A History Of Social Democracy In Postwar Europe

Social democratic ideology, social democratic political parties, relations with organized labour and business, and foreign policy are considered in this history of social democracy in post-war Europe.

The current perception of democratic crisis in Western Europe gives a renewed urgency to a new perspective on the way democracy was reconstructed after World War II and the principles that underpinned its postwar transformation. This study accounts for the formation of the postwar democratic order in Western Europe by studying how the main political actors in France, West Germany and Italy conceptualized democracy and strove over its meaning. Based upon a wide range of librarian and archival sources from these countries, it tracks changing conceptions of democracy among leading politicians, political parties, and leaders of social movements, and unveils how they were deeply divided over key principles of postwar democracy – such as the political party, the free market economy, representation, and civic participation. By comparing three national debates on the question what democracy meant and how it should be institutionalized and practiced, this study argues that only in the 1970s conceptions of democracy converged and key political actors accepted each other as democrats with similar conceptions of democracy. This study thereby deconstructs the myth of the quick emergence of one consensual Western European model of democracy after 1945, demonstrates that its formation was a long and contentious process in which national differences were often of crucial importance, and contributes to an enhanced understanding of the historical roots of the current sentiment of democratic crisis.

Social democratic ideology, social democratic political parties, relations with organized labour and business, and foreign policy are considered in this history of social democracy in post-war Europe.

With a combined focus on social democrats in Northern and Southern Europe, this book crucially broadens our understanding of the transformation of European social democracy from the mid-1970s to the early-1990s. In doing so, it revisits the transformation of this ideological family at the end of the Cold War, and before the launch of Third Way politics, and examines the dynamics and power relations at play among European social democratic parties in a context of nascent globalisation. The chronological, methodological and geographical approaches adopted allow for a more nuanced narrative of change for European social democracy than the hitherto dominant centric perspective. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of social democracy, the European Centre-left, political parties, ideologies and more broadly to comparative politics and European politics and history.

The revolutions in Eastern Europe and the recasting of socialism in Western Europe since 1989 have given rise to intense debate over the origins, character, and implications of the "crisis" of socialism. Is socialism in ideological, electoral, or organizational decline? Is the decline inevitable or can socialism be revitalized? This volume draws together historians and political scientists of Eastern and Western European politics to address these questions. The collection begins with an historical overview of socialism in Western Europe and moves toward the suggestion of a framework for a post-socialist discourse. Among the topics covered are: the birth and death of communism and a regime type in Eastern Europe; how different forms of national communism were smothered by Sovietization in the postwar period; the origins of revolutions in Eastern Europe; the potential for social democracy in Hungary; the role of the Left in a reunified German; and directions for the Left in general. Contributors. Geoff Eley, Konrad Jarausch, Herbert Kitschelt, Christiane Lemke, Andrei Markovits, Gary Marks, Wolfgang Merkel, Norman Naimark, Iván and Szonja Szelénya, Sharon Wolchik

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on Oxford Academic and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Across Europe, people are deeply concerned about the state of democracy. The Rise and Fall of the People's Parties shifts the attention away from ever-changing populist politicians that capture newspaper headlines to the centre-left and centre-right people's parties that used to buttress the democratic order over the past decades, but which are now in steep decline. Why does the crisis of these parties contribute so profoundly to today's crisis of democracy? And why were these parties so important for the stabilization and legitimation of democracy in the past century in the first place? By providing a long-term and transnational account of the history of democracy in modern Europe, The Rise and Fall of the People's Parties reveals the striking parallels between the history of democracy and the history of the people's parties since 1918. The first part of the book shows how the failure to turn traditional working-class and confessional mass parties into people's parties played a vital role in the collapse of democracy in the 1920s and 1930s. It also explores the attractiveness of the people's party ideal centred on moderation, compromise and openness to pioneering politicians in the mid-century. The second part of the book then traces the practical application and breakthrough of this ideal in the decades after World War II and shows how this contributed to the stabilization and legitimation of democracy in the postwar decades. In the final part of the book, Corduwener turns to the slow decline of the people's parties since the mid-1970s. It explores how their failure to represent volatile and polarized societies was reflected in their aim to turn into 'open' and 'flexible' parties focused primarily on providing governmental efficiency - and how this eventually turned against them by alienating their members and voters. In so doing, Corduwener offers an original and timely study of twentieth century democracy that transcends traditional party groupings, divisions between eras, and national boundaries. The book will be important reading for all historians of European democracy, as well as journalists, policymakers and practitioners interested in the current state of democracy in and outside the region today.

This book offers concise and accessible coverage of the historical background, the organization and policies of the fifteen social democratic parties in the European Union, with a focus on the postwar period to current events. It combines an updated study of the evolution of each party's ideology, sociology and policies, with attention also to the impact of European integration on the fortunes of social democratic forces. This systematic study responds to the fast-growing changes which social democracy has experienced over the past twenty years and examines the different responses to the parties' changing political and economic environments. The book will be useful to students and academics studying comparative politics and European politics, and to activists and professionals in the parties concerned. The book contains contact details and important reference information for each party.