British Politics in the Global Age: Can Social Democracy Survive? / Edition 1

by Joel Krieger

Overview

Joel Krieger provides an in-depth study of New Labour's model of government and the political challenges it faces. He analyzes the interaction of global processes and domestic politics from the organization of production to the formation of class, ethnic, and gender-based identities. Krieger develops an original framework for analyzing New Labour in comparison to three models of social democracy and places the British case firmly in the context of alternative national models and European debates.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195215755
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/04/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Joel Krieger is Norma Wilentz Hess Professor of Poltical Science, Wellesley College, USA

Table of Contents

PrefacePart I. Situating the New Labour1. Social Democracy: The British Case in Theoretical and Comparative Perspective2. New Labour: Regime Characteristics, Strategic Options, DilemmasPart II. The Organization of Production3. Social Democracy, Class, and National Policy Sovereignty4. Globalization, Post-Fordism, and the British ModelPart III. The Unmaking of the British Working Class5. Women, Work, and Social Policy6. Ethnic Minority Groups: Employment and Settlement PatternsPart IV. Modular Politics7. Modularity, Identities, and Cultural Repertoires8. National Identities9. Communities: Actual and ImaginedConclusion10. Challenges to Contemporary British Government

Editorial Reviews

"This book is an important and enriching contribution to the analysis of British politics. It eschews the language of 'no alternative' to argue that in a global age New Labor can and should seek to craft a distinct form of social democratic politics equipped for a multinational and multiethnic Britain. It deserves to be widely read."—American Political Science Review

"This is an ambitious and original study of the politics of New Labour, which analyzes how social democratic politics have been transformed by changes taking place in the organization of production and the composition of the working class, and by the rise of new identities. It offers a fresh perspective and a challenging assessment of what New Labour needs to do to carry its project through to success."—Andrew Gamble, University of Sheffield

"This is a powerful and original argument for the renewal of social democracy in Britain. Like Tony Blair, Joel Krieger recognizes that the Labour Party must break radically with the welfare state which it took the lead in establishing after World War Two. Stating clearly what he means by the catch-all term 'globalization,' he shows how it makes the old model obsolete. In Krieger's opinion, that analysis also reveals the shortcomings of Blair's proposed 'Third Way,' and, moreover, suggests how the social democratic ideal can be adapted in politics, policies, and institutions to the needs of the global age."—Samuel H. Beer, Harvard University (Emeritus)

"It is most exciting to have a book on New Labour that focuses not on political parties or personalities or even just on economic and constitutional challenges, but on our changed social conditions—and that includes new ethnicities and transnational identities. Ethnic minority groups are struggling with what community means—in practical terms, what it means to be Muslim, or Indian, or black. Krieger sees these debates as key to the reconceptualization of collectivity today and challenges New Labour to connect these debates to its core value of community. His understanding of a new multicultural social democracy is an important contribution to the reformulation of center-left politics—and not just in Britain."—Tariq Modood, University of Bristol

From the Publisher