<p>The thesis concentrates on Hofors and a local trade union environment between 1917 and 1946, where important parts of the trade union’s power were held by parties to the left of the social democrats. The overall aim is to problemize and discuss the issue of what characterised and made possible this deviation from the usual picture of a trade union movement dominated by social democracy. What characterised the conditions in such a local trade union environment and to what extent can local norms and political culture be linked to the conditions and the development in the trade union movement in Hofors?</p><p>The factors behind the radicalism in Hofors can be found in the local union and political context. The investigation points out the following main reasons: the left-wing local council of the Social Democratic Party and its successors’ organisational lead, the local labour council’s working method being close to what has been considered “social democratic”, their representatives being highly trusted in the local community, and the growth of a local radical tradition.</p><p>The political culture and the norms that gradually developed were based on a left-wing social democratic tradition. The local council of the Social Democratic Party that left the party in 1917 to join the left-wing social democratic faction was the same local council, despite their names and change of parties in the 1920s and 1930s. It became the local labour movement’s bearer of traditions and represented the continuity in the local trade union environment, which contributed to the leftwing socialist project being long-lived in Hofors. The central aspects were the trade union work and the practical-concrete tradition that developed.</p><p>Primarily through successful trade union work, the local labour council and its trade union representatives gained strong and long-term support from a large proportion of the local trade union movement’s members and the population of Hofors.</p><p>Against this background it may be stated that, even though it was often impossible for the parties to the left of social democracy to maintain a local trade union and political power position that was stronger than that of the social democrats for a lengthy period of time, it was not entirely impossible. It may also be stated that for the trade union member as such, a communist or socialist party affiliation was not a real obstacle in the election of shop stewards. Their focus was primarily put on the would-be representatives’ personal qualities and ability to live up to the demands and expectations placed on them by the members, and not so much on their ideological persuasion.</p>

The thesis concentrates on Hofors and a local trade union environment between 1917 and 1946, where important parts of the trade union’s power were held by parties to the left of the social democrats. The overall aim is to problemize and discuss the issue of what characterised and made possible this deviation from the usual picture of a trade union movement dominated by social democracy. What characterised the conditions in such a local trade union environment and to what extent can local norms and political culture be linked to the conditions and the development in the trade union movement in Hofors? The factors behind the radicalism in Hofors can be found in the local union and political context. The investigation points out the following main reasons: the left-wing local council of the Social Democratic Party and its successors’ organisational lead, the local labour council’s working method being close to what has been considered “social democratic”, their representatives being highly trusted in the local community, and the growth of a local radical tradition. The political culture and the norms that gradually developed were based on a left-wing social democratic tradition. The local council of the Social Democratic Party that left the party in 1917 to join the left-wing social democratic faction was the same local council, despite their names and change of parties in the 1920s and 1930s. It became the local labour movement’s bearer of traditions and represented the continuity in the local trade union environment, which contributed to the leftwing socialist project being long-lived in Hofors. The central aspects were the trade union work and the practical-concrete tradition that developed. Primarily through successful trade union work, the local labour council and its trade union representatives gained strong and long-term support from a large proportion of the local trade union movement’s members and the population of Hofors. Against this background it may be stated that, even though it was often impossible for the parties to the left of social democracy to maintain a local trade union and political power position that was stronger than that of the social democrats for a lengthy period of time, it was not entirely impossible. It may also be stated that for the trade union member as such, a communist or socialist party affiliation was not a real obstacle in the election of shop stewards. Their focus was primarily put on the would-be representatives’ personal qualities and ability to live up to the demands and expectations placed on them by the members, and not so much on their ideological persuasion.

This research examines how the practice of curating has been used to further counter-hegemonic agendas in public art institutions since 1989. The central aim is to provide a fuller, contextualised, and medium specific understanding of the how the institutional exhibition might be used to challenge the hegemony of neoliberalism and the post-political consensus politics that sustains its dominance. It provides insights, through both historic case studies and reflective practice, that problematise the idea that the institutional art exhibition is a viable medium for counter-hegemonic critique, or represents the ideal space for the development of an agonistic public discourse. This thesis presents collaborative research undertaken with Tate Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University. The research presented both extrapolated from, and contributed to, the development of an exhibition, co-curated with Tate Liverpool, entitled Art Turning Left (8 November 2013 – 2 February 2014) and a supplementary publication of the same name. The first section investigates how the idea that curators can counter neoliberal dominance, through institutional exhibition-making, developed. It draws from analyses of previous exhibitions, and the theory of Chantal Mouffe, in order to critically evaluate the curatorial application of counter-hegemonic critique and agonistic practice. It also provides a review of how exhibitions (held in major art institutions since 1989) have articulated politics, in order to determine their relationship to neoliberal dominance, and to identify significant gaps in the dialogue facilitated by these institutions. These analyses provides the theoretical and contextual grounding for the final two chapters, which provide a rationale and critical evaluation of my own attempt to develop an alternative counter-hegemonic curatorial strategy for the exhibition at Tate Liverpool. They document, and analyse, the areas of dissensus, and the ideological and pragmatic limitations that emerged, in trying to realise these theoretical propositions (in practice) in a public art museum. The thesis therefore provides a critical framework for the development of an alternative practice that positions the exhibition as a form of post-political critique and specifically targets the hegemonic role that institutional exhibitions play in reinforcing class distinctions and devaluing nonprofessional creativity.

