West European Politics articles from October 2002

West European Politics archives from October 2002

From conflict to co-ordination: economic governance and political innovation in Ireland.
October 1, 2002... It is now generally recognised that globalising trends in trade and capital mobility do not necessarily induce convergence on a single model of capitalist social organisation. States retain a good deal of scope for policy choice, resulting in...

A dual transformation of the German welfare state?
October 1, 2002... At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Federal Republic of Germany to many observers seems to be afflicted by a serious illness. Low growth and high unemployment rates are said to be the most obvious symptoms. An over-regulated...

The politics of universalisation: establishing national health services in Southern Europe.
October 1, 2002... All Southern European countries have enacted reform laws during the last 20 years with the intention of turning their health insurance systems into national health services. In particular, reform laws were passed in 1978 in Italy, in 1979 in...

Reforming the Spanish Senate: mission impossible?
October 1, 2002... The reform of upper chambers has become an increasingly important issue in West European parliamentary systems in recent years. Plans to reform upper chambers in the UK, Italy and Spain have been unveiled, but have been carried out with varying...

The politics of 'Eurocratic' structure and the new European agencies.
October 1, 2002... The establishment of agencies at the European level is one of the most notable recent developments in EU regulatory policy. Between May 1990 and November 1994, the EU engaged in a wave of agency creation, establishing six new European agencies...

Economic actors' political activity in 'overlap issues': privatisation and EU state aid control.
October 1, 2002... Since the early 1990s, students of west European politics have paid increasing attention to the role of interest groups in the European Union (EU), guided by concepts of pluralism, corporatism or elitism that scholars had raised in the larger...

Europeanisation of a non-EU country: the case of Swiss immigration policy.
October 1, 2002... While not a member of the European Union (EU), Switzerland is highly influenced by the process of European integration. (1) This article focuses on the most obvious form of influence, which occurs when Switzerland negotiates with the EU on the...

Enlargement, institution-building and the EU's administrative capacity requirement.
October 1, 2002... From energy provided by nuclear power stations to the ability of bureaucrats to implement laws -- there is hardly a domestic issue that the ten-year-long European Union (EU) enlargement process has not influenced in the candidate states of...

A nationless state? Malta, national identity and the EU.
October 1, 2002... After two years of negotiations, a comprehensive package for Malta as a prospective member of the European Union (EU) is taking shape. When he visited Malta early in 2001, Enlargement Commissioner Verheugen advised the Maltese people to allow...

The French elections of 2002: after the earthquake, the deluge. (Election Report).
October 1, 2002... In 2002 France experienced a shock that made the Vth Republic tremble. Ever since 1965, when the Republic first elected its President by direct universal suffrage, the most important election in French political life has always provided its...

The Portuguese 2002 legislative elections.
October 1, 2002... On the evening of 16 December 2001, Antonio Guterres accepted responsibility for the Socialist Party's defeat in that day's local elections, and resigned as Prime Minister. He did this in order to 'escape the political swamp in which the...

Democratic consolidation: between institutional engineering and international support. (Review Article).(3 books on democratic consolidation)(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Perspectives on Democratic Consolidation in Central and Eastern Europe. Edited by DIRK BERG-SCHLOSSER AND RAIVO VETIK. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. Pp.223. ISBN 0-88033-471-1. Democratic Consolidation in Eastern Europe. Vol....

The Government of Risk: Understanding Risk Regulation Regimes. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... The Government of Risk: Understanding Risk Regulation Regimes. By CHRISTOPHER HOOD, HENRY ROTHSTEIN and ROBERT BALDWIN. Oxford University Press, 2001. Pp.x + 217. [pounds sterling]30 ISBN 0-19-924363. Since its introduction by John Ruggie...

Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Edited by PETER A. HALL and DAVID SOSKICE. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Pp.xvi + 540, 19 figs, 27 tables, index. [pounds sterling]50 (cloth) ISBN...

