Peter Waterman: Biography

Peter Waterman (London 1936), was born into a Jewish Communist family and joined the Young Communist League in London in 1951. He worked twice for the international Communist movement in Prague, the second time for the World Federation of Trade Unions, 1966-9. He there experienced both the Prague Spring and the Soviet invasion. After leaving the Communist world - and the world of Communism - he became an academic, specialised first in Third World unions. He worked for the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, 1972-98.

He edited and published the "Newsletter of International Labour Studies" in the 1980s. After expulsion from the labour studies programme, around 1980, he moved to the politics programme, where he specialised on inter/national social movements, internationalism and alternative international (computer) communication.

After early-retirement in 1998, he has had a growing interest in the global justice and solidarity movement, whilst continuing his interest in labour internationalism. He has published widely, in several languages, in academic, political and union publications and websites. He can be found most easily on the Web by Googling