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Thirty-five years of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung: a good reason for us to celebrate! That a left-wing educational institution should continue to survive and thrive over such a long period of time should not be taken for granted — from its inception all the way up to the present day, it has required a high level of commitment from all those involved.
Thirty-five years of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung is also a moment for us to take stock of what we have achieved, where we have come from, how we got here, and where we want to go next. In other words, we want to combine a look back at the history and founding of our foundation and the national and international network that it has built up over the last 35 years, with a look ahead at what might be in store for our foundation, as well as what we would like to see happen.
This book is dedicated to this combination of past, present, and future. Over the last 35 years, the historical conditions in which the RLS operates and the resulting societal problems we focus on have changed significantly. In this shifting climate, we have continually reevaluated our work and honed our methodological and technical approaches with the aim of reaching new target audiences.
Despite these changes, we remain true to our mission. As a left-wing think tank, we combine analysis of current social situations with the development of left-wing alternatives, always aiming to communicate these alternatives in our educational work, introduce new ways of thinking into political discourse, and enact change in our own way. For 35 years, our work has centred on social analysis, proposing left-wing alternatives to contemporary issues, political education, and network building.
At the same time, the existence and growth of the RLS is closely tied to the existence and growth of our affiliated political party, Die Linke and its forerunners. The highs and lows that it has experienced, its successes, failures, and crises — reflected in the federal election results — all affect the scope of our ability to act. Against the backdrop of the party’s crisis at the beginning of the 2020s, it initially looked as if our foundation, if not necessarily in a fight for survival, would nonetheless be facing difficult times ahead. However, following the federal elections in February of 2025, we can now say that:
Going forward, the RLS will continue to have a presence as a left-wing think tank, and its ideas are going to shift the country’s political discourse, and thus the political agenda!