Social Democracy in Practice

The end of the cold war in the last decade of the 20th century did not yield the expected “peace dividends” and was marked by bitter conflicts, based on religion and ethnicity, which have become pronounced and terrifying. At the same time, commercial and consumerist factors are in the ascendant and accelerating the process of globalisation. This, in its turn, is undermining democracy. The very assumptions of the Democratic State are being challenged. In this context, a look back at the socialist International provides insights for understanding the confused march of the post-cold war world because Social Democracy has been and is very much a part of the contemporary political processes. It was towards the end of the Second World War that certain individuals and parties with social democratic orientation came together and began testing the values of equality, justice, freedom and solidarity on the grounds of practical politics. Their efforts led to the formation of the Socialist International (SI). And their task continues. The SI has now acquired global dimensions. As the biggest international political organization. It formulated policies about and responded to the challenges of colonialism, disarmament, the North-South divide, sustainable development environment, globalisation and terrorism. It has also dealt creatively with the problems of democracy and economic development. The SI believes that a simultaneous tackling of these challenges will lead to ‘humane global governance’. The book unfolds the saga of the bold intellectual and political initiatives of the SI in its quest for social democratic solutions to the diverse and acute problems confronting the contemporary world.