Entryism

Entryism(also calledentrism,enterism,infiltration,aFrench Turn,boring from within,orboring-from-within) is a political strategy in which an organization or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organization in an attempt to expand influence and expand their ideas and program. If the organization being "entered" is hostile to entryism, the entryists may engage in a degree of subterfuge andsubversionto hide the fact that they are an organization in their own right.

Socialist entryism

"Boring from within"

In the "boring from within" strategy, radical workers would join established (and often conservative) trade unions and attempt to join their leadership to shift their stances leftward. These workers were called "borers". Boring was opposed by radical workers who supporteddual unionism,where radical unions would attempt to win over workers and firm-level union locals from the established trade unions.

Starting in the 1890s, a faction of theSocialist Labor Party– which would split to become theSocialist Party of America– began "boring from within" in an attempt to make theAmerican Federation of Labor(AFL) more radical.In contrast, theIndustrial Workers of the World– and another faction of the Socialist Labor Party, close to theSocialist Trade and Labor Alliance,which would remain in the party – supported a dual unionist strategy of competing against the AFL within a workplace.

In opposition,Daniel De Leonof theSocialist Labor Partycriticized "boring from within only" and supported "boring from within and without".SLP members were encouraged to join theSocialist Trade and Labor Allianceand later theWorkers' International Industrial Union.

In 1929, theCommunist Party of Americaabandoned "boring from within" the AFL and embraceddual unionismagainst the AFL.As a result, its labor organization, theTrade Union Educational League(TUEL) became theTrade Union Unity League(TUUL).

Trotsky's "French Turn"

The "French Turn"refers to the classic form of entryism advocated byLeon Trotskyin his essays on "The French Turn". In June 1934, he proposed for the FrenchTrotskyiststo dissolve their Communist League and to join theFrench Section of the Workers' International(SFIO) and for the Communist League to dissolve its youth section to join more easily with revolutionary elements. The tactic was adopted in August 1934, despite some opposition, and successfully raised the group's membership to 300 activists.

Proponents of the tactic advocated that the Trotskyists should enter thesocial democraticparties to connect withrevolutionary socialistcurrents within them and then to steer those currents towardLeninism.However, entryism lasted briefly since the leadership of the SFIO started to expel the Trotskyists. The Trotskyists of theWorkers Party of the United Statesalso successfully used their entry into theSocialist Party of Americato recruit their youth group and other members. Similar tactics were also used by Trotskyist organisations in other countries, including theNetherlands,Belgium,Switzerland,andPoland.Entryism was used to connect with and recruit leftward-moving political currents inside radical parties.

Since it was used inFrance,Marxistshave used the tactic even if they had different preconceptions of how long the period of entry would last:

• A "split perspective" is sometimes employed in which the smaller party intends to remain in the larger party for a short period of time, with the intention of splitting the organisation and leaving with more members than it began with.
• The entryist tactic can work successfully, in its own terms, over a long period. For example, it was attempted by theMilitant tendencyin theUnited Kingdom,whose members worked within theLabour Partyfrom the 1950s onward and managed to get control in theLabour Party Young SocialistsandLiverpool City Councilbefore it was expelled in the 1980s. Many other Trotskyist groups have attempted similar feats, but few have gained the influence that the Militant tendency attained.

"Entryismsui generis"or" deep entryism "

After the end of World War 2,Michel Pablo- then in the Leadership of the Fourth International - proposed a tactic of long-term entry into the "mass-parties of the working class", primarily because the meagre prospects of building independent parties in the post-war circumstances. This would primarily prevent the tiny propaganda-circles of the Trotskyist movement becoming sectarian circles, isolated from the working class.

The organizations were understood to retain their political identity and their own press.

Thesui generis( "of a special type" ) variant did contain the difference that, where their own political identity could not be maintained, the group would maintain an independent presence, which would primarily aid the task of entry.

In Europe, that was the approach used, for example, byThe Cluband laterSocialist Actionin the Labour Party,and by Fourth Internationalists inside the Communist Parties. InFrance,Trotskyist organizations, most notably theParti des Travailleursand its predecessors, have successfully enteredtrade unionsand mainstreamleft-wingparties.

Open entryism

See also:Platform (European politics)

Some political parties, such as theWorkers' PartyinBrazilor theScottish Socialist Party,allow political tendencies to organise within them openly. In those cases, the term "entryism" is not usually used. Political groups that work within a larger organisation but also maintain a "public face" often reject the term "entryism" but are sometimes still considered to be entryists by the larger organization.

