To mark ten years since Labour's election, the next generation of British and US political thinkers, including MPs, Ministers and policy specialists have come together to outline what the next phase of the progressive agenda should be and how it can be achieved.
Using evidence-based research and the most promising new theories, this collection of essays will consider the direction of progressive governance, politics and policy in the next decade.

In Agrarian History of the Cuban Revolution, the Brazilian historian Joana Salem Vasconcelos presents in clear language the complicate challenge of overcoming Latin America's underdevelopment condition, even though a revolutionary process. Based on diverse historical sources, she demonstrates why the sugar plantation economic structure in Cuba was not entirely changed by the 1959's Revolution. The author narrates in detail the three dimensions of Cuban agrarian transformation during the decisive 1960s - the land tenure system, the crop regime, and the labour regime -, and its social and political actors. She explains the paths and detours of Cuban agrarian policies, contextualized in a labour-intensive economy that needs desperately to increase productivity and, at the same time, promised widely to emancipate workers from labour exploitation. Cuban agrarian and economic contradictions are well-synthetized with the concept of Peripheral Socialism.

Based on research in previously closed Soviet archives, this book sheds light on the formative years of Soviet city planning and on state efforts to consolidate power through cityscape design. Stepping away from Moscow's central corridors of power, Heather D. DeHaan focuses her study on 1930s Nizhnii Novgorod, where planners struggled to accommodate the expectations of a Stalinizing state without sacrificing professional authority and power. Bridging institutional and cultural history, the book brings together a variety of elements of socialism as enacted by planners on a competitive urban stage, such as scientific debate, the crafting of symbolic landscapes, and state campaigns for the development of cultured cities and people. By examining how planners and other urban inhabitants experienced, lived, and struggled with socialism and Stalinism, DeHaan offers readers a much broader, more complex picture of planning and planners than has been revealed to date.

The New Left was founded in 1962, and as a social and political protest movement, it captured the attention of the nation in the Sixties. By 1968, the New Left was marching in unison with hundreds of political action groups to achieve one goal—the end of the war in Vietnam. Under J. Edgar Hoover's direction, the FBI went from an intelligence collection agency during WWII, to an organization that tried to undermine protest movements like the New Left. Hoover viewed the New Left as a threat to the American way of life, so in an enormous effort of questionable legality, the FBI implemented some 285 counter-intelligence (COINTELPRO) actions against the New Left. The purpose of COINTELPRO was to infiltrate, disrupt, and otherwise neutralize the entire movement. In truth, the FBI intended to wage war on the antiwar movement. In this real-life spy story—J. Edgar Hoover and his G-Men, wiretaps, burglaries, misinformation campaigns, informants, and plants—Davis offers a glimpse into the endlessly fascinating world of the Sixties. Kent State, Columbia University, Vietnam Moratorium Day, the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the Cambodian invasion and March Against Death are all examined in this riveting account of the longest youth protest movement in American history. This is the only book devoted entirely to the New Left COINTELPRO, and the first one written after the declassification of more than 6,000 counterintelligence documents that reveal the true nature and extent of the FBI's Assault on the Left.

Both the Russian and Western press now recognize the importance of Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin as a Soviet historical figure. Fifty years after his execution in Stalinist Russia, Bukharin has been rehabilated by the Communist Party and invoked as the intellectual antecedent of Gorbachev. Challenging this view, contributors to this volume reevaluate the intellectual and political legacy of this Bolshevik revolutionary. They cover aspects of his thoughts and activities previously left unexplored or misinterpreted. They conclude that Bukharin's legacy is easily distorted when he is torn from his own political and historical context and appropriated for contemporary political movements.

Contributors to this Centenary Appraisal reexamine issues central to Bukharin's intellectual and political legacy: the social, economic, and political forms needed for transition from capitalism to socialism; the nature of the modern capitalist state; and the meaning of imperialism as a stage in the development of capitalist world economy. Also covered are his activities in the Communist International and his work in the history, philosophy, and politics of science.

Gosse, one of the foremost historians of the American postwar left, has crafted an engaging and concise synthetic history of the varied movements and organizations that have been placed under the broad umbrella known as the New Left. As one reader notes, gosse 'has accomplished something difficult and rare, if not altogether unique, in providing a studied and moving account of the full array of protest movements - from civil rights and Black Power, to student and antiwar protest, to women's and gay liberation, to Native American, Asian American, and Puerto Rican activism - that defined the American sixties as an era of powerfully transformative rebellions...His is a 'big-tent' view that shows just how rich and varied 1960s protest was.' In contrast to most other accounts of this subject, the SDS and white male radicals are taken out of the center of the story and placed more toward its margins. A prestigious project from a highly respected historian, The New Left in the United States, 1955-1975 will be a must-read for anyone interested in American politics of the postwar era.

