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Politics in Europe
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Politics in Europe

Seventh Edition

Other Titles in:
European Politics (General)

January 2019 | 808 pages | CQ Press
Politics in Europe, Seventh Edition introduces students to the power of the European Union as well as seven political systems—the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Poland—within a common analytical framework that enables students to conduct both single-case and cross-national analysis. Each case addresses the most relevant questions of comparative political analysis: who governs, on behalf of what values, with the collaboration of what groups, in the face of what kind of opposition, and with what socioeconomic and political consequences? Packed with captivating photos and robust country descriptions from regional specialists, the Seventh Edition enables students to think critically about these questions and make meaningful cross-national comparisons.
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Introduction
 
Part I: United Kingdom, Christopher J. Carman
 
1.1 The Context of British Politics
British Diversity

 
A United Kingdom of Four Countries

 
Stability and Change

 
Traditional and Modern: The Political Culture of the United Kingdom

 
Class Politics, but . . .

 
Conservatively Liberal Policy Ideas

 
Isolated but European

 
 
1.2 Where Is the Power?
British Parliamentary Government

 
The Monarch

 
The Prime Minister

 
The Cabinet and Government

 
Parliament

 
The Civil Service

 
The Judiciary

 
The Rest of Government

 
 
1.3 Who Has the Power?
Political Parties

 
The Party and Electoral Systems

 
The Two Major Parties

 
The Labour Party

 
The Conservative Party

 
Voting and Elections

 
Voter Turnout

 
Partisan Choice by Voters

 
Pressure Groups and Corporatism

 
Major Interest Groups

 
Patterns of Influence

 
 
1.4 How Is Power Used?
The Parliamentary Process and New Policies

 
Agenda Setting and Policy Formulation

 
Policy Continuation: Budgeting

 
Policymaking in Great Britain

 
 
1.5 What Is the Future of British Politics?
The Economy

 
The Public Sector

 
Who Rules Great Britain?

 
Who Rules in Government?

 
Continued Devolution, Breakup, or What?

 
 
Part 2: France
 
2.1 The Context of French Politics
Religion and Social Class

 
Education

 
Revolutions, Regime Changes, and Legitimacy Crises

 
Aspects of French Political Culture

 
 
2.2 Where Is the Power?
The President and the Government

 
The Parliament

 
The Administrative State

 
 
2.3 Who Has the Power?
Political Parties: Traditional “Political Families”

 
Elections in the Fifth Republic

 
The Future of Political Parties: Rivalries, Divisions, and Uncertainties

 
Interest Groups

 
2.4 How Is Power Used?

 
Deputies, Senators, and Decisions

 
Bureaucratic Politics

 
Delegating Responsibility for Decisions

 
Conflicts Within the System

 
 
2.5 What Is the Future of French Politics?
Stability, Modernization, and Democracy

 
Administration and Justice: Developments and Reforms

 
Problems and Prospects for France

 
The Economic Challenge: Welfare Statism and “Neoliberalism”

 
Foreign Policy: Europe and Beyond

 
Societal and Systemic Issues

 
 
Part 3: Germany
 
3.1 The Context of German Politics
Historical Context

 
Geographic and Demographic Context

 
Religion

 
Socioeconomic Structure

 
Education

 
Political Attitudes

 
 
3.2 Where Is the Power?
Policymaking Institutions

 
 
3.3 Who Has the Power?
Political Parties

 
Interest Groups

 
The German Voter, 1949–2017

 
Unified Germany at the Polls, 1990–2017

 
Voting Behavior

 
 
3.4 How Is Power Used?
Semipublic Institutions

 
The Social Security and Health Systems

 
Federal Labor Agency

 
How Power Was Used in the Kohl Era, 1982–1998

 
How Power Was Used in the Unification Process

 
The Use of Power by Schröder’s Red–Green Coalition, 1998–2002

 
How Power Was Used: The Grand Coalition, 2005–2009

 
Merkel’s Second Government: The CDU–FDP Coalition, 2009–2013

 
How Power Was Used: Merkel’s Third Term, 2013–2017

 
The Process of Policy Implementation

 
 
3.5 What Is the Future of German Politics?
Germany and the Euro Crisis

 
The Problem of Putin’s Russia

 
Immigration

 
Immigration and Asylum

 
Xenophobia and Right-Wing Violence

 
Germany’s International Role

 
Institutional Gridlock and the Federal System

 
Putting Germany Back Together Again: The Continued Challenge of Rebuilding and Integrating the East

 
The Economic Reconstruction of the East

 
 
Part 4: Italy
 
4.1 The Context of Italian Politics
Historical Context

 
Socioeconomic Context

 
Religion

 
Education

 
Political Culture

 
 
4.2 Where Is the Power?
The President: Guarantor of the Constitution and Ceremonial Chief of State

 
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

 
The Parliament

 
The Bureaucracy

 
The Judiciary

 
Subnational Governments

 
 
4.3 Who Has the Power?
Political Parties

 
The Voters: The Electoral System and Voting Behavior

 
Interest Groups

 
 
4.4 How Is Power Used?
The Multilevel Governance System in Italy

 
Policy Formulation

 
Policy Implementation and the Principle of Subsidiarity

 
Policy Outputs

 
Italy’s Economic Policy, 2000–2016

 
 
4.5 What Is the Future of Italian Politics?
Elements of Strength and Seeds of Crisis in the Italian Political System

 
The Italian Economy: Competitiveness in an Enlarged European Market

 
Italy and the European Union

 
The Question of Institutional Reform

 
An Uncertain Future

 
 
