Progressive politics finds itself in an incredibly testing era. The accelerating economic, social and political shifts put vast pressure on progressive movements. Being electorally challenged by the conservative right and the radical left they struggle to appeal to voters or bear the fruits of their time in government. The coming decades offer both great opportunities - the chance for entrepreneurs to develop new, efficient and innovative businesses creating jobs, economic growth and high returns on investment - and high risks, especially for unskilled workers from traditional industries and routine services, placing significant strains on existing social security systems. The centre left imperatively needs to develop a progressive policy offer and narrative that puts social modernisation and a positive vision of the innovation economy at the centre. This special Policy Network volume offers fresh analyses and reform proposals for the centre left in Europe and worldwide. It brings together a wide array of authors and ideas focusing on institutional change, new policies and political narratives to meet the challenges of progressive governance in a high-opportunity, high-risk era.
Acknowledgements / About the Contributors / Introduction/ Part I: Big Picture: On 21st Century Realities / 1. Rebuilding Economic and Political Capital for EU Integration, Silvia Merler / 2. The Future of the Welfare State, Peter A Hall/ 3. The Rise of Challenger Parties and the Decline of the European Left, Sara Hobolt and Catherine de Vries/ 4. Beyond the Third Way: A New Inclusive Prosperity for the 21st Century, Ed Balls / Part II: Economics: Innovation, Competitiveness and Smart Regulation / 6. A Digital Progressive Project, Karen Kornbluh/ 7. The Digital Economy - A Platform for Centre-Left Revival?, Paul Hofheinz / 8. Women's Labour Market Participation - Continuing Challenges in Sweden, Moira Nelson and Dalia Mukhtar-Landgren / 9. Fuelling Future Growth in Europe, Carlotta de Franceschi / 10. Creative Destruction and the Changing Geography of European JobS, Thor Berger / 11. The Rise of the Citizen Expert, Beth Simone Noveck / Part III: Social Policy: Upskilling and Social Investment/ 12. Preventative Policy in Action - North Rhine-Westphalia, Hannelore Kraft / 13. The Changing Nature of Jobs - And a Policy Agenda on Education and Training For High-Value Jobs, Lodewijk Asscher/ 14. Training and Protecting in the Innovating Economy, Pierre-Yves Geoffard / 15. A Modern and Fair Labour Market Agenda for Europe, Enrique Fernandez-Macias / Part IV: Politics: Coalition-Building in an Age of Political Fragmentation / 16. The Future is an Opportunity Not a Threat - If Progressives Get the Message Right, Frank Stauss / 17. If Political Parties Were Startups ..., Guillaume Liegey / 18. Reflections on the Centre Left in Europe and Latin America, Andres Velasco / 19. Politics in the New Hard Times, Andrew Gamble
