The influence of Eurocommunism on the ideology and political practice of the contemporary “radical left”

Abstract

After the dismantling of socialism in the Soviet Union and countries of “people’s democracy”, left forces used different variations of ideological transformation and reactualization of its program. The most relevant model of adaptation was the preservation of “anti-capitalism” in combination with the desire to use the mechanisms of liberal democracy. Parties that have chosen this path of transformation are referred to as the “radical left” (RLP). While remaining committed to the Marxism, RLPs reject Stalinism, use populist slogans, and are agree for building coalitions with ideological opponents. Most RLPs trace its lineage back to the parties that originated with Eurocommunism or used elements of it in its ideology. Despite the collapse of the Eurocommunist project at the end of the twentieth century, the marginalization of the Communist parties that espoused it and the desire of the modern “radical left” to disassociate itself from its predecessors, they continue to reproduce elements of political practices used by Eurocommunists. By the political practices of Eurocommunism, we understand the strategy of interaction of Eurocommunist parties with the institutions of liberal democracy that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. The article analyzes the influence of the ideological legacy of Eurocommunism on the political strategy of modern European RLPs and provides a description and classification of parties of this spectrum. The aim of the article is to correlate the influence of the ideological legacy of Eurocommunism on modern RLPs and to identify the contradictions arising in the process of implementation of its program.