Call for papers for Shaping and Reshaping Social Democracy in Central and eastern Europe Cevipol, Université libre de Bruxelles, September 28-29, 2007
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Eastern European ex-communist parties have been involved in a complex process of ideological and organizational reshaping. In almost all cases, in their search for legitimacy, these parties sought to mimic West European social-democratic parties. West European social democracy has thus provided
a significant source of programmatic inspiration to them. In addition, they have rapidly adopted a pro-European political program.
Three ideal-types of social-democratic parties could be found in the early 1990s. First, the historical social-democratic parties brought to life after years of communist regime, as was the case of the CSSD in the Czech Republic or the
PSDR in Romania. In general, their political survival was difficult. The political and electoral success of the CSSD is therefore in strong contrast with the limited political relevance of the Romanian historical social democrats.
A second ideal-type concerns the regeneration of the Communist Successor Parties under the social democratic identity. Significantly, not all of the Successor parties behaved in the same way. The smooth transformation of the Hungarian and
Polish parties contrasts with the lack of transparency the Romanian and Bulgarian
experiences. As a cas à part, the transformation of the Baltic Successor parties was even more problematic, due to a an overlapping between the national issue and the need for ideological and organizational changes.
Last but not least, new political parties appeared that embraced a social-democratic
identity. The Bulgarian Euroleft or the Polish Labor Union are among the most well-known examples. Still, their political life was relatively short. On the contrary, the Slovak SDL splinter, the SMER, can be put forward as a successful political party, currently in charge of government management.
In the light of this genealogical patchwork, this political family was until recently considered as a regional success story. Their electoral results lead to them constantly being in government and, therefore, in charge with the management of the European accession strategy. Still, it should be noted that, starting in the year 2000, the wind of change has started to blow. Social-democratic parties are under constant challenge. Electoral defeats as in the cases of the Polish SLD, the
Romanian PSD or the Czech CSSD have announced a major shift in the regional political arena.
Corruption allegations cover almost all parties and there are signs of increased internal conflicts. At the same time, the political climate has been crossed by major crises, as was the case in Hungary following Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany’s statements or in Slovakia due to the SMER collaborating with a populist and an extreme-right party.
Based on the above, a balance sheet of the ECE social democracy can be drawn up.
First, these parties have generally failed to develop a “left culture”. The formation of social democratic parties in ECE has been to a great extent an elite-dominated process with low interest in developing strong linkages with the civil society. The members and ancillary organizations were regularly considered as a
major asset in terms of legitimacy with low relevance regarding the party machine. By the end of the 1990s, these bogus organizations have become obvious, explaining the failure of a major party like the Polish SLD.
Consequently, these parties have adopted a strategy of broad political marketing from scratch, without any meaningful hard-core electoral support. They have failed in shaping a programmatic identity grafted with the symbols of the classical Western social democracy: blue collars, Welfare State, trade unions, public sector, and, as a specific item for the region, the defense of the transition losers. Being
regularly in government has obliged these parties to an original programmatic compromise. They have enhanced their democratic credibility and, therefore political legitimacy, by embracing the economic recommendations of the EU, FMI, WB, etc. without any challenge. They have, therefore, abandoned their traditional electoral support to national-populist parties. The story of the ECE national-populism and the radical right turns out to be more the result of the programmatic and
organizational weaknesses of the left-wing parties than a general effect of the lack of efficiency of the traditional parties on the whole. In light of these observations, in a nutshell, it can be said that one of the major weaknesses of these parties is their lack of social roots and organized linkages with the trade unions.
Even thornier is the question of the relationship between the social democratic parties and the State. The “wealthy” communist Party/State had been a permanent attraction for members under the communist regime and, by the hazards of history,
a major asset for post-communist parties. In fact, the post-communist State was “made” reality by the first parties in power after 1989. Moreover, post-communist parties have built a State that is as permeable as possible to their
influence. It is a general model of state below parties, colonized by political identities, without a neutral portrayal. Therefore, while the literature identifies contemporary parties as “public utilities”, the post-communist reality is slightly different. To understand the logic of this difference, it should be noted that the
State is seen as a parties’ utility. This specific relationship can be understood as
consequence of the original emphasis on the democratic transition: parties as a core
foundation of the new political system. Parties came first and their reinforcement was perceived as a guarantee of stability for the new democracies. Within this framework, the dismantlement of the broad communist State created a basis for large benefits for those in power. The Social Democrats were among those parties and, as a direct consequence, they are currently plagued with various scandals of corruption.
In short, these parties have adopted international and European programmatic standards without a real understanding of the challenges of their specific countries. Moreover, while enjoying high visibility at the European level, they still have quite a low coalition potential at the national level.
Based on the above, the CEVIPOL intends to launch a research project focused on the ECE social democracy: the challenges and the opportunities for social democratic parties. The CEVIPOL is mainly interested in studying the issues of: programmatic building, organizational structures, partnerships with the civil society, the role of the State, and linkages with the EU and NATO. This first conference invites papers that address these and related questions. Indicative themes thus include:
General overview of the social democratic and socialist parties: their role in the transition and democratization processes, their historical challenges, their current difficulties, the EU influence as a major trigger for their change and adaptation, etc. Identity portrayal of the social democratic and socialist parties : differences and commonalities between the various ECE social democratic and socialist parties, an ideal model of ECE social democracy, the left culture, the parties political partnerships.
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