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Numerous studies show that ruling parties paid a political price for the recent economic crisis. Yet the degree to which the most-affected households held the government accountable for their personal economic misfortune during the crisis remains an open question. Survey data from 21 countries in Europe and Central Asia show that individuals whose income was adversely affected by the crisis, who had to curtail spending to make ends meet, or who tried to increase their income were more likely to disapprove of incumbent governments than were those who were less directly affected. Panel data from the Netherlands confirms that drops in income during the crisis led to lower levels of government support. While politicians were held accountable for the crisis generally, households that suffered economic pain held their governments accountable for their losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the social and political conditions in Europe, contending that the definitions of the political left and right have been called into question by anti-establishment radicalism. An overview of radical political parties in the European Parliament, including the Greek political party Golden Dawn, the Austria political party the Freedom Party of Austria and the Hungarian political party Jobbik, is provided. European economic conditions' impact on politics, including in regard to unemployment and stagnant wages, are discussed.

The article discusses the European political left and social democracy from the 1970s through the mid 2010s, including the impact of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis on the left. An overview of neoliberalism in Europe, including in regard to the blame received by European social democratic parties for the Sovereign Debt Crisis is provided. An overview of the role that economic conditions in Europe play in politics on the continent, including regard to British Labor Party chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's praise of the British economy, is also provided.

The article discusses political and social turmoil in Greece as of 2014. Topics include efforts to prosecute corrupt political and business leaders, political violence surrounding the far right Golden Dawn political party, and Greece's fiscal and economic crisis involving public debt that began in 2009. Also addressed are the social impact of government austerity measures, internal devaluation that lowered the minimum wage, and the prospects of liberal or center left politicians in 2014.

The article analyzes the potential for far right political parties to gain ground in May 2014 elections for the European Union's (EU's) European Parliament (EP). Parties noted include the French National Front (FN), the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), and the Golden Dawn party in Greece. Other topics include the economic impact of the Great Recession in 2008 on far right parties, differences between extreme and radical political parties, and the notion of second-order election cycles.

In the 1990s, anti-globalization movements began contesting the effects of neoliberal policies and their social consequences, organizing several protests in Seattle (1999), Genoa (2001), New York (2002), targeting institutions such as the G-8 group or the World Trade Organization (WTO). After the financial crisis of 2008 in the United States, other social movements of resistance to capitalism began to protest in the streets of the U.S. and Europe, among which are the Indignados (Spain), Occupy Wall Street (USA) and Geração à Rasca (Portugal). The purpose of this article is to perform a theoretical analysis, based on contemporary social science authors, of the social movements that emerged after the financial crisis of 2008, placing them in the context of contemporary capitalism. It concludes that, despite the increased incidence of such social movements worldwide, the present context of economic recession still causes high unemployment rates in the countries most affected by the crisis, the environment remains threatened and most political parties suffer a big crisis of representation within civil society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issues on political economy and austerity in Europe. It states that former Prime Minister Andreas George Papandreou has proposed a legislative act for the Greek society to own and take responsibility for austerity. It says that the conflict against austerity is a battle for the basic supply of human needs, clothing, and housing. It adds that anti-austerity identifies a political task of reconstituting capitalism in the workers' interest.