At one time about a third of the world`s population lived under communist rule. It persists today in the world`s most populous country, China, and elsewhere in Asia and Latin America. It has been one of the most influential political philosophies we have ever seen, and its history is studied more actively than ever before on the basis of the archives and other sources that have recently become available. The aim of this course is to consider the theory and practice that have informed communist rule from its outset (in Soviet Russia in 1917) to the present day, giving due attention to the global nature of communist rule and to its place within the politics of the left more broadly.