Next Left Vol. 1

Book

Renewing Social Democracy Contributions to a European-wide debate 
A project realised with the support of the Karl Renner Institute with the contribution of the national foundations that are members of FEPS

“Next Left” – Renewing Social Democracy” aims to stimulate further debate. In this publication, you will find reflections from all the corners of the continent. Therefore, the collected contributions mirror major trends in the pan-European debate on the future of the left. The expertise of various authors – academics, politicians and representatives from the world of media – guarantees a multidimensional analysis. Their diverse focus – encompassing issues of politics, organisation and communication – provides a solid diagnosis of the state of the socialist movement on all levels: local, regional, national and, what is unique, also European. The forewords by Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN, President of the Party of European Socialists, and Alfred GUSENBAUER, chair of the FEPS “Next Left” focus group and former Chancellor of Austria, link the (by nature) philosophical and historical reflections with the reality of the contemporary European political agenda. All these elements construct parts of a fascinating deliberation on the future of social democracy. 
The “Next Left” evolved as an ambitious project bridging the reflections on the state of social democracy today with inspiring debates on possible future scenarios. FEPS has organised meetings, collected diverse contributions, taken part in Europe-wide debates, reached out to young academics and set up an agenda for both research and discussion for the year 2010. The initiative already involves national foundations – members of FEPS, academics, journalists, experts in different fields, activists – members of social democratic parties from all over Europe.