The major Communist parties in Western Europe claim a commitment to a "democratic road to socialism." Often this is a genuine evolution of traditional Marxist/Leninist ideology based on the assumption that political and economic power can be obtained through gradual change rather than revolution and through the utilization of democratic processes. How well is this strategy working? Not very well, concludes the author of this book. Carl Boggs bases his analysis on a theoretical assessment of the historical and strategic development of Eurocommunism — of those par ties and movements (notably in France, Italy, and Spain) that seek a transition to socialism based on the democratization of existing political and economic structures (the so-called parliamentary road to socialism). After examining the logic and premises of this conception, he moves to a critique of the major Eurocommunist theoreticians—e. g., Togliatti, Berlinguer, Ingrao, Napolitano, Carrillo, Marchais, Elleinstein, Poulantzas, and Claudin. He concludes that their ideas fail to resolve the historic Marxist conflict between democratization and rationalization (understood here in terms of the drive toward statism, bureaucratization, and further refinement of the social division of labor under capitalism). In fact, says Dr. Boggs, Eurocommunism will probably represent a sort of historical resolution of legitimation and production crises within Mediterranean capitalism that extends rather than overturns hierarchical social and authority relations, the capitalist state, and the social division of labor. Such a resolution might broadly parallel the function of social democracy in Northern Europe in a previous phase of capitalist development.

European Integration and the Communist Dilemma assesses the response of communist parties to European integration using three contrasting and comparatively significant case studies from Greece, Cyprus and Italy. These parties, in common with other radical parties in Europe, face a continuing strategic dilemma with regard to Europe through which larger questions about communist ideology and identity can be illuminated. Exploring the tendency of communist parties to face a trade-off between domestic legitimacy and electoral concerns, and their nature as parties professing opposition to the systemic currents of capitalism and European integration, the author provides a fascinating study of the nuances in deciding whether to adopt ideological consistency or undergo moderation. Blending advances in party politics, communist history and Europeanization research, the book devises a framework that overcomes the deficiencies of uni-dimensional approaches to the study of parties and Europe. In this manner, wider insights on the national party politics of European integration are drawn.

Eurocommunism constitutes a "moment" of great transformation connecting the past and the present of the European Left, a political project by means of which left-wing politics in Europe effected a definitive transition to a thoroughly different paradigm. It rose in the wake of 1968 – that pivotal year of social revolt and rethinking that caused a divide between radical, progressive and socialist thinking in western and southern Europe and the Soviet model. Communist parties in Italy, France, Spain and Greece changed tack, drew on the dynamics of social radicalism of the time and came to be associated with political moderation, liberal democracy and negotiation rather than contentious politics forging a movement that would hold influence until the early 1980s. Eurocommunism thus wove an original political synthesis delineated against both the revolutionary Left and the social democracy: "party of struggle and party of governance".

The Socialist Tradition explores the theoretical origins and historical development of the socialist tradition from the 19th century to the present, focusing on the long-term decline of socialism in the post-World War II period. Carl Boggs examines the constituent elements of democratic socialism, the forms and strategies it has embodied and the material, ideological and historical obstacles it has confronted. He explains the conditions associated with its growth and the shifting of these conditions over the years. He also assesses the prospects today for the reappearance of a strong socialist tradition in the context of global crisis and the collapse of Communism.

According to the generally accepted view that nationalism is alien to communism and that internationalism disallows divisions based on nations, the existence of national communism is often interpreted as a sign of the breakup of the world communist movement. This book reexamines the evidence on the role of nations and national variations, beginning with Marx and moving through Leninism and Stalinism to Titoism, Maoism, Castroism, and current national liberation movements (e.g., in Nicaragua). Professor Zwick concludes that nationalism has always been an inherent element of communism. He demonstrates with numerous concrete cases that, rather than signaling the decline of communism, national adaptation is the source of its strength. The limits of national variation as defined by the Brezhnev Doctrine are precisely defined and examined in the cases of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. The book bridges the gap between Marxist theory and communist practice with respect to the central role that nationalism will continue to play in the contemporary world. No other study presents this material in a cross-national, comparative perspective.

International Communism today is split on a number of ideological and political issues and is incapable of the kind of unified action implied by the term “movement.†So argues Heinz Timmermann in this assessment of the current state of world Communism. Dr. Timmermann discusses the historical concept of a world Communist movement in connection with the USSR and China. Focusing on Communism in the West, he examines such diverse groups as the Communist parties in Italy, France, Portugal, Cyprus, Chile, and Japan. Communist parties in the West are increasingly adjusting their policies to better fit their own cultures, and the author links this independence to the emphasis the Soviet Union’s Communist Party has been placing on the specifically Russian character of the October Revolution and Soviet state interests. Apparently, Moscow is now showing some flexibility in its response to tendencies toward differentiation and pluralism within the system of Communist parties. Gorbachev is less concerned with ideological orthodoxy than with Communists effectively supporting Soviet foreign policy. The author argues that by acceding to the concept of “unity in diversity,†Gorbachev is signaling that the Soviet leadership is willing to look beyond the myth of a world Communist movement.

Author note: Carl Boggs teaches political science at the University of Southern California.

This study analyzes the impact of the Czechoslovak crisis of 1968–1969 on the two major communist parties in the West: the Italian and French ones. Discusses the central strategic and ideological tensions which these parties needed to deal with: domestic belonging versus allegiance to the world communist movement, doctrinal orthodoxy in a context of rapid societal changes, and the question of revolution and reform. These key problems were situated in different contexts: the crisis in the "world communist movement" after 1956 and the Sino-Soviet rift, socio-economic modernization and political radicalization in Western Europe, and the shift from Cold War to early détente on the European continent. The research for this work is based on the study of a large collection of recently released primary sources, particularly, the internal records of various communist parties in Europe.

'Moments of Decision' takes a fascinating look at the course of radicalism in our time. It orients progressives with respect to their traditions, shows the relevance of the past to the present, and provides a new political interpretation of the struggle for democracy and economic justice.