Loren Balhorn

Berlin, Germany

Lead Editor at Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung

Editor-in-Chief at Jacobin

Translator and Editor at Freelance

Editor-in-chief @jacobinmag_de Opinions obviously my own

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Articles

Victory Day Is About Celebrating Liberation From Fascism

6 days ago | jacobin.com | Loren Balhorn

“No inviting Russian and Belarusian representatives to commemorations” — thus reads a nonbinding directive issued to German government officials by the Foreign Office, with regard to the eightieth anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Should the situation escalate, the circular continues, states and municipalities should consider calling the police to have Russian and Belarusian diplomats removed from the premises.
Is There an Alternative in Germany?

2 months ago | znetwork.org | Loren Balhorn |William Shoki

Germany’s recent elections marked a turning point in the country’s political landscape. While the center-right CDU has reclaimed power, the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has achieved its strongest result yet, consolidating its influence, particularly in former East Germany. The left, long in decline, has shown signs of revival, but faces an uphill battle in a political landscape increasingly defined by economic stagnation, right-wing populism, and geopolitical uncertainty.
Loren Balhorn, Leaning Right — Sidecar

2 months ago | newleftreview.org | Loren Balhorn

With a couple of weeks of hindsight, the biggest surprise in the German federal elections was that the political mainstream ended up doing as well as it did. Granted, the traditional parties of the centre-right and -left faced historically low returns, with the Social Democrats (SPD) scraping together some 16.4%, their lowest result since 1887, and their Christian Democratic (CDU) counterparts 28.5% – not quite as bad as last time around, but still their second-worst result in history.
Is there an alternative in Germany?

2 months ago | africasacountry.com | Loren Balhorn |William Shoki |Tom Menger |Caitlin L Chandler

WS The February 23 election produced some interesting results. The CDU has returned to power, while the far-right AfD secured its best-ever election result. How should we interpret this shift? Is it part of a broader rightward turn in European politics, or are domestic factors driving this change? LB Well, there’s definitely a European context to this shift. That much is obvious.
The Improbable Resurgence of Die Linke

Feb 10, 2025 | znetwork.org | Loren Balhorn

When former Die Linke leader Sahra Wagenknecht and her supporters quit to form their own party in October 2023, both sides of the split seemed confident that they would be the main beneficiaries. Her Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) hoped that, finally freed of their former comrades’ “lifestyle leftism,” they could reach out to the broad middle of society and win back disillusioned voters who had drifted to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
The Improbable Resurgence of Die Linke

Feb 10, 2025 | jacobin.com | Loren Balhorn

When former Die Linke leader Sahra Wagenknecht and her supporters quit to form their own party in October 2023, both sides of the split seemed confident that they would be the main beneficiaries. Her Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) hoped that, finally freed of their former comrades’ “lifestyle leftism,” they could reach out to the broad middle of society and win back disillusioned voters who had drifted to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
The Improbable Resurgence of Die Linke

Feb 10, 2025 | msn.com | Loren Balhorn

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Germany’s Social Democrats Failed Miserably

Dec 3, 2024 | jacobin.com | Loren Balhorn

One of the sayings most often (falsely) attributed to Vladimir Lenin holds that “there are decades where nothing happens, and weeks when decades happen.” Outgoing German federal chancellor Olaf Scholz, who doubtless read the Russian revolutionary when he was a leading face of the Marxist-inclined youth wing of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), may very well have thought of these lines earlier this month.
Israel is hurtling into the political abyss

Nov 29, 2024 | links.org.au | Aida Touma-Sliman |Loren Balhorn

Since 7 October 2023, the lives not only of Israelis and Palestinians, but indeed of everyone living in the region have been radically transformed for the worst. The brutal war in Gaza, now expanding into Lebanon, threatens to mutate into a forever war, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government stake their political survival on defeating Israel’s mortal enemies and annexing as much Palestinian territory as they can.
A Mutiny Against the West’s Order

Oct 15, 2024 | portside.org | Loren Balhorn

A Mutiny Against the West’s Order Published October 15, 2024 For a decade or so, the idea of a “world order” led by the West has been coming apart at the seams. The United States is increasingly unable to play its self-proclaimed role as global policeman, its legitimacy stained by disastrous illegal wars abroad and the rougher edges of its own domestic political combat. Rising powers like China and India are no longer content to play second fiddle to the world hegemon.