Please join us Friday, March 30th, from 2:00 to 3:00PM for the next installment in the ongoing Friday Forum Series hosted by The Center for the Study of Global Issues (GLOBIS), to be held in the 4th floor conference room of the Franklin House. This week's talk "Empty Nets: Social Democracy and the 'Catchall Party Theory' in Germany and Sweden." will be delivered by Dr. Christopher Allen of the Department of International Affairs at the University of Georgia. An abstract follows:
The social democratic parties of both Germany and Sweden were part of the "third way" movement common to such political parties during the 1990s. By continuing to moderate their positions and move away from their traditional bases, they seemed to embody -- one generation later -- the essence of Otto Kirscheimer's thesis. But in doing so, each of them opened up their left flanks and saw considerable growth of both Green and Left (former communist) parties fill the policy space that social democracy had relinquished. Both parties no longer lead their governments. This paper will ask whether the Kirscheimer thesis: a) was executed poorly by these social democratic parties; b) is no longer relevant for social democratic parties with the proliferation of smaller parties in many parliamentary systems; or c) needs fundamental revision not by trying to "catch all", but to catch a broader left that they may have missed by following Kirscheimer's thesis.
Also, please plan ahead for the next forum. On Friday, April 6th, at 2:00PM, Mr. Regan Damron and Mr. Nathan Freeman, both graduate students in the Department of International Affairs, will present talks in preparation for the Midwest Political Science Association conference. In addition, if anyone is interested in presenting a paper, thesis, prospectus, or dissertation to an interested and informed audience, please contact Jon Polk at the e-mail address or phone number listed below.
GLOBIS is located in the historic Franklin House on the corner of Thomas St. and Broad St. at the Northern edge of campus. Please email jonpolk@uga.edu or call 706-542-6633 for directions or to be removed from our mailing list.
