The Crisis of Social Democracy and the Search for a Transnational Response

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the crisis of social democracy with a specific focus on the opportunities that have appeared at the transnational level and to offer a critical consideration of the social democratic responses to the challenge of globalization The political integration of the European Union offered a new opportunity of responding to the challenge of globalization for the European social democracy at the transnational level. In this context, assessing the extent to which the Party of European Socialists (PES) could become an influential transnational party is crucial to envisage the future of a globalist social democracy. The article demonstrates that social democratic politics at the PES level is about contending individual member parties rather than pursuing a social democratic EU-oriented strategy and the PES’ main function is to operate as a coordinating mechanism and discussion platform for national political parties.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2014.v3n1p173