Examples by country

Australia

See also:2019 Australian Parliament infiltration plot

InAustralia,the practice was widespread during the 1950s, when theCommunist Party of Australiabattled against right-wingIndustrial Groupsfor control of Australiantrade unions.The 'Groupers' subsequently formed theDemocratic Labor Party.Today, the practice in Australia is often known as a type ofbranch stacking.

In 1985, theNuclear Disarmament Partywas split after accusations that it had been infiltrated by theSocialist Workers Party(SWP), aTrotskyistgroup.

In recent times,RSPCA Australiahas been described as being the victims of the practice.TheNational Farmers' FederationandAnimals Australiahave each been accused of infiltrating branches of RSPCA Australia in an attempt to promote opposing policies concerningbattery hens,intensive pig farming,and thelive exportof sheep.

Since the 2000s, thereligious righthas practiced entryism into a number of state branches of theLiberal Party of Australia,notably in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria.During the 2022 Victorian State Election one upper house candidate, Renee Heath, was accused of being a part of an entryist plot begun by the Pentecostal church begun by her father, byCatherine Burnett-Wake,who Heath had defeated for pre-selection. Heath would later have her position in the Liberal party ended byMatthew Guy,although the move came too late for her to be disendorsed from her near certain victory as the first ranked candidate in her upper house zone.

In 2018, it was revealed that theNSW National partyand its youth wing, theYoung Nationalshad been infiltrated by thefar rightwith more than 30 members being investigated for alleged links. Leader McCormack denounced the infiltration, and several suspected far rightists were expelled from the party and its youth wing.

China

See also:United front (China)

During theNorthern Expeditionin China, theChinese Communist Partyjoined the party of theNationalist Party of China (Kuomintang)for a time (1923–1927), creating theFirst United Front,but one of the Communists' ideas behind doing so was the possibility of eventually gaining a majority in the Nationalist Party and shaping its policies.Eventually, the situation degraded, the Nationalistsexpelled the Communists from their party,and theChinese Civil Warbegan. The war was paused for a time (1936–1945) to allow for aSecond United Frontduring theChinese resistance to Japanese imperial rule.However, the civil war resumed again and remained active until 1950, after the Communists had won.

Germany

In 1967 West German student movement leaderRudi Dutschkecoined the slogan "long march through the institutions"as a way to bring about fundamental change in West German society. As a conservative, government-supporting kind of entryism, the GDR branch of theCommunist Party of Germany/Marxists–Leninistswas infiltrated by theStasi.In some of the cells there were moreIMsthan real members.

New Zealand

The country's four small communist parties, theCommunist Party of New Zealand(CPNZ),Socialist Unity Party(SUP), Workers Communist League (WCL), and theSocialist Action League(SAL), have tried to influence theLabour Party,the trade unions, and various popular issues, like theanti-Springbok tour protests,Māori biculturalism,and theanti-nuclear movement.During theANZUSdiplomatic crisis 1984 to 1985, which resulted fromNew Zealand's nuclear ship ban, the pro-MoscowSUP tried to infiltrate anti-nuclear organisations, as part of a strategy of steering New Zealand's foreign policy away from its traditional ally, theUnited States.

New Zealand'sChristian Rightalso attempted to obtain electoral influence. During the1987 general election,several conservative Christian groups, including theSociety for the Protection of Unborn Children(SPUC), Women for Life and theCoalition of Concerned Citizens,tried to infiltrate theNational Partyby running conservative Christian individuals as candidates. The groups also attacked the Labour government's policies towardspeace education,sex education,abortion,Māori biculturalism, and the ANZUS alliance. Several CCC supporters contested the 1987 election as National candidates, including Rob Wheeler (Mount Albert), Andrew Stanley (Onehunga), and Howard Martin (Papatoetoe). However, the efforts met little electoral success, and the Lange government was re-elected for a second term.

During the 1990s, another conservative tendency emerged within the National Party by the establishment of the informal Christian Voice in 1998. However, the group had faded by the mid-2000s, when several minor Christian political parties including former National MPGraeme Lee'sChristian Democrat Party,Peter Dunne'sUnited Future,andBrian Tamaki'sDestiny New Zealandemerged to court the evangelical Christian vote.As a result of the attempts at taking over the party, National quietly centralised its candidate selection procedures.

