Abstracts History

The many social democracies of interwar Europe: social democratic thought in the interwar period

by Alex Burston-Chorowicz

The history of Social Democracy in the interwar period is constructed as one of systemic failure. It was unable to protect Central European democracy, even though it was intimately involved in its creation. Moreover, prior to World War One, Social Democracy went though a period of intensive intellectual and theoretical growth and innovation. In the interwar period however, historians argue that its intellectual contours stunted. It could bet move past its pre-1914 frame of reference. Without further revolution, and now wedded to liberal democracy and its institutions, Social Democracy capitulated to the various interwar crisis in an unimaginative, deterministic manner. My thesis questions this. It argues that interwar Social Democratic thought was innovative and highly contested. My thesis surveys the ideological contours of Social Democracy in the interwar era. The primary focus of my thesis is political thought and political economy. Through these examinations my thesis reveals that interwar Social Democratic thought was vibrant and innovative. The various crises of interwar Europe both produced and exposed internal contradictions. These contradictions formed through challenges to Social Democratic hegemonic discourses. Pressures from the right and left flanks congealed around their opposition to mainstream thinking, particularly during the Depression. These processes produced intellectual innovation, forging distinct modes of thought. The first two chapters outline Social Democratic thought in the decade following the end of World War One. Social Democracy passes through a period of optimism with democratisation of much of Europe followed by a malaise induced by lacklustre economic growth and electoral clout. Chapters three and four outline Social Democratic thought during the Depression. This is where innovation occurred in Social Democratic political economy. The final two chapters chart how the rise of the Third Reich radicalised much of the movement, while others parts moderated.