The New International Review

The New International Review was a political journal devoted to democratic socialist theory, independent Marxist analysis, and criticism of Stalinism. It was founded in 1977 with Eric Lee as its founding editor and was initially published in the United States. In 1981, publication moved to Israel. The journal operated as a small, specialist periodical rather than a mass-circulation publication, combining original essays with book reviews, translations, and reprints of historically important socialist texts. The review sought to revive a democratic and anti-Stalinist socialist tradition that it considered insufficiently represented in the contemporary left. Its intellectual reference points included the Menshevik Julian Martov, Karl Kautsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Max Shachtman, and other socialist thinkers associated with debates over Bolshevism, party democracy, revolutionary strategy, and the relationship between socialism and political freedom. Its title deliberately recalled two earlier American socialist publications: The New International, associated with Max Shachtman and organizations including the Workers Party and the Independent Socialist League, and the International Review, a 1930s periodical produced by independent leftists critical of Bolshevism, including the writer known as “Integer,” the pen name of Herman Jerson. The publication faced persistent financial difficulties. It never exceeded 500 paying subscribers and, despite being described as quarterly, appeared at best twice a year during the 1980s. Its limited circulation reflected both its specialist subject matter and the difficulties of sustaining an independent ideological journal. The review ceased publication in 1989, at a moment when Stalinist governments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were entering their final period of crisis and collapse. The journal’s end therefore coincided with a major transformation in the political environment that had shaped much of its work. The New International Review is also connected to later political and labor-communications activity through people involved with the journal. Several former participants subsequently came together decades later in the LabourStart project. The publication remains chiefly relevant as a record of late twentieth-century democratic socialist and anti-Stalinist intellectual activity, rather than as a continuing commercial media brand.

The New International Review emerged in 1977 as a journal for democratic socialist theory and political analysis. Eric Lee served as its founding editor. The publication was created in the context of continuing debates within the international socialist movement about the legacy of Bolshevism, the political character of the Soviet Union, and the relationship between revolutionary socialism and democratic institutions. The journal was initially published in the United States before moving its publication base to Israel in 1981. Although presented as a quarterly, its irregular publication schedule became increasingly pronounced. During the 1980s it appeared, at best, twice annually. Its small readership and financial limitations prevented it from becoming a large-scale political periodical; the review never had more than 500 paying subscribers. Editorially, the publication combined new writing with historical and documentary material. It published original articles, book reviews, translations, and reprints intended to recover or reassess a democratic, independent, and anti-Stalinist socialist tradition. Recurring intellectual subjects included Julian Martov, Karl Kautsky, Rosa Luxemburg, Max Shachtman, and related currents in the history of European and American socialism. The review’s approach treated the history of socialist politics as a field of active theoretical debate rather than as a settled narrative dominated by Soviet orthodoxy. The title referred back to two earlier American socialist journals. The first was The New International, associated with Max Shachtman and organizations such as the Workers Party and the Independent Socialist League. The second was the International Review, a 1930s publication linked to independent leftists who criticized Bolshevism, including Herman Jerson, who wrote under the name “Integer.” By invoking these publications, the later review signaled an intellectual lineage rooted in dissident and anti-Stalinist socialism. The New International Review folded in 1989. Its closure came as Stalinist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were approaching collapse, an upheaval that transformed the political setting in which the journal had operated. The publication’s legacy is consequently tied to the preservation and discussion of democratic socialist and anti-Stalinist ideas during the late Cold War. Several people associated with the review later became involved in LabourStart, a labor-oriented communications project founded decades afterward.

• 1989

  Publication ended

  [1]The New International Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  The review folded as Stalinist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union were entering their final period of collapse.

• 1981

  Publication moved to Israel

  [1]The New International Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  After beginning publication in the United States, the review moved its publication base to Israel.

• 1980

  Publication became increasingly irregular

  [1]The New International Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  During the 1980s, the nominally quarterly journal appeared at best twice a year as financial and circulation constraints continued.

• 1977

  Journal founded

  [1]The New International Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  The New International Review began publication as a journal of democratic socialist theory and analysis, with Eric Lee as its founding editor.

A small-circulation, specialist journal positioned within the democratic socialist and anti-Stalinist left, with an emphasis on historical recovery, theoretical debate, and independent political analysis.

• Political journal · 1977

  The New International Review

  The publication’s principal and only known product was a specialist political journal focused on democratic socialism, independent Marxist thought, and opposition to Stalinism. Issues included original theoretical and political articles, reviews of books, translations, and reprints of historical socialist material. The review addressed figures and controversies including Julian Martov, Karl Kautsky, Rosa Luxemburg, and Max Shachtman, while also placing contemporary debates within the broader history of socialist movements.

1. 1The New International Reviewen.wikipedia.org
2. 2The New International Review in librariessearch.worldcat.org