Le Partido Verde brésilien, le Partido Ecologista chilien et le Proyecto Sur argentin sont des partis politiques appartenant à la mouvance des partis verts ou de tendance écologiste. Ils constituent, dans leurs pays respectifs, des forces politiques nouvelles, qui entendent se distinguer par l’affirmation d’une identité particulière, fondée sur la place centrale accordée à la protection de l’environnement et au développement durable ainsi que sur la volonté de « faire de la politique autrement ». Si les membres de ces partis estiment ainsi se démarquer de la gauche, ils s’en rapprochent néanmoins par les idées qu’ils défendent en matière sociétale, mais aussi en matière économique et sociale. Ils participent ainsi au mouvement plus vaste de recomposition de la gauche et se trouvent en concurrence avec les autres forces de gauche, dont ils partagent l’électorat. Ces trois partis ont émergé, dans un contexte de renouvellement démocratique, en lien avec les acteurs de la société civile. Ils continuent à entretenir des liens étroits avec le monde associatif, syndical et artistique. Leur organisation est fondée sur un modèle basé sur des principes démocratiques tels que le pluralisme, la représentativité, la territorialité. Néanmoins, comme leurs homologues d’Europe occidentale et d’Europe centrale et orientale, ils font face à la difficulté de mettre effectivement ces principes en œuvre dans leur fonctionnement quotidien et sont confrontés à un phénomène de concentration du pouvoir à la tête du parti. Si le Partido Eccologista chilien, le Partido Verde brésilien et le Proyecto Sur argentin ont chacun su occuper un espace jusqu’alors vacant sur la scène politique de leur pays respectif, leurs perspectives d’évolution et de développement demeurent incertaines. / The Partido Verde from Brazil, the Partido Ecologista from Chile and the Proyecto Sur from Argentina are political parties belonging to the movement of green or ecologist parties. They represent, in each country, new political forces which aim at differentiating themselves through a particular identity, built on the focus on sustainable development and the strong will to do politics in a new fashion. Members of those three political parties believe they are apart from left-wing activists. Nevertheless, they do share similar ideas, regarding societal issues, as well as economic and social questions. These parties appeared in a particular context, influenced by democratic renewal, in connection with civil society activists. They continue to keep strong ties with associations, unions, and artistic movements. Their organisation is based on democratic principles such as pluralism, representativeness and territoriality. However, like their European counterparts, they have trouble applying these principles in actual fact. They also face the issue of monopolized power by party leaders. The Partido Verde, the Partido Ecologista and the Proyecto Sur were able to fill a political vacuum in their respective countries, yet their prospects in terms of electoral success remain uncertain.

In their shared goal of communicating left-wing principles to children through music, Marc Blitzstein's Worker's Kids of the World (1935), Aaron Copland's The Second Hurricane (1937), and Alex North's The Hither and Thither of Danny Dither (1941) exhibit a fundamental unity of purpose that binds them both to each other and to the extensive leftist pedagogical efforts of their time. By observing the parallel relationship among these three children's works and contemporary youth organizations, summer camps, and children's literature, their cultural objectives and stylistic idiosyncrasies emerge as expressions of a continuously evolving educational tradition. Whereas Worker's Kids comes out of the revolutionary Communist aesthetics of the Composers' Collective and the militant activism of The Young Pioneers, The Second Hurricane and Danny Dither reflect the increasingly accommodating educational efforts of the American Popular Front.

Michal Zitek: The internal debates about the future direction of the KSČ(M) from 1989 to 1993 The aim of this thesis is to offer a comprehensive look at the debates that took place within the Communist Party and aimed to transform into a modern left- wing party. Work will familiarize you with some debates and opinion- platforms that arose in these discussions.

The submitted thesis deals with the issue of left-wing extremism, especially the development of Trotskyist groups in the territory of Czechoslovakia, later the Czech Republic between the years 1989 - 2014. In the first part of the thesis, the background of Trotskyism thought is introduced as an ideology which is the result of a long-standing conflict between Trotsky and Stalin that was primarily concerned with direction, leadership and the nature of the Soviet Union. The main topics of Trotskyism as the intellectual movement are defined on the base of the analysis of several major writings by L. D. Trotsky. The second part is devoted to the analysis of a number of Trotskyist organizations that are acting or have acted in the Czech environment. In total, four groups from the Czech environment can be identified as Trotskyist. These are the following entities: "Budoucnost" ("Socialist Alternative Future"), "Socialistická solidarita" ("Socialist Solidarity"), "Socialistická organizace pracujících" ("Socialist Organization of Working People"), and "Nová antikapitalistická levice/Levá perspektiva" ("New Anti- Capitalist Left/Left Perspective"). This thesis is an analysis of the development of these groups, of their requirements and program principles, and of the events which these groups participated in during...

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