Miersan Section of the Workers' International
Miersan Section of the Workers' International Mierska Sekcja Międzynarodówki Robotniczej | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | MSMR |
| Founded | February 2, 1901 |
| Dissolved | October 21, 1967 |
| Succeeded by | MSMR-C |
| Newspaper | Dźwięk Socjalizmu (the Sound of Socialism) |
| Youth wing | SiCR |
| Trade union wing | KMZZ |
| Membership (1967) | 3.4 million |
| Ideology | Council socialism Socialism with Miersan characteristics Personal national autonomy |
| Political position | Left-wing to far-left |
| Colours | Red |
| Slogan | "Przerwij Łańcuchy!" "Break the Chains!" |
| Anthem | La Sobrosienne "The Zobrodzian"  |
The Miersan Section of the Workers' International (Miersan: Mierska Sekcja Międzynarodówki Robotniczej), also known by the abbreviation MSMR, was a council socialist political party in Miersa that existed from 1901 to 1967. It officially espoused council socialism, socialism with Miersan characteristics and personal national autonomy; prior to 1936 it had also advocated for Miersan independence and Miersan nationalism.
Founded in 1901 by Miersan émigrés who had attended first congress of the Workers' International, the MSMR emerged as one of the primary forces for independence in occupied Miersa. Due to the rise of the working class in industrial cities like Dyńsk and Ryża, the MSMR was most influential in the Gaullican-occupied east, but it also organised in the Soravian-occupied west. It was a leading faction in the 1909 Miersan Revolt, and was repressed in its aftermath; the party then focused on organising the growing Miersan trade union movement and radicalising the Miersan working class with the aim of achieving independence through a revolutionary general strike, in addition to securing representation in the Senate of the Gaullican Empire.
The party was heavily repressed by the functionalist regime under Rafael Duclerque, and largely operated underground during the Great War, organising decentralised resisitance cells and the Miersan resistance, sometimes working with the Voyins. The party re-emerged in the later stages of the war, organising workers' militias to fight the Gaullicans, which were met with mixed success; the advancing Soravian army's reaction to them was mixed.
After the war, the party was instrumental - alongside the KMZZ - in organising the 1936 general strike, and it was a key party privy to the ratification of the Gofredson Plan, being instrumental in the foundation of the Miersan Socialist Republic. From the foundation of the republic until 1967, it was the leading party in the country, effectively operating a one-party state via its control over the vetting of candidates in the country's council democracy, despite a nominal commitment to council socialism. The party promised to end the vetting of candidates when the threat of a Western invasion had been prevented, but this and other aspects of party control were called into question following economic mismanagement, and the party lost power in the country following the Rose Revolution, in which reformist elements within the MSMR and the country at large peacefully secured control over the party apparatus.
The party was officially dissolved in 1967, at the 66th party conference, and the East Miersan constitution was amended to ban political parties from the the political process. The MSMR has a mixed legacy; in the east, it remains emblematic of Miersan defiance in the Great War, but its reputation is marred by the period of one-party rule. In the west, the local underground cells of the MSMR denounced the dissolution, and continue on as the Continuation faction.
History
Foundation
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The MSMR has it's background in the Miersan trade union movement. The Congress of Miersan Trade Unions existed as a prominent trade union organisation in the country - primarily centred in the more industrialised east - but the Congress had thus far proven unable to enter the political scene by the start of the 20th century. However, Miersan émigrés who had attended the first congress of the Workers' International returned to the country with a view that the Miersan working class needed a political organisation that both represented their desire for Miersan independence and for socialism.
Therefore, the Miersan Section of the Workers' International was founded on the 2nd of February 1901, alongside other Sections such as the Gaullican and the Weranic Sections, to act as the primary communist party in Miersa affiliated to the Workers' International, and to advocate for an independent, socialist Miersa. It absorbed a number of smaller, regional organisations. The formation of the party was not without controversy; the Gaullican Section, the SGIO, believed that Gaullican-occupied eastern Miersa should be represented by the SGIO itself. The Soravian Section had similar feelings about the Soravian-occupied west. Nevertheless, both parties eventually backed down, allowing the MSMR to remain in the Workers' International.
Activity in occupied Miersa
The MSMR was most active in the Gaullican-occupied east of the country, and the industrial cities of Dyńsk and Ryża soon became strongholds for the party, alongside the industrial coal-mining region known as the Czarny Kraj. The party focused on organising the growing Miersan trade union movement, and worked closely with the Congress of Miersan Trade Unions to this end.
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The MSMR was a primary participant in the 1909 Miersan Revolt, which saw Miersan nationalists across the border enter a state of insurrection against both the Gaullican and Soravian authorities. The MSMR and other Miersan nationalist groups worked together to plan the uprising, but proved unable to work productively with the other groups during the actual uprising. The urpising came to an end after less than two months, and was widely considered a failure; it the aftermath of the revolt, the MSMR was completely banned in Soravia and temporarily proscribed in Gaullica.
