The Future Of European Social Democracy

Across Europe social democracy is in crisis. The countries which formits collective home, Britain, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy and France, are all currently governed by centre right parties. It seems that change to European social democracy is essential. The contributors to this volume look at what kind of change this might be.

In the last decade European social democracy has ceased to be about either society or democracy. In government it has embraced liberal economic principles that undermined solidarity and association. Along the way the idea of the common good has been lost and there is no vision of a 'Good Society'. The authors explore the values of European social democracy, how it can be revived and what kind of political economy it requires in order to thrive.

An international group of distinguished academics addresses these issues and looks at how European social democracy can be used the build the Good Society. The Future of European Social Democracy also includes a foreword and appendix by the two leaders of the 'Building the Good Society' project on which the book is based, Andrea Nahles and Jon Cruddas.

Review: 'Social democracy is on the retreat across Europe. A wave of new liberal and conservative governments have swept social democrats out of office, posing a series of fundamental questions about the nature and vitality of social democracy today. This book provides a systematic response to this and sets down pathways to reshape the social democratic project for the challenges of an era marked by the impact of the global financial crisis, renewed questions of political legitimacy and the contradictions of a global world - where the pressure to openness of economy and politics sits side by side with the pressure to reassert national politics and national identities.' - David Held, Master of University College and Chair of Politics and International Relations, University of Durham, UK 'The much needed compendium of everything you may wish to know to understand (and, hopefully, to arrest) the forces behind the current falling apart of the social-democratic project.

The editors have managed to secure cooperation of the most acute and insightful analysts of a paramount and most seminal, while portentous, phenomenon of our times.' - Zygmunt Bauman, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Leeds, UK