Radical Left Parties in Europe (Routledge Studies in Extremism and Democracy)

What has happened to the European radical left after the collapse of the USSR? How has it reacted, reformed, even revived? This new volume is one of the first to provide an overview of the main developments in contemporary European radical left parties (those defining themselves as to the left of, and not merely on the left of social democracy), which are now an increasingly visible phenomenon in European party politics. Unlike many of the existing studies it focuses on communist and non-communist parties, addresses their non-parliamentary and international activity, and takes a pan-European perspective, focusing on both Eastern and Western Europe.   March focuses on key contemporary left parties, the nature of their radicalism and their ideological and strategic positions, and overall, addresses their current dynamics and immediate electoral prospects. The book argues that radical left parties are still afflicted by existential crises about the nature of ‘socialism’, and the future of communist parties in particular is under threat. The most successful left parties are no longer extremist, but present themselves as defending values and policies that social democrats have allegedly abandoned, focus on pragmatism rather than ideology and increasingly orientate themselves towards government.   Providing a significant contribution to existing literature in the field, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of comparative politics, political parties and radical politics.

Politics & Social Sciences

March, Luke

Politics & Government

Routledge

<p>With the stability of the European Union under threat and tensions between the national and supranational increasing, what will happen to the EU party system?For the internationalist European left, European integration and the role of transnational parties represent a central contention and concern. In May 2004, the European radical left, representing parties to the left of social democracy and the Green party family, created the transnational European Left Party (EL), uniting parties like the German Die Linke, Italian Rifondazione Comunista and Greek Syriza. In 2009, the EL fought the European Parliament elections on the basis of a common manifesto, emerging over the last decade as an apparently stable actor at EU level.As the first detailed study of the EL this book analyses the role of the party in European politics and the politics of the European radical left. What challenges will the EL have to overcome in order for it to become a significant force for the creation of a genuine, democratic European polity? To what degree has the EL enabled an increase in the electoral or policy influence of the radical left in Europe? Written by two of the foremost experts on the European left, this book is essential reading to those interested in how the left has fared in post-crisis Europe.</p>

The European Left Party

Dunphy, Richard

Legal Theory & Systems

Manchester University Press

Russia and Islam

Dannreuther, Roland

Taylor&Francis

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