Toward a Theory of Eurocommunism: The Relationship of Eurocommunism to Eurosocialism

(Hardback)

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Antonian provides more a detailed history of the French Communist party (PCF) than a theory of Eurocommunism. He includes some comparisons between the PCF and the Italian Communist party, and devotes some limited attention to the Spanish Communist party's role in post-Franco Spain after its legalization in 1977. The book reviews the PCF's electoral ebbs and flows in postwar France, the fate of its efforts to collaborate with the French Socialist party in the 1972 Common Program concluded between the two parties (which collapsed by the end of that decade), and the PCF's role under a government currently dominated by President (and longtime Socialist party leader) Francois Mitterrand. The volume is useful for providing in book form the PCF's postwar history through the early 1980s; much of the more recent material is available only in journal articles. Recommended for academic and general readers.-Choice
Antonian's book is an original and insightful attempt to provide a definition of the Eurocommunist phenomenon and to situate it geographically and temporally. Antonian does a masterful job of elucidating the strands of the new Eurocommunist ideology. His book is required reading for historians and political scientists concerned with the European left and the politics of Communism in general. It is a valuable contribution to the literature on recent European politics and international Communism.-Irwin Wall, Professor of History, University of California, Riverside
"Antonian's book is an original and insightful attempt to provide a definition of the Eurocommunist phenomenon and to situate it geographically and temporally. Antonian does a masterful job of elucidating the strands of the new Eurocommunist ideology. His book is required reading for historians and political scientists concerned with the European left and the politics of Communism in general. It is a valuable contribution to the literature on recent European politics and international Communism."-Irwin Wall, Professor of History, University of California, Riverside
"Antonian provides more a detailed history of the French Communist party (PCF) than a theory of Eurocommunism. He includes some comparisons between the PCF and the Italian Communist party, and devotes some limited attention to the Spanish Communist party's role in post-Franco Spain after its legalization in 1977. The book reviews the PCF's electoral ebbs and flows in postwar France, the fate of its efforts to collaborate with the French Socialist party in the 1972 Common Program concluded between the two parties (which collapsed by the end of that decade), and the PCF's role under a government currently dominated by President (and longtime Socialist party leader) Francois Mitterrand. The volume is useful for providing in book form the PCF's postwar history through the early 1980s; much of the more recent material is available only in journal articles. Recommended for academic and general readers."-Choice

Author Bio

ARMEN ANTONIAN, currently employed by General Telephone of California, received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside.