This edited volume promotes a comparative and transnational approach to the complex and ambiguous relationship between West European socialism and the contemporary state over the longue durée. It encourages a better understanding of socialism while also casting an original light on the history of the contemporary state in Europe. Socialists have been a prime political force since the late nineteenth century through to the present. Through their strength, their presence at the heart of societies, their dynamism, inventiveness, and influence, they have left their mark on the European physiognomy and helped to forge part of its identity. This is particularly true where the welfare state is concerned, and the role played by the state in constructing, embedding, and extending this social model. Surprisingly, there has been no research aiming to systematically analyse the relationship between socialism and the state. This volume fills a gap in knowledge by rejecting the media simplification and political polemic maintained by opponents of socialism - and sometimes by socialists themselves - which systematically links socialism with "statism". It focuses on numerous case studies involving France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, Germany, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, and highlights the diversity of organisations within European socialism. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that the fate of this political culture depends on the socialist parties themselves but also on any new configurations that states may assume. Conversely, the future of states will also depend partly on the choices made by socialists, if they still exist and still have the means to shape decisions and make their voices heard.

Autorentext
Mathieu Fulla is Faculty Member at the Centre for History at Sciences Po, France. His research focuses on the history of labour movements in Western Europe and the political and economic history of Europe from 1945 to the present.
Marc Lazar is Professor of Political History and Sociology and Director of the Centre for History at Sciences Po, France. His research interests include the Left in Western Europe, the Political history of France and Italy after WW II, and populism and populists in Europe.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Introduction. European Socialists and the State: A comparative and transnational approach (Mathieu Fulla and Marc Lazar).- Part I: Acculturating to the state to democratise it.- Chapter 2: Introduction (Mathieu Fulla).- Chapter 3: Between Challenging the Authoritarian State and Democratizing It: German Social Democracy, 1914-1945 (Stefan Berger).- Chapter 4: French Socialists and the State, 1905-2017 (Alain Bergounioux).- Chapter 5: The Planist Temptation: Belgian Social Democracy and the State during the Great Depression, c. 1929 - c. 1936 (Tommaso Milani).- Chapter 6: Paradoxes of Hegemony: Scandinavian Social Democracy and the State (Yohann Aucante).- Part II: Socialists and civil servants.- Chapter 7: Introduction (Mathieu Fulla).- Chapter 8: The British Labour Party and the Civil Service in the Twentieth Century (Kevin Theakston).- Chapter 9: Social Democracy, Labour Unions and Civil Service in West Germany since the Second World War (Bernd Faulenbach).- Chapter 10: The French Socialist Party, Civil Servants and the State (Laure Machu and Matthieu Tracol).- Chapter 11: Socialism, the State and Civil Service in Spain : Two Experiences in Perspective (Second Republic and Democratic Transition) (Juan Francisco Fuentes).- Chapter 12: The Swedish SAP: Civil Servants, Social Engineers and Welfare Bureaucrat (Kjell Östberg).- Chapter 13: The Divorce between Public-Sector Employees and West European Socialist Parties (Luc Rouban).- Part III: Socialists and Changes in Capitalism and States.- Chapter 14: Introduction (Marc Lazar).- Chapter 15: French Socialists, Capitalism and the State: A Unique Approach within West European Social Democracy? (Mathieu Fulla).- Chapter 16: From Marxism to Agenda 2010: German Social Democratic Notions of the State from Its Founding until Today (Sebastian Voigt).- Chapter 17: K. u. k. Social Democracy Reloaded: Austria's SPÖ and the State after 1945 (Maria Mesner).- Chapter 18: The Swedish Social Democrats, Reform Socialism and the state after the Golden Era (Jenny Andersson and Kjell Östberg).- Chapter 19: What's Left of Blairism? The Labour Party's changing conception of the state since the 1980s (Emmanuelle Avril).- Chapter 20: The Italian Socialist Party from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s: Socialists and a Weak State (Marc Lazar with the collaboration of Massimo Asta).- Chapter 21: Superficial Social Democracy: PASOK, the State and the Shipwreck of the Greek Economy (Gerassimos Moschonas).-