West European Politics articles from April 2001

West European Politics archives from April 2001

Introduction: Switzerland - Key Institutions and Behavioural Outcomes.
April 1, 2001... Switzerland, a labyrinth of political institutions, is an interesting laboratory for institutional research. There are so many political institutions in use that each one is enough for a book. Thus, the referendum, Swiss federalism and the...

Consensual Government in a Heterogeneous Polity.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... At all times and in all countries, the art of government has been one of the most challenging and exciting. In Switzerland, an extremely heterogeneous and culturally diverse country, it is particularly difficult to exercise this function. Since...

How Does Direct Democracy Matter? The Impact of Referendum Votes on Politics and Policy-Making.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... DIRECT DEMOCRACY IN THE FEDERAL POLITICAL SYSTEM Throughout the world, referendum procedures display a wide variety of forms. A majority of European countries and more than one-third of UN members have had some form of referendum in their...

The Federal Parliament: The Limits of Institutional Reform.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... How does a parliament operate in a system of government which is the very opposite of the Westminster model? Looking at the Federal Assembly -- the bicameral parliament at Berne -- allows us to understand how parliaments at the same time...

Towards the Judicialisation of Swiss Politics?(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... THE JUDICIALISATION OF POLITICS The concept of judicialisation is often used to describe the process whereby courts have broadened their influence at the expense of parliament and government: 'the expansion of the province of the courts or...

Institutions and Outcomes of Swiss Federalism: The Role of the Cantons in Swiss Politics.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FEDERAL FRAMEWORK Together with the United States and Canada, Switzerland is one of the three classical federations in the world. [1] Historically speaking, the Swiss federation can be considered as a case of...

Swiss Political Parties: Between Persistence and Change.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... From a comparative perspective, two aspects of the Swiss party system are particularly salient: the large number of parties and the relative stability of the distribution of power. Apart from social and cultural cleavages, the electoral system...

Institutionalising the Swiss Welfare State.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... A 'welfare state' denotes a set of policies and implementing organisations that intervene in society and economy. The aims of intervention include supporting or providing full employment, health services, education, housing and social security....

The Growth of the Public Sector in Switzerland.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... Switzerland's public sector, relatively speaking, is today larger than that of all the other OECD Member countries. From the income side, Switzerland has passed Sweden as an extreme welfare state; total government revenues are close to 60 per...

The Political Economy of Switzerland: A Monetarist Success?(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... The political economy of Switzerland has attracted international attention because of the high level of affluence that has characterised the country during the post-war period. The puzzle is, of course, did economic policymaking by the...

Switzerland and the European Integration Process: Engagement without Marriage.(Switzerland)
April 1, 2001... The rapid expansion of the process of integration within the European Community since the mid-1980s has put the issue of economic and political relationships between Switzerland and the EC at the top of the Swiss political agenda. [1] In...

Germany: Coming to Terms with the Past -- and the Future?(Review)
April 1, 2001... Transformation of the German Political Party System. Institutional Crisis or Democratic Renewal? Edited by CHRISTOPHER S. ALLEN. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 1999. Pp.xviii + 265, biblio., index. [pound]45 (cloth), ISBN 1-57181-127-3...

Political Issues in Ireland Today.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Political Issues in Ireland Today. Edited by NEIL COLLINS. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. Pp.xii + 210, index. [pound]40 (cloth) ISBN 0-7190-5403-6; [pound]12.99 (paper) ISBN 0719054044. Politics in the Republic of Ireland....

Constitutional Politics in Italy.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Constitutional Politics in Italy: The Constitutional Court. MARY L. VOLCANSEK, London: Macmillan, 2000, Pp.ix + 195, biblio, index. [pound]42.50 (cloth) ISBN 0-333-75442-5. As Mary Volcansek notes in her introduction, the Italian...

Italian Politics.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Italian Politics. Edited by DAVID HINE and SALVATORE VASSALLO. Oxford: Berghahn, 2000. Pp.ix + 278, index. [pound]20 ISBN 1-57181-798-0. This is the latest volume of the long-established annual 'Italian Politics' volumes produced under the...

L'Italie en Transition.(Review)
April 1, 2001... L'Italie en Transition: Recul des parties et activation de la fonction presidentielee. Edited by LAURENCE MOREL. Paris: Editions l'Harmattan, 1997. Pp.viii + 251, 5. tables, 7 appendices, chronology. FF140 (paper) ISBN 2-7384-5356-2. This...

Von der Bonner zur Berliner Republik - 10 Jahre Deutsche Einheit.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Von der Bonner zur Berliner Republik - 10 Jahre Deutsche Einheit. Edited by ROLAND CZADA and HELLMUT WOLLMANN. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 2000. Pp.738. DM 98 (paper) ISBN 3-531-13440-X. Since unification debates have focused on issues...

Post-Communist Party Systems.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Post-Communist Party Systems. Competition, Representation, and Inter-Party Cooperation. By HERBERT KITSCHELT, ZDENKA MANSFELDOVA, RADOSLAV MARKOWSKI and GABOR TOKA. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp.xiv + 457, 24 figures, 68...

Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. By JUAN LINZ. Boulder/London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. Pp.343. [pound]50.50 (cloth) ISBN 1-55587-866-0; [pound]18.95 (paper) ISBN 1-55587-890-3. This text draws on the book-length essay on...

Parties, Elections and Cleavages.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Parties, Elections and Cleavages: Israel in comparative and Theoretical Perspective. Edited by REUVEN Y. HAZAN and MOSHE MAOR. London: Frank Cass, 2000. [pound]42.50 (cloth) ISBN 0-7146-5076-5; [pound]17.50 (paper) ISBN 0-7146-8123-7. ...

European Foreign Policy.(Review)
April 1, 2001... European Foreign Policy. By SIMON J. NUTTALL. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2000. Pp.x + 294. [pound]40 (cloth) ISBN 0-19-829336-4. This is a good book with the wrong title. Simon J. Nuttall presents an impressive, well reflected and...

European Monetary Integration and Domestic Politics.(Review)
April 1, 2001... European Monetary Integration and Domestic Politics. By JAMES 1. WALSH. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. Pp.v + 182, 10 tables, 6 figs., biblio., index. [pound]37.50 (cloth) ISBN 1-55587-823-7. European Responses to...

Unions. Employers, and Central Banks.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Unions. Employers, and Central Banks: Macroeconomic Coordination and Institutional Change in Social Market Economies. Edited by TORBEN IVERSEN, JONAS PONTUSSON and DAVID SOSKICE. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp.xvi + 339,...

The Politics of Pension Reform.(Review)
April 1, 2001... The Politics of Pension Reform: Institutions and Policy Change in Western Europe. By GIULIANO BONOLI. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp.x + 188, biblio., index. [pound]35 (cloth) ISBN 0-521-77232-X; [pound]12.95 (paper) ISBN...