Socialist International

The Socialist International is a global coalition of labor, social democratic, and socialist parties. It originated in the early efforts to unite labor parties in the late 19th century and was reconstituted at the Frankfurt Congress in 1951. The Socialist International, which currently has 170 member parties, is one of the major transnational nongovernmental organizations working to promote egalitarianism, social justice, peace, and human rights in the contemporary era of globalization.

The supreme decision-making body of the Socialist International is the Congress. Meeting once every 3 years, the Congress sets the organization's central principles, oversees all sponsored activities, and approves applications for membership. The Socialist International also has a council that meets semi-annually. The council, which includes all member parties, is charged with making policy decisions between meetings of the Congress, preparing recommendations for membership, convening special meetings, and approving the annual budget. The top officers of the Socialist International are the president, various vice presidents, and the secretary-general. The secretariat, which is located in London, is responsible for day-to-day administration, promoting cooperation among member parties, organizing various conferences and meetings, and publicizing the group's activities.

The Socialist International also has a number of thematic and regional committees that work throughout the year to promote progressive change in specific policy areas. Thematic committees currently focus on economic policy, peace, disarmament, infectious diseases, and migration. The regional committees focus on the major challenges in each of the following regions: Africa; Asia and the Pacific; the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea; Latin America and the Caribbean; the Mediterranean; the Middle East; and southeastern Europe. These regional committees frequently sponsor missions to specific countries to promote the peaceful resolution of conflict, the consolidation of democracy, or the protection of human rights.

In recent years, the work of the Socialist International has centered on five core policy objectives: reducing global poverty and inequality, promoting peace and disarmament, strengthening democratic governance, preserving natural environments, and fostering gender equity. The organization has formulated and championed progressive policy measures to meet each of these objectives.

Reducing global poverty and inequality is a central goal of the Socialist International. The organization supports greater social control and regulation of the global economy. Special emphasis is placed on improving basic living conditions in the developing nations of the South. The Socialist International has called for improving access to markets, regulating transnational corporations, reducing external debts, and transferring new technologies to developing nations. The organization has also formulated a progressive response to the current global financial crisis. Much of this work is undertaken by the Commission on Global Financial [Page 1581]Issues. The commission has called for a new international financial architecture that prioritizes people over markets, enhances transparency and accountability, and fortifies social solidarity.

The Socialist International is also committed to global peace and disarmament. The organization calls for greater dialogue, understanding, and cooperation among all nations. Military force should only be used in self-defense and when authorized by the relevant international organization. The Socialist International also advocates limits on conventional armaments and the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction. It has sought to strengthen the United Nations and regional institutions responsible for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, common security, and disarmament.

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