Foundations of European Politics A Comparative Approach
Catherine E. De Vries
Sara B. Hobolt
Sven-Oliver Proksch
Jonathan B. Slapin
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom
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Preface
The idea for this textbook goes back to a sunny afternoon in bustling Milan in June 2017. The four of us were participating in the annual conference organized by the European Political Science Association and we met in a street café to exchange views about our ongoing research projects. The conversation moved on to a more general discussion of teaching European politics at our various universities. Each of us regularly teach classes on European politics, albeit in four different countries, including general introductions but also seminars and lectures focusing on elections and voting behaviour, political institutions, and European Union politics. Over the years, we had come to realize that existing textbook resources to teach these classes had become increasingly difficult to use for two reasons.
First, explaining patterns in national politics in Europe without an understanding of the developments at the European Union level was becoming nearly impossible. Brexit may be the most obvious example, but there are many other instances where EU politics matters increasingly for national politics. For instance, the emergence of new political parties in national elections may have roots in European level politics. Second, explaining interactions at the European Union level between governments and supranational actors is increasingly difficult without understanding the domestic politics behind action at the European level. National parties, for example, continue to play an important role in the political framework of the European Union.
On that day, sitting in the Milan street café, we decided to write a new textbook that bridges the national and European levels of government by adopting a rigorous analytical approach in the hope that such a resource will be useful for university teachers and students alike in learning about the
fundamentals of contemporary European politics. This book is the culmination of our efforts.
In addition to providing the theoretical foundations necessary to understand national and European political actors and institutions, the textbook aims to expose students to various political data in Europe. The book offers many data visualizations, as well as extensive online materials that introduce major political science datasets currently being used by academics to study European politics. The online materials allow students to answer exercise questions using interactive data visualizations based on these datasets. In combination, we hope that the book and the online materials will be used by the next generation of scholars of European politics.
This textbook would not have been possible without the help of numerous scholars and colleagues. First, we like to thank Pit Rieger and Jens Wäckerle for excellent research assistance along the way. Pit created the many data visualizations found throughout this book. Jens has done an outstanding job in developing the online materials, including all of the interactive data exercises. Both Jens and Pit provided many helpful suggestions to make the textbook even more approachable to students. The book would not be what it is without their invaluable help.
In addition, many colleagues have read various chapters of this book, and some even the entire manuscript, and they gave us valuable feedback and comments. These intrepid souls include: Chitralekha Basu, Bruno Castanho Silva, Michele Fenzl, David Fortunato, Daniel Kelemen, Lucas Leemann, Lanny Martin, Stefan Müller, Verena Reidinger, Lennart Schürmann, and Christopher Wratil. We also thank the numerous anonymous reviewers who have furthermore helped us to be more concise and precise with our arguments. We are grateful to Oxford University Press, in particular Sarah Iles and Katie Staal, who have always believed in this project and who have kept us (mostly) on schedule! Finally, we would like to thank our many wonderful students over the years who have taught us so much and inspired us to write this book. We dedicate this book to them and the next generation of European politics scholars.
