Progressive International is a left-of-center organization of international socialist political parties and socialist-aligned activist groups that aims to serve as a guide for the international socialist movement. It promotes environmentalism, political and economic equity, and an end to all wars. It opposes Israel and Zionism and advocates for the revolutionary liberation of the Palestinian people.

The organization is advised by a number of major left-wing politicians and academics, most notably former U.K. Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn and former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Background

Progressive International was founded in 2018 based on suggestions from the Sanders Institute and the Democracy in Europe Movement (DiEM25) that left-wing “progressive” activists form a common front. It advocates for a world that has an egalitarian power structure, is “decolonised,” pursues racial and gender equity, an energy system free of conventional fuels, and is “post-capitalist,” having abolished “the cult of work” and “eradicate[d] poverty” through “shared abundance.” ¹

Activities

Progressive International publishes a series of “blueprints” to go along withs political platform. The blueprints act as guidelines to inform the policies that left-wing parties around the world put forward. Their topics range from COVID-19 response, debt, sustainable infrastructure, global interdependence, and combating “climate imperialism.” ²

Progressive International publishes articles from various writers on its “Wire” section. These pieces concern a host of left-wing perspectives on foreign policy, striking and protesting international corporations like Amazon, and the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip. ³

The organization also undertakes opposition research against pro-market forces and conversative groups. As of December 2023, its “Observatory” section contained two pieces, one attacking recently elected libertarian President Javier Milei of Argentina, and another warning that “electoral integrity is under threat” in the country of Ecuador due to its center-right administration. ^{4 5}

On its website, Progressive International hosts a manifesto from an early anti-Zionist Palestinian political group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The 1969 document, entitled “the Strategy for Liberation of Palestine,” articulates a program of resisting “colonialism” and “fascism” through a revolution of the Palestinian people against the state of Israel. ⁶

Its member organizations include dozens of left-of-center activist groups from all over the world. ⁷

Leadership

Progressive International has an advisory council which guides the organization strategically. Its members include figures from all over the world, especially South America and Africa. Prominent members include Jeremy Corbyn, former Leader of the Opposition and former leader of the U.K. Labour Part;, feminist philosopher and Marxist Silvia Federici; Rage Against the Machine guitarist and left-wing political activist Tom Morello; Yanis Varoufakis, a Greek socialist economist and former Finance Minister; and American Marxist academic Jodi Dean. ⁸

Its “emeritus” advisory members include linguist and left-wing political thinker Noam Chomsky, anti-capitalist popular writer Naomi Klein, Cameroonian philosopher Achille Mbembe, Marxist journalist and historian Vijay Prashad, Princeton professor and 2024 presidential candidate Cornel West, and Slovenian Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zizek . ⁹

The day-to-day operations of the group are handled by the Secretariat, a coordinating body of many administrators. The Secretariat is divided into the Movement Team, the Blueprint Team, and the Wire Team. ¹⁰

Progressive International is governed by an executive cabinet comprised of eight members from the advisory council and two from the Secretariat. In 2023, they were David Adler, Julian Aguon, Renata Avila, Fatima Diallo, Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Rachmi Hertani, Srecko Horvat, Scott Ludlam, Aruna Roy, and Pierre Sane. ¹¹

1. “Who We Are.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/about/en.
2. “Blueprint.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/blueprint.
3. “Wire.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/wire.
4. “Observatory.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/observatory/.
5. “Ecuador elects centre-right business heir Daniel Noboa as president.” Financial Times. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://www.ft.com/content/f4c3f997-2c4c-44f3-b656-57af3a5ac308.
6. “Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine: Resistance Until Victory.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/blueprint/5da536b7-5fb4-4cb3-af35-236350c5cdea-popular-front-for-the-liberation-of-palestine-resistance-until-victory/en.
7. “Members.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/members.
8. “Council.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/council/.
9. “Council.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/council/.
10. “Secretariat.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/secretariat/.
11. “Cabinet.” Progressive International. Accessed December 3, 2023. https://progressive.international/cabinet/.