The essays in this collection address specific themes in Volume I of Marx's "Capital." Although the essays can be read independently, they present complimentary perspectives on issues at the cutting edge of recent scholarship on Marx's work. Although all Parts of" Capital I "are discussed, the book is not intended to be a textbook. It will be read by specialists in the field as well as graduate students in the history of economic thought, political economy and philosophy.

A devastating critique of free-market politics from distinguished sociologist Pierre Bourdieu.

"Gender, Equality and Difference During and After State Socialism" examines gender as a socially and culturally constructed phenomenon which is influential in and influenced by state-led policies and structures, as well as social practices and relations and which shapes the experiences and lives of women and men. The volume explores the pivotal nature of the demise of the communist regimes, in relation both to experiences of gender and to their study in former state socialist societies. Each chapter is based on new and original research by the authors.

The return of interest in socialism and the critique of capitalism make Beyond Post-Socialism a timely work. The book explores the critical-theoretical and utopian contribution of a number of far-Left socialist currents, including anarchism, situationism and post-Marxism and thinkers, such as Castoriadis, Wallerstein, and Badiou.

The Maoist movement was the most important dissident force within International Communism in the period following World War II. Based on first-hand observation as well as the scattered research available on the Maoist movements, Alexander examines the circumstances that attracted people to the movement in each country and the evolution of the movement. Scholars and researchers interested in Marxism in the developing world will be able to trace the origins and fate of Maoist groups in Latin America, Albania, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

Where other books are either highly partisan dismissals or appreciations of the Third Way, or dull sociological accounts, this book gets behind the cliches in order to show just what is left of Labour party ideology and what the future may hold. New Labour has changed the face of Britain. Culture, class, education, health, the arts, leisure, the economy have all seen seismic shifts since the 1997 election that raised Blair to power. The Labour that rules has distanced itself from the failed Labour of the 70s and 80s, but the core remains. Labour remains gripped by its own past - unable and unwilling to shed its ties to the old Labour party, but determined to avoid the mistakes of which lead to four electoral defeats between 1979 and 1992. Cronin covers the full history of the party from its post war triumph through decades of shambolic leadership against ruthless and organised opposition to the resurgent New Labour of the 90s that finally took Britain into the new millennium.

Products of war rather than revolution, the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe emerged in a global conjuncture defined by the aftermath of the Second World War. How did these regimes manage to overcome the domestic impact of the war and build socialism at the same time? This book shows how a commitment to productivity structured the transition from the period of postwar reconstruction to the take-off of industrial development during the late 1950s. Conceived as (1) pacification of labor relations, (2) the recovery of managerial authority, (3) monetarization of everyday life, (4) rationalization and (5) austerity, the politics of productivity provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for grasping together the end of the postwar period and the building of state socialism in Eastern Europe. By revealing how the social consequences of the Second World War were absorbed in the transition to authoritarian state socialism in the age of the rolling steel mill, this book carries implications for the way in which we may think about the aftermath of wars, reconstruction and development during the second half of the twentieth century.

The first serious study analysing Labour's impact on Whitehall. It offers a theoretical engaged, but empirically rich account drawing from an extensive set of primary interview material to examine a 'New Labour' effect on the Civil Service, including its reforms to improve policy delivery and whether it has politicised Whitehall. It concludes by arguing that New Labour's approach to Whitehall have been part of a broader strategy to reconstitute the power of the Westminster Model.

Written by authorities on the legal systems of France, Britain, Germany, the United States, Israel, and Canada, this book explores the growing confrontation between democracy and racist incitement. The authors consider existing and prospective laws as they trace the efforts to enact and enforce laws that can curb racism in the early stages of its growth without violating democratic freedoms.

Throughout the book, the authors discuss their own legal and political cultures and how the subject countries are affected by historical encounters with racism. Both France and Britain have strong racist political forces and existing laws to combat them. Special attention is given to Le Pen, whose electoral support has been estimated nationally at more than twenty percent, and to the effect Britain's new legislation has had on the country's racist movement. The United States represents a case where strong constitutional guarantees against impingement upon freedom of expression have prevented the passage or juridical validation of laws restricting racist incitement. Israel finds itself struggling to define a legal remedy that can be used against racist incitement by the Kahane movement. Canada, now seeking a legal climate that will foster multiculturalism, strives to define laws against incitement that will be consistent with its newly established Charter of Freedom. And Germany, as it faces the enormous problems resulting from unification, is forced to reflect upon its own past and the challenges that an active racist movement poses for the country's future. Recommended for sociologists, political scientists, and criminal law specialists.

Now that nearly twenty years have passed since the collapse of the Soviet bloc there is a need to understand what has taken place since that historic date and where we are at the moment. Bringing together authors with different historical, cultural, regional and theoretical backgrounds, this volume engages in debates that address new questions arising from recent developments, such as whether there is a need to reject or uphold the notion of post-socialism as both a necessary and valid concept ignoring changes and differences across both time and space. The authors' firsthand ethnographies from their own countries belie such a simplistic notion, revealing, as they do, the cultural, social, and historical diversity of countries of Central and Southeastern Europe.

