Introduction

South Africa's socialist movement has attracted little interest from scholars despite its prominence in the country's liberation struggle and in present-day politics. The dominant body of historical writing about the South African left has been by South African Communists or former Communists. Socialism, especially Marxist socialism, sees itself as an international movement in opposition to the international capitalist system. This self-image reached its apogee during the heyday of the Comintern, in the late 1920s and 1930s. As the Comintern's policies oscillated, especially in the late 1920s and the 1930s, its officials strove to ensure that the leadership of the local Communist Parties accepted its ultimate authority. While the opening of the Comintern Archives has provoked stimulating debates and reassessments by historians of socialist movements around the world, the Communist Party of South Africa has so far escaped such scrutiny.