Inheritors of Communism or New Warriors? The Development of Left-Wing Parties in Czechia and East Germany in Times of Polycrisis

The communist legacy has significantly shaped the position of left-wing parties in Central European countries. Above all, other political actors have systematically sought to contain left-wing parties in the region, frequently blaming them for crimes committed under former communist regimes. At the same time, left-wing actors have been constrained by a general decline in party membership and widespread distrust in politics - phenomena typical of states whose societies were highly politicized under communist rule. Despite these unfavourable conditions for broader left-wing political activity, new radical left parties have emerged over time in post-communist countries, often as social democratic. The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent polycrisis posed a major challenge to left-wing actors, who were generally less capable of disseminating their agendas than the radical right, which mobilized protest movements against pandemic restrictions, vaccination, and later against support for Ukraine. Nevertheless, the left-wing political arena underwent notable transformations during this period in several countries. This analysis focuses on transformations within the radical left-wing party arena in two territories that share several key characteristics: (i) communist regimes classified by Kitschelt (1999) as bureaucratic-authoritarian; (ii) post-1989 economic transformations driven primarily by right-wing actors; and (iii) the absence of reformed successor parties directly following communist „state parties“. Czechia and East Germany - specifically the regions known as the new German Bundesländer - thus form the basis for a most similar systems design (MSSD), enabling a comparison of two units with highly similar initial conditions. Between 2020 and 2025, this study traces internal changes and transformations within the left-wing party arenas of both territories. The analysis follows two dimensions commonly used in research on party institutionalization. First, it examines ideological and programmatic change within left-wing parties. This dimension is analysed through content analysis of party programme documents, complemented by data from the Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP). Particular attention is paid to the ideological division of the European left into progressive and conservative factions. Second, the study investigates organizational transformations, especially the emergence of new political parties and their cooperation with protest movements and trade unions. This dimension is explored through analysis of party statutes and internal reports, as well as original data derived from participant observation in both countries. These data include field notes and visual material collected at protest events and party-organized meetings. The research draws on empirical material related to Die Linke, and BSW in Germany, as well as the Social Democrats, Enough! (Stačilo!), and the Communist Party in Czechia. As a contribution, this study offers an original comparison involving East Germany, a region that remains underrepresented in research on post-communist countries. Furthermore, it reflects recent developments in the European left from a post-communist perspective, captures both established and emerging forms of left-wing political participation, examines interactions between parties, trade unions, and social movements, and presents original data based on field research.