Marxist and anti-imperialist critiques of just war theory (19th–20th centuries)

1. Stuttgart Congress condemns militarism and imperialist war

   Aug 18, 1907Labels: Second International, Stuttgart Congress

   At the Second International’s 1907 Stuttgart Congress, socialist parties adopted a major anti-militarist resolution. It argued that wars between capitalist states are typically driven by competition for markets and the subjugation of foreign peoples, linking imperialism to class rule at home. This helped set the late-19th/early-20th-century Marxist frame that later critiques used to reject “just war” language as a cover for capitalist interests.

   • MIA Stuttgart
   • MIA Stuttgart book

2. Basel Manifesto urges workers to oppose war

   Nov 24, 1912Labels: Second International, Basel Manifesto

   In November 1912, the Second International met in Basel as fears of a wider European war grew. Delegates unanimously adopted the Basel Manifesto, calling for an “unrelenting struggle” against war and placing responsibility on the ruling classes of capitalist countries. Later Marxist critics treated the manifesto as a benchmark showing how quickly many socialist parties abandoned antiwar commitments in 1914.

   • Basel Manifesto

3. Lenin publishes on national self-determination

   Apr 1, 1914Labels: Vladimir Lenin, The Right

   In early 1914, Lenin wrote The Right of Nations to Self-Determination, a key text for later anti-imperialist Marxist arguments. It defended the right of oppressed nations to secede and criticized “Great Power” chauvinism, tying national oppression to capitalist and imperial state power. This approach shaped later claims that wars waged by empires could not be morally redeemed by traditional “just war” reasoning.

   • Lenin MIA

4. Jean Jaurès assassinated amid July Crisis

   Jul 31, 1914Labels: Jean Jaur, July Crisis

   On July 31, 1914, French socialist leader and prominent anti-militarist Jean Jaurès was assassinated in Paris. His death removed a major public voice urging restraint as Europe moved toward World War I. For many Marxists, the event symbolized how nationalist violence and state pressure could silence antiwar politics just as leaders invoked national “defense” narratives.

   • Britannica Jaur s
   • Jaur s assassination

5. Luxemburg writes the 'Junius Pamphlet' in prison

   Apr 1, 1915Labels: Rosa Luxemburg, Junius Pamphlet

   Rosa Luxemburg wrote The Crisis of German Social Democracy (the “Junius Pamphlet”) in 1915 while imprisoned. It condemned the collapse of socialist internationalism at the start of World War I and portrayed the conflict as an imperialist war rather than a morally justified defense. The pamphlet became a foundational antiwar text for revolutionary Marxists who argued that “just war” claims hid imperial competition.

   • Luxemburg MIA
   • Junius Pamphlet

6. Liebknecht circulates 'The main enemy is at home'

   May 1, 1915Labels: Karl Liebknecht

   In May 1915, Karl Liebknecht issued an illegal leaflet arguing that the “main enemy” of ordinary people was their own ruling class and imperial policy. This slogan redirected moral focus away from enemy nations and toward domestic militarism and elite interests. In Marxist anti-imperialist critique, it challenged the idea that wartime state violence could be validated as “just” when it served empire and profit.

   • Liebknecht leaflet

7. Zimmerwald Conference issues antiwar manifesto

   Sep 1, 1915Labels: Zimmerwald Conference, Zimmerwald Manifesto

   In September 1915, antiwar socialists met at the Zimmerwald Conference in Switzerland and issued a manifesto calling for international working-class opposition to the war. The meeting highlighted a growing split between those who supported their governments’ war efforts and those who saw the conflict as imperialist. Zimmerwald became a turning point in organizing a new revolutionary antiwar politics that often dismissed traditional “just war” rhetoric as ideological cover.

   • Zimmerwald appendix

8. Lenin writes 'Imperialism' to explain modern war

   Jun 25, 1916Labels: Vladimir Lenin, Imperialism

   Between January and June 1916, Lenin wrote Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, arguing that monopoly and finance capital drove great-power rivalry and war. The work framed World War I as a struggle over redivision of the world rather than a morally defensible fight for justice. This became one of the most influential Marxist foundations for anti-imperialist critique, treating “just war” arguments as moral language that obscured material causes.

   • Lenin Imperialism
   • Britannica Imperialism

9. Lenin's 'Imperialism' published during 1917 upheavals

   Jul 1, 1917Labels: Lenin, Imperialism pamphlet

   Lenin’s Imperialism was first published in pamphlet form in Petrograd in mid-1917. Its timing connected a theoretical critique of imperial war to the crisis of state legitimacy and revolutionary politics in Europe. The book’s core message—that imperialism structurally generates war—strengthened Marxist claims that moral-legal “just war” frameworks were inadequate for analyzing capitalist empire.

   • Lenin MIA note
   • Imperialism overview

10. Comintern drafts theses linking revolution and anti-colonial struggle

    Jun 5, 1920Labels: Comintern, National and

    In 1920, Lenin prepared draft theses on the national and colonial questions for the Second Congress of the Communist International. The theses argued that socialist strategy had to distinguish between oppressor and oppressed nations and support anti-colonial liberation as part of a global fight against imperialism. This institutionalized a Marxist alternative to “just war” thinking by centering colonial domination and class power rather than state claims of legitimacy.

    • Lenin theses
    • Cambridge article

11. Luxemburg’s critique of Bolshevik rule published posthumously

    Jan 1, 1922Labels: Rosa Luxemburg, The Russian

    Rosa Luxemburg’s pamphlet The Russian Revolution—written in 1918—was published in 1922 after her death, edited by Paul Levi. It criticized certain Bolshevik policies while still treating imperial war and capitalist counterrevolution as central threats. The episode mattered for later critiques because it showed that Marxist anti-imperialism also debated means and ends, not only condemning “imperialist war” but also questioning how revolutionary violence and state power should be constrained.

    • Russian Revolution

12. Césaire publishes 'Discourse on Colonialism'

    Jan 1, 1950Labels: Aim C, Discourse on

    In 1950, Aimé Césaire published Discourse on Colonialism, arguing that colonial rule brutalized both colonizer and colonized and exposing the hypocrisy of “civilizing mission” justifications. The essay helped connect Marxist and anti-imperialist critique to wider anti-racist and decolonial movements after World War II. It reinforced the view that moral claims used to justify empire often masked extraction, domination, and violence.

    • Discourse wiki

13. Fanon publishes 'The Wretched of the Earth'

    Jan 1, 1961Labels: Frantz Fanon, The Wretched

    Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth was published in French in 1961 during the wave of decolonization. Fanon analyzed how colonial violence shaped society and argued that liberation struggles must be understood from the perspective of the colonized, not the legal-moral narratives of imperial states. The book became a major endpoint for 19th–20th century Marxist and anti-imperialist critiques of “just war,” shifting attention to structural domination and the politics of decolonization.

    • Britannica Fanon
    • LOC record