Professor Smith's research has focused on the political economy of advanced industrial nations, notably France, Italy, and Spain. He has been especially interested in the responses of Left governments, parties, and unions to challenges arising from the ongoing reorganization of capital. His dissertation and first book focused on the French labor movement at the local level. The book, Crisis in the French Labor Movement: A Grassroots Prospective (Macmillan/St. Martin's, 1987) is based on extensive field work in four Grenoble firms over a span of nine years that included interviews with more than 150 activists of the two largest unions, the CGT and CFDT.
Professor Smith's second book, The Left's Dirty Job: The Politics of Industrial Restructuring in France and Spain (University of Pittsburgh/University of Toronto, 1998) compares how Socialist governments in those two countries sought to adapt their core industries to changes in world markets during the 1980s and 1990s. Supported by grants from the Fulbright European Regional Research Program and the German Marshall Fund of the United States and based on over 100 interviews with political, labor, and business leaders, the book has been praised as "a valuable contribution to the field of comparative political economy" (Journal of Politics) and "an outstanding job...an important contribution to the literature on economic adjustment." (Industrial and Labor Relations Review).
Professor Smith's latest book, Enemy Brothers: Socialists and Communists in France, Italy, and Spain (Rowman & Littlefield, 2012) compares the relations between Socialist and Communist parties in these three nations since their initial split in the early 1920s, with special emphasis on the period from the 1960s to the present. Using a theoretical perspective stressing critical historical junctures, the book identifies and explains cross-national differences in alliance patterns. The work is based on fieldwork and interviews in all three countries.
BOOKS Enemy Brothers: Socialists and Communists in France, Italy, and Spain (Lanham, MD and Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012). The Left's Dirty Job: The Politics of Industrial Restructuring in France and Spain (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press; Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998) Crisis in the French Labor Movement: A Grassroots Perspective (London: Macmillan; New York: St. Martin's, 1987) ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS:
REVIEW ESSAYS:
"The Contentious Path of the Italian Left, 1920-2012," in R.T. Chasson and T.J. Sienkewicz, eds. The Power of Place: A Festschrift for Janet Goodhue Smith (Chicago: Associated Colleges of the MIdwest, 2012), 174-183.
"Field Lessons: The Whys and Hows of Interview-based Fieldwork." French Politics. 8 (March 2010), 101-108.
"Unemployment and the Left Coalition in France and Spain," South
European Society and Politics, 4:3 (Winter 1999), 111-133. Also appears
in Nancy G. Bermeo (ed.), Unemployment in Southern Europe: Coping
with the Consequences (Essex, UK: Frank Cass Publishers, 2000).
"Labor, Power, and the State in France: Lessons of Industrial Restructuring," in H. Chapman, et al. (eds.). A Century of Organized Labor in France:
A Union Movement of the Twenty-First Century? (New York: St. Martin's
Press, 1998), 189-204.
"The Left's Response to Industrial Crisis: Restructuring in the Steel
and Automobile Industries," in A. Daley (ed.), The Mitterrand
Era: Policy Alternatives and Political Mobilization in France (New
York: New York University Press, 1996), 97-113.
"Industrial Crisis and the Left: Adjustment Strategies in Socialist
France and Spain," Comparative Politics, 28:1 (October 1995),
1-24.
"Felipe González," entry in D. Wilsford (ed.), Political
Leaders of Contemporary Western Europe (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,
1995), pp. 176-182.
"Nationalization for What? Capitalist Power and Public Enterprise
in Mitterrand's France," Politics & Society, 18:1 (March
1990), 75-99.
"'We Can Make the Ariane, But We Can't Make Washing Machines:' The
State and Industrial Performance in Postwar France," in G. Ross and
J. Howarth (eds.). Contemporary France (London: Frances Pinter,
1989), 175-202.
"Towards Autogestion in Socialist France? The Impact of Industrial
Relations Reform," West European Politics, 10:1 (January
1987), 46-62.
"Dynamics of Plural Unionism in France: The CGT, CFDT, and Industrial
Conflict," British Journal of Industrial Relations, 22:1
(March 1984), 15-33.
"Paradoxes of Plural Unionism: CGT-CFDT Relations in France,"
West European Politics, 4:1 (January 1981), 38-53.
"Attitudes Toward Workers Control in France: Evidence From a Sample
of Trade Union Members," Sociological Review, 25:4 (November
1977), 877-885.
"The Movement for Self-Management in France: The Case of the French
Democratic Confederation of Labor (CFDT)," in Gary L. Olson (ed.), The Other Europe (Brunswick, OH: King's Court Press, 1977). Also
published as Discussion Paper, Center for Western European Studies, The
University of Michigan, 1976.
"Privatization in Latin America: How Did It Work and What Difference
Did It Make?", Latin American Politics and Society, 44:4
(Winter 2002), 153-166.
"A State of Bias: Review Essay on the French State," French
Politics and Society, 11:4 (Fall 1993), 117-125.
"International Economy and State Strategies: Recent Work in Comparative
Political Economy," Comparative Politics, 25:3 (April 1993),
351-372.
"Plus ça change? Elections and Electoral Behavior in France,
1978-86. A Review Essay," French Politics and Society, 5:3
(June 1987), 40-44.
"Is there a 'Crisis' in the French Labor Movement? A Review Essay,"
French Politics and Society, 5 (March 1984), 24-29.