Eurocommunism

Eurocommunism was a tendency among Western European communist parties in the 1970s that pursued socialism through democratic institutions and national independence from Soviet direction.

Prague Spring: A 1968 reform movement in Czechoslovakia that sought to liberalize communist rule before a Soviet-led invasion ended it. The invasion sharpened Western communist parties’ rejection of unquestioned Soviet leadership.
Democratic socialism: A political tradition that seeks socialist goals through democratic institutions and popular political participation. Eurocommunists argued that socialism should be reached and governed through democratic procedures.
Soviet Union: A federal socialist state that existed from 1922 to 1991 and was dominated by the Communist Party. Eurocommunism asserted national party autonomy against the Soviet Union’s political and ideological authority.
Italian Communist Party: Italy’s major communist party, which developed a prominent independent and parliamentary strategy under Enrico Berlinguer. Its electoral strength made Eurocommunism a serious national governing prospect.
Hungarian Revolution of 1956: A popular uprising against Soviet-backed rule in Hungary, suppressed by Soviet forces in 1956. Its suppression had already raised doubts within Western communist parties about Soviet control.
Popular front: A political alliance in which left-wing parties cooperate, often with liberals, against a common political threat. Broad alliances offered a parliamentary route to influence beyond the communist electorate.
Communist Party of the Soviet Union: The ruling party of the Soviet Union and the central authority of the international communist movement for much of the twentieth century. Its leadership was precisely the external control Eurocommunists sought to escape.
Spanish transition to democracy: Spain’s transition from Francoist dictatorship to parliamentary democracy after Francisco Franco’s death in 1975. The Spanish Communist Party’s legalization and participation tested Eurocommunist commitments in a new democracy.
Spanish Communist Party: Spain’s communist party, led during the transition from Francoism by Santiago Carrillo. Its acceptance of pluralist democracy and national symbols exemplified the tendency’s political adaptation.
Historic compromise: Enrico Berlinguer’s strategy of seeking cooperation between Italy’s Communists and Christian Democrats to stabilize democracy. It translated Eurocommunist autonomy into a specific Italian proposal for cross-party cooperation.

Linked from 21 pages