ABSTRACT
This chapter examines trajectory and fortunes of the radical left in the period since 1989 as a means of providing a perspective on the significance of the 1989 events for the political area. It explores historical importance of the 1989 revolutions. The chapter consider immediate impact of the revolutions on the family of West European communist parties in the early 1990s. It analyzes transformation of radical left that subsequently occurred, exploring the radical left and assessing to what extent it can be described as a genuine ‘party family.’ The chapter looks at performance of the radical left and its likely prospects. Left-wing politics was entering a phase of acute hostility from other political forces and Western publics at large, necessitating a fundamental reconfiguration and rethink that would see the European postwar radical left changed forever. New parties that mix up radical left ideas with others have proved electorally successful and led to a revitalization of interest in radical left politics.