Part 5: Sweden
 
5.1 The Context of Swedish Politics
Sweden’s Welfare State

 
Long-term Social Democratic Dominance

 
Neutrality and Internationalism

 
Globalization and European Integration

 
Contrasting Views of Swedish Achievements

 
Geography, Resources, and Population

 
Early Political Development

 
Democratization and Industrialization

 
Political Culture: Constants and Change

 
 
5.2 Where Is the Power?
The Riksdag

 
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

 
The Monarch

 
Other Institutional Actors

 
A Consensual Democracy

 
 
5.3 Who Has the Power?
Political Parties

 
Profiles of the Political Parties

 
Sweden’s Newer Parties

 
Administrative Elites

 
Elections

 
Elections to the European Parliament

 
Governments and Oppositions

 
 
5.4 How Is Power Used?
Policy Process

 
Policy Outcomes

 
Dealignment and Erosion of the Traditional Swedish Model: A Chronology

 
Sweden and the European Union

 
Return of the Nonsocialists to Power

 
The 2010 and 2014 Elections: Swedish Politics Under Duress

 
2014 Political Crisis

 
Restricting Immigration

 
 
5.5 What Is the Future of Swedish Politics?
Toward a Cash-Free Society

 
An End to Neutrality?

 
A “New Nordic Model”

 
 
Part: Russia
 
6.1 The Context of Russian Politics
A Continent More Than a Country

 
A Slavic People

 
The Impact of Communist Rule

 
Political Development and Democratization

 
Gorbachev and Perestroika

 
 
6.2 Where Is the Power?
The Russian Presidency

 
Presidential Power in Postcommunist Russia

 
Electing the Russian President

 
The Premier and Government

 
The Duma and the Legislative Process

 
 
6.3 Who Has the Power?
Toward Competitive Politics

 
The Political Parties

 
Parties and Politics in Postcommunist Russia

 
 
6.4 How Is Power Used?
Privatizing the Economy

 
Foreign and Security Policy

 
The Commonwealth of Independent States and the East

 
 
6.5 What Is the Future of Russian Politics?
An Incomplete Democracy

 
Human Rights

 
 
Part 7: Poland
 
7.1 The Context of Polish Politics
Geographic and Historical Context

 
Present-Day Cleavages

 
Political Culture

 
 
7.2 Where Is the Power?
Politics by Trial and Error: Changing Rules With Uncertain Implications

 
The Institutions of Power

 
 
7.3 Who Has the Power?
Parties and the Party System

 
Other Political Forces at Work

 
 
7.4 How Is Power Used?
Three Criteria: Electoral Accountability, Policy Responsiveness, and Policy Effectiveness

 
Explaining How Power Has Been Used

 
 
7.5 What Is the Future of Polish Politics?
 
Part: European Union
 
8.1 The Context of European Union Politics
Basic Characteristics of the European Union

 
Origins of the European Union

 
From the ECSC to the EEC

 
British Responses and EFTA

 
Further Expansion of Membership

 
Deepening of European Integration

 
National Wealth

 
Levels of Economic Development

 
International Trade

 
The European Union as a Security Community

 
The European Union as a Security Community

 
 
8.2 Where Is the Power?
Objectives and Levels of EU Competence

 
EU Institutions

 
The European Council and the Council of Ministers

 
The European Council

 
Qualified Majority Voting

 
The European Commission

 
The European Parliament

 
The Court of Justice of the European Union

 
The European Central Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

 
Other Institutions

 
Citizens

 
 
8.3 Who Has the Power?
National Governments as Actors

 
The Councils as Actors

 
The European Commission and “Bureaucratic Politics”

 
European Parliament as Legislator and Watchdog

 
Private Interests

 
Citizen Inputs

 
Influential Individuals

 
 
8.4 How Is Power Used?
The Budgetary Process: Precursor to Economic Power

 
Revenue

 
Recipients of EU Funds

 
Allocation of EU Resources: An Overview

 
Economic Power and Objectives

 
EU Cohesion

 
Regulatory Power and the Single Market

 
Schengen Agreement

 
Rules on Competition and State Aids

 
Social Policy and the Environment

 
The Euro Area: Achievements and Crisis

 
Political Power: The European Union as a Global Player

 
Relations With North America

 
The Russian Bear and Economic Sanctions

 
Conflict Over the Ukraine

 
East European Partnerships

 
Relations With China

 
European Neighborhood Policies—Iraq, Iran, and Israel

 
Common Foreign and Security Policy

 
Citizenship, Freedom, Security, and Justice

 
Antiterrorism Policy

 
Immigration Crisis

 
Conflict With Turkey

 
EU Policy Assessment

 
 
8.5 What Is the Future of EU Politics?
Managing Economic Harmonization

 
Pending Enlargement of the European Union

 
The Russian Dilemma

 
Challenges to an “Ever-Closer Union”

 
The EU’s Own Vision of Its Future

 
 
Appendix

“It is a well-written text, with rich historical detail and a good division of history-structure-politics-society in each chapter.”

Johan Eliasson
East Stroudsburg University

“I appreciate the number of countries that are covered in the text as it gives students a good sense of the variety of types of political systems within Western Europe.”

Debra Holzhauer
Southeast Missouri State University

Sample Materials & Chapters

Introduction

Chapter 8: European Union


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ISBN: 9781506399096
£143.00