European politics today

In the second edition of this textbook on European politics, the authors provide a comprehensive introduction to the political systems and processes of western Europe. They demonstrate clearly that political decisions are not made in a vacuum, but in the context of historical developments, geographical constraints and social demands. The book begins with an overview of the features and events which have shaped the political landscape of Europe up to the end of the 20th century. The authors go on to discuss liberal democracy, historical sources of conflict between countries, electoral systems, political parties and interest groups, governments and parliaments. The final section looks at federalism and EU decision-making and concludes with a consideration of how liberal democracies in western Europe have attempted to provide stable government while remaining responsive to changes in society. The text has been updated to take account of the French, British and Italian general elections that have occurred, as well as the momentous changes that have taken place in global politics as a result of September 11th terrorist attacks and the preparations for EU enlargement. The chapters on the European Union and democracy in western Europe have also been substantially revised to take account of globalization and recent political corruption issues.