Introduction -- From communist crisis to post-Communist mutation -- The west European communists: perpetual crisis? -- The fall and (partial) rise of the Eastern European communists -- Modern democratic socialists or old-style social democrats? -- Left-wing populism: populist socialists and social populists -- Transnational party organizations: towards a new international? -- Parties and the wider movement -- Explaining electoral success and failure (with Charlotte Rommerskirchen) -- Conclusion