Protest Movements and Parties of the Left

This rich introductory book takes us through key moments of resistance by protest movements and parties of the left. From the Russian Revolution to the Arab Spring, each of the ‘stories of disruption’ discussed in the book are proven to be both historically significant and presently relevant. The book is a must for students of political sociology and radical politics. -- Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, author of The Politics of Autonomy in Latin America
Bailey provides an impressive tour de force through the history of radical protest movements, their intellectual underpinnings, tactics and interlinkages with the statist Left. Written with such clarity and striking a perfect balance between a historical overview and refreshing new insights, the book is essential not only for students but also our collective memory of past and contemporary social struggles. -- Angela Wigger, Associate Professor Global Political Economy, Radboud University
With the recent return of the left to the political stage, Protest Movements and Parties of the Left offers a timely and detailed account of the various modes of protest and struggle adopted by the left in its historical quest to disrupt anti-democratic domination, in all its forms. Notable especially in its refusal of pessimism, David Bailey’s book surveys the greatest moments of the left’s historical struggle, striving to catch the spark of revolutionary potential in each, where the impossible was somehow, suddenly, made possible. Adopting something of a ‘toolbox’ approach, students and advanced scholars alike will appreciate Bailey’s open-minded stance on left strategy, finding those sparks everywhere, from the early days of 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, to the anarchist movements of the Spanish Civil War, to the more recent Occupy movement, and the ‘Left Populist’ struggles in Latin America and Europe. -- Nicholas Kiersey, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Ohio University Chillicothe