Against the Cold War: The History and Political Traditions of Pro-Sovietism in the British Labour Party, 1945-1989

ISBN-13: 9781780760308 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 304 str.

Darren G Lilleker

Opis

Who were the British MPs sympathetic to the Soviets - the ""crypto-communists,"" ""left-wing gadflys,"" the ""neo-Stalinist Left"" - so derided by fellow politicians, journalists, historians, and the public? These Labour MPs, fingered as ""Soviet spies"" who developed links with post-war Russia, were seen as potentially anti-Western actors in the Cold War. Against the Cold War examines the careers and motives of MPs like Tom Driberg and Ian Mikardo who developed ideological links with the Soviet Union and whose ideas influenced Labour's Left wing. Although radical and sympathetic to Communist ideals, they remained principled socialists, and were ready to exercise Trotsky's ""right to alight"" - to oppose and even abandon Soviet links for democratic socialism.

Spis treści

Introduction1. Building a Pro-Soviet Fifth Column2. From Emancipatory Revolution to Grand Alliance3. Konni Zilliacus and Labour's Adversarial Voices from the Left4. Victory for Socialism5. Beneath Detente6. Raising the Stakes7. The perspectives of pro-SovietismConclusionAppendix: Biographical Details

O autorze

Darren G. Lilleker is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Centre for Public Communication Research at Bournemouth University. His research focuses on strategic political communication and the impacts on democracy. Dr Lilleker is Chair of the Political Marketing Group, and Political Communication Convenor for the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR).