44

p The attention Lenin paid to international issues and the importance of Lenin’s heritage in that sphere are determined to a large degree by the place of international relations in the life of society, by their growing role in resolving internal problems. The growth in importance of international factors is a characteristic feature of human history as a whole, but it is particularly evident today. It is a natural 45 result of social development inevitably leading to an extension of contacts and communication among people and engendered by the objective requirements of the development of the productive forces.

p The role played by external factors has been most influential during the imperialist stage of capitalism, when monopolies and the financial oligarchy were formed, when the economic partition of the world began, when the territorial division of land among a handful of Great Powers was completed, and when capital, in Lenin’s words, “has become international and monopolist".  [45•* 

p The internal affairs of individual countries, which earlier were not directly dependent on international events, now became very much dependent on them. Internal social relations now formed an increasingly close and organic connection with international relations. The enhanced role played by international relations in the life of society stemmed also from the fact that, in the imperialist epoch, many millions of people on vast continents began to have an effect on them, although initially they had been passive objects of world politics. When imperialism became a world system and began to hunt after more markets, more spheres of capital investment and more territories which could become potential markets, it involved in international relations more and more countries and continents, peoples of areas of the globe which had been previously left outside contact with other peoples and territories. All this enhanced the role of international relations in social development, and made life in these territories directly dependent on processes taking place thousands of miles away, in the far-off metropolitan countries.

p The economic and political zigzags in the metropolitan countries, the rise and fall of stock market prices, not to mention such violent actions as predatory wars and outright colonial plundering, directly resounded in the most remote regions of the world. But it was a two-way process: the interimperialist struggle, the uncontrollable expansion of capital in foreign markets, had the most direct influence on the 46 situation in the imperialist states themselves, on the class struggle within these countries and on the resolution of domestic matters. The unrelenting inter-imperialist rivalry especially told on the destinies of peoples, both in metropolitan countries and in the colonies, when it boiled over into a war.

p The enhanced role of international relations in the life of society during the imperialist epoch was encouraged by yet another important circumstance, that is, the increasing internationalist nature of the anti-imperialist struggle. Internationalism is objectively inherent in the battle of the working class against the bourgeoisie, but, up to a certain time, it was reflected only in a limited way. As capitalism developed into imperialism and into a world system, it meant that the struggle against its national detachments acquired international significance. As a result of the increasing unevenness of economic and political development of individual countries under imperialism, the likelihood of the proletariat breaking weak links in imperialist domination increased; and the breaking even of a single link meant, in these conditions, a break in the single chain of imperialist omnipotence, a blow against the system as a whole. Such a break thereby acquired immense international importance and it had a great impact on the internal situation in other countries. Moreover, the very unevenness of development as one of the prerequisites for a victorious revolution in a particular country appears above all in international relations.

p Therefore, the course of the revolutionary movement in capitalist countries has been in close connection with the international situation.

p History has fully confirmed Lenin’s theory of socialist revolution based on complete account of the increased role of the external factor, in particular, international relations. The very emergence of a revolutionary situation in Russia and the triumph of revolution and, finally, the relative ease of that triumph was made possible thanks to the favourable internal conditions coinciding with the favourable external conditions—a certain international situation, a certain stage in international relations.

p The connection between international relations and the development of the revolutionary movement both within 47 individual countries and on a worldwide scale, and the growth in importance of the international factor in all social life became even more evident after the Great October Socialist Revolution. The growth after 1917 of the part played by international relations was decisively determined by the rise, existence and consolidation of the first socialist state in the world. The revolutionary movement in other countries hung on the fate of the socialist revolution in Russia, and the fate of the Russian revolution, in turn, greatly depended on external conditions and on the international situation.

p The existence of the socialist state became a major external revolutionising factor; its impact on the domestic life of other countries was effected not only by the force of the example it set but also through international relations and foreign policy.

p On the one hand, the development of the socialist state affected the external and internal policy of the imperialist bourgeoisie. Their desire to destroy the home of world revolution did more than dominate the foreign policy of imperialist states; it also had a great influence on their home affairs. On the other hand, the revolutionary solidarity of working people with the first socialist country, their support for the Soviet Union, began to occupy an important place in the revolutionary struggle against the bourgeoisie, and this was reflected in the programme documents and practical activity of Workers’ and Communist Parties.

p At the same time, external conditions acquired immense importance for the Soviet socialist state as well. Lenin saw a source of strength of the exploiting classes, even after they have been overthrown, to lie in the international factor, “in the strength of international capital, the strength and durability of their international connections”.  [47•*  The union of internal and external counter-revolution during the Civil War and foreign military intervention in Soviet Russia completely bore out that thesis.

p The existence and development of the new social system in Soviet Russia largely depended on the external factor. Lenin said that "from the very beginning of the October 48 Revolution, foreign policy and international relations have been the main questions facing us”.  [48•*  The preservation of Soviet power, the forms and rate of socialist transformation, the fate of revolutionary Russia, and consequently, in the final count, the destiny of the world revolutionary movement, very much depended on that.

