The first meeting of the Fourth International’s International Committee following the 18th World Congress took place in Amsterdam in February 2026 attended by more than 90 comrades.
The meeting, which in principle brings together representatives of all the organizations that are part of the FI, opened with a discussion on the nature of imperialism today – the extent to which the classic theories developed by Lenin, Luxemburg and other historic theorists of our movement give us the tools we need to understand the situation we are currently facing – as well as debates about how to change the world in the interests of the working class and oppressed. Does the multi-polar world in which US hegemony is threatened by the rise of China economically as well as by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine challenge those theories or are those who think so misreading older texts? What can we learn from more recent theorists?
Building a comprehensive understanding
The discussion moved on to consider the current situation across the globe with a series of reports on the balance of forces in different regions. It explored the strengths and weaknesses of Trump' s position in the United States itself and some of the tensions in parts of the MAGA base. In Latin America, following the assault on Venezuela at the turn of the year and the ongoing threats to Cuba as well as predicted intervention in the forthcoming Brazilian elections alongside the complicity of actors like Nobao in Ecuador and Milei in Argentina with the Dunroe doctrine. The continuing strategic centrality of the Middle East where the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, with new intensity inside the green line and the West Bank has dropped out of headlines was emphasized as too was the buildup of threats against Iran (our meeting took place before the military attack) and the place of the new Syrian regime in the jigsaw. For Europe the Russian war against Ukraine was being instrumentalized by the ruling classes across the continent as an excuse to step up militarization as politics across the continent shifts to the right as it is doing in many other regions. At the same time deindustrialization together with a crisis in living standards and deepening inequalities are intersecting features of the picture. While there was no specific report on Asia in this part of the meeting there were contributions from Pakistan, the Philippines and Japan reflecting on the impact of the overall situation on their countries.
Our activist perspectives
Following a series of regional meetings in which comrades have the opportunity to explore the situation they face in more detail and plan imitative, people came together to discuss the resistances taking place. Comrades from Sotsialnyi Rukh in Ukraine spoke particularly powerfully about the realities of living under occupation and war in a situation where the burden of war is distributed unequally. At the same time, they are fighting restrictive labour laws and corruption from the Zelensky government, for gender equality and in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The contributions from the USA were also significant, reminding participants of the link between Trump’s assault against Latin America with the war on migrants inside the US itself, discussing the depth of the fightback against ICE particularly in Minneapolis and the plans for a new No Kings mobilization on 28 March. The final report in this section came from comrades from China and Japan and focused on an important peace conference in Japan later this year which has a real potential to involve activists across East Asia.
Concrete actions
The International Committee also discussed a number of important political initiatives in which FI comrades are heavily involved, The Anti-fascist conference in Porto Alegre at the end of March could not be more timely given the turbulent times we are living, and will see the production of a statement setting out the positions of the FI on these questions. Items on the Ecosocialist Encounters in Brussels in May and the G7 in June resulted in statements being adopted aimed at encouraging participation in these protests. The importance of participating in the Global Anti-Militarist Webinar was emphasized. Thjis will take place on 4 April, as part of the preparations for the Anti-NATO Summit to be held in Istanbul in July.
We also adopted resolutions concerning the accelerating process of global militarization, including a statement of solidarity with Ukraine, another opposing military intervention against Iran, and a more general statement opposing European rearmament policies.
The meeting concluded with a session devoted to discussing how to put into practice the party-building tasks outlined in our Congress resolution, notably in strengthening our press and public profile and waging a campaign around the Manifesto which has now been published in a dozen of languages, and the election of a reinforced Executive Bureau.