The Workers' Communist Party ( no, Arbeidernes Kommunistparti, AKP) was a Norwegian
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 Engels. A ...
(1973–2007). AKP was a
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
party and one of two communist parties in Norway; the other was the older
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway ( no, Norges Kommunistiske Parti, NKP) is a communist party in Norway.
The NKP was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. It was Stalinist from its establishment and, as such, supported t ...
which had remained pro-Soviet. The relationship between the two parties was characterized by strong hostility.
AKP was founded in 1973, as ''Arbeidernes Kommunistparti (marxist-leninistene)''. It did not participate directly in elections, but members had "activity duty", meaning that they were to work for the party's goals – passive members were not accepted. The precise number of its members is unknown.
On 22 February 2006, the party opened some of its archives to the public, in a move the party argued was to hit out at all the rumours surrounding the party.
It was a predecessor of the current party the
Red Party, founded on 10 March 2007.
History
Two trends led to the formation of AKP(m–l):
*The radical movements of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
environments in the late 1960s and early 1970s, particularly within the context of the
Vietnam war
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
*The
Sino-Soviet split
The Sino-Soviet split was the breaking of political relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union caused by doctrinal divergences that arose from their different interpretations and practical applications of Marxism–Len ...
between the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, which caused an ideological crisis among an older generation of communists
The founders of AKP(m–l) came from what was then known as SUF, or
Sosialistisk Ungdomsforbund (Socialist Youth League). SUF had been started as the youth wing of the
Sosialistisk Folkeparti
The Socialist People's Party (Norwegian: ''Sosialistisk Folkeparti'') was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party (DNA) founded in 1961. SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/ European Economic Community external policies of DNA ...
, but broke away in 1969 as it developed into a marxist-leninist direction. Following the split SUF was renamed SUF(m–l).
As a result of the activity duty, many party members practiced "self-proletarisation" on the party's orders, working as manual labourers, especially in the period from 1974 to 1976. Later, the party encouraged its well-educated members to take work as teachers, particularly in higher education.
As a part of their policy, AKP members have joined and tried to influence several voluntary organisations in socialist direction, particularly those related to "feminism", labor unions and anti-racism.
AKP did not put its name on election ballots, choosing instead to work through
Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance ( nb, Rød Valgallianse, nn, Raud Valallianse, RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itse ...
(RV), originally AKPs electoral face, but from 1990 a party of its own without any formal link to AKP, though most of AKPs members were also members of RV.
In March 2007 AKP and
Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance ( nb, Rød Valgallianse, nn, Raud Valallianse, RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itse ...
(RV) merged, and formed the party
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
, a revolutionary party with a programme supporting communism. Some former members of AKP have argued that since the party Red does not have activity duty or democratic centralism, it is not a communist party, while others have argued that a communist program and the fact that like traditional communist parties, Red is organized in cells, it is a communist party. Some former members of AKP, especially members of AKP's student organization, NKS, formed a marxist-leninist front,
KP(m–l) together with the
Marxist-Leninist Group Revolusjon. This front was meant to be an organisation with the purpose of building a traditional
marxist-leninist party.
''
Klassekampen
''Klassekampen'' ( en, The Class Struggle) is a Norwegian daily newspaper. It describes itself as "the newspaper of the Left." The paper's net circulation is 34,000 (2021), and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper (160,000 on Saturdays). ...
'' (Class Struggle) used to be the party's daily newspaper in the 1970s, but is from the 1990s associated to a slightly wider political spectrum.
Red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
now owns 20% of the stocks in ''
Klassekampen
''Klassekampen'' ( en, The Class Struggle) is a Norwegian daily newspaper. It describes itself as "the newspaper of the Left." The paper's net circulation is 34,000 (2021), and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper (160,000 on Saturdays). ...
'', the amount AKP owned before the merge with RV. AKP was also associated to
Oktober Forlag
Forlaget Oktober is a Norwegian publishing house. Oktober focuses on Norwegian contemporary fiction. In addition, they publish a small selection of non-fiction, poetry, and translated fiction. Annually they release around 50 new titles, and around ...