Catherine E. De Vries
Sara B. Hobolt
Sven-Oliver Proksch
Jonathan B. Slapin
February 2021
List
List
List
PART
Glossary Bibliography Index
Detailed Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Boxes
How to Use this Book
Guided Tour of the Online Resources
About the Authors
Introduction
Political Analysis as Model-Building
Democracy and Democratization
Citizenship and Participation
Our Approach and Scope
Plan for the Book
PART ONE Theoretical Foundations
Democratic Politics
A Model of Democracy: The Median Voter
Delegation and Representative Democracy
Principals and Agents in Representative Democracy
Multidimensional Politics Summary Multilevel Politics in Europe
Supranational Politics in Europe
Delegation and Pooling
Subnational Politics in Europe
Federalism and Decentralization
Summary
PART TWO Citizens and Voters
Ideology and Issues
Ideology and Elections
New Political Issues and Multidimensional Politics
Populism and Anti-Elite Attitudes
Summary
Voting Decisions
Why Citizens Vote
How Citizens Vote
Stability of Vote Choices
Institutional Context and Second Order Elections
Summary
PART THREE Elections and Parties
Electoral Systems and Direct Democracy
Objectives of Electoral Systems
Majoritarian Systems
Proportional Systems
Mixed Systems
Electoral Systems and the Party System
Direct Democracy in Europe
Referendums on European Integration
Summary
Representation
Types of Representation
Substantive Representation in Proportional and Majoritarian Systems
Descriptive Representation and Gender Equality in Politics
Political Rhetoric and Signalling
Summary
Political Parties
The Origins of Parties: Stasis and Change
Party Families
Party Types and Organization
Niche, Populist, and Challenger Parties
Summary
Party Competition
Party Systems
Spatial Models of Party Competition
Issue Competition and Issue Entrepreneurship
Mobilizing the EU Issue
Valence Models of Party Competition
Responses of Mainstream Parties to Challengers
Summary
PART FOUR Governments and Policy
Political Systems and Government Formation
Institutional Variation of Democracy in Europe
The Political System of the EU: A Mixed System
Government Formation at the National Level
Types of Government Coalitions
Coalition Formation with Policy-Seeking Parties
The Role of Institutions in Government Formation
Choosing the EU Commission President
Law-Making in Governments and Parliaments
Veto Players and Law-Making
Cabinet Ministers: Agenda-Setters for their Party
Enforcing Coalition Compromise Inside and Outside
Parliament
Why Minority Governments Work
Interest Groups and Informal Influences on Policy-Making
Law-Making in the European Union
Summary
Policy Outcomes in Europe
Policy Authority in a Multilevel Europe
Trade Policy
Immigration Policy
Environmental Policy
Health Policy
Summary
PART FIVE Rule of Law, Democracy, and Backsliding
Rule of Law and Judicial Politics
Why Obey the Law? A Theoretical Discussion
Politics, Law, and the Legal System
Power of Courts
Constitutions, Parliaments, and Judicial Review
European Law and a Changing European Judiciary
Rule of Law in the EU: Infringements and Compliance
Summary
European Politics into the Future
Political Fragmentation and its Impact on Governance
Glossary
Bibliography Index
Democratic Backsliding in EU Member States
Brexit and the Future of the EU–UK Relationship
The Democratic Deficit in the European Union
European Politics into the Future
Summary
List of Figures
Paths to Democracy for Several European Democracies
Map of Europe: Countries Covered in the Book
Thematic Overview of the Book
Policy Preferences on a Single Issue
A Two-Dimensional Policy Space
Indifference Curve Example
European Union Chain of Delegation
Widening of the European Union
Collective Action Problem: Prisoners’ Dilemma
Development of European Integration
Regional Authority within the EU
Voter Ideological Self-Placement on a General Left–Right Scale
Uni-dimensional Electoral Competition
Two-Dimensional Electoral Competition
Support for EU Membership across Europe
Support for Integration across Europe
Populist Attitudes across Twelve European Countries, 2019
Turnout in European and National Parliamentary Elections
Ideological Positions of Voter and Parties on a Single Dimension
Trends in Electoral Volatility in European and National Parliamentary Elections in Europe
Electoral Performance of National Parties in European and National Elections
Varieties of Electoral Systems in Europe
Disproportionality of Elections in Europe
Relationship between Disproportionality and Effective Number of Parliamentary Parties
