This profound and insightful handbook aims to promote critical reflection on the way we conceptualise and study the radical left and to advance research by asking new questions. Radical left parties in Europe have been the subjects of significant study in the last decade, aided by the demonstrable success of newer parties like the Greek Syriza and Spanish Podemos, as well as the persistence of more established actors like the German Die Linke. Nevertheless, the emergent literature remains patchy and many elements of the party family still poorly understood. This handbook brings together a range of leading analysts to provide a definitive compendium, one that provides both students and scholars with an informative and easy-to-use guide to the radical left in Europe. Through utilising a common analytical framework to analyse the radical left in 19 European countries (within and outside the EU), the Palgrave Handbook of Radical Left Parties in Europe provides a wealth of comparable data on a wide number of cases to provide a sound basis for future studies. This rigorous comparative framework, allied with the unprecedented in-depth overview of the development of the European radical left over the past two decades, makes this handbook an essential starting place for those interested in all aspects of the radical left as a party family.

This handbook provides a broad overview of left-wing extremism and its associated key issues and themes. It breaks new ground by assembling in a single volume a comparative analysis of the phenomenon that is both multidimensional and multidisciplinary. Gathering a wide range of influential scholars who have worked at length in the field of extremism studies from different perspectives, backgrounds, and geographical settings, the Palgrave Handbook of Left-Wing Extremism presents an array of thought-provoking and innovative as well as informative analyses and discussions – both historical and contemporary - about the phenomenon of left-wing extremism and of how researchers conceive of and approach it in their study. The Handbook is designed to be, for the foreseeable future, the reference work for all students, researchers, and general readers interested in achieving a comprehensive understanding of left-wing extremism in all its manifestations, subtleties, and dynamics, and both its current and its potential directions.

This handbook provides a broad overview of left-wing extremism and its associated key issues and themes. It breaks new ground by assembling a comparative analysis of the phenomenon that is both multidimensional and multidisciplinary. Gathering a wide range of influential scholars who have worked at length in the field of extremism studies from different perspectives, backgrounds, and geographical settings, the Palgrave Handbook of Left-Wing Extremism presents an array of thought-provoking and innovative as well as informative analyses and discussions – both historical and contemporary - about the phenomenon of left-wing extremism and of how researchers conceive of and approach it in their study. The Handbook is designed to be, for the foreseeable future, the reference work for all students, researchers, and general readers interested in achieving a comprehensive understanding of left-wing extremism in all its manifestations, subtleties, and dynamics, and both its current and its potential directions.

The nature of social democracy in the countries of the European Union is more significant and better understood than is indicated by the available literature. This thought-provoking handbook aims to redress this disparity by bringing together Political scientists from across Europe to provide a definitive collection on social democracy in the EU.

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.

This handbook assesses the phenomenon of populism—a concept frequently belabored, but often misunderstood in politics. Rising populism presents one of the great challenges for liberal democracies, but despite the large body of research, the larger picture remains elusive. This volume seeks to understand the causes and workings of modern-day populism, and plumb the depths of the fears and frustrations of people who have forsaken established parties. Although the main focus of this volume is political science, there are more disciplines represented in order to get a whole picture of the debate. It is comprised of strong empirical and theoretical papers that also bear social relevance.

A historical analysis of radical left parties and movements in Europe spanning the late 1960s to the anti-austerity movements of the late 2000s