Enemy Brothers: Socialists and Communists in France, Italy, and Spain [Hardcover]

Since the 1920s, Socialist and Communist parties in Europe and elsewhere have engaged in episodes of both rivalry and cooperation, with each seeking to dominate the European Left. Enemy Brothers analyzes how this relationship has developed over the past century, focusing on France, Italy, and Spain, where Socialists and Communists have been politically important. Drawing on fieldwork and interviews in all three nations, W. Rand Smith identifies the critical junctures that these parties faced and the strategic choices they made, especially regarding alliance partners. In explaining the parties' diverse alliance strategies, Enemy Brothers stresses the impact of institutional arrangements, party culture, and leadership.W. Rand Smith is Irvin L. and Fern D. Young Presidential Professor of Politics and associate dean of faculty at Lake Forest College.

Smith examines the longstanding relationship between socialists and communists in France, Italy, and Spainthree 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 lÓ#