The social democratic moment : ideas and politics in the making of interwar Europe / Sheri Berman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Berman, Sheri, 1965-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti--History--20th century.

Sveriges socialdemokratiska arbetareparti.

Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands--History--20th century.

Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands.

Socialism--Sweden--History--20th century.

Socialism.

Socialism--Germany--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 308 pages)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In addition to revising our view of the interwar period and the building of European democracies, this book cuts against the grain of most current theorizing in political science by explicitly discussing when and how ideas influence political behavior. Even though German and Swedish Social Democrats belonged to the same transnational political movement and faced similar political and social conditions in their respective countries before and after World War I, they responded very differently to the challenges of democratization and the Great Depression--with crucial consequences for the fates of their countries and the world at large. Explaining why these two social democratic parties acted so differently is the primary task of this book. Berman's answer is that they had very different ideas about politics and economics--what she calls their programmatic beliefs. The Swedish Social Democrats placed themselves at the forefront of the drive for democratization; a decade later they responded to the Depression with a bold new economic program and used it to build a long period of political hegemony. The German Social Democrats, on the other hand, had democracy thrust upon them and then dithered when faced with economic crisis; their haplessness cleared the way for a bolder and more skillful political actor--Adolf Hitler. This provocative book will be of interest to anyone concerned with twentieth-century European history, the transition to democracy problem, or the role of ideas in politics.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1 Reexamining Interwar Social Democracy

CHAPTER 2 Evaluating the Role of Ideas

CHAPTER 3 Sweden’s Political Development and the Programmatic Beliefs of the SAP

CHAPTER 4 Germany’s Political Development and the Programmatic Beliefs of the SPD

CHAPTER 5 Sweden’s Path to Democracy

CHAPTER 6 Germany’s Path to Democracy

CHAPTER 7 The Origins of Social Democratic Hegemony

CHAPTER 8 The Collapse of German Democracy

CHAPTER 9 Understanding Interwar Social Democracy

Notes

Index

Notes:

Based on author's dissertation, Harvard University.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-299) and index.

ISBN:

9780674020849

0674020847

OCLC:

648278289