You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Elections in Europe: A Data Handbook is the eagerly awaited, concluding volume of a wider project covering electoral data worldwide. It completes a series of previous books - that focused on Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas - which were published by Oxford University Press. A comparative introduction on elections and electoral systems is followed by chapters on each European state. Applying systematic criteria and uniform concepts, each chapter explains the historical, political, and legal context in which elections take place. The chapters also provide exhaustive statistics on all national elections and referendums conducted in the respective countries. Political scientists worldwide will welcome this indispensable source of cross-national political research. There is no comparable work on the subject.
Written by the preeminent democratic theorist of our time, this book explains the nature, value, and mechanics of democracy. In a new introduction to this Veritas edition, Ian Shapiro considers how Dahl would respond to the ongoing challenges democracy faces in the modern world. "Within the liberal democratic camp there is considerable controversy about exactly how to define democracy. Probably the most influential voice among contemporary political scientists in this debate has been that of Robert Dahl."--Marc Plattner, New York Times "An excellent introduction for novices, as well as a trusty handbook for experts and political science mavens."--Publishers Weekly
In many parts of the world, constitutions are being written and rewritten, with a great many possibilities being explored, and much that matters deeply to millions of people hangs on the results. Here major scholars address some of the most pressing questions about political order.
This book revisits the forgotten history of the 'European Dependency School' in the 1970s and 1980s, explores core-periphery relations in the European integration process and the crises of the contemporary European Union from a dependency perspective, and draws lessons for alternative development paths. Was disintegration of the European Union foretold? With the benefit of hindsight, the critical analysis of the European integration process by researchers from the 'European Dependency School' is most timely. The current framework of the European Union seems to be haunted by issues that had been very familiar to the researchers of the 'European Dependency School', such as a lack of a common and balanced industrial policy. How do the situations compare? What lessons can be learnt for alternative development policies in contemporary Europe? Weissenbacher tackles these issues, which are of relevance to all interested in political economy, political science, development studies and regional development.
The election of 2005 changed Germany’s political ‘landscape’. The combined share of the vote gained by the two major parties fell below 70 per cent, eliminating the option of a coalition between one of the two major parties (Christian Democrats and Social Democrats) with one of the smaller parties – the traditional pattern of government that had dominated German post-war politics since the late 1950s. The election resulted in the first national ‘Grand Coalition’ of the two major parties since 1969. While some have seen this government, elected in November 2005 and headed by the Christian Democrat Angela Merkel, as the symptom of a crisis of the traditional post-war German party s...
Mixed-member electoral systems may well be the electoral reform of the 21st century, much as proportional representation (PR) was in the 20th century. In the view of many electoral reformers, mixed-member systems offer the best of both the traditional British single-seat district system and PR systems. This book seeks to evaluate: why mixed-member systems have recently appealed to many countries with diverse electoral histories; and how well expectations for these systems have been met. Each major country, which has adopted a mixed system thus, has two chapters in this book, one on origins and one on consequences. These countries are Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Israel, Japan, Venezuela, Bol...
Why are some countries more democratic than others? Analyzes a global sample of colonies to explain countries' different experiences.
Spain is different" was a favourite tourist board slogan of the Franco dictatorship. Is Spain still different? This volume provides an original series of analyses of how politics in democratic Spain has developed since the remarkable success of the transition to democracy.
Between Tyranny and Anarchy provides a unique comprehensive history and interpretation of efforts to establish democracies over two centuries in the major Latin American countries. Drake takes an unusual interdisciplinary approach, combining history and political science with an emphasis on political institutions. He argues that, without a thorough examination of the historical roots and causes of Latin American democracy, most general theories can not adequately explain its failures, successes, and forms. Latin America offers an extraordinary laboratory for the study of democratic experiments. Alongside a well-deserved reputation for authoritarianism, it boasts one of the world's deepest, r...
Examines the implications of the fully integrated European market