The author, in this study, examines from a comparative and historical perspective the rise, fall, and legacy of the political movement of Eurocommunism. Focusing on the Communist Parties of Italy, France, Spain, and the small but influential Communist Party of Greece, during the "long 70s" period, which extends from the turning point of 1968 until shortly before the collapse of the communist world, it approaches a decisive "moment" in the evolution of the European Left.

The main argument is that Eurocommunism was a bold political experiment that sought to provide strategic direction and coherence to the European communist movement, in the window of opportunity opened by the dual crisis of the Soviet and Western models, as well as within the constraints of the time. "Party of struggle and party of governance": this was the original political composition attempted by the Eurocommunists, with elements of revolutionary militancy but also a pragmatic reformism, linking socialist transformation with the problem of the state and power, with liberal democracy and a pluralistic society, through their competitive and conciliatory relationship with social democracy and with the perspective of shaping a political project on a European scale.

Eurocommunism is simultaneously a nexus that connects the past with the present of the European Left. Despite its historical defeat, it has defined and continues to define as decisive, albeit contradictory, legacy the orientations of today's post-communist, radical Left in Europe.