After the Cold War, its history must be reassessed as the opening of Soviet archives allows a much fuller understanding of the Russian dimension. These essays on the classic period of the Cold War (1945-53) use Soviet and Western sources to shed new light on Stalin's aims, objectives and actions; on Moscow's relations with both the Soviet Bloc and the West European Communist Parties; and on the diplomatic relations of Britain, France and Italy with the USSR. The contributors are prominent European, Russian and American specialists.
An anthropological exploration into the mind and social fabric of the Italian Communist Party. Based on research in the Communist-governed city of Perugia, Shore traces major factors which underlie the success of the PCI.
The second volume of The Cambridge History of Communism explores the rise of Communist states and movements after World War II. Leading experts analyze archival sources from formerly Communist states to re-examine the limits to Moscow's control of its satellites; the de-Stalinization of 1956; Communist reform movements; the rise and fall of the Sino-Soviet alliance; the growth of Communism in Asia, Africa and Latin America; and the effects of the Sino-Soviet split on world Communism. Chapters explore the cultures of Communism in the United States, Western Europe and China, and the conflicts engendered by nationalism and the continued need for support from Moscow. With the danger of a new Cold War developing between former and current Communist states and the West, this account of the roots, development and dissolution of the socialist bloc is essential reading.
The Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics provides a comprehensive look at the political life of one of Europe's most exciting and turbulent democracies. Under the hegemonic influence of Christian Democracy in the early post-World War II decades, Italy went through a period of rapid growth and political transformation. In part this resulted in tumult and a crisis of governability; however, it also gave rise to innovation in the form of Eurocommunism and new forms of political accommodation. The great strength of Italy lay in its constitution; its great weakness lay in certain legacies of the past. Organized crime--popularly but not exclusively associated with the mafia--is one example. A self-contained and well entrenched 'caste' of political and economic elites is another. These weaknesses became apparent in the breakdown of political order in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This ushered in a combination of populist political mobilization and experimentation with electoral systems design, and the result has been more evolutionary than transformative. Italian politics today is different from what it was during the immediate post-World War II period, but it still shows many of the influences of the past.
Keynes was an elitist and pro-capitalist economist, whom the left should embrace with caution. But his analysis provides a concreteness missing from Marx and engages with critical issues of the modern world that Marx could not have foreseen. This book argues that a critical Marxist engagement can simultaneously increase the power of Keynes's insight and enrich Marxism.Dunn explores Keynes's work in the context of the extraordinary times in which he lived, his philosophy, and his politics. By offering a detailed overview of his critique of mainstream economics and General Theory, Dunn argues that Keynes provides an enduringly valuable critique of orthodoxy, and develops a Marxist appropriation of Keynes's insights. The book considers the prospects of returning to Keynes, critically reviewing the practices that have come to be known as 'Keynesianism' and the limits of the theoretical traditions that have made claim to his legacy.
All European Communist parties define themselves largely in terms of their relationship, amicable or not, to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Consequently, most studies of relations between Communist parties emphasize interactions with the Soviets. However, not all the smaller European Communist parties interact strictly through the medium of Moscow. There exists an extensive, genuinely bilateral aspect to the relationship between Italian and Yugoslav Communists. Both have tended to seek distinctively national paths and, to differing degrees, both have been at odds with the Soviets. The history of Italo-Yugoslav nationality and border disputes, as well as major differences in how the two Communist parties have approached those disputes, has done much to condition inter-party relations. Red Adriatic is the first book to focus on relations between Communist parties in adjacent countries. As such, it offers insights, both practical and theoretical, into problems of inter-party relations. Based on archival sources, as well as on published materials, it also contributes to the individual historiographies of the Italian and Yugoslav Communist parties. The study speaks to several issues in comparative Communist studies, contrasting the different ways in which the two parties have adapted to national circumstances, balancing nationalism and internationalism, and to their different leadership styles.
This book provides a lively and comprehensive account of the unprecedented Italian general election of 2018 and of its profound significance for Italy and beyond. The contributions in this volume cover the political, economic and international contexts in which the vote took place, and consider the main election contenders in the run-up to the election as well as the campaigns. The book further examines the election outcome, analysing the votes and discussing the impact of the election on the turnover of parliamentary personnel as well as examining the outcome from the viewpoint of government formation.