European Democracies

by Crepaz, Markus; Steiner, Jurg

• ISBN13: 9780205854783
• ISBN10: 0205854788
• Edition: 8th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-15
• Publisher: Pearson

Summary

Updated in its 8thedition, European Democraciesis an introduction to the politics and governments of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe. Organized thematically rather than country-by-country, this text analyzes European countries from the level of the European Union and from the level of regions. It also surveys issues ranging from parties and policy to democratization and globalization. Throughout, Markus Crepaz and Jurg Steiner treat Europe as a single but diverse entity and ask readers to compare what they learn about European politics with the politics of their own country.

Author Biography

Markus M.L. Crepaz is Professor of Political Science at the University of Georgia in the School of Public and International Affairs. He is currently the Head of the Department of International Affairs. He was born and raised in Austria. After attending the University of Salzburg from 1982 to 1986, he began his graduate study at the University of California, San Diego, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1992. He has published numerous articles on electoral engineering, European politics, corporatism, and the impact of political institutions on a host of policy outcomes. His current research focuses on the effects of increasing immigration on the willingness of European publics to continue funding the welfare state. His latest book is entitled Trust beyond Borders: Immigration, Identity and the Welfare State in Modern Societies and was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2008. Having lived in both worlds, the Old and the New, gives him a unique perspective from which to teach and research European politics in the United States.

 

Jürg Steiner is professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Bern in Switzerland. He held a 2003-2004 chair position at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. He is the winner of several teaching awards. His most recent publication is Foundation of Deliberative Democracy, Cambridge University Press, 2012. Currently, he works on the potential for deliberative politics in deeply divided societies. Steiner is a Swiss citizen who for 40 years divides his  time between the United States and Switzerland.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Becoming Modern in Europe and America: Different History, Different Politics

Chapter 2. Political Parties

Chapter 3. Parliaments: How They are Elected and How They Work

Chapter 4. Cabinet Formation and Heads of State

Chapter 5. Courts

Chapter 6. Federalism and Referendum

Chapter 7. Social Movements

Chapter 8. The State and Economic Interest Groups

Chapter 9. Policy Outcomes

Chapter 10. The End of the Cold War

Chapter 11. Transitions to Democracy

Chapter 12. Nationalism and Ethnic Movements

Chapter 13. Power Sharing in Deeply Divided Societies

Chapter 14. The European Union

Chapter 15. Globalization and European Democracies