In Search of New Social Democracy: Insights From the South – Implications for the North

Why is the classical social democratic vision of development based on
social justice by democratic means losing ground? Why was it so
difficult to renew, even in the context of the third wave of democracy
in the South? How does this matter in the North too, and how might it be
reinvented? This accessible book brings to life major insights gained
through interviews with a large range of activists and political
protagonists in the southern cases of Indonesia, India, and the
Philippines but also in the northern social democratic stronghold of
Sweden. By considering the experiences in view of the basics of Social
Democracy and a broader comparative framework, Olle Törnquist arrives at
globally relevant conclusions. Olle Törnquist outlines the difficulties
facing the Global North and South in achieving the renewal of Social
Democracy, beginning with authoritiarianism and market\-driven
globalization. Crucially, Törnquist also puts forward suggestions for
how to achieve this reinvention, namely through broad alliances in the
Global South, supported by the Global North, for transformative rights
and welfare reforms that are universal, participatory and impartially
implemented which would serve as precursors to social economic growth
pacts.