Moving to Proportional Representation: The Electoral Threat Model by Boix
Initiatives and Referendums in Europe
Referendums on European Integration
Congruence in the Italian Political System: 2018–2020
Spatial Model of Policy Responsiveness
Development of Female Representation in European Parliaments
Female Heads of Government or Heads of State in Europe, 2015–2020
Female Ministers in Cabinets in Europe
Relationship between Female Representation in Parliament and in Cabinet
Party Membership in Western Europe, 1945–2015
Party Attachment in Western Europe, 1975–2016
Party Family Vote Shares in Western Europe, 1919–2019
Party Family Vote Shares in Post-Communist European Countries, 1990–2019
Political Parties in Germany
Political Parties in Spain
Political Parties in the UK
Political Parties in Poland
Political Groups in the European Parliament, 2019
Types of Party Organizations
Polarized Party System
Downsian Model of Party Competition
Eurosceptic Parties in National and European Elections
The Political System of the EU: Shared Executive Power
Government Types in Europe Following Parliamentary Elections, 1945–2019
Ideology and Coalition Formation in the Netherlands, 2017
Opportunity for Minority Government
Frequency of Majority, Minority, and Caretaker Governments in Europe
Veto Players in Italy Following 2018 Election
Ministerial Autonomy and Compromise Model of Policy-Making
Variation of Parliamentary Policing Strength in Europe
The Ordinary Legislative Procedure in the EU
Number of Meetings between Interest Groups and the European Commission (2014–2020)
Policy-Making Powers of the European Union
Importance of the Immigration Issue for Party Families in Europe
Environmental Outcomes in EU Member States
Health Outcomes in Europe
Trust in the Judiciary and Other Political Actors
Preliminary Ruling Procedure Referrals over Time and by Member State
Monitoring Compliance with EU Law: The Infringement Procedure
Infringement Cases in the EU, 2002–2018
The Volatility of Government Compositions in Europe
Democratic Decline in Poland and Hungary
Most Important Issue in the UK
List of Tables
Overview of European Treaties
Major Electoral System Reforms in Europe since 1945
Types of Referendums
Two Dimensions of Representation
Majoritarian and Proportional Visions of Democracy
Legislators’ Behavioural Incentives in Parliament
Summary of Main Cleavages
Political Systems in Europe
Parliaments in Europe
History of EU Decision-Making Rules from a Veto Players Perspective
Constitutional Court’s Ability to Review Laws
List of Boxes
Methods and Measurement: Measuring Democracy
Case Study: Cyclical Majorities in Politics
Methods and Measurements: Using Game Theory to Analyse Politics
Case Study: The History of Qualified Majority Voting in the EU
Controversies and Debates: Theories and Explanations for European Integration
Case Study: The Issue of Catalan Independence
Controversies and Debates: Converse on Belief Systems and Ideology
Case Study: The French Revolution and the Origins of Left–Right Politics
Methods and Measurement: Measuring Postmaterialism
Methods and Measurement: Measuring Eurosceptic Attitudes
Methods and Measurement: Measuring Populist Attitudes
Case Study: Voter Turnout and Postal Voting in Switzerland
Case Study: The Lack of Electoral Punishment of Corruption
Methods and Measurement: Measuring Electoral Volatility
Case Study: Presidential Elections in Europe
Controversies and Debates: The Complexity of District Magnitudes in PR Systems
Case Study: The German Mixed-Member Proportional System
Case Study: The European Citizens’ Initiative
Controversies and Debates: Do Parties Respond to Shifts in Public Opinion?
Controversies and Debates: Is the European Union Responsive to Voters?
Case Study: Left-Wing Parties in Poland and Hungary
Methods and Measurement: How to Measure Party Positions
Methods and Measurement: Party System Fragmentation and Polarization
Controversies and Debates: Citizens’ Perceptions of Coalition Compromise
Controversies and Debates: Policy Portfolios and the Spoils of Government
Controversies and Debates: Is Policy Stability Good or Bad?
Case Study: Monetary Policy in the EU
Controversies and Debates: Is the EU a Regulatory State?
Case Study: European Responses to the Covid-19 Outbreak in 2020
Controversies and Debates: How to Classify Welfare States in Europe?
Case Study: Cyber-Bullying in the UK
Case Study: Important European Court Cases in Establishing the EU Legal System
Controversies and Debates: EU Enlargement and its Consequences for EU Decision-Making
