Crook, Max

Gramsci, hegemony and the move to the centre ground by the mainstream Left in Western Europe.

My research will use a neo Gramscian perspective to analysis the changing ideology of Left wing political parties.
To do this my research will concentrate on a neo Gramscian conception of political parties; this will allow me to understand the social forces behind the political parties and their role within the state and civil society. It is the ideology of mainstream Left wing parties that is of particular interest to me, My research will establish why political parties are able to abandon traditional goals; this will be done by exploring the changing relations of production in both a national and international context. The results of the changing ideology of the mainstream Left on society are also of interest to my research, this will be done with emphasis on the subaltern classes the Left are seen to represent. Gramsci’s work on hegemony and common sense will be vital in explaining these ideological changes, there source and role in society.