European Democracies

by Crepaz, Markus; Steiner, Jurg

• ISBN13: 9780205779727
• ISBN10: 0205779727
• Edition: 7th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-28
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Organized thematically rather than country-by-country,European Democraciesis an introduction to the politics and governments of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. Considering the countries of Europe from both the "supranational" level of the European Union and the "subnational" level of regions, this text employs a comparative approach to survey issues ranging from parties and policy to democratization and globalization. These issues are illustrated with in-depth examples from a variety of European countries as well as examples from politics in the United States. Throughout, Markus Crepaz and Jurg Steiner treat Europe as a single but diverse entity and ask students what European politics can teach them about politics in their own country.

Author Biography

Markus Crepaz is Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia.

 

Jürg Steiner is Professor of Political Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and the University of Bern.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
About the Authors	p. xvii
Becoming Modern in Europe and America: Different History, Different Politics	p. 1
How Do We Know that Europe Is Different?	p. 1
Explaining Differences: The Impact of History, Geography, and Culture	p. 8
Structure of the Book	p. 12
Key Terms	p. 14
Discussion Questions	p. 14
Notes	p. 14
Political Parties	p. 16
Political Parties-The "Children of Democracy"	p. 16
Functions of Political Parties	p. 17
Differences between Political Parties and Interest Groups	p. 19
Socialists	p. 20
Liberals	p. 25
Conservatives	p. 26
Christian Democrats	p. 30
New Radical Right	p. 31
Greens	p. 36
Regional Parties	p. 40
A Multidimensional Political Space	p. 41
Membership in Political Parties	p. 43
Stability and Change of Parties and Party Systems	p. 44
Key Terms	p. 45
Discussion Questions	p. 46
Notes	p. 46
Parliaments: How They Are Elected and How They Work	p. 48
Winner-Take-All: Great Britain	p. 49
Party List Proportional Representation: The Netherlands	p. 52
Personalized Proportional Representation: Switzerland, Ireland, and Germany	p. 55
Switzerland	p. 55
Ireland	p. 57
Germany	p. 60
Changing the Electoral System: France and Italy	p. 62
France	p. 62
Italy	p. 67
Voter Turnout	p. 72
Legislative Behavior	p. 73
Key Terms	p. 74
Discussion Questions	p. 74
Notes	p. 75
Cabinet Formation and Heads of State	p. 76
Single-Party Majority Cabinets	p. 78
Minimal-Winning Cabinets	p. 85
Oversized Cabinets	p. 89
Minority Cabinets	p. 93
Cabinet Instability	p. 94
Semipresidential Systems	p. 100
Advantages and Disadvantages of Parliamentary and Presidential Systems	p. 107
Advantages and Disadvantages of Presidentialism	p. 107
Advantages and Disadvantages of Parliamentarism	p. 109
Heads of State	p. 110
Monarchial Head of State	p. 110
Civilian Heads of State	p. 111
Key Terms	p. 112
Discussion Questions	p. 113
Notes	p. 113
Courts	p. 115
Great Britain	p. 116
Switzerland	p. 118
Germany	p. 119
France	p. 121
Hungary	p. 122
Key Terms	p. 122
Discussion Questions	p. 123
Notes	p. 123
Federalism and Referenda	p. 124
Switzerland: Prototypical Case of a Federalist Country with a Strong Referendum	p. 124
European Trend toward Federalism and Referenda	p. 129
Arguments against Federalism and Referenda	p. 133
Key Terms	p. 135
Discussion Questions	p. 135
Notes	p. 135
Social Movements	p. 136
Environmental Movement	p. 136
Peace, Third-World, and Antiglobalization Movements	p. 138
Women's Movement	p. 140
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Movement	p. 143
Youth Movement	p. 147
Key Terms	p. 151
Discussion Questions	p. 151
Notes	p. 152
The State and Economic Interest Groups	p. 153
The State as a Political Actor	p. 153
Economic Interest Groups	p. 155
Pluralism and Corporatism	p. 157
The Theory of Corporatism	p. 160
The Future of Corporatism	p. 163
Comparing European and American Responses to the Great Meltdown of 2008	p. 165
The Paternalist Role of the State	p. 168
Attitudes toward Risk	p. 169
Class Consciousness	p. 169
Civil Service in Europe	p. 169
Family, History Matters	p. 169
Key Terms	p. 170
Discussion Questions	p. 170
Notes	p. 171
Policy Outcomes	p. 172
Explaining Variation in Poverty Rates	p. 175
Explaining Further Policy Outcomes	p. 179
Key Terms	p. 192
Discussion Questions	p. 192
Notes	p. 192
The End of the Cold War	p. 193
Classical Marxism	p. 194
Neo-Marxism	p. 196
Communism in Central and Eastern Europe	p. 200
Poland	p. 202
Hungary	p. 203
East Germany	p. 204
Communism in Western Europe	p. 207
Key Terms	p. 210
Discussion Questions	p. 210
Notes	p. 210
Transitions to Democracy	p. 211
The Federal Republic of Germany After 1945	p. 211
Italy After 1945	p. 213
Spain After 1975	p. 214
Hungary After 1989	p. 215
Poland After 1989	p. 219
Ukraine in 2004	p. 224
Explanations	p. 226
Russia	p. 227
Key Terms	p. 227
Discussion Questions	p. 228
Notes	p. 229
Nationalism and Ethnicity	p. 230
War in Former Yugoslavia	p. 231
Northern Ireland	p. 239
Basque Country	p. 240
Immigration	p. 244
Sports Events	p. 245
More Benign Aspects	p. 245
Key Terms	p. 248
Discussion Questions	p. 248
Notes	p. 249
Power Sharing in Deeply Divided Societies	p. 250
Development of the Theory of Power Sharing	p. 250
Critique of the Theory of Power Sharing	p. 254
Northern Ireland	p. 260
Former Czechoslovakia	p. 266
Former Yugoslavia	p. 270
Power Sharing and Deliberation	p. 277
Normative Evaluation of Power Sharing	p. 278
Key Terms	p. 280
Discussion Questions	p. 280
Notes	p. 280
The European Union	p. 283
History of European Integration	p. 283
Council of Ministers	p. 286
European Council	p. 287
European Commission	p. 288
European Parliament	p. 289
European Court of Justice	p. 293
European Bureaucracy	p. 296
What Does the European Union Do?	p. 296
Agricultural Policy	p. 297
Regional and Development Policy	p. 298
Common Currency-the Euro	p. 298
Continued Expansion: Where Does "Europe" End?	p. 299
Turkey's EU Membership Prospects	p. 300
A Constitution for Europe? "Non" and "Nee"	p. 302
Key Terms	p. 306
Discussion Questions	p. 306
Notes	p. 307
Globalization and European Democracies	p. 308
What Is Globalization?	p. 309
How Should Globalization Be Measured?	p. 313
The Challenges of Globalization for European Democracies	p. 315
The Welfare State and Globalization	p. 317
Immigration and Globalization	p. 319
Globalization and the Fragility of Community	p. 323
Is Globalization a Threat or an Opportunity for European Democracies?	p. 324
Key Terms	p. 325
Discussion Questions	p. 325
Notes	p. 326
Index	p. 327
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