Left Parties in National Governments

by J. Olsen (Editor), M. Koï (Editor), D. Hough (Editor)

Overview

Analyzes why Left Parties enter national government, what they do when they get there and what effect this has on them. Alongside two comparative chapters, this book features detailed case-studies of European Left Parties in government.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230236509
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	07/16/2010
Edition description:	2010
Pages:	207
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

D.S. BELL Professor of Politics at the University of Leeds, UK DAG ARNE CHRISTENSEN Researcher at the Stein Rokkan Centre for Social Studies at the University of Bergen, Norway RICHARD DUNPHY Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Dundee, UK DAN KEITH Doctoral Student, the University of Sussex, UK JAMES L. NEWELL Professor of Politics, University of Salford, UK TÀNIA VERGE Lecturer in Political and Social Sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain

Table of Contents

List of Tables vii

List of Abbreviations viii

List of Contributors xi

1 From Pariahs to Players? Left Parties in National Governments Jonathan Olsen Dan Hough Micharl Koß 1

2 The Norwegian Socialist Left Party: Office-seekers in the Service of Policy? Jonathan Olsen 16

3 The French Extreme Left and Its Suspicion of Power David Bell 33

4 Between a Rock and a Hard Place: the Governing Dilemmas of Rifondazione Comunista James Newell 52

5 A Poisoned Chalice? Finland's Left Alliance and the Perils of Government Richard Dunphy 69

6 The Spanish United Left - The Belated And Troublesome Transition from Policy - to Office-seeking Tània Verge 87

7 Close to, but Still Out of, Government: The Swedish Vänsterpartiet Michael Koß 105

8 The Danish Socialist People's Party: Still Waiting After all These Years Dag Arne Christensen 121

9 From Pariah to Prospective Partner? The German Left Party's Winding Path towards Government Dan Hough 138

10 Ready to Get Their Hands Dirty: The Socialist party and GroenLinks in the Netherlands Dan Keith 155

11 Conclusion: Left Parties in National Governments Jonathan Olsen Dan Hough Michael Koß 173

Bibliography 186

Index 203

Editorial Reviews

'Political science's neglect of the (radical) Left since the end of the Cold War has been exceptionally short-sighted, ignoring the movement of many formerly marginal parties into the mainstream and increasingly into national government. This volume goes a considerable way towards redressing the balance. It is based on uniformly excellent contributions from a broad range of established and emerging scholars. These focus on the most significant European Left parties, the strategic choices open to them and the results of increasing participation in coalitions in an empirically-rich and theoretically-informed fashion. Overall, this intriguing volume demonstrates that although the Left remains an ideological party family, it is increasingly coalitionable and as pragmatic in its evaluation of governing possibilities as any other party family. The book demonstrates that the Left should be taken seriously, and is a must-read for any Party scholar.' - Luke March, Senior Lecturer in Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics, University of Edinburgh, UK

From the Publisher