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Labor Studies Journal
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The Crisis of "Social Democratic" Unionism

The "Opening up" of Civil Society and the Prospects for Union Renewal in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany

Martin Upchurch

Middlesex University, London

Graham Taylor

University of the West of England

Andy Mathers

University of the West of England

This article defines and explores the crisis of social democratic trade unionism in three countries in western Europe. The authors contend that a particularized form of postwar trade union orientation was socially constructed in Britain, Germany, and France in which a party union nexus gave special privileges to unions in return for compliance with state policies in the national interest. This arrangement has broken down in recent years under the pressure of global product market competition. As a result, trade unions are being forced to adopt alternative strategic orientations, involving both a fracture in the party union nexus and a willingness to work within wider civil society.

Key Words: trade unionism • community unionism • neoliberalism • social movement unionism • party union nexus

This version was published on December 1, 2009

Labor Studies Journal, Vol. 34, No. 4, 519-542 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0160449X08324739
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