The radical right, the labour movement and the competition for the workers’ vote

This article analyses the capacity of radical right parties to attract support from union members in recent elections in Western Europe. It is argued that unionized voters resist the appeals of the radical right better than non-union members. Using data from the European Social Survey 2010–2016, the article shows that union members are overall less likely to vote for the radical right than non-union members. Even though it is found that unionized working-class and middle-class voters are less likely to vote radical right than their non-unionized peers in the pooled sample, it is also observed that these subgroups of unionized voters and especially unionized working-class voters are not immune to radical right voting in all the countries analysed. The article thus indicates a growing capacity of the radical right to attract unionized working-class segments of the electorate in some countries and to directly compete with left parties for these voters

Classification of the European marsh vegetation (Phragmito-Magnocaricetea) to the association level

Aims: To create a comprehensive, consistent and unequivocal phytosociological classification of European marsh vegetation of the class Phragmito-Magnocaricetea. Location: Europe. Methods: We applied the Cocktail method to a European data set of 249,800 vegetation plots. We identified the main purposes and attributes on which to base the classification, defined assignment rules for vegetation plots, and prepared formal definitions for all the associations, alliances and orders of the class Phragmito-Magnocaricetea using formal logic. Each formula consists of the combination of “functional species groups”, cover values of individual species, and in the case of high-rank syntaxa also of “discriminating species groups” created using the Group Improvement (GRIMP) method. Results: The European Phragmito-Magnocaricetea vegetation was classified into 92 associations grouped in 11 alliances and six orders. New syntaxa (previously invalidly published according to the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature) were introduced: Bolboschoeno maritimi-Schoenoplection tabernaemontani, Glycerio maximae-Sietum latifolii, Glycerio notatae-Veronicetum beccabungae, Schoenoplectetum corymbosi and Thelypterido palustris-Caricetum elongatae. Based on a critical revision, some other syntaxa were rejected or excluded from the class Phragmito-Magnocaricetea. Conclusions: This work provides the first consistent classification of the class Phragmito-Magnocaricetea at the European scale, which is an important tool for nature conservation. Our classification largely respects previously existing concepts of syntaxa, but it also proposes modifications to the recently published EuroVegChecklist. This work also provides a protocol that can be used for extending the current classification to new syntaxa and geographical regions.</p

European Socialists and the State: A Comparative and Transnational Approach

Many political observers in Western democratic countries equate socialism with statism. From the late 1970s onwards, numerous socialist elites and experts have helped to nurture this widespread belief. This chapter aims to dispel this reductive, indeed incorrect, account of the relationship between West European socialism and the idea, form, and use of the state. It challenges what remains a dominant interpretation of the left’s propensity for state intervention in political and journalistic debates. It promotes a comparative and transnational approach over the longue durée, which is likely to produce a better understanding of West European socialism. In so doing, it also casts an original light on the history of the contemporary state in Europe