The New Communist Party of the Netherlands ( nl, Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland, NCPN) is a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The NCPN was founded in 1992 by the former members of the

Communist Party of the Netherlands The Communist Party of the Netherlands ( nl, Communistische Partij Nederland, , CPN) was a Dutch communist party. The party was founded in 1909 as the Social-Democratic Party (SDP) and merged with the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Part ...

to oppose CPN's merger into the left-wing

GroenLinks GroenLinks (, ) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and t ...

. These members have been known as "the Horizontals". Through the ''Stichting HOC'' (Foundation HOC), the NCPN releases the monthly newspaper ''Manifest''. The NCPN actively supports the socialist government of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

. The party opposed the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...

and is against dutch military intervention through

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

or other military alliances. The party considers itself

anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as so ...

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...

and

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

. It opposes both the active intervention of the EU and NATO in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

but also the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...

. It believes that a

leninist Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishm ...

view of anti-imperialism is not choosing sides in a inter-imperialist conflict. The NCPN works to preserve the heritage of the dutch communist movement through commemoration, like the

February strike The February strike ( nl, Februaristaking) was a general strike in the German-occupied Netherlands in 1941, during World War II, organised by the then-outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands in defence of persecuted Dutch Jews and agains ...

. It believes that increasing anti-communist laws in Europe and the normalisation of far-right ideas is erasing that legacy. The party also actively participates in the struggle against discrimination towards women and minorities with a migrant background, and is against homophobia and transphobia. Though the party does not shun electoral politics, it places greater emphasis on working with mass movements and

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

. It believes that victories for social conditions can only be achieved through social pressure, and will only participate in elections, local or national, when it is rooted in a popular base. In 2003, the Communist Youth Movement (CJB) was founded as the NCPN's political youth organization. The CJB contributed to a revival of the party recently in term of membership and younger generations are gradually lowering the average age of a previously ageing membership . NCPN 1 mei 2014 Amsterdam

History

In 1982 a group of members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands founded the newspaper ''Manifest'', out of discontent with the CPN leadership. In 1984 this group founded the

League of Communists in the Netherlands The League of Communists in the Netherlands ( nl, Verbond van Communisten in Nederland, VCN) was a communist party in the Netherlands. History The VCN was the result of a split in 1984 in the Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN), who disagr ...

(VCN). The CPN dissolved in 1992 in order to make place for a new political party,

GreenLeft GroenLinks (, ) is a Green politics, green List of political parties in the Netherlands, political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four Left-wing politics, left-wing parties: the Communist Party of th ...

, an alliance in which the CPN had participated since the 1980s. Subsequently, the VCN, together with many former members of the CPN, founded the NCPN. In 1999 the local branch of the NCPN in the municipality of Scheemda split from the party and continued as the

United Communist Party The United Communist Party (UCP; russian: Объединённая коммунистическая партия; ОКП; ''Ob'yedinonnaya kommunisticheskaya partiya'', ''OKP'') is a communist party in Russia created at the founding congress in Mo ...

(VCP), which has since won city council seats in Oldambt and

Pekela Pekela () is a municipality in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was created in 1990 when Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela were merged. History The municipality of Pekela was created when the municipalities of Oude Pekela and Nie ...

Elections

The NCPN has participated in elections to the

Tweede Kamer The House of Representatives (, pronounced ; commonly referred to as the ', literally "Second Chamber of the States General") is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands, the States General, the other one being the Senate ...

Provinciale Staten The provincial council (, PS), also known as the States Provincial, is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has ...

and gemeenteraden, but never in elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

. In the period between 1994 and 2002 the NCPN was part of the governing majority coalition in the municipality of

Reiderland Reiderland () is a former municipality in the province Groningen in the northeastern Netherlands, which was founded in 1990 during a large municipal reorganisation. The former municipalities Finsterwolde and Bad Nieuweschans were abolished and add ...

International activity

The NCPN has participated in the annual International Communist Seminar and the annual

International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties The International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) is an annual conference attended by communist and workers' parties from several countries. It originated in 1998 when the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) invited communist a ...

. The NCPN also often cooperates with fraternal parties like the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curre ...

, Communist Party of Turkey,

Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26 ...

, Communist Party of Belgium,

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (german: Deutsche Kommunistische Partei, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports left positions and was an observer member of the European Left. At the end of February 2016 it left the European party. His ...

and the

Communist Party of Luxembourg The Communist Party of Luxembourg ( lb, Kommunistesch Partei vu Lëtzebuerg; french: Parti Communiste Luxembourgeois; german: Kommunistische Partei Luxemburgs; abbr. KPL or PCL) is a communist party in Luxembourg. is the current chairman of the ...

https://ncpn.nl/dertig-jaar-ncpn-1992-2022-gewapend-met-lessen-uit-het-verleden-strijden-voor-de-toekomst/.

Notes

References

External links

*
Unofficial website of the local branch Twente

Official website of the local branch Lemmer
{{Socialist parties in the Netherlands International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties Communist parties in the Netherlands Political parties established in 1992 1992 establishments in the Netherlands