The National Co-ordination of EU Policy: The European Level. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... The National Co-ordination of EU Policy: The European Level. Edited by HUSSEIN KASSIM, B. GUY PETERS and VINCENT WRIGHT. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Pp.xiv + 360. [pounds sterling]50 (cloth) ISBN 0-19-829664-9. This is an...

Politicians, Bureaucrats and Institutional Reform. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Politicians, Bureaucrats and Institutional Reform. Edited by B. GUY PETERS and JON PIERRE. London: Routledge, 2001. Pp.xix + 231, 3 figs, 17 tables, biblio, index. [pounds sterling]55 (cloth) ISBN 0-415-23443-3. This book addresses one of...

Altering Party Systems. Strategic Behavior and the Emergence of New Political Parties in Western Democracies. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Altering Party Systems. Strategic Behavior and the Emergence of New Political Parties in Western Democracies. By SIMON HUG. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 2001. Pp.vii + 215, 28 tables, 35 figs, biblio, index. [pounds sterling]34...

The European Parliament and Supranational Party System: A Study in Institutional Development. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... The European Parliament and Supranational Party System: A Study in Institutional Development. By AMIE KREPPEL. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Pp.xv + 263, 28 figs, 26 tables, bibijo, index. [pounds sterling]40 (cloth) ISBN...

Parties and Democracy in Italy. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Parties and Democracy in Italy. By JAMES L. NEWELL. Aldershot: Ashgate 2000. Pp.xiv + 222, index. [pounds sterling]46.50 (cloth) ISBN 1-85521-859-3. In the introduction to Parties and Democracy in Italy, James Newell writes, 'the...

Elections as Instruments of Democracy. Majoritarian and Proportional Visions. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Elections as Instruments of Democracy. Majoritarian and Proportional Visions. By G. BINGHAM POWELL, Jr. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000. Pp.xii + 298. [pounds sterling]12 (paper) ISBN 0-3000-08016-6. Squarely in the same...

Religion and Mass Electoral Behaviour in Europe. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Religion and Mass Electoral Behaviour in Europe. Edited by DAVID BROUGHTON and HANS-MARTIEN ten NAPEL. London and New York: Routledge, 2000. Pp.xxii + 218, index. [pounds sterling]58 (cloth) ISBN 0-415-20129-2. The assumption that the...

Challenges To Democracy: Ideas, Involvement and Institutions. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Challenges To Democracy: Ideas, Involvement and Institutions. Edited by KEITH DOWDING, JAMES HUGHES and HELEN MARGETTS. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001. Pp.xviii + 267. [pounds sterling]47.50 (cloth) ISBN 0-333-78982-2 The 15 essays in this...

Transatlantic Governance in the Global Economy. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Transatlantic Governance in the Global Economy. Edited by MARK A. POLLACK and GREGORY C. SHAFFER. Lanham, MD: Rowman Litfiefield Publishers, Inc., 2001. Pp.vi + 354, bibilo, index. [pounds sterling]22.95 (paper) ISBN 0-7425-0932-X. This...

Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Silence and Voice in the Study of Contentious Politics. By RONALD R. AMINZADE, JACK A. GOLDSTONE, DOUG MCADAM, ELIZABETH J. PERRY, WILLIAM H. SE WELL, Jr., SIDNEY TARROW and CHARLES TILLY. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp.xv +...

Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. By PIPPA NORRIS. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Pp.xv + 303, biblio, index, appendix. [pounds stterling]40 (cloth) ISBN 0-521-80751-4; [pounds...

Citizenship and Governance in the European Union. (Book Reviews).(Book Review)
October 1, 2002... Citizenship and Governance in the European Union. Edited by RICHARD BELLAMY and ALEX WARLEIGH. London and New York: Continuum, 2001. Pp.x + 213, appendix, index. US$89.95 (cloth) ISBN 0-8264-5348-1; [pounds sterling]16.99 (paper) ISBN...