Synopses & Reviews
The end of the Cold War and the opening of the Soviet, and especially the Communist International (Comintern), archives, have revolutionized the history and historiography of Communism and the Soviet Union and national communist parties. And nowhere has the upheaval been greater than in the history of the "Third Period". The Comintern officially announced in 1928 the "Third Period" in capitalist development and communist struggle. All national communist parties had to cease collaboration with social democrat and labor movements and adopt the policy of 'class against class' as dictated by Moscow. Most historians have seen this policy as a disaster leading to the demise of communism as an international force. However, this collection of contributions by an international team of scholars demonstrates not only that international communism survived, national parties flourished, fought fascism, and the Popular Front emerged as a major international force.
About the Author
Matthew Worley is Lecturer in History, University of Reading.
Table of Contents
List of Contributors * Courting Disaster? The Communists International and the Third Period--M. Worley * Storm Over Asia: Comintern Colonial Policy in the Third Period--J. Callaghan * Presenting a Crisis As an Opportunity: The KPD and the Third Period, 1929-33--N. Laporte * To the Left and Back Again: The Communist Party of Great Britain in the Third Period--M. Worley * The Italian Communist Party and the Third Period--A. Agosti * French Communism, the Comintern and Class Against Class: Interpretations and Rationales--S. Hopkins * Wreckage or Recovery: A Tale of Two Parties--G. Swain * The Portuguese Communist Party, Its Ancilliary Organisations and the Communist International's Third Period--C. Cunha * The 'Good Bolsheviks': The Spanish Communist Party and the Third Period--T. Rees * A Final Stab at Insurrection: The American Communist Party, 1928-34--J. Ryan * Red or Yellow? Canmadian Communists and the 'Long; Third Period, 1927-36--J. Manley * The New Line in the Antipodes: Australian Communists and Class Against Class--S. Macintyre * The Communist Party of New Zealand and the Third Period--K. Taylor * The Chinese Communist Party During the Third Period, 1927-34--P. Stranahan * Blowing Up India: The Comintern and India, 1928-34--J. Callaghan * The New Line in South Africa: Ideology and Perception in a Very Small Communist Party--A. Drew * Moscow in the Tropics: The Third Period, Brazilian Style--M. Santana