IMRA NetworkInternational Marxist-Leninist Research & Action Network

Topic Map · 7 of 10

National and Colonial Questions

Self-determination, colonies, oppressed nations, and internationalist strategy.

民族殖民自决nationalcolonialself-determination

Open Topic WorksBack to Map Overview
62Related works
4Study stages
8Related authors
Covered study stages

04 State, Class Rule, and the Question of Revolution; 05 Imperialism, Colonial Systems, and World Revolution; 06 Organization, Mass Work, and Lawful Public Practice; 08 Internationalist Collaboration and Contemporary Tasks

Related authors

Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, V. I. Lenin, Mao Zedong, Antonio Gramsci, Rosa Luxemburg, Comintern, IMRA Editorial Collective

Reading Path

From questions to texts, station by station

Start with the core questions, then follow the entry, core, and advanced readings into concrete book and article pages.

Core Questions

  1. How do national oppression, colonial systems, and the capitalist world market constitute one another?

  2. Why are national self-determination and proletarian internationalism not opposed principles?

  3. Why must colonial and semi-colonial revolutions begin from their concrete social structures?

Entry Reading

4 texts
1920 · V. I. LeninFull textDraft Theses on National and Colonial QuestionsKey Comintern text on national and colonial questions.1938 · Mao ZedongFull textOn Protracted WarClassic strategy text on stages, balance of forces, and people's war.1940 · Mao ZedongFull textOn New DemocracyExplains revolutionary stages, political-economic-cultural program, and New Democracy.1926 · Mao ZedongGuideAnalysis of the Classes in Chinese Society: Study GuideHelps transform social groups into analysis of class, interests, and political stance.

Core Reading

5 texts
1914 · V. I. LeninFull textThe Right of Nations to Self-DeterminationExplains national questions, democratic rights, and proletarian internationalism.1925 · Mao ZedongFull textAnalysis of the Classes in Chinese SocietyClass analysis of Chinese revolution and its social forces.1927 · Mao ZedongFull textReport on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in HunanArgues for the revolutionary significance of the peasant movement.1928 · Mao ZedongFull textWhy Is It That Red Political Power Can Exist in China?Analyzes rural base areas, armed struggle, and the Chinese revolutionary path.1930 · Mao ZedongFull textA Single Spark Can Start a Prairie FireClarifies rural base strategy and revolutionary prospects.

Advanced Reading

5 texts
1850 · Friedrich EngelsFull textThe Peasant War in GermanyClass analysis of the peasant war during the Reformation.1901 · V. I. LeninFull textThe Agrarian Question and the Critics of MarxResponds to revisionist critiques of capitalist agriculture and rent theory.1905 · V. I. LeninFull textTwo Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic RevolutionDiscusses democratic revolution, provisional government, worker-peasant alliance, and leadership.1921 · V. I. LeninFull textThe Tax in KindExplains the NEP turn, worker-peasant relations, and economic recovery.1923 · V. I. LeninFull textOn CooperationDiscusses cooperatives, cultural level, and paths of socialist construction.

Common Misreadings

  • Understanding internationalism as denial of national oppression.
  • Equating national liberation with any nationalism.
  • Mechanically copying experiences across countries.