Resources of history and hope: Studying left-wing political parties through loss

Smolovic Jones, Owain; Carroll, Brigid; Sinha, Paresha

Abstract

The paper offers loss as a framework for identifying resources of hope in insider studies of left-wing political parties. It interrogates and builds on insights from our paper on the resistance leadership of Corbynism in the UK (Sinha et al., 2021), in conversation with Walter Benjamin and Raymond Williams, proposing political parties as perhaps unique resources of hope in times of loss. Three threads of hope are offered. The first is a consideration of the ambivalence of factions and the potential for intra and cross-factional learning and leadership. The second is the notion of leaders and leadership within political parties as an ongoing and live area of contention and possibility. The third is an examination of political parties as resources of care and hope. The paper concludes by making the case that insider research of political parties can engage with the contingency of history through recovering and composing potent narratives that can act as guides for future research and practice.

Citation

Smolovic Jones, O., Carroll, B., & Sinha, P. (2021). Resources of history and hope: Studying left-wing political parties through loss. Ephemera, 21(2), 199-215

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 1, 2021
• Publication Date: May 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2024
• Journal: Ephemera
• Print ISSN: 2052-1499
• Publisher: Ephemera editorial collective
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 199-215
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2115952
• Publisher URL: https://ephemerajournal.org/contribution/resources-history-and-hope-studying-left-wing-political-parties-through-loss-0