Overview
- Reconsiders the complex and often ambiguous relationship between Western European socialist organizations and the state
- Connects the history of the Labour movement and the history of the contemporary state, uniting social and political historians
- Takes a transnational and comparative approach to the history of socialism, tracing the circulation of ideas, people and practices across national boundaries
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements (PSHSM)
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Table of contents (21 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Using the State to Democratise Society
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Front Matter
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Socialists and Civil Servants
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Front Matter
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Socialists and Changes in Capitalism and States
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
This edited volume promotes a comparative and transnational approach to the complex and ambiguous relationship between West European socialism and the contemporary state over the longue durée. It encourages a better understanding of socialism while also casting an original light on the history of the contemporary state in Europe. Socialists have been a prime political force since the late nineteenth century through to the present. Through their strength, their presence at the heart of societies, their dynamism, inventiveness, and influence, they have left their mark on the European physiognomy and helped to forge part of its identity. This is particularly true where the welfare state is concerned, and the role played by the state in constructing, embedding, and extending this social model. Surprisingly, there has been no research aiming to systematically analyse the relationship between socialism and the state. This volume fills a gap in knowledge by rejecting the media simplification and political polemic maintained by opponents of socialism – and sometimes by socialists themselves – which systematically links socialism with “statism”. It focuses on numerous case studies involving France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, and highlights the diversity of organisations within European socialism. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that the fate of this political culture depends on the socialist parties themselves but also on any new configurations that states may assume. Conversely, the future of states will also depend partly on the choices made by socialists, if they still exist and still have the means to shape decisions and make their voices heard.
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Marc Lazar is Professor of Political History and Sociology and Director of the Centre for History at Sciences Po, France. His research interests include the Left in Western Europe, the Political history of France and Italy after WW II, and populism and populists in Europe.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: European Socialists and the State in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
Editors: Mathieu Fulla, Marc Lazar
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in the History of Social Movements
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41540-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-41539-6Published: 06 August 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-41542-6Published: 07 August 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-41540-2Published: 05 August 2020
Series ISSN: 2634-6559
Series E-ISSN: 2634-6567
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXIX, 400
Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations
Topics: Labor History, Social History, History of Modern Europe, Political History