p Recall, for example, the period immediately preceding the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. And subsequently, in the confrontations between the USSR and imperialist states, it was not only partial issues that were decided, but the essential questions of class struggle and social development of worldwide importance.

p The contradictions that existed among the various imperialist nations and the support given to the Soviet Union by the working class and all progressive forces in bourgeois countries were regarded by Lenin as a crucial factor in the Soviet victory over the foreign interventionists, a victory which enabled the people to tackle the internal problems of building socialism.

p International relations very much influenced the forms and rate of socialist construction in the USSR; while certain aspects of the international situation (the successes of the peaceful Soviet foreign policy, its support by progressive forces the world over, the people’s fight for national and social liberation, and the inter-imperialist contradictions) favoured socialist construction, others (the hostile capitalist encirclement and the constant threats of attack and aggressive actions of the imperialists) hindered it.

p The problems of the international situation as an important factor of the class struggle in capitalist countries occupied a large place in the activity of Communist Parties and the Communist International. Clara Zetkin, in a report to the extended Plenary Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Comintern in 1922, elaborated on Lenin’s idea about the interconnection of home and foreign policy. She said that "the masses must grasp the fact that issues of foreign policy are at the same time issues of home policy, that these affairs 49 concern them in the most intimate way just as they to a large degree affect their very life.”  [49•* 

p The idea of the growing importance of the international situation for the class struggle of the proletariat, of the link between the struggle against preparation for a new world war and the struggle against internal reaction, of the international anti-fascist front, dominated the whole work of the 7th Congress of the Communist International in 1935.

p The Second World War provided new proof of the influence of the international factor on internal social processes. The fight against the fascist occupation forces in Europe and against Japanese imperialist aggression in Asia became a major problem in the lives of the people of the world.

p The victory of the democratic forces headed by the Soviet Union had the most profound impact on the internal affairs of many countries and peoples. The experience of the people’s democratic revolutions in Central and Southeastern Europe are eloquent testimony of that.

p The part played by the external factor was also exceedingly great in the development of some Asian countries towards the end of the war and in the initial postwar period. The international situation and the balance of power in the world greatly preconditioned internal processes in Americanoccupied Japan and in such countries as China, Korea and Indochina.

p The intertwining of inner and external political aims and methods is clearly evident in the policy of the exploiting classes. Let us take the example of the acceptance by the West European bourgeoisie of the Marshall Plan and, associated with it, the pro-American foreign policy of West European governments in the immediate postwar years, which was dictated largely by internal political ends: a fear of the growth of revolutionary forces and a desire to bolster up their weakened class domination. The growing role of the external factor and, particularly, of international relations, in social development has become even more evident in the years since the mid-1950s, when a considerable shift occurred 50 in the balance of power in the world, in favour of socialism and to the detriment of capitalism. The external factor and the international situation everywhere played an important part—in the development of the Egyptian revolution, in the outcome of the 1956 Suez crisis, in the defeat of the AngloFranco-Israeli aggression against Egypt and in the destiny of revolutionary Cuba.

p In the world today, the impact of international relations on social development and, in particular, on the world revolutionary movement is becoming more and more obvious, so confirming the dialectical interconnection between these processes as revealed by Lenin. The part played by international relations in social life is attaining a new qualitative level. For the first time in history the main contradiction of the epoch has become the main contradiction of international relations.

p Each of the salient processes that are taking place in our times is worldwide and directly associated with international relations. By emerging as a world system, socialism has vastly extended and strengthened its influence and possibilities, and consequently, has increased the importance of the entire international sphere of social life. This may be seen in the unity of the struggle by the main contemporary revolutionary forces against the common enemy—imperialism, while the decisive role belongs to the world socialist system which heads the revolutionary process.

p While shortly after the revolution Lenin spoke of foreign ties as a major source of power for the exploiters, today the potential power of the exploited peoples in the non-socialist world is also conditioned largely by external sources—above all, the existence and consolidation of the world socialist system. The rates of construction of advanced socialist and communist society within the framework of the world socialist system, and the prospects for the revolutionary movement in other countries more and more depend on the international situation and the struggle between the two world systems. Therefore, the fate of social progress is today largely decided within the sphere of international relations, in the battle between the forces of socialism led by the USSR and the forces of capitalism led by US imperialism.

51

p The abolition of the colonial system, which has brought a large number of new participants into international relations, has also enhanced the importance of this sphere. Alongside these and other factors that reflect the internationalisation of the class struggle, its world scale and international significance (both in the sense of its content and in the forces participating in it), the very latest processes in material production and development of the productive forces are playing an ever increasing role. Under the influence of the scientific and technological revolution, which is international in character, the tendency towards internationalisation of economic affairs, noted by Lenin, acquires new stimuli and takes on new forms. First, this revolution knows no national boundaries or state frontiers. Second, it directly helps to extend and intensify world trade and international ties, to facilitate mutual exchange of information and closer ties between various peoples. Third, the contemporary stage of development of the productive forces and scientific and technological progress engenders problems and tasks which can be most effectively resolved on an international scale (problems of space exploration, conservation of the environment, the use of the resources of the seas and oceans, the demographic explosion and the fight against hunger), require concerted efforts and co-operation by various countries irrespective of their social systems. This has already found partial expression in an intensification of international economic ties which are expanding at a faster pace than the growth of production.

