European Politics: A Comparative Introduction

Description

A fully revised fourth edition of a popular introduction to the comparative politics of Europe, written by a highly respected authority on the subject. This lively and thematically organised text provides an accessible guide to the institutions and the issues that matter in a continent where the boundaries between East and West, and between domestic and European affairs are increasingly breaking down. Covering a wide array of countries it is a concise yet comprehensive overview of one of the world's most important and fascinating regions. Written in an approachable style and packed with up-to-date, real-world examples and information, this is the ideal place for students to begin and to deepen their understanding of Europe’s politics. It can be adapted as a standalone text on modules on Comparative European Politics and will be of use as a key reading on undergraduate courses on Comparative Politics more broadly, as well as European Union Politics. New to this Edition: - Updated throughout to provide coverage of developments such as the Eurozone crisis, the growth of left and right-wing populism, the rise of nationalism and Europe's on-going immigration challenge - Includes a short concluding chapter, rounding up and considering the future of the book's core themes of Europeanization and multilevel governance - Additional country profiles on Croatia and Greece to ensure representative treatment of the key countries in Europe today Cover Contents List of Illustrative Material Introduction Why European politics? Why this book? Keeping it real – and up to date Where is it going? Getting started Guide to Text Features 1 Europe – a continent in the making People into empires Empires into nations Nations into states States into blocs The new Europe Europe’s economy – rich in variation Regions ‘Postindustrialism’? Transition Globalization and/or Europeanization? National and patterned variation Whatever happened to ‘the classless society’? Women – working but not yet winning? In theory if not in practice – religion in Europe Composition and identity: multi-ethnic, multinational – and European? Learning resources Discussion questions 2 The end of the nation state? Stateless nations Belgium – federal solution or slippery slope? ‘Asymmetrical’ federalism – Spain The UK – another hybrid France – no longer quite so indivisible The EU and the end of sovereignty? Origins, enlargement and institutions Integration via economics and law Tidying-up exercise or step towards a super-state? The Lisbon Treaty The end of the nation state? Learning resources Discussion questions 3 From government to governance – running the state, making policy and policing the constitution Passing power downwards – decentralization ‘More control over less’ – central government reform Policymaking – sectors and styles The booming third branch of government – the judicialization of politics Learning resources Discussion questions 4 Governments and parliaments – a long way from equality The head of state Prime minister, cabinet and parliamentary government Permutations of parliamentary government in multiparty systems Minimal (connected) winning coalitions Minority governments Oversized or surplus majority coalitions Government duration and stability Dividing the spoils – ‘portfolio allocation’ Governing Parliaments – one house or two? Parliaments – hiring and firing Parliaments – the production of law Parliaments – scrutiny and oversight Parliament and government – the European level Parliament, power and parties Europe’s unrepresentative representatives? Learning resources Discussion questions 5 Parties – how the past affects the present, and an uncertain future What are parties, and what are they for? Organization Party systems and party families Socialist and social democratic parties Conservative parties Christian democratic parties Liberal parties Green parties Far-right parties Communist and left parties Regional and ethnic parties Agrarian and centre parties The bases of party systems – social and institutional; luck and skill Party system change? Are parties in decline? The Europeanization of parties and party systems? Parties as doers, not simply done to Learning resources Discussion questions 6 Elections, voting and referendums – systems, turnout, preferences and unpredictability Europe’s myriad electoral systems Plurality and majority systems PR systems PR’s subtleties and sophistications Electoral systems and party systems Turnout – decline and variation Volatile voting Preferences – what makes people vote the way they do? Left–right and party ID The ‘end of class voting’ and the rise of values? Religion – another death announced prematurely? Other social characteristics – ethnicity, gender, and geographic location Issue- voting, retrospective judgements and leadership EP elections Direct democracy – useful tool or dangerous panacea? Learning resources Discussion questions 7 The media – player and recorder Variations in usage and style Structure and regulation State and public service broadcasting The connection between media systems and political systems The changing coverage of politics From ‘party logic’ to ‘media logic’ ‘Disdaining the news’, or at least the parties Bias and its effects Pressure groups and populists A brave new digital world? ‘Overseas’ news – one world; different pictures The media and ‘Europe’ Women and the media in Europe Learning resources Discussion questions 8 Participation and pressure politics – civil society, organized interests and social movements Participation – the expanding, but not necessarily alternative, repertoire Pressure groups – different types, different opportunities Pluralism, corporatism and policy networks Farming – a real-world example of power under pressure There is (still) power in a union Taking care of business Rebels with a cause? NGOs and (new) social movements ‘Venue shopping’ and the Europeanization of pressure politics Learning resources Discussion questions 9 Politics over markets: does politics – and left and right – still matter? Has politics ever really mattered? Drifting to the right? The centre left in Europe Party positions on the welfare state – words and deeds Privatization Flexible labour markets? The EU to the rescue? Beyond welfare – and left and right Why it still makes sense to be different Learning resources Discussion questions 10 Not wanted, but needed – migrants and minorities Migration into Europe – then and now Europe’s immigrants – grim realities and perceptions Illegal immigration Asylum seeking Intra-EU migration since enlargement The new stereotype – migrants and minorities as terrorists Political responses – populism, priming and ‘catch-22s’ Integrating and protecting migrants and minorities Policy responses – towards ‘Fortress Europe’? The Roma – Europe’s oldest ethnic minority No use wishing it away Learning resources Discussion questions 11 Protecting and promoting – Europe’s international politics Security and defence – the background ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Europe? Still ‘the German Question’ Russia – Eurasia’s (ex-?) superpower Europe’s Mediterranean ‘neighbours’ Towards a European army? Foreign policy Europe in the developing world Europe and the global environment Europe as a global trader Lest we forget – the enlargement and domestication of international politics Learning resources Discussion questions References Index