Beginning with a review of the numerous studies that tend to emphasize the national, societal dimension of the Italian and French communist parties, Cyrille Guiat's book is a comparative study of the two parties from the early 1960s to the early 1980s.

This volume is a systematic comparative study of the French and Italian Communist parties in the period from the early 1960s to the early 1980s. Focusing on the municipal level, it carefully exmaines the cultural policies implemented by the parties in two communist strongholds, Ivry-sur-Seine (France) and Reggio Emilia (Italy). The author uses these two case studies to test empirically the hypothesis found almost universally in the comparative literature. That is, it is generally argued that the French Communist Party (PCF) remained an orthodox, sectarian Leninist party, which aimed at creating a Soviet style society in France, whereas the former Italian Communist Party (PCI) is depicted as a more moderate party, which rejected the Soviet-style model after World War II and embarked on a new strategy, veering towards reformism and social democracy.