Activism and Dissent under State Socialism: Coalitions and Campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s

Authors: Daniel Laqua and Charlotte AlstonThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2021), 86, (3), 295-311. Find out more. This article introduces a special Labour History Review issue on the subject of Challenges to State Socialism in Central and Eastern Europe: Activists, Movements and Alliances in the 1970s and 1980s. Our piece highlights different stimuli for dissent and opposition in the Eastern bloc, drawing … Continue reading Activism and Dissent under State Socialism: Coalitions and Campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s

‘Gamekeeper Turned Poacher’: Frank Chapple, Anti-Communism and Soviet Human Rights Violations

Author: Mark HurstThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2021), 86, (3), 313-337. Find out more. The inclusion of the British trade union leader Frank Chapple on the panel of the 1985 Sakharov hearings, an event designed to hold the Soviet authorities to account for their violation of human rights, raises questions about the workings of the broader network of activists … Continue reading ‘Gamekeeper Turned Poacher’: Frank Chapple, Anti-Communism and Soviet Human Rights Violations

Solidarity in Search of Human Agency: ‘Détente from Below’ and Independent Peace Activists in the Soviet Union

Author: Irina GordeevaThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2021), 86, (3), 339-368. Find out more. While the histories of Western grassroots movements and the officially sanctioned, communist-sponsored peace movement are well known, the independent peace activists of the Soviet bloc have remained footnotes in the history of social movements. The Group for the Establishment of Trust between East and West … Continue reading Solidarity in Search of Human Agency: ‘Détente from Below’ and Independent Peace Activists in the Soviet Union

Transnational Dimensions of a ‘German Case’: The Expatriation of Wolf Biermann and the Politics of Solidarity in the 1970s

Author: Daniel LaquaThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2021), 86, (3), 369-396. Find out more. In November 1976, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) announced the expatriation of the dissident singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann, preventing his return from a concert tour in West Germany. This step attracted widespread press coverage and sparked a substantial expression of solidarity by East German intellectuals. This … Continue reading Transnational Dimensions of a ‘German Case’: The Expatriation of Wolf Biermann and the Politics of Solidarity in the 1970s

Green Volunteers in Czechoslovakia: The Youth Magazine Mladý svět and its Environmental Campaign, 1970s–1980s

Author: Alexandra WedlThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2021), 86, (3), 397-423. Find out more. Concern with environmental degradation was one factor contributing to the discontent preceding the revolutions of 1989 in East-Central Europe. This article identifies the trajectories of environmental activism in Czechoslovakia, one of the most industrialized countries of the post-1945 socialist bloc. Analysing the media representation of … Continue reading Green Volunteers in Czechoslovakia: The Youth Magazine Mladý svět and its Environmental Campaign, 1970s–1980s

Self-Government in Late 1980s Czechoslovakia: The Slovak Philosopher Miroslav Kusý against the Communist Party

Author: Dirk Mathias DalbergThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2021), 86, (3), 425-452. Find out more. Self-government is one of the most popular terms in left-wing political thought. In the second half of the twentieth century, it was used and discussed both in Western liberal democracies and in the communist bloc. The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev used this notion from … Continue reading Self-Government in Late 1980s Czechoslovakia: The Slovak Philosopher Miroslav Kusý against the Communist Party

Seven labour history anniversaries in 2022

In 2022, as every year, it is possible to look back and see significant milestones in labour history taking place 25, 50 or 100 years ago. Here we recall seven memorable events, each a quarter of a century further back in time. They include labour movement victories and defeats, and like all of history their interpretation and significance continue to be contested – the role … Continue reading Seven labour history anniversaries in 2022

When Santa and his elves formed a union

In an era when every self-respecting town centre of any size had at least one department store, no December shopping trip would have been complete without a visit to Santa’s grotto. The experience left most small children with a smile on their face and a cheap toy, while the store owners were equally happy with the additional profits. But for the bit-part actors and bar … Continue reading When Santa and his elves formed a union

The Copenhagen connection: Harold Wilson, Jens Otto Krag and Labour European policy

Labour’s European policies in the Wilson era were shaped not just in Whitehall but by formal and informal links between key players in the party and its Danish counterpart, says Dr Matt Broad, author of Harold Wilson, Denmark and the Making of Labour European Policy, 1958–72 Continue reading The Copenhagen connection: Harold Wilson, Jens Otto Krag and Labour European policy