in the imperialist chain, of which they are a part.
The Communist Party of Mexico (PCM) criticized WAP for allowing non-communist parties into its membership, such as the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).[63][64][65] The Communist Party of Sweden reprinted the condemnation by the Communist Party of Mexico in their newspaper RiktpunKt, and labeled organizers and supporters of the WAP as a "motley crowd". Chairman of the Communist Party of Sweden, Andreas Sörensen, called the Platform opportunist and chauvinist.[66] The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) accused the WAP of defaming the KKE and that some members are "bourgeois, partly nationalist and racist parties", and criticized the separation of imperialism from capitalism in their program.[67] The Communist Youth of Denmark (DKU) has criticized the WAP for "distorting Marxist–Leninist principles" and "aligning with opportunistic and imperialist forces" under the guise of "anti-imperialism". It argues that WAP simplifies global conflicts into a binary struggle, misleadingly categorizing countries as either "victims" or "resistors" of "US–EU–NATO imperialism".[68]
The Communist Revolutionary Party of France (PCRF) criticizes the World Anti-Imperialist Platform for advocating support of Russia in the Ukraine conflict, based on a binary view of imperialism where Russia opposes a "stronger" EU-NATO axis. They argue that this perspective oversimplifies global relations into two confronting camps and incorrectly equates contemporary Russian actions with the anti-fascist alliances of the Soviet Union during World War II.[69] The New Communist Party of the Netherlands accused the WAP and its member parties of being Reformists, as well as Reactionaries, due to member parties' "racist anti-immigration positions... homophobic, transphobic and reactionary views on the role of women and the family"[70]
Other
Trotskyist critics, including Socialist Appeal, have criticized WAP for ignoring the class struggle and contradictions within capitalist systems, as a result of WAP's over-focus on the "primary contradiction" as between the US-led NATO and humanity.[71]
Academics Ford and Svensson have used the Platform as an example of how contemporary networks of social movements and parties can embody the principles of critical pedagogy and revolutionary imagination. The authors argue that these platforms demonstrate the actuality of global revolutionary struggles and the persistence of utopian visions in real-world activism. Specifically, they use the Platform to illustrate how collective organizing and mobilization in an internationalist context can inspire and sustain a radical imaginary necessary for revolutionary change.[72]
Signatories
The organizations and parties below have signed WAP's Paris Declaration, which was first released in 2022 and has gathered additional signatories:[16]
^민중민주당(환수복지당) (16 May 2023). "〈미국주도의 전쟁과 파시즘에 저항〉 .. 서울국제컨퍼런스 1부" [〈Resistance to US-led war and fascism〉.. Seoul International Conference Part 1]. 민중민주당(민중당) (in Korean). Retrieved 5 January 2024.
