Book Review: The Radical Left Party Family in Western Europe, 1989–201568.1437 ChiocchettiPaolo — The Radical Left Party Family in Western Europe, 1989–2015 (Routledge, 2016). Political Studies Review15(4), Nov. 2017: 671.

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-143
Author(s):  
Davide Vittori
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Political Studies ◽  
Left Party ◽  
Party Family ◽  
Radical Left

scholarly journals The Electoral Success of the Radical Left: Explaining the Least Likely Case of the Communist Party in Graz

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manès Weisskircher
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
National Level ◽  
Current Strength ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
Party Family ◽  
Radical Left

Recently, scholars have shown a growing interest in radical left parties (RLPs). In terms of electoral success, the rise of the KPÖ Graz, the Communist Party in Austria’s second biggest city, represents perhaps the most counterintuitive case in Western Europe. Adding to previous studies, the rise of the KPÖ Graz contradicts many of the claims made and patterns found about the conditions for the electoral success of RLPs. While the national KPÖ was voted out of parliament in 1959, the Graz branch has been a member of local government since 1998. Since then, the party has managed to gain 20 per cent of the vote in three out of four elections. In 2017, the KPÖ defended its place as the second largest party in local legislature and stayed ahead of the radical right FPÖ, on the rise at the national level. In stark contrast to the Communists’ current strength, however, they did not gain even 2 per cent of the vote in 1983. This analysis shows how the party has managed to ‘own’ the issue of housing and to exploit local political opportunities in order to be electorally successful. The findings point to the importance of agency and the subnational level for RLPs, and highlight more general questions in the study of this party family.

scholarly journals THE EVOLUTION OF THE LEFT RADICAL PARTIES AND MOVEMENTS IN WESTERN EUROPE AND RUSSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 49-53
Author(s):  
A.V. Kuznetsova ◽  
◽  
S.V. Kuzmina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Round Table ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
American Experience ◽  
Left Party ◽  
Western European ◽  
The 2008 Financial Crisis ◽  
Europe Today ◽  
Radical Left

A round table on the evolution of the Western European radical left parties and movements was held online on November 19, 2020. The participants of the round table presented reports and discussed such key cases of the radical left parties as Podemos, the Unconquered France and SYRIZA. In addition, they discussed what impact the Latin American experience had on the radical left in Western Europe. In the early 21st century, radial left parties and movements in Western Europe experienced an upsurge, which was largely triggered by the 2008 financial crisis. The rise of the several radial left parties was also fueled by the mass protests that continued in Europe throughout 2010. Currently, the radical left party Podemos in Spain has lost some of its supporters and faced the need to either sacrifice its principled position or be replaced by other parties. The Unconquered France also lost a significant number of votes in the 2017 elections. Finally, the most successful of the European radical left parties - SYRIZA in Greece - also lost parliamentary elections in 2019 and was forced to become the main opposition party. The roundtable participants agreed that with the rise to power, left radicals are forced to significantly change their political discourse, deradicalize and adapt to the existing rules of the game. Radical left movements in Latin America have had an undeniable impact on the Western European left. The speakers also noted that the development of the radical left ideas in Russia differs significantly from those in Western Europe. Today, the Russian radical left has no significant influence on the political arena. This article summarizes the main aspects of the academic presentations and the discussions that accompanied them.

The (non) particularities of West European radical left party supporters: comparing left party families

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgos Charalambous ◽  
Iasonas Lamprianou
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Left Party ◽  
West European ◽  
Radical Left

So far little has been done to explore similarities and differences between radical left parties and other traditionally perceived party families of the left at the societal level. A noticeable gap thus remains in the study of the European radical left: whether and in what ways social divides form the basis of radical left party support. Using data from the fourth round of the European Social Survey (2008), for five West European countries, we investigate radical left party supporters’ socio-demographic and attitudinal characteristics, juxtaposing them with those of social democratic party supporters and green party supporters. Our approach departs from related studies by distinguishing three cognitional operations within the economic left-right axis, that are based on the distinction between ideals and their effects on reality; and by testing for intra-left divides revolving around trust. Based on insights from cleavage research, we devise a number of hypotheses, most of which test positively. Our findings suggest left party families across Western Europe do reflect certain lines of division in society, albeit with qualifications. While structural divides are not found to be significant, there appears to be correspondence between political and attitudinal divides on a three-dimensional space. These concern the cognitive divisions within the economic left-right axis, issues of political trust, and attitudes towards the environment. Our findings have conceptual and empirical implications both for the left and for investigations into cleavage politics.

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