This thesis is a study of the development of the European Marches Network against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Social Exclusion. It is considered as a component of an emerging international social movement that has contested the consequences of neoliberal European integration to develop the goal of a social and democratic Europe as part of a different world order. This study engages critically with the dominant sociological paradigm of social movements that renders the class politics associated with the labour movement as anachronistic. This paradigm asserts that fundamental socio-structural changes dictate that to be progressive, contemporary new social movements (NSMs) have to operate according to a new logic of collective action that is beyond class. The Network is investigated through the application of ethnographic methods that are integrated into a dialectical analysis. This methodological approach involved the author taking the role of `activist-researcher' that was consistent with his commitment to producing knowledge that was not only about progressive social change but also useful to the collective struggle to achieve it. The findings of the empirical investigation are presented under the headings of 'mobilisation', 'agenda formation' and 'organisation'. These headings represent three interconnected elements of collective action that form the totality of the Network. The Network is related to the locally and nationally based economic and social struggles through which it developed and is also located within a broader international social movement of which it was a product and producer. Various elements of the Network arising from the investigation are discussed in relation to the work of writers from the dominant paradigm. It is argued that the Network is not comprehensible as a manifestation of a postmaterial politics that is beyond class, but rather as a form of class politics in the present conjuncture of neoliberal restructuring. Therefore, it is concluded that far from indicating the terminal decline of labour as a progressive social actor, the Network suggests its renewal as a social movement.

The period from 1921 to 1930 saw the Daily Herald come under the direct control of the organised Labour movement - jointly owned by the Labour Party and the Trades Union Congress. It seperates an earlier incarnation of independent left radicalism from a subsequent identity as a commercial daily tied to an official political line. It is a period of commercial and competitive failure - the 500,000 circulation constantly evoked as a target was only attained in times of exceptional political or industrial excitement. Reliant on movement subsidies for capital finance it was unable to match the new features and inducements - notably insurance schemes - that competitors provided in a period of rapid expansion and intense circulation battles. Editorially it was torn between the radicalism of its staff, the journalistic instinct to avoid predictability and the desire of Labour's moderate leaders for an automatically reliable supporter in the national press. As leadership pressures mounted it increasingly became the voice of the centre lecturing followers, with debate restricted - but independent instincts were never totally curbed. Failure to attract the desired mass readership cannot be wholly attributed to poverty. Initially developed as the voice of a committed, informed radical political elite it continued to reflect their interests - and would always choose to educate rather than entertain. In the absence of a mass counterculture this left it seeking a popular readership with a serious approach. Realisation that a different approach was needed to win such a readership combined with recognition that this would need capital investment beyond the means of the movement to force the partnership formed with Odhams Press in 1929, ending exclusive movement control.

The years 1861 to 1921 witnessed the development of contacts between the labour movements of Britain and the United States. Scottish socialists, trade unionists and social reformers contributed to this activity. Transatlantic labour co-operation began in Scotland in the 1860s when the Civil War in the USA provoked an intense public discussion of American society. This interest was further stimulated by the accounts of emigrants to the republic and, in particular, by the views of Alexander McDonald, leader of the miners' union. The establishment of ties between the mining communities of Scotland and American, via an emigration scheme and through McDonald's lecture tours, inaugurated a period of American influence on the Scottish labour movement. Left-wing reactions in the United States to the growth of capitalism from the 1880s to the First World War furnished sections of this movement with a series of organisational models. Socialist and reform theories, forged in a country which was industrialising at a furious pace, were transmitted to Britain where Scots transformed them for their own purposes. Beginning with the ideas of Henry George, and closely followed by those of the Knights of Labor, these concepts advanced the cause of socialism within the Scottish labour movement. This process culminated with the experiments of the Scottish De Leonists. They instituted the Socialist Labour Party of Great Britain in the image of Daniel De Leon's American SLP and, following the birth in Chicago of the Industrial Workers of the World, brought the theory of industrial unionism to Scotland. De Leonism played an important role in the rise of socialism on Clydeside in the early years of the twentieth century until the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, and the growing mass appeal of the Labour Party, heralded the decline of transatlantic socialist unity.

