Working-Class Internationalism and the Appeal of National Identity: Historicalites and Current Perspectives on Western Europe

(Hardback)

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Internationalism is generally considered to be a major feature of the labour movement, and to hold a far more powerful appeal for workers' organizations than national identity. However, this revisionist book argues that, in fact, it is the national dimension which is of utmost importance to workers' organizations, and that national questions have often compelled workers to engage in struggles on different levels. Through detailed case studies of trade union involvement in Northern Ireland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria and Europe generally, contributors tackle subjects long neglected by labour historians and overturn the accepted wisdom that nationalism and the labour movement are irreconcilably opposed. This analysis of how international agendas are influenced by nationalist politics is unique, and the case-studies offer a dynamic description of the different ways in which nationalist values meet with trade union ideas and practices. The high standard of scholarship and the combination of historical and contemporary material make this book essential reading for students and researchers of labour history, politics, political theory and area studies.

Reviews

'The volume must be considered a success, as it moves away from the traditional, primarily theoretical, approach to the issue of working-class movements and nationalism, and begins to offer empirical data questioning many presuppositions and prejudices which have served more to occlude than to enlighten historical research on this topic.' Social History 'Pasture and Verberckmoes have made a major contribution to labour and international history ... In short, this is a provocative set of studies, pointing to how much we need to re-think categories of class, nationalism, and internationalism.' International History Review

Author Bio

Patrick Pasture Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Johan Verberckmoes Katholieke Universiteit Leuven