Enemy Brothers

Socialists and Communists in France, Italy, and Spain

By: W. Rand Smith

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Hardcover | 8 November 2012

At a Glance

Hardcover
302 Pages

Age
22+

Grade
17+

Dimensions(cm)
23.5 x 15.88 x 3.18

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Since the founding of the Socialist and Communist parties in the 1920s, the two parties have engaged in episodes of both rivalry and cooperation, with each party seeking to dominate the European Left. Enemy Brothers analyzes this relationship from the origins of the parties to the present, focusing on Italy, France, and Spain, where Socialists and Communists have been especially active and politically influential. Using field work and interviews as a base, W. Rand Smith details the critical junctures and selection of political allies that largely shaped the political fortunes of each party in all three countries during the 1960s and 1970s. Enemy Brothers compares and explains the parties, diverse alliance strategies, stressing the key role of institutional arrangements, political party culture, and leadership.

Industry Reviews

Smith examines the longstanding relationship between socialists and communists in France, Italy, and Spain—three Latin European countries with historically significant communist parties rivaling socialists for domination of the political Left. In particular, the distinction is made between periods of conflict and periods of cooperation since 1920, but especially since the 1960s, and the critical junctures when a party (or specifically its leader) chose a given strategic direction in a path-dependent way. Smith's explanation is based on the effects of national political institutions, the culture of specific parties, and individual party leaders. Such breadth is crucial to a full explanation and is a key strength of this book. The conclusions then extend the analysis briefly to Greece and Portugal. In addition to examining the building of alliances, antecedent focus is given to the comparative nature of party organizations. This is an excellent work of comparative politics, clearly written and based on detailed research and fieldwork. It provides insights on each country as well as west European politics in general. Brief historical counterfactuals are also suggested. Definitely recommended for both political scientists and historians. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections.

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