In recent years, industrial relations scholars have begun to discuss the �revitalisation strategies� unions are using to rebuild lost density, power, and political leverage. This thesis studies the role international activities play in the revitalisation of Australian unions. Rather than assert the importance of international activity, or emphasise the value of certain forms of international activity, the thesis seeks to understand why unions choose to engage in particular forms of international activity. International activity in Australian unions takes on a remarkable diversity of forms. The analysis of international activity therefore requires a theory that is capable of describing these different forms of international activity and then explaining why they exist. However most scholars have not examined the role of union agency in choosing international activity. Within industrial relations, there is very little existing theory or research on which to base the kind of analysis proposed for the thesis. Most theories are ideologically driven, prescriptive accounts that either promote or challenge particular institutions or ideas about international activity. The problem is that they deal with international activity as an abstract kind of response to universal pressures of globalisation. These kinds of arguments serve well to articulate the need for unions to �think globally�, but are ill suited to the task of the thesis, which is to explain particular forms of international activity in particular unions. The questions about international activity that the thesis intends to answer form a point of connection between industrial relations and the related discipline of labour geography. In making the connections between labour geography theory and the analysis of union international strategy, the thesis argues for labour geography as a political economic foundation for industrial relations in the tradition of Hyman�s Marxist theory of industrial relations. This provides a critical theoretical perspective and conceptual vocabulary with which to criticise and extend industrial relations research on international activity. The result is a spatialised theory organised according to topics of interest in industrial relations research that can be applied to the study of Australian international activity. The thesis is evenly divided between developing this theory and research on international activity in the Australian union movement. Empirical analysis begins with a study of the international activities and policy of the ACTU, distinguishing different kinds of international activity. By treating the international activities of theACTU as representative of the Australian union movement as a whole, the thesis identifies three functional levels of international activity: strategy-sharing, regional solidarity, and global regulation. The chapter also examines the material and discursive construction of the international scale within the ACTU. The thesis also analyses the international activities of three Australian unions,the TWU, LHMU and CFMEU. While all three unions engage in each level of international activity, the review of their activities shows differences in the focus of each union. The thesis suggests that the explanation for these different ratios depends in part on the spatial structure of the industries that the different unions organise. The kind of research undertaken in this thesis has little precedent. The work of the labour geographers on international activity does not deal with union revitalisation strategy, and the research from industrial relations on the strategic aspects of international activity have not latched on to labour geography. This thesis argues that unions scale their activities internationally for particular reasons, some of which are structural and can be specified up front, and others that are historically contingent and can only be explored on a case-by-case basis. In examining this �politics of scale� the thesis redefines many of the issues in the discussion of international activity and proposes a new conceptual background for industrial relations generally.

No description available.

No description available.

In recent years, industrial relations scholars have begun to discuss the �revitalisation strategies� unions are using to rebuild lost density, power, and political leverage. This thesis studies the role international activities play in the revitalisation of Australian unions. Rather than assert the importance of international activity, or emphasise the value of certain forms of international activity, the thesis seeks to understand why unions choose to engage in particular forms of international activity. International activity in Australian unions takes on a remarkable diversity of forms. The analysis of international activity therefore requires a theory that is capable of describing these different forms of international activity and then explaining why they exist. However most scholars have not examined the role of union agency in choosing international activity. Within industrial relations, there is very little existing theory or research on which to base the kind of analysis proposed for the thesis. Most theories are ideologically driven, prescriptive accounts that either promote or challenge particular institutions or ideas about international activity. The problem is that they deal with international activity as an abstract kind of response to universal pressures of globalisation. These kinds of arguments serve well to articulate the need for unions to �think globally�, but are ill suited to the task of the thesis, which is to explain particular forms of international activity in particular unions. The questions about international activity that the thesis intends to answer form a point of connection between industrial relations and the related discipline of labour geography. In making the connections between labour geography theory and the analysis of union international strategy, the thesis argues for labour geography as a political economic foundation for industrial relations in the tradition of Hyman�s Marxist theory of industrial relations. This provides a critical theoretical perspective and conceptual vocabulary with which to criticise and extend industrial relations research on international activity. The result is a spatialised theory organised according to topics of interest in industrial relations research that can be applied to the study of Australian international activity. The thesis is evenly divided between developing this theory and research on international activity in the Australian union movement. Empirical analysis begins with a study of the international activities and policy of the ACTU, distinguishing different kinds of international activity. By treating the international activities of theACTU as representative of the Australian union movement as a whole, the thesis identifies three functional levels of international activity: strategy-sharing, regional solidarity, and global regulation. The chapter also examines the material and discursive construction of the international scale within the ACTU. The thesis also analyses the international activities of three Australian unions,the TWU, LHMU and CFMEU. While all three unions engage in each level of international activity, the review of their activities shows differences in the focus of each union. The thesis suggests that the explanation for these different ratios depends in part on the spatial structure of the industries that the different unions organise. The kind of research undertaken in this thesis has little precedent. The work of the labour geographers on international activity does not deal with union revitalisation strategy, and the research from industrial relations on the strategic aspects of international activity have not latched on to labour geography. This thesis argues that unions scale their activities internationally for particular reasons, some of which are structural and can be specified up front, and others that are historically contingent and can only be explored on a case-by-case basis. In examining this �politics of scale� the thesis redefines many of the issues in the discussion of international activity and proposes a new conceptual background for industrial relations generally.

No description available.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how different fractions of Sweden’s left wing (the Social democrats, the Communists, the Syndicalists and the Socialist party) framed the end of the Spanish Civil War and the defeat of the republicans. To answer the purpose four newspapers Arbetaren (syndicalist), Folkets Dagblad (Socialist party), Ny Dag (communist) and Socialdemokraten (social democratic) have been analyzed qualitatively. The thesis has focused on how the different ideologies have framed the war, how they framed the other labour organizations and themselves plus how they relate to information about the war during the period of February 1st1939 till April 5th1939. The analysis shows that the Social democrats and the Communists framed the war as a conflict between fascism and socialism, whereas the Syndicalists and the Socialist party framed the war as a socialistic revolution. Because each side had their own view, their opinions on what threatened a republican victory differed. The Social democrats were most concerned that a non-democratic movement would win the war and the Communists feared that fragmentation within the republicans would threaten their chances to win. In contrast, the Syndicalists argued that the nonintervention policy would make the revolution impossible and the Socialist party framed the threat as the Communists, because of their non-revolutionary agenda.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX83516.