The Communist Workers' International (, KAI) or Fourth Communist International was a council communist international. It was founded around the ''Manifesto of the Fourth Communist International'', published by the Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD) in 1921.

History

The organisation was founded in 1922, following a split in the KAPD, by members of the

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

Faction, including

Herman Gorter Herman Gorter (; 26 November 1864 – 15 September 1927) was a Dutch poet and council communist theoretician. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers, a highly influential group of Dutch writers who worked together in Amsterdam in the 1880 ...

and Karl Schröder, the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Faction holding that the formation of an international was premature. It was joined by the Communist Workers' Party of the Netherlands,

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

's Communist Workers' Party in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

, the Left Communists in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(who accordingly renamed themselves the Communist Workers' Party), the Communist Workers' Group in Russia and some left communists in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The International was never able to organise joint activities and probably never reached 1,000 members. It was weakened by the divisions (and in some cases dissolution) of the parties that formed it, and the departure of the Russian Communist Workers' Group, who disagreed with its opposition to a

united front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

with the

Third International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internation ...

. The KAPD's Essen Tendency dissolved in 1927, and the leadership of the International was passed to the Netherlands, as the Dutch group was the only party still holding membership, the other constituents being isolated individuals. It still nominally existed at the start of the 1930s, but undertook no international activity, only publishing work in the name of the organisation, until it was formally dissolved in February 1933.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Leading Principles of the KAICommentary on Herman Gorter's ''Open Letter to Comrade Lenin''
{{Political internationals Council communist organizations 1922 establishments in Germany 1927 disestablishments in Germany 1933 disestablishments in the Netherlands Organizations established in 1921 Organizations disestablished in 1927 Organizations disestablished in 1933