, a
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
. From early 2000s the party published the monthly newspaper ''akp.no'', named after the party's website, and throughout its existence it published a quarterly magazine for Marxist debate, first named ''Røde Fane'' (Red Standard), then from 2005 ''
Rødt!'' (Red! – this name might have inspired the name of the new party). The newspaper ''akp.no'' continues as Red's party newspaper, under the name ''
Rødt Nytt
The Red Party ( nb, Rødt; nn, Raudt; sme, Ruoksat) is a political party in Norway. It was founded in March 2007 by a merger of the Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party. A Marxist party, it has been described as left-wing ...
'' (Red News). The magazine ''Rødt!'' is continued under the ownership of the party Red. In 2017 it changed its name to ''Gnist''.
Controversy
AKP and the Norwegian ML-movement were at times criticised for support of Marxist and communist regimes in other parts of the world, including the regimes of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, and
Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
.
[De dyrket Mao, Stalin og Pol Pot](_blank)
(They worshiped Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot), Aftenposten, August 28, 2005 AKP openly endorsed the
Khmer Rouge
The Khmer Rouge (; ; km, ខ្មែរក្រហម, ; ) is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) and by extension to the regime through which the CPK ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. ...
of
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, and when that party's forces invaded Phnom Penh,
Klassekampen
''Klassekampen'' ( en, The Class Struggle) is a Norwegian daily newspaper. It describes itself as "the newspaper of the Left." The paper's net circulation is 34,000 (2021), and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper (160,000 on Saturdays). ...
had "Long live the free Cambodia" as their front page headline. Support from AKP continued in spite of
the killings which were reported during
Pol Pot
Pol Pot; (born Saloth Sâr;; 19 May 1925 – 15 April 1998) was a Cambodian revolutionary, dictator, and politician who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist a ...
's rule. At that time, AKP considered these reports to be a part of a smear campaign against the new regime, and AKP had delegations visiting the country.
Blodbadet i Kambodsja
(the bloodbath in Cambodia) forskning.no, Harald Aastorp, January 4, 2005
Much of the party's inner workings have been clandestine in nature, for instance the precise number of members is kept secret. The party program has been considered violent and extreme since it called for armed revolution before 1990, and kept the possibility of having to "defend the revolution with arms" open since.
In 2003 two former members of the party's leadership, Finn Sjue and Egil Fossum, apologized for the totalitarian culture in the party.
Party leaders
*Sigurd Allern
Sigurd Allern (born 5 September 1946) is a Norwegian media theorist and the first professor of journalism at the University of Oslo.Sigurd Al ...
1973–1975
*Pål Steigan
Pål Steigan (born 31 May 1949) is a Norwegian writer and politician, best known as founder of the newspaper ''Klassekampen'' and the website '' Steigan.no''. He was leader of the Maoist Workers' Communist Party, AKP (m-l) from 1975 to 1984, and ...
1975–1984
*Kjersti Ericsson
Kjersti Ericsson (born 18 January 1944 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian psychologist, criminologist, writer, poet and former politician. She is Professor of Criminology at the Faculty of Law of the University of Oslo.
Ericsson obtained her cand.ps ...
1984–1988
* Siri Jensen 1988–1992
*Solveig Aamdal Solveig (, ) is a female given name of Old Norse origin. It is most common in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland, and it is also somewhat common in Germany and France.
Etymology
The name consists of two parts, where both parts have different th ...
1992–1997
* Jorun Gulbrandsen 1997–2006
* Ingrid Baltzersen 2006–2007
See also
*Rød Front
''Rød Front'' ('Red Front') was a Norwegian student organization.
It was involved in student politics at the University of Oslo and in the struggle for control over the Norwegian Students' Society. It had an affiliation with the Workers' Communi ...
References
">"They worshipped Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot"
small>, article in Aftenposten
( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...
.
Freedom of speech as bread and butter
small>, article in Dagbladet
''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newsp ...
*''Mao, min Mao'', by Hans Petter Sjøli. Book about AKP(m–l), published in 2005.
External links
Arbeidernes kommunistparti
– official website
– website in English
ml-historie.no
– party archives
{{Red (Norway)
1973 establishments in Norway
Political parties established in 1973
Political parties disestablished in 2007
Defunct political parties in Norway
Communist parties in Norway
Far-left politics in Norway
International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (International Newsletter)
Defunct Maoist parties
2007 disestablishments in Norway