Republican communism

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Republican communism is a variant of republicanism that advocates independent communist states in countries such as Ireland and Scotland.

The Republican movement itself has been historically large in Ireland for centuries and present but less dominant in Scotland. "Republican Communists" usually more likely to describe themselves as Republican Socialists or Socialist Republicans have advocated a mixture of republican policies (independence from England, equal rights and elected government) combined with Marxism-Leninism or Communist economics. They have always represented a minority faction in Irish and Scottish republican politics. James Connolly, the Scottish born Irish Republican rebel is often considered an ideological father of the movement.

Examples of Socialist Republican groups from Ireland are:

• Irish Citizens Army - a paramilitary organized by James Connolly which took part in the Easter Rising of 1916
• Irish Socialist Republican Party - a political party founded by James Connolly
• Irish Republican Socialist Party - a political party which split from the Official Sinn Féin in 1974 and claims to represent the values of James Connolly
• Irish National Liberation Army - an active paramilitary which is considered the armed wing of the Irish Republican Socialist Party. It was created by the IRSP's first leader Seamus Costello and actively took involvement in the armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland. It has been on a cease-fire since 1998.
• Irish Republican Socialist Committees of North America - Support group of the INLA and IRSP based in the United States
• Official IRA - Faction of the Irish Republican Army during the IRA split of 1969 who adopted Marxist-Leninist politics and eventually moved away from the armed struggle. They were largely overshadowed by the faction who opposed the move towards Marxism and supported the armed struggle, the Provisional IRA. Officially the organization no longer exists.
• Official Sinn Féin - Were the political wing of the Official IRA who supported the communist direction of IRA leader Cathal Goulding. This minority faction later on became the Workers Party of Ireland. This is not the same political party currently known as Sinn Féin, the current Sinn Féin opposed the move to Marxism and supported the non-communist Provisional IRA.

Socialist Republican groups from Scotland:

• Scottish Workers Republican Party - Founded by Scottish Marxist John Maclean MA who supported an independent and communist Scotland
• Scottish Socialist Party - Led by Colin Fox claims to be the successor to John Maclean's movement. The party is the 6th largest in the Scottish Parliament with six seats. Officially the party is not communist but does have a small Marxist-Leninist tendency (faction).
• Scottish Republican Socialist Movement - was a political party which advocated an independent and communist Scotland from 1974 to 1998. Afterwards the SRSM allied with the Scottish Socialist Party, that link was broken in 2005 and now it claims to be an independent and cross party organization.

[edit] See also

• Irish Republicanism
• Irish Nationalism
• Scottish Nationalism
• Scottish Independence
• United Ireland
• Marxism-Leninism