Source description last updated: 5 July 2022

In brief: The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, RLS) is a German political foundation close to the party “Die Linke” (“The Left”) and is promoting a democratic socialism by means of projects, publications and exhibitions.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Selected publications in the form of analyses and surveys.

Monthly coverage on ecoi.net for countries of priorities A-C.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

“The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung is affiliated with the Left Party in the Federal Republic of Germany. [...]

Our vision for a future society rests on the full realisation of democratic and social rights for all people, a socially just and ecologically sustainable global economic order, gender equality and feminism, international solidarity, and peace.” (Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Centre for International Dialogue and Cooperation, undated)

“The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung aims to:

• Organize political education and disseminate information on the social relations governing our globalized, unjust and hostile world
• Provide a venue for critical analysis of contemporary capitalism while serving as both a hub for programmatic discussions around a modern conception of democratic socialism as well as a socialist think tank generating political alternatives
• Serve as a forum in Germany and abroad fostering dialogue between socialist forces, movements and organizations, left-minded intellectuals and non-governmental organizations
• Grant funding to young scholars via undergraduate and doctoral scholarships
• Provide impulses and inspiration to independent socialist political action and support initiatives for peace and international understanding towards a socially just and solidary world” (Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: About the Stiftung, undated)

Funding

“The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung is a political Stiftung associated with the political party Die Linke. Like other Stiftungen associated with political parties in Germany, it is mainly financed through the budget of the federal government.” Contributions “rose from 30.6 million in 2010 to 81.6 million euros in 2020.” In 2020, 46.57 percent, which is more than 39 million euros, came from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation received almost 15 million euros from the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) and 13 million euros from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), as well as a total of 7.8 million euros from the Foreign Office (AA). (Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung: 2020 Annual Report, October 2021, p. 90-95)

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: No particular focus
Thematic focus: History, inequality/social struggles, state/democracy, international/transnational, societal alternatives, culture/media

Methodology:

“The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation takes the form of an association, whose highest institution is the General Assembly. This assembly makes the fundamental decisions on the work of the foundation on the basis of the articles of association and elects the executive board. Furthermore, the articles of association define the establishment of further bodies to support the work of the foundation. [...] With the scientific advisory council, the foundation also has an advisory body that contributes to the qualitative development of the work of the foundation, most notably from an analytical perspective. A number of working groups and discussion groups serve as an advisory board in connection with specific topics and areas.” (Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Vorstand/Verein, undated, working translation ACCORD)

“Currently, there are more than 20 discussion groups in the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. They emerged from primarily voluntary structures and have since 2007 established themselves as permanent communication forums, in which experts and interested person discuss topics of historical as well as current significance.” (Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Gesprächskreise, undated, working translation ACCORD)

“The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS) is a left-wing foundation which, together with its international department, the Centre for International Dialogue and Cooperation (CID), is active across the world in fostering and providing political education. The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung maintains regional and international offices in over twenty locations, and collaborates with hundreds of partner organisations, political bodies, and individuals in more than 80 countries.” (Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Centre for International Dialogue and Cooperation, undated)

“The Historical Centre for Democratic Socialism combines the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung’s archives, library, and History Unit. Its main task is to coordinate and to strategically develop the foundation’s work on historical issues. [...] The Historical Centre cooperates with many institutions and partner organizations in Germany and abroad. It publishes a monthly newsletter and is active on social media [...].” (Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Historical Centre for Democratic Socialism, undated)

The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation also operates the “Institute for Critical Social Analysis” (“Institut für Gesellschaftsanalyse”), which is tasked with political-strategic analysis and debate.

Languages of publications:

German and English

Further reading / links:

Website of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation: Institute for Critical Social Analysis, undated
https://www.rosalux.de/en/foundation/ifg/

Website of the Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation in Brussels, undated
https://www.rosalux.eu/

Heisterkamp. Ulrich: Think Tanks der Parteien? Eine vergleichende Analyse der deutschen politischen Stiftungen, 2018
https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783658185213

Methodological note:

ecoi.net's source descriptions contain background information on an organisation’s mission & objective, funding and reporting methodology, as well as on how we cover the source. The descriptions were prepared after researching publicly accessible information within time constraints. Most information contained in a source description was taken from the source itself. The aim is to provide a brief introduction to the sources covered regularly, offering information on relevant aspects in one place in a systematic manner. 

All links accessed 5 July 2022.