Socialism has been an influential force for social change for almost two centuries. Its philosophy and ideology have inspired millions while simultaneously arousing fear and revulsion in its enemies. Having emerged after the French Revolution in the effort to build upon and develop the egalitarian ideas of the Enlightenment, socialism has taken many forms. It has, furthermore, sometimes been manipulated and reformulated by opportunists who have built authoritarianism and totalitarian dictatorships in its name. Opponents seize on such examples to frighten away people who may otherwise have found socialism attractive. Socialism has survived such criticism and misrepresentation as its core principles have struck a chord with generations of people concerned with social justice. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Socialism contains a chronology, an introduction, a glossary, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on activists, politicians, political thinkers, political parties and organizations, and key topics, concepts, and aspects of socialist theory.. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Socialism.

Few parties have undergone such comprehensive organizational change as the Labour Party since 1983. Labour's organization once institutionalized the political exchange between office-seeking politicians and the party's policy-seeking trade union paymasters. Using accessible rational choice models, Thomas Quinn explores how consecutive election defeats prompted party leaders to modernize this structure to regain voters' trust, reducing union influence in policymaking, parliamentary candidate selection and leadership contests. The price may be a centralized party vulnerable to membership exit and union funding cuts.

An introduction to Eastern Europe in the last quarter of the twentieth century.

The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 spelled the end of reformist communism and the tightening of Soviet control throughout Eastern Europe. In spite of this, several countries within the Soviet Bloc managed to retain varying degrees of independence over the next two decades. Focusing on the struggle towards economic and social modernization in the region and the competing influences of East and West in a dangerous Cold War. Bulent Gokay shows how individual circumstances, as well as diverse national characteristics, made a uniform application of the Soviet model impossible, and charts the growing resistance to domination and the momentous events which finally toppled Soviet power in the region.

This volume presents biographies, written by academics and journalists, of the leading figures in the history of the Labour Party since World War II. The biographies assess the personalities and political careers of key figures who reached the senior ranks in Labour politics but never became party leaders. There are studies of: charismatic left-wingers such as Nye Bevan and Tony Benn; pillars of the movement such as Ernie Bevin; senior and highly successful ministers like Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins; leading intellectuals and writers like Anthony Crosland and Michael Foot; and, arguably, the most important woman in Labour history - Barbara Castle. The biographies are set against a background of turbulent Labour history from the landslide victory of 1945 and the years of Labour achievement under Atlee, through the Wilson years - now beginning to enjoy some rehabilitation - via the "unelectability" and near-eclipse of the later 1970s and 1980s, to the triumph of new Labour in 1997. The book focuses on the impact of each individual on Labour's fortunes, their successes and failures, their legacy and place in the history of the Labour movement and of modern Britain.

In old Russia, patron/client relations, "clan" politics, and a variety of other informal practices spanned the centuries. Government was understood to be patrimonial and personal rather than legal, and office holding was far less important than proximity to patrons. Working from heretofore unused documents from the Communist archives, J. Arch Getty shows how these political practices and traditions from old Russia have persisted throughout the twentieth-century Soviet Union and down to the present day. Getty examines a number of case studies of political practices in the Stalin era and after. These include cults of personality, the transformation of Old Bolsheviks into noble grandees, the Communist Party's personnel selection system, and the rise of political clans ("family circles") after the 1917 Revolutions. Stalin's conflicts with these clans, and his eventual destruction of them, were key elements of the Great Purges of the 1930s. But although Stalin could destroy the competing clans, he could not destroy the historically embedded patron-client relationship, as a final chapter on political practice under Putin shows. 

This book examines the EU policy of the German Social Democrats (SPD) after German unification, following their rise to power in 1998 and their record in office under Chancellor Schroeder. The study deals with policy formation in the SPD through an analysis of the opportunity structures for policy-making in the EU, Germany and the party itself. Across this time period, the SPD recalibrated its European policy to absorb the impact of German unification, deeper European integration and globalization, seeking to interpret a changing world.

This is a powerful and original survey of German social democracy breaks new ground in covering the movement's full span, from its origins after the French Revolution, to the present day. Stefan Berger looks beyond narrow party political history to relate Social Democracy to other working class identities in the period and sets the German experience within its wider European context. This timely book considers both the background and long-term perspective on the current rethinking of Social Democratic ideas and values, not only in Germany but also in France, Britain and elsewhere.

By exploring the concepts of 'crisis' and 'critique', this study offers a thought-provoking re-examination of the political and social thought of Cornelius Castoriadis in light of the current world crisis and with regard to his radical critique of both the traditional Left and contemporary capitalist societies.