Explaining the political strategies of radical left parties in Europe after 2008

As consistent critics of neoliberalism, Radical Left parties have enjoyed a unique political position after the 2008 financial crisis. One main factor affecting these parties’ electoral success was whether they adopted more “flexible” political strategies and discourse that could appeal to a broader audience of voters. That raises the question of why only some Radical Left parties have adopted a “flexible” strategy while others have not. This article develops a novel theoretical framework to answer this question, arguing that the strategic choices of Radical Left parties were affected by a set of external conditions - primarily the severity of social and economic conditions and the features of political competition - and internal features - primarily ideological heritage and the degree of party leadership autonomy. Empirically, those findings are based on an extensive in-depth comparative analysis of six Radical Left parties in three countries: Denmark, France, and Spain.