Europe's Radical Left : From Marginality to the Mainstream?

Compiles contributions from leading scholars to analyse how European radical left parties have responded to the ongoing socio-economic crisis that continues to afflict the EU.

Although the most pernicious consequences of the crisis have apparently abated, the long-term political repercussions remain unclear. Whereas most attention has focused on the right-wing populist parties, the rejuvenation of the left is an unwritten story of post-crisis politics. This volume addresses this story, with three principal aims:·to examine the radical left intellectual response to the crisis, i.e. how actors conceptualise the causes of crisis and its consequences; ·to examine the radical left electoral response to the crisis, i.e. how the crisis has aided or weakened the electoral success of radical left parties and movements; ·to examine organisational responses, i.e. whether the crisis has resulted in new party structures, methods of organising, and internal party tendencies. The result is a comprehensive compendium, drawing on cutting-edge research from leading European experts to present the first comparative analysis of how the far left of the political spectrum has responded to the crisis. It furthers our understanding both of the dynamics of European party systems and the wider consequences of the Great Recession.