European communism since 1989 : towards a new European left? /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:Hudson, Kate, 1958-
Imprint:New York : St. Martin's Press, 2000.
Description:x, 245 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Language:English
Subject:Communism -- Europe.
Socialism -- Europe.
Post-communism -- Europe.
Communist parties -- Europe.
Socialist parties -- Europe.
Communism.
Communist parties.
Politics and government
Post-communism.
Socialism.
Socialist parties.
Europe -- Politics and government -- 1989-
Europe.
Format: Print Book
URL for this record:http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/4274086
Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:0312229399 (cloth)
Notes:Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-233) and index.
Review by Choice Review

Hudson (South Bank Univ., UK) examines the emergence of a new European left arising from the fall of East European socialist states, the end of the Cold War, and what has been touted as the demise of communism in the West. The author critiques many frontline scholars, including Donald Sassoon (One Hundred Years of Socialism, CH, Sept'97) and Francis Fukuyama The End of History and the Last Man, 1992), while documenting the increasing polarization in European polities and the consolidation of radical left- and right-wing parties. This 1990s trend has been prompted by openings created when communist parties moved toward social democracy and alienated their core of radical support. Moreover, throughout Europe, right- and left-wing parties have become more stable as an outgrowth of government policies that overlook the needs of lower classes. Hudson follows European communist history from the 19th century, highlighting 1989 to the present, and argues that the fall of socialist states in East Europe erased a counterpoint to Western power and markets, but that the economic problems and policy conflicts have helped communists rebound in the Yeltsin era. The final chapters offer case studies of eight countries in Western and Eastern Europe. The index is thorough and the bibliography extensive. Strongly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and above. ; Eckerd College

Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review