European Politics into the Twenty-First Century: Integration and Division

by Hans Slomp

Overview

This short and simple introduction to European politics, which includes Western and Eastern Europe as well as Russia, demonstrates how European nations have attempted to cope with division within Europe and in international politics. Highlighting differences with U.S. politics, Slomp examines the European system from various perspectives, including geography, religion, economics, and social composition. Two separate chapters discuss relations within the European Union as well as its interaction with nations outside the group. Tables and figures provide a wealth of information on the location of minorities, the ideological spectrum, and social policies.

Directed toward both an American and a European readership, this study includes information about the importance of ethnicity and religion, the impact of new migration waves, and the position of the labor movement. It covers the role of political parties, the Americanization of election campaigns, and the prevalence of coalition governments. A chapter on European style civil society focuses on the influence of pressure groups, the popularity of formal business/trade union/government contracts, the mass media, local politics, and federal political systems. Every chapter deals with the social transformation of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. A final section contains a brief description of all the nations by groupings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275968007
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/28/2000
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

HANS SLOMP is Senior Lecturer in the Political Science Department at the University of Nymegen in Holland. He teaches European and American Politics and Labor Relations and has lectured