ABSTRACT
Whereas many writers and scholars interested in the field of social democracy have focused on factors such as the role of economic globalization and electoral pressures, Ashley Lavelle explores the importance of the collapse of the post-war economic boom and lower growth rates since then. He examines how these pressures have led social democrats to embrace neo-liberal policies and become threatened by minor parties and independent politicians. Providing an original argument about the decline of social democracy, the author investigates how its decline has increased the popularity of minor parties and independents, along with the reasons for social democratic membership and electoral decline. This is an important book for scholars of social democracy and the broader themes of world politics, political parties, social movements and globalization.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter |3 pages
Introduction: The Social Democratic Malaise
part |41 pages
The Death of Social Democracy and its Political Consequences
chapter |11 pages
Social Democracy and Neo-liberalism
chapter |17 pages
Explaining the Death of Social Democracy
chapter |9 pages
Political Consequences of the Death of Social Democracy
part |29 pages
The Death of Social Democracy in Australia
chapter |15 pages
The ‘Light on the Hill' Extinguished
chapter |11 pages
Political Consequences: A Green Alternative to Social Democracy?
part |31 pages
The Death of Social Democracy in Britain
chapter |17 pages
New Labour, Not Labour
chapter |11 pages
Political Consequences: A Fragmenting Base
part |31 pages
The Death of Social Democracy in Germany
chapter |15 pages
Rescuing Standort Deutschland
chapter |13 pages
Political Consequences: The ‘1930s in Slow Motion'
part |37 pages
The Death of Social Democracy in Sweden