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Popular Front
Popular Front A governing coalition of parties which was formed during the 1930s, made possible by a new directive of the world Communist movement, the International, which now encouraged its members to abandon previous policies of non-cooperation in favour of building a common front against Fascism. Although open to all pro-democratic parties, it was supported principally by left-wing parties. PF governments were intrinsically unstable due to the heterogeneity of their members, and because some of their members, notably the Communists and the socialists, competed for the same electorate.
In Spain, it was the election of a Popular Front government by a narrow margin in February 1936 which increased the tensions with the conservative voters and contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Despite chronic disunity among its members about the nature and extent of the reforms to be undertaken, the Popular Front proceeded to transform the economy along collectivist lines, while adminstrative power was given to workers' and peasants' councils. The Popular Front was defeated by General Franco in early 1939. In France, a Popular Front government was led by L. Blum from 1936. Its social reforms included the introduction of a 40-hour working week, paid holidays, and collective bargaining. However, it was unable to overcome the financial difficulties caused by the social programme and a sharp increase in military expenditure. Blum had to resign when the Communist Party, which had refused to join the Popular Front but upheld its majority in the Chamber of Deputies, rejected his policy of non-intervention in the Spanish Civil War. There followed a number of short-lived governments supported by the same coalition, but the Popular Front finally broke up in the wake of the Munich Agreement. In Chile, a PF government, which was directed not so much against Fascism as against the military, was established in 1936. The Radicals dominated the coalition: hence their more moderate policies of furthering state involvement in economics received priority over welfare reform. Alarmed by the steady rise in Communist support, however, and influenced by the Cold War, the Radicals switched sides to end the Popular Front and cooperate with the right to outlaw and persecute the Communists in 1948. |
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Popular Front." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Popular Front." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-PopularFront.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Popular Front." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-PopularFront.html |
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Popular Front
POPULAR FRONT
The Popular Front government came to power in France in June 1936, under the premiership of the socialist Léon Blum, author of the Blum–Viollette Plan. Tension between the French government and Arab nationalism was alleviated by the new govern-ment's vision of its commitment in the Middle East, particularly of the French mandate over the Levant. Stalled independence negotiations with nationalists of Syria were rejuvenated, and a Franco–Syrian treaty was signed in September 1936, in which France maintained some major supervisory powers. The treaty was never ratified by France, which by June 1937 had a new government with a more conservative colonial outlook. BibliographyKhoury, Philip S. Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 1920–1945. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1987. charles u. zenzie |
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Zenzie, Charles U.. "Popular Front." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Zenzie, Charles U.. "Popular Front." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424602187.html Zenzie, Charles U.. "Popular Front." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. 2004. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3424602187.html |
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Popular Front
Popular Front A political coalition of left-wing parties in defence of democratic forms of government believed threatened by right-wing fascist attacks. Such coalitions were made possible by the strategy adopted by the COMINTERN in 1934. In France such an alliance gained power after elections in 1936, under the leadership of Léon BLUM, who implemented a programme of radical social reforms. In Spain the Popular Front governments of Azaña, Caballero, and Negrin were in office from 1936 to 1939, and fought the SPANISH CIVIL WAR against FRANCO and the Nationalists. A Popular Front government ruled in Chile (1938–47).
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Cite this article
"Popular Front." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Popular Front." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PopularFront.html "Popular Front." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-PopularFront.html |
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popular front
popular front Alliance of left-wing political parties. In Europe, such alliances were formed in the 1930s partly in reaction to threats from the extreme right and with the encouragement of the Soviet Union. A popular-front government came to power in France, under Léon Blum (1936–37), and in Spain (1936), where it provoked a military revolt and civil war. In more recent times, revolutionary parties in many African and Asian countries have adopted the name.
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"popular front." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "popular front." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-popularfront.html "popular front." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-popularfront.html |
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popular front
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"popular front." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "popular front." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-popularfront.html "popular front." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-popularfront.html |
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