New Labour is back in power - where now? What should the party's agenda be? How should the centre-left react to a changed external world marked by economic downturn, protests against globalization and an unstable international order?

Anthony Giddens argues that to answer these questions, and assess the progress Labour has made, we must take a comparative perspective. Breaking with the insularity that has marked much political debate in the UK, Giddens draws extensively on the experience of social democrats in other countries. All centre-left parties are reacting to common issues and problems that have forced a rethinking of leftist traditions.

Giddens argues that Labour can and should develop a more compelling ideological framework than exists so far, and a clearer view of what kind of society Britain should become. This can only be achieved, however, by building upon the New Labour project, not by returning to policies of the past that quite rightly have been discarded.