October 17, 2025
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“Växjös Gnista was launched in June this year, and a third issue is now on its way. It is a very promising initiative that deserves all the support it can get. We interviewed Mahir Gezmis, a member of Växjös Gnista’s editorial team and one of the initiators behind the project.
An exciting new magazine project was launched in Växjö this summer. The first issue, on the theme of solidarity, was published in June, and the second issue, on the theme of activism, was published in September.
Växjös Gnista presents itself as a Växjö-based magazine that wants to connect with and contribute to an anti-fascist, socialist, and LGBTQI+-inclusive democratic movement. The magazine is open to contributions from writers, artists, and activists who “stand up for revolutionary and democratic values” and will “offer in-depth analysis through articles, interviews, reports, literary and artistic works that reflect on and evaluate the contemporary political situation in Sweden and the world.”
Växjös Gnista publishes predominantly in Swedish, with a fair amount of material in English, and is also open to contributions in other languages. The magazine is published in both print and digital formats.
The newspaper is governed by an editorial board, which is the highest decision-making body. Decisions regarding publications and other matters are made jointly. The editorial board is open to new members who wish to join the work. The editorial board applies democratic centralism. “Once a decision has been made, it is binding on all participants. This is the essence of democratic centralism: broad participation in the discussion, unity in execution,” the magazine states in its statutes.
The Communist Workers’ Association welcomes the initiative in Växjö and has interviewed one of the initiators, Mahir Gezmis, who is a member of the editorial board of Växjös Gnista.
Can you tell us why you have taken this initiative and started publishing a magazine?
“First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to participate in this interview.
Capitalism is currently in a deep crisis, and Swedish capitalism is no exception. While capitalism continues to expand, we are witnessing recurring crises, the rise of fascism, and the growing danger of a third world war, says Mahir.
Despite this development, there is hardly any genuinely revolutionary alternative in Sweden, a situation that largely also applies in many other European countries.
Växjös Gnista was founded to serve as a platform for inviting progressive forces and individuals to promote both public and private discussions on how criticism and self-criticism can be used to develop revolutionary alternatives based on scientific socialism.
“Our hope is that this initiative will help to broaden and deepen the debate among all revolutionary, democratic, and progressive forces throughout the country,” says Mahir.
What political basis have you agreed on?
In short, Växjö Gnista’s political foundation is based on a few general principles: opposition to capitalism and imperialism, opposition to imperialist wars of aggression, openness to communism, protection of the environment, and opposition to all forms of capitalist oppression, including that directed against women, LGBTQ people, immigrants, and other marginalized groups.
But it is still a little difficult to clearly define Växjös Gnista’s ideological and political foundation, says Mahir. Of course, each member of the editorial board has their own ideological and political views. However, we are convinced that such individual convictions, although valuable, remain limited to the personal level.
“If we are to build a genuine collective movement that is socialist, it is important to develop a common political foundation through active cooperation and a proletarian culture of debate. This is an ongoing process that is closely intertwined with our cooperation with other groups and organizations. We believe that this is the only truly democratic way to develop our political line, both in practice and through criticism and self-criticism.
Do you focus solely on publishing the journal, or do you also engage in local activism?
There are three fundamental forms of struggle against capitalism: economic, political, and ideological. Växjös Gnista focuses primarily on the ideological struggle. Since the socialist alternatives were defeated several decades ago, bourgeois and petty-bourgeois ideologies have come to dominate virtually all areas of life.
Finding a way out of this situation requires a tough ideological and philosophical struggle. History has shown that without a correct and scientific ideological struggle, no genuine revolution is possible, says Mahir.
“But this focus does not mean that we neglect other forms of struggle. We do our best to engage in local activities whenever possible, as long as these efforts do not jeopardize the identity of the newspaper. As I mentioned earlier, our main goal is to bring together revolutionary and progressive forces, while developing revolutionary alternatives through debate. This process is already underway, and we are convinced that the results of this development will not remain limited to our newspaper.
In addition, we are members of the United Front, an international alliance of revolutionary and progressive organizations, parties, and trade union activists working together against the threats of fascism and imperialist war. Through this internationalist struggle, new forms of work and activities will continue to emerge and develop, says Mahir.
How has the initiative been received?
It was quite a surprise, to be honest. We never expected such a large and diverse group to join the magazine with their different perspectives and views. In the first two issues, it is clear that people from different ideological backgrounds have shown interest and actively contributed.
“This confirms that we made the right decision in launching a magazine with such goals. However, we are still a relatively small group working hard to establish stronger ties with the Swedish labor movement and other prominent voices and representatives of progressive movements,” says Mahir.
“There is still a lot of work to be done, and we warmly welcome anyone who shares the same passion and commitment to join us in this work.”
Are there similar initiatives elsewhere?
No one can deny that there are many people within various social movements who are deeply committed to defending the interests of the masses. But if these movements are really going to challenge and ultimately defeat capitalism, sooner or later they’ll have to start asking questions about fundamental social change—questions about the dominant ways of thinking among the masses, the ability to see different forms of oppression in a holistic way, and the need to understand capitalism as a coherent whole.
Beyond that, it is important to develop real alternatives through the collective efforts of all oppressed people. Each of us involved in today’s social movements comes from different ideological and political backgrounds. Växjös Gnista has created a platform to raise important and urgent issues and, through this process, give revolutionary thinking space to defend and develop itself, naturally in its best form.
Even the best revolutionary ideas would remain mere theories if they were not translated into a sharp ideological struggle against bourgeois and petty-bourgeois ways of thinking, a struggle that must be waged through criticism and self-criticism and that must be supported by joint practical efforts. Växjös Gnista has taken up this struggle, but much work remains to be done, Mahir concludes.
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We would like to express our gratitude to the Communist Workers’ Association for drawing attention to our work!
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