ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book aims to direct attention at the structural changes that led to the transformation of 'Old Labour' and define the political opportunities and constraints for Third Way parties. It addresses the central issue by analyzing the policy fields, normative orientations and political processes on which the notion of social justice materializes in current forms of Third Way politics. The book establishes a set of key questions that guide this volume's discussion of Third Way politics. The economic imperatives of politics in the age of globalization and their shaping impact on the emerging agenda of Third Way politics have been interpreted from two politically opposing viewpoints. The power structures in the economic sphere were seen as a genuine threat to formal political democracy.
