International Socialist Organization (New Zealand)
Encyclopedia
The International Socialist Organisation is a Trotskyist organisation in New Zealand
. It is based in Dunedin
.
The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current
of Trotskyism
while living overseas. Returning to New Zealand, they formed the small Dunedin-based ISO in the early 1990s.
As a result of its own development, the Communist Party of New Zealand
was also attracted to the International Socialism current, and developed links with the British Socialist Workers Party
, the leading representative of that current. This meant that there were two competing representatives of the same political ideology in New Zealand, which led to the SWP brokering a fusion between the two groups.
The ISO and CPNZ did, in the end, fuse to form the Socialist Workers Organization
. However, a majority of the former ISO soon left as a result of what were seen as Stalinist
practices on the part of the former CPNZ leadership. The ISO then resumed its separate existence, and expanded from Dunedin to form a branch in Wellington. The Wellington branch has since been closed.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is based in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
.
The founders of the ISO in New Zealand, notably Brian Roper, had developed sympathies with the International Socialism current
International Socialist Tendency
The International Socialist Tendency is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations based around the ideas of Tony Cliff, founder of the Socialist Workers Party in Britain...
of Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
while living overseas. Returning to New Zealand, they formed the small Dunedin-based ISO in the early 1990s.
As a result of its own development, the Communist Party of New Zealand
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
was also attracted to the International Socialism current, and developed links with the British Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
, the leading representative of that current. This meant that there were two competing representatives of the same political ideology in New Zealand, which led to the SWP brokering a fusion between the two groups.
The ISO and CPNZ did, in the end, fuse to form the Socialist Workers Organization
Socialist Workers Organization (New Zealand)
The Socialist Workers Organization was a Trotskyist organisation based in New Zealand. It was part of the International Socialist Tendency, the Socialist Workers Party's international tendency....
. However, a majority of the former ISO soon left as a result of what were seen as Stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
practices on the part of the former CPNZ leadership. The ISO then resumed its separate existence, and expanded from Dunedin to form a branch in Wellington. The Wellington branch has since been closed.