p Finally, and at the present historical stage this is most important, the scientific revolution, taking place at a time when the two systems are engaged in struggle and when there remains over a large part of the world the outmoded exploiting system which no longer corresponds to the present-day level and requirements of the productive forces, has given rise to a revolution in military techniques that is unparalleled in its scale and depth. Here again the qualitative change in the growth of importance of international relations is clearly evident.

p The invention of new weapons of mass destruction— nuclear-missile weapons—inevitably has political consequences of a global character. Internal processes in various 52 countries and, indeed, the very existence of countries, depends very much on whether progressive forces will manage to avert a world war involving nuclear-missile weapons. But the avoidance of war will directly depend on international relations: the issues of war and peace are resolved primarily in the struggle between the two systems on the international scene. Unlike the past, when millions of people became involved in world politics only in time of war and its direct consequences, today the very threat of a world nuclear catastrophe objectively involves the interests of millions of people in international relations following a course that would eliminate this danger.

p Never in the past have the fate of millions of people and the course and outcome of the class struggle within any country hung so much on the correlation of world forces, on the state of international relations and on the resolution of basic international issues.

p All this reflects the increasingly global nature of international relations. Any international conflict, irrespective of the location and number of states involved, in one way or another affects the interests of the peoples of many countries. Today, the idea of the indivisibility of the world, as it was advanced by Soviet diplomacy even before World War II, has received convincing confirmation. American aggression in Vietnam is eloquent testimony of this: it might appear that American aggression against a remote country of Southeast Asia is purely local; in fact, however, its escalation could involve the whole world and it has directly affected the interests of numerous countries no matter where they are located, their size or social system.

p By their heroic struggle against aggression, the people of Vietnam are making no small contribution to the defence of world peace and to the liberation movements in other countries. At the same time, the course and outcome of the Vietnam people’s fight for their freedom and independence is conditioned not only by internal factors, but also in large measure by external ones: by the international situation and the balance of world power in general, and by moral and material assistance from progressive forces. Leaders of Vietnam have frequently mentioned the huge importance of such 53 help and solidarity. The growing role of the international factor is apparent also in the extraordinarily profound impact of the Vietnamese war on life in America.

p Naturally, the various social forces and political leaders of various camps, pointing to the growing role of international relations, draw different conclusions both in their theoretical constructions and in their practical international activity. In expressing the political strivings of contemporary imperialism, bourgeois authors put forward the notorious theory of convergence of the two systems, they invent utopian arguments for creating a world state or world government, and so on. The non-scientific and reactionary nature of such notions is self-evident.

p The increasing importance of foreign policy issues among the imperialist bourgeoisie is apparent from such facts as the growing attention paid to them by heads of state and prime ministers and the relative increase in bourgeois states of the role of foreign ministers, the heated parliamentary debates on international issues, the prominence given to international political issues at ^election time and generally in the power struggle by political parties and groupings. History has never known such a large number of both direct contacts at summit level and international meetings in general.

p Issues of international relations and foreign policy are coming to dominate the activity of Communist Parties both in socialist and in non-socialist countries and in the documents of the international communist movement. True to the creative Leninist approach in regard to historical reality, Marxists-Leninists make a careful analysis of the contemporary international situation. “The Communist Parties determine the prospects and tasks of revolution on the basis of the concrete historical and social conditions obtaining in their respective countries and with due regard for the international situation,”  [53•*  declares the Statement of the Moscow Meeting of Representatives of Communist and Workers’ Partries in 1960.

54

p The growing importance of the foreign political situation for the struggle of progressives everywhere in the world is manifest in the far-reaching international consequences of the activity of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As Janos Kadar, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers’ Party, has said: “When the class struggle has developed on a worldwide scale, the battle of every single Communist Party acquires international importance. This refers all the more to the first Marxist-Leninist revolutionary workers’ party in the world—to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in the affairs and struggle of which, any, even purely ’internal’ event acquires immense international significance from the point of view of the struggle of all Communist Parties.”  [54•* 

p Trie tangle of national and international aspects in the class struggle, especially the close connection between internal and external politics, typical of the world today, is widely reflected in the work and documents of the 1969 International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties. In the giant programme of common action of the anti– imperialist forces, drawn up by the Meeting, the central place is given to such international political issues as stepping up the fight against American aggression in Vietnam, the campaign against the danger of a thermonuclear world war, for peace throughout the world, for peaceful coexistence of countries with different social systems, for a ban on nuclear weapons and on their proliferation.

p The most important and urgent issues of foreign policy were frequently examined at plenary meetings of the Central Committee of the CPSU and at sessions of the USSR Supreme Soviet. The close association between internal development and world affairs was noted at the 24th Congress of the CPSU, which made a thorough analysis of the international situation and put forward a precise and clear-cut programme of action against imperialism and aggression, and for peace, democracy and socialism.

55

All this testifies to the enhanced role of foreign policy which, despite the organic connection and very close intertwining with internal politics, has its own specific features.