The Radical Sources of the Crisis in West European Communist Parties

The wave of radicalism that swept through Europe from the late 1960s did not pass the communist parties by but struck them with particular force. Evidence of this impact can be found in a study of the social composition of congress delegates, and from recent accounts of the experiences of the communist parties during the 1970s. The story of this trauma over one decade requires us to rethink the notion of Eurocommunism. What emerges from such a reconsideration is a distinction between a process of modernization on which many communist parties have embarked in the post-war period, and particularly since 1956, and a ‘new member’ factor which characterized the radical surge of the 1970s. This ‘new member’ factor brought a new style of militancy into the communist parties which challenged their traditional norms. This radicalism raised the fortunes of the communist parties during the 1970s, but it also brought about the crisis of the end of the decade. Whilst it has been responsible for the destruction of the crisis period, it has also provided the ideas and the forces for possible new strategies

Aesthetics · Communism · Communist state · Economic history · Modernization theory · Period (music · Political economy · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Communism, Protests, Social Movements · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · History · Law

• Communist party organisation, frontism and linkage strategy during and after the crisis

  Open Access•Costas Eleftheriou, Dimitris Papanikolopoulos et al.•Comparative European Politics•2026

  Añadir item

• Support for radical left parties in Western Europe

  Open Access•Luis Ramiro•European Political Science Review•2016

  Añadir item

• The environmental issue in the East of Europe

  Michael Waller•Environmental Politics•2010

  Añadir item

• New politics’ in Finland

  Kim O K Zilliacus, Kim Zilliacus•West European Politics•2001

  Añadir item