The sense of defeat of the old West European left during the late twentieth century tends to be explained as the inevitable result of de-industrialisation or, more precisely, the transition to a globalised world that abolished class as a great historical actor. This book suggests that choices that were made during a concentrated but pivotal transition during the 1970s also mattered. It offers a bold reinterpretation of contemporary European history and a feel for the culture of three leading states using 27 archives, primary and secondary literature from multiple countries, and a transnational and comparative approach. It explores how British, French, and Italian social democratic and Communist parties helped to stabilise their societies during a moment of crisis and manage the shift to a new era. It also analyses why the left encountered the dissolution of the idea of a community of fate amongst a diverse new generation of workers. The book concludes that the denouement of a certain kind of industrial politics had a lasting impact on European society.

More about the book can be found here: global.oup.com/academic/product/the-halted-march-of-the-european-left-9780198944614?cc=gb&lang=en&;

If you cannot make the launch in person and would like to join online, please email mailto:matt.myers@history.ox.ac.uk