Congress of the Workers' International: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 13:55, 27 December 2021
A Congress of the Workers' International, also widely and informally known as an InterCon, is a large, plenary meeting held by the Workers' International. Typically, they are organised annually, and hosted in different cities from year to year; figures and organisations with relevance to the socialist movement internationally are invited to attend, for the purpose of making statements, corresponding on policy, setting out tactics and such. The first Congress was held in 1901, at the founding of the Workers' International.
InterCon has great significance for the socialist parties and states of the world because of its wide ambit and prestigious history. While earlier in its history, it was often the scene of turbulent events, today it tends to be more organised, and controversial motions worked out beforehand. Negotiations which take place behind the scenes at InterCon, though not officially part of its proceedings, are also important; it is a convenient venue for such talks because of the wide range of simultaneous attendees.
Structure
At each conference, there is a large plenary session, where all delegates assemble for ceremonies (such as the singing of the International) and statements and resolutions of a more general nature. Voting is conducted on what delegates will be recognised next conference, while a Secretary is also elected, who is responsible for administering the next conference with their team; they typically have some discretion in the running of the conference. Early in the history of InterCon, these procedural matters were more contentious, but are now largely technically handled.
While not formally part of the Congress, an indispensable part of its contemporary function is in the private negotiations or smaller groups which gather to talk after the plenary events, with more substantive disputes and agreements made out here. Time is usually allotted for such processes before the closing of the conference, where the plenum regathers, often summarising important results of the unofficial recess talks, and formally concludes. Frequently, discussions between smaller groups continue even after this, however.
Attendees
The following states and organisations were invited to and did send at least one voting delegate to InterCon (many more groups are observers, which carries less significance). Some attendees have no legal status or are banned in the places in which they operate, while others do not recognise each other, which can cause issues, but the InterCon itself ultimately decides who it will recognise as an attendee.