The Second Congress of the Communist International and the Revolutionary Movement in China

Abstract

The Second Congress of the Communist International (CI) laid the groundwork for the activities of the communist parties in the East and determined the nature of relations between nationalist and communist participants on the national revolutions of the major part of the twentieth century. Two key problems under the debate during the Congress were whether communist parties should cooperate with nationalist forces and on what social basis the should strive for power. Guided by Lenin, the participants to the Congress accepted the idea that the united front with the noncommunist faction of the national movement is possible, though they were cynical enough regarding the possibility of becoming brothers-in-arms in the nationalist camp. The participants also adopted Lenin`s vision of the social basis of the national revolution, which was claimed to be, following Russian experience, an ”agrarian revolution.” The conception of ”agrarian” revolution, which had no actual social basis in the East and in China particularly, later undermined the united front with the nationalists and was one of the major reasons behind some of the tragic events during the communist movement in China.