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The Mobilisation of the European Left in the Early 21st Century

Azmanova, Albena (2004) The Mobilisation of the European Left in the Early 21st Century. European Journal of Sociology, 45 (2). pp. 273-306. ISSN 0003-9756. (doi:10.1017/S0003975604001468) (KAR id:29244)

Abstract

This study discerns peculiarities in the electoral mobilisation in EU member states in recent years and examines the effect of current social transformations on political discourse and voting behaviour. The overall change is traced to the emergence of new vectors of political identification, challenging the capital-vs-labour dynamics of conflict that had dominated the 20th century's electoral landscape. The paper argues that the electoral misfortunes of the European Left since the 1990s is part of a larger and more stable transformation in which the left-right alignment along economic policies is being replaced by the emergence of a new fault-line shaped by the opportunity-risk dilemma of the neo-liberal global knowledge economy. The decline in electoral support for traditional Left parties is attributed to the failure of the European Left to adjust to this realignment.

Quels sont les traits distinctifs de la mobilisation politique dans les pays de l'union euopéenne? et quels sont les effets des transformations sociales en cours sur le discours politique et sur le comportement électoral? La marque du changement est l'apparition dans l'identification politique d'un vecteur opportunisme versus risque qui surpasse la dynamique du conflit capital versus travail. Le déclin du poids électoral des partis de gauche traditionnels traduit l'incapacité à en prendre acte ainsi que le manifeste la gauche européenne.

Dieser Aufsatz untersucht die unterschiedliche Wahlbeteiligung in den Staaten der Europäischen Union und zeigt, in wieweit die sozialen Veränderungen das politische Handeln und das Wählerverhalten beeinflussen. Zeichen dieser Veränderung ist die Tatsache, dass das politische Zugehörigkeitsgefühl heute u.a. durch den Vektor Opportunismus gegen Risiko bestimmt wird und nicht wie ehedem durch Kapital gegen Arbeit. Die linken Parteien verlieren Wählerstimmen, da die europäischen Linke unfähig ist, sich dieser inhaltlichen Veränderung anzupassen.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1017/S0003975604001468
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
J Political Science > JA Political science (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Albena Azmanova
Date Deposited: 02 Apr 2012 23:13 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:07 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/29244 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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