Despite the tensions with moral conservatives, National Party leaderDon Brashstill accepted covert assistance from theExclusive Brethrenduring the2005 general elections.The assistance included organizing a separate electoral canvassing and advertising campaign that attacked the incumbent Labour andGreencoalition government.The strategy backfired and contributed toPrime MinisterHelen Clark's second re-election.The controversy arising from the Exclusive Brethren's canvassing on behalf of National, Brash's successor, Prime MinisterJohn Key,explicitly rejected any assistance from the Exclusive Brethren during the2008 election.

Portugal

After the downfall of the centrist to centre-leftDemocratic Renewal Partyin 1990s it was taken over by far-right elements which transformed the party into theNational Renovator Partysoon after.

United Kingdom

See also:Militant in Liverpool

A long-lasting entry tactic was used by theTrotskyistgroupMilitant tendency,whose initially small numbers of supporters worked within the mainstreamLabour Partyfrom the 1960s. By the early 1980s they still numbered only in the low thousands but had managed to gain a controlling influence of theLabour Party Young SocialistsandLiverpool City Council,however shortly thereafter Militant activists began to be expelled after an internal Labour ruling that their organisation breached the party's constitution. A remnant of the group now operates within the Labour Party asSocialist Appealbut the majority then left to form theSocialist Party (England and Wales).

The GuardiancolumnistGeorge Monbiotclaims that a group, influenced by the defunctMarxistLiving Marxismmagazine, has pursued entryist tactics in British scientific and media organisations since the late 1990s.

The2015 Labour Party leadership electionwas the target of a campaign byThe Daily Telegraphfor Conservative sympathisers to join the Labour party (at a fee of £3) in order to vote for theleft-wingcandidateJeremy Corbyn,with the view that he would render the party unelectable.That strategy was labelled 'entryism' by observers,though it is unclear that it qualifies under the commonly-understood definition, unlike the broader term 'subversion'.Likewise, the left-wingMomentum grouphas been accused of entryism and engaging in the Militant-style tactics, with movements made by prominent Labour MPs (current and suspended) to deselect MPs who did not support Corbyn.

In the wake of theBrexitvote in 2016, some supporters of Leave feared that the government would negotiate a deal that would keep far too many ties between with theEuropean Unionand so members of theUnited Kingdom Independence Party(UKIP), which had struggled politically since Brexit, joined theConservative Party,along with previously independent Leave supporters. The movement was especially pronounced in the constituencies of Conservative MPs who had supported Remain.The groupLeave.EUran campaigns that urged its supporters to join the Conservatives to deselect MPs who did not support ahard Brexit.Those who joined the party during that period were credited with helpingBoris Johnsonwin the leadership election (and thus become Prime Minister) after Prime MinisterTheresa May's resignation.

United States

See also:Crossover voting

Supporters ofFred Newmanand theNew Alliance Partyjoined the Reform Partyen masseand gained some level of control over the New York State affiliate of the Reform Party.Another United States politician,Lyndon LaRouche,had attempted an entryist strategy in theDemocratic Partysince 1980, but with little success.Democratic Socialist Organizing Committeeis noted for its "realignment" strategy efforts within theDemocratic Partyin the 1970s, while its modern-day successorDemocratic Socialists of Americais primarily focused on running its members on the Democratic Party platform (e.g.Alexandria Ocasio-CortezandRashida Tlaib), or endorsing other democratic socialists at doing so (e.g.Bernie Sanders).ManyLibertarian Partyorright-libertarian-leaning politicians have run for office asRepublicans,and several (such asRon Paul,his sonRand Paul,Mark Sanford,Justin Amash,Thomas Massie,andGary Johnson) have been successful, although some of them have subsequently left the Republican Party.

Laws against entryism

Some jurisdictions have passed laws to discourage entryism. InNew York State elections,changes in party affiliation by voters already registered are not formally processed until a week after that year'sgeneral electionto prevent entryism in aprimary electionsince they are open only to voters who are already enrolled in the party holding the primary.The state'sWilson Pakulalaw, passed afterAmerican Labor Partycandidates were entering and winning Democratic and Republican Party primaries in the late 1940s, also requires candidates who are not members of a particular political party to get formal permission from the relevant jurisdiction's party committees before they run in a primary election.

See also

• Communist front
• Fifth Column
• Spoils system
• Long march through the institutions
• Salami tactics
• Socialist Labour Party (Ireland)
• State capture

External links

• "Problems of Entrism"byTed Grantwith an introduction byPeter Taaffeand various writings byLeon Trotskyas published in aMilitant tendencybooklet.