European Party Politics in Times of Crisis

Cambridge University Press, 6/27/2019
EAN 9781108483797, ISBN10: 1108483798

Hardcover, 444 pages, 23.5 x 15.7 x 2.7 cm
Language: English

This comprehensive study of party competition in Europe since 2008 aids understanding of the recent, often dramatic, changes taking place in European politics. It addresses how the multiple crises that Europe faces have affected the intensity and structure of party competition, and whether we are seeing a wave of 'critical elections' which will reshape European politics for years to come. The geographical scope of the book covers fifteen European countries, including cases from North-Western Europe (Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland), Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain), and Central-Eastern Europe (Hungary, Latvia, Poland, and Romania). Using original data from a large-scale content analysis of mass media, and the debates among parties in election campaigns, this book provides clear graphical presentations of the results, appealing to a wide readership of students, scholars, journalists, practitioners, and the politically interested public.

Part I. Theoretical Framework and Context
1. Crises and the transformation of the national political space in Europe Hanspeter Kriesi and Swen Hutter
2. Economic and political crises
the context of critical elections Hanspeter Kriesi and Swen Hutter
3. The media content analysis and cross-validation Swen Hutter and Theresa Gessler
Part II. Country Studies
4. Spain – out with the old
the restructuring of Spanish politics Guillem Vidal and Irene Sánchez-Vítores
5. Greece – punctuated equilibrium
the restructuring of Greek politics Argyrios Altiparmakis
6. Italy – the end of bipolarism
restructuration in an unstable party system Johannes Karremans, Giorgio Malet and Davide Morisi
7. Portugal – a tale of apparent stability and surreptitious transformation Frederico Ferreira da Silva and Mariana S. Mendes
8. Hungary – a Hungarian crisis or just a crisis in Hungary? Theresa Gessler and Anna Kyriazi
9. Poland – 'modern' versus 'normal'
the increasing importance of the cultural divide Paulina Salek and Agnieszka Sztajdel
10. Romania – polity contestation and the resilience of mainstream parties Endre Borbáth
11. Latvia – an ever-wider gap
the ethnic divide in Latvian party politics Edgars Eihmanis
12. Austria, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland
old and new winning formulas of the populist radical right Jasmine Lorenzini and Mathilde van Ditmars
13. Restructuring British and German party politics in times of crisis Björn Bremer and Julia Schulte-Cloos
14. Ireland – limited restructuration in the poster child of austerity Swen Hutter and Giorgio Malet
Part III. Conclusions
15. Diverging Europe
the political consequences of the crises in a comparative perspective Swen Hutter, Argyrios Altiparmakis and Guillem Vidal
16. Conclusion
a critical juncture for the structuration of party systems? Hanspeter Kriesi.