Following the failure of the revolt, the party primarily focused on industrial organisation through trade unions, and officially advocated a general strike to achieve a socialist revolution. Some members embraced the idea of organic work. The party also organised itself to take part in parliamentary elections on both sides of the border. It had little to no success to this end in the Soravian-occupied west - where conservative nationalists and religious elements had more success - but in the Gaullican-occupied east it continually secured representation in the Senate of the Gaullican Empire. The Gaullican government unofficially worked to hinder its operations, such as by gerrymandering Senate constituencies in Miersan-majority areas.
The party was supportive of the 1919 April Revolution, and a number of MSMR members participated in the ensuing civil strife in Kirenia on behalf of the councillists as part of the international battallions; these members returned to Miersa as veterans knowledgeable in civil conflict.
Repression and wartime activities
When Rafael Duclerque and his Parti Populaire came to power in Gaullica in 1919, one of the first acts of their functionalist regime was to move to repress the MSMR. The party was seen as a threat not only due to it's socialist ideology, but also due to it's advocacy for Miersan independence. The Miersan Section was proscribed alongside the SGIO, and as such was banned from contesting elections, had its delegates to the Senate imprisoned, and was banned from organising. The organisation as a whole was also declared to be a terrorist organisation, and was targeted by the Gaullican secret police.
Throughout the Great War, the Miersan Section was heavily repressed by the Duclerque regime, and organised largely underground in opposition to the Gaullican government. In the early years of the war, the MSMR struggled to re-assert itself, as it's leadership had been largely apprehended by the Gaullican authorities. Nevertheless, the party managed to continue to operate by implementing a decentralised cell structure with the aim of constructing an "underground state" that could emerge once Gaullica was weak. The MSMR came to organise the Miersan resistance, at times working with the Voyins.
In the later stages of the war, when the tide had turned against the Entente, the MSMR re-emerged from hiding. Its organisation of the resistance came to fruition, as the party began to assemble workers' militias to help liberate Miersa from Gaullican functionalist rule. The results of this was mixed; MSMR resistance cells in Dyńsk were essentially obliterated by the Gaullicans after they entered open resurrection, whereas in the north of the country the MSMR militias were able to link up with advancing Kirenian forces to achieve more success. Miersan militias which encountered the advancing Soravian army from the west were met with mixed reactions, with the Soravian army on some occasions treating the militias as hostile forces, and other times as begrudging allies, depending on the overall strategic situation.
General strike and Godfredson plan
As the Great War came to a close, the MSMR expected to be rewarded for their efforts, but instead Miersa as a whole came under the occupation of Soravia, with Soravia aiming to integrate Miersa as part of it's pan-Marolevic ambitions. The MSMR was opposed to this, and organised the 1936 general strike alongside the Congress of Miersan Trade Unions, and with Kirenain support. The strike effectively brought the already-battered economy of Miersa to a hold, as Żobrodź and other major cities came to a standstill. The strikers also took control of their workplaces, establishing impromptu workers' councils.
After only a few weeks a number of cities, most notably the port city of Dyńsk, were effectively administered by the strikers. The Soravian government wanted to confront the strikers with force, but Kirenia's support for the strikers prevented this. As such, the Community of Nations intervened to resolve the situation, working with Estmerish President Wolfgar Godfredson to create the Godfredson Plan, which partitioned Miersa into two new countries; the Miersan Socialist Republic to the east, aligned with Kirenia, and the Miersan Federation to the west, under Soravian influence.
The Miersan Section was a key signatory to the plan, alongside western authorities. The party was instrumental in the founding of the Socialist Republic, which took the form of a federation of council republics, and the party quickly took on a leading role. Despite the democratic nature of the new state, the party had effective control over a majority of workers' councils, and the party leadership quickly rose to national leadership positions.
Effective one-party rule
In the postwar period, the Miersan Section found itself in a leading position in the East Miersan government. The threat of western infilitration became a concern for the party, and in order to prevent this the MSMR and the East Miersan government established a process of vetting for prospective political candidates, effectively meaning that anyone aiming to achieve political office - at any level - had to be approved by agents of the MSMR. This effectively gave established East Miersa as an unofficial one-party state under the MSMR. The party kept a nominal commitment to council socialism during this time.
From the 1940s, the party presided over a post-war economic boom in East Miersa, despite the country having to pay indemnities to the west. Increasing hostility from the west in the early 1950s saw the party unanimously vote to cancel indemnity payments to the west in 1953, sparking a minor diplomatic crisis. The late 1950s and early 1960s saw the post-war boom slow, and though the East Miersan economy continued to grow steadily, a number of economic sectors experienced severe mismanagement under the MSMR. This lead to friction between the MSMR and the emergent Miersan middle class, which had emerged during the post-war boom. Seeing the growing discontent, a reformist faction soon appeared within the MSMR, which saw the end of vetting and the resumption of free council elections as neccessary to ensure the continuation of socialism in East Miersa.
