Table Of ContentEuropean
politics today
Politics today
Series editor:Bill Jones
Ideology and politics in Britain today Ian Adams
Political ideology today, 2nd edition Ian Adams
Scandinavian politics today David Arter
American society today Edward Ashbee
US politics today Edward Ashbee and Nigel Ashford
Pressure groups today Rob Baggott
French politics today, new edition David S. Bell
Local government today, 3rd edition J. A. Chandler
Political issues in Ireland today, 2nd edition Neil Collins (editor)
Irish politics today, 4th edition Neil Collins and Terry Cradden
General elections today, 2nd edition Frank Conley
East Central European politics today Keith Crawford
US elections today (Elections USA, 2nd edition) Philip John Davies
Political issues in America today Philip John Davies and Fredric A. Waldstein (editors)
British political parties today, 2nd edition Robert Garner and Richard Kelly
Spanish politics today John Gibbons
The Politics Today companion to American government Alan Grant and Edward Ashbee
Political issues in Britain today, 5th edition Bill Jones (editor)
British politics today, 6th edition Bill Jones and Dennis Kavanagh
Trade unions in Britain today, 2nd edition John McIlroy
Italian politics today Hilary Partridge
Britain in the European Union today, 2nd edition Colin Pilkington
The Civil Service in Britain today Colin Pilkington
Devolution in Britain today Colin Pilkington
The Politics Today companion t o the British Constitution Colin Pilkington
Representative democracy in Britain today Colin Pilkington
German politics today Geoffrey Roberts
European politics today Geoffrey Roberts and Patricia Hogwood
The Politics Today companion to West European politics Geoffrey K. Roberts and Patricia Hogwood
Debates in British politics today Lynton Robins and Bill Jones (editors)
Government and the economy today Graham P. Thomas
Prime Minister and Cabinet today Graham P. Thomas
Political communication today Duncan Watts
European
politics today
Second edition
Patricia Hogwood
and Geoffrey K. Roberts
Manchester University Press
Manchester and New York
distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave
Copyright © Patricia Hogwood and Geoffrey K. Roberts 1997, 2003
The rights of Patricia Hogwood and Geoffrey K. Roberts to be identified as the authors of
this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
First edition published 1997 by Manchester University Press
This edition published 2003 by
Manchester University Press
Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK
andRoom 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed exclusively in the USA by
Palgrave, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
NY 10010, USA
Distributed exclusively in Canada by
UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 0 7190 6669 7 paperback
First published 2003
11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset in Photina
by Northern Phototypesetting Co. Ltd, Bolton
Printed in Great Britain
by Biddles Ltd, Guildford and King’s Lynn
1
Contents
List of tables and figures page vi
Preface ix
1 Politics in western Europe:contexts and patterns
Geoffrey Roberts 1
2 The democratic political process Geoffrey Roberts 19
3 Sources of political conflict Patricia Hogwood 38
4 Electoral systems Geoffrey Roberts 62
5 Linkage organisations: political parties Geoffrey Roberts 85
6 Linkage organisations: interest groups Geoffrey Roberts 106
7 Executive government Patricia Hogwood 125
8 Accountable governm ent: parliaments Patricia Hogwood 150
9 Constitutionalism, judicial review and civil rights
Patricia Hogwood 174
10 Federalism, devolution and local government Geoffrey Roberts 198
11 The European Union and the member states Patricia Hogwood 215
12 Democracy in western Europe: stability and political
change Patricia Hogwood 244
Glossary and abbreviations 270
Further reading 275
Index 278
v
1
List of tables and figures
Tables
1.1 Dates of current constitutions and introduction of
democratic suffrage page 6
3.1 Percentage of total labour force engaged in agricultural,
manufacturing and service sectors in selected countries,
1960–2000 49
3.2 Religious affiliation in selected countries, 2001 50
3.3 Turnout in national elections in western Europe since
the 1960s 53
4.1 The electoral systems of western European countries 68
4.2 Federal Republic of Germany:Bundestag election of 1998 74
4.3 An example of an election by single transferable vote 76
7.1 Western European heads of state and their selection,
June 2002 129
7.2 Prime ministers ranked according to their degree of
influence within government 140
8.1 The structure of western European parliaments, 2002 152
9.1 The selection of members of the constitutional courts 177
9.2 Legislative review powers of the constitutional courts 179
10.1 The Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany 204
11.1 Member states of the European Union 218
11.2 Applicant states of the European Union 238
vi
List of tables and figures vii
12.1 Inflows of foreign populations into selected western European
countries, excluding asylum-seekers 250
12.2 Inflows of asylum-seekers into selected western European
countries 252
Figure
2.1 The political process 23
1
Preface
This textbook is intended as an introduction to the political systems and
processes of western Europe. Political decisions are not made in a vacuum,
but in the context of specific historical developments, geographical constraints
and social demands. The book begins, then, with an overview of those special
features and events which have shaped the political institutions and decision-
making processes of western Europe (Chapter 1). The history of ideas has
profoundly affected the relationship between the Europeans and their
governments. In this context, Chapter 2 introduces the concept of liberal
democracy and its particular relevance for the countries of our study. Politics
is rooted in conflicting interests: Chapter 3 identifies the common historical
sources of political conflict in western Europe and explores new issues which
might help to shape political competition in the near future.
The next three chapters are devoted to the ways in which the people are
represented in governance. Chapter 4 describes the electoral systems currently
in use in western European countries and explains their differing implications,
both for the competing parties and for the voting publics. Chapters 5 and 6
examine the ‘linkage organisations’ – political parties and interest groups –
which channel the interests of citizens within the political process. The main
institutions of government are described and compared in Chapters 7 and 8.
Chapter 7 concentrates on executives, looking at the roles of heads of state
and government, the formation of government coalitions and the problems of
staying in power. Chapter 8 focuses on the ancient, but still significant,
institution of parliament and the wide range of functions performed by
parliaments in Europe today. Since the Second World War, there has been a
growing awareness that citizens must be protected from flawed, corrupt or
domineering government. Chapter 9 is concerned with the judicial institu-
tions and alternative means which have been devised to regulate government
actions and to protect the citizen.
Chapters 10 and 11 look beyond central government in western Europe.
Chapter 10 explores the theme of subnational government. It contrasts
ix
