Comparing the New Left: American and Western European Radical Movements, 1955—1975 from the Lens of World History

Abstract

This article focuses on the novel theme of the rise of New Leftism in the West, particularly during its most eventful decades. It seeks to explore this theme as a topic of World History. There are three distinct aspects of this study that justify its rationale as a theme of World History, viz. The first, usually the rise of the New Leftist movement during the 1950s, is seen as an isolated phenomenon specific to different national contexts. It has usually been shot through perspectives underpinned by discontinuities and disharmonies. Moreover, the elusiveness of the definition of New Left makes it further problematic to make the implicit commonalities more explicit. But this article seeks to assess the impact of these two standards of New Leftism upon each other. Second, the apparent research gap concerning the comparative dimensions of this area, even in the vast stock of literature on this theme, has induced the author of the piece to explore this theme in this article. Third, this theme has not been explored as an area of World History, even though the phenomenon of Leftism has been an inspiring moral project endowed with both elements’ harmonization with national specificities as well as transcendental elements. Moreover, the international aspect of the New Leftist movement, by and large, remains unexplored. This article is divided into three sections. The first section deals with the definition of the New Left. Moreover, it brings to the fore certain common factors which were instrumental in the rise of the New Leftist movements across both sides of the Atlantic. Besides, by focusing on these themes, it further highlights the main postulates of the New Leftist movement's agenda. "The second section deals with comparative themes. It situates these movements within different trajectories of the social landscape, offering a detailed comparison across more than ten distinct areas. The third section explores the impact of New Leftism on World History, highlighting how this theme can enrich the field. The second section deals with comparative themes. Besides, situating these movements in different trajectories of the social maps. It makes detailed comparisons of these movements by isolating more than ten areas. The third section seeks to explore the impact of New Leftism on World History. Its further highlights in what ways this theme could be instrumental in enriching the subject matter of World History.      

Keywords: New left, Radical Movements, Isolated, Harmonization, Comparative Theme.