Decline and dissolution
The new middle class and other elements of Miersan society - such as women, young people and minorities - began to openly question MSMR one-party rule starting in the 1960s, and the accusations of economic mismanagement only further intensified their critiques. These groups would join with the emergent reformist faction of the MSMR, and ultimately bring about the decline and demise of the MSMR.
The non-violent Rose Revolution saw the reformist faction take control of the party apparatus of the MSMR, through entryist tactics. Along with the sympathy of the military and the general public, the reformists were able to secure a peaceful transition. At the 66th annual party conference, the reformist delegates - who wore red roses to cover the mandatory MSMR party pins - proposed a motion which officially dissolved the party, and amended the East Miersan constitution to ban political parties. The western cells of the party - which had continued to operate underground despite repression by the West Miersan government - officially denounced the dissolution of the party, and continued to operate as the MSMR-C.
Legacy
The MSMR maintains a strong legacy. In East Miersa, it has a mixed reputation; though it and its leaders remain lauded for its actions in liberating the country from the Gaullicans, and in founding the socialist state, its reputation is often tainted by the period of one-party rule. Along with the Dezevauni Section of the Workers' International, it is considered an example of a vanguard party which was successfully and peacefully replaced with a non-partisan council democracy. The MSMR-C continues the party's operations in the west of the country to this day, but remains heavily repressed by the western government and is far weaker than the MSMR it succeeded.
Ideology and policy
The MSMR was organised as a communist party, with council socialism as the core founding principle of the party. In line with the material conditions in Miersa at the time of its foundation, the party also emphasised personal national autonomy; the idea that the non-Miersan national groups within Miersa, such as the Chrebians, Savaders, Lemovicians and Kasavrines, could co-exist within an independent socialist Miersa, with their own nationhoods disconnected from terrtiory and instead exercised by individuals.
Miersan independence and Miersan nationalism were also core principles of the party, especially prior to independence. The party was also broadly internationalist, despite its nationalist policy, and was at least nominally committed to a world revolution. Anti-imperialism was also a concept central to the party. The MSMR argued that Miersa had been a victim of imperialism on the part of the Gaullican and Soravian Empires, and as such sought to cooperate with anti-imperialist elements in the global south. To this end, the MSMR - and the East Miersan government it controlled - became a key sponsor of the Association of Emerging Socialist Economies.
Upon gaining control of the state of East Miersa, the party adopted a policy of socialism with Miersan characteristics, emphasising the unique characteristics of socialism in Miersa. This led to the party seeking to chiefly improve living standards in the country, and to achieve greater economic growth to counteract the forced payments of indemnities to the west.
Organisation
The MSMR had an organisational structure similar to most other Sections of the Workers' International. The General Secretary acted as a leader to the party, with additional power invested in the Organisation and Policy Committee. The OPC fucntioned as a check on the power of the General Secretary - who was elected from within the OPC - and also as a discussion comittee for policy.
The party operated a form of internal democracy, with registered party members able to vote for representatives on the OPC - in addition to representatives from the KMZZ - and for delegates to the annual party conferences, which acted as large forums for party discusison; though these became increasingly ceremonial during the vetting period. Ultimately, it was this limited internal democracy that allowed the reformist faction to dissolve the party.
Relationship with the trade union movement
As the leading conference of trade unions in Miersa, the KMZZ was considered representative of the Miersan labour movement. It worked closely with the MSMR throughout the latter's existence, to the extent that in many ways it began to be considered a political wing of the party. It and it's constituent members nominated 10 representatives to the OPC of the party.
Sons and Daughters of the Revolution
The Sons and Daughters of the Revolution (Miersan: Synowie i Córki Rewolucji, abbreviated to SiCR) was the youth wing of the party. It operated a crèche service for party workers, and also functioned similarly to a scouts organisation in many respects. The wing had it's own OPC and General Secretary, but these were widely considered to be powerless positions subservient to the party leadership.
International affiliation
The party was a member of the Workers' International from its foundation, and after the Great War was seen as a key member of the organisation, owing to its position as a ruling party in East Miersa.
Election results
Gaullican senatorial elections
| Election | Votes | Seats | Position | Government | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Share | +/- | No. | +/- | Share | ||||
| 1902 | 103,451 | 0.4% |  1.1
|
2 / 449
|
2
|
0.5% | 11th | In opposition | Candidates stood under "Workers' International" branding. |
| 1906 | 521,854 | 5.9% | 5.5
|
13 / 449
|
11
|
2.9% | 8th | In opposition | |
| 1911 | 488,193 | 5.1% |  0.8
|
12 / 449
|
1
|
2.7% | 9th | In opposition | 4 of the elected candidates were barred from entering the Gaullican Senate owing to their participation in the 1909 Miersan Revolt, and their seats were left unfilled. |
| 1915 | 601,349 | 6.3% | 1.2
|
25 / 449
|
13
|
5.6% | 7th | In opposition | |
| 1919 | 1,229,143 | 8.9% | 2.6
|
34 / 449
|
9
|
7.6% | 6th | In opposition | The last election in which the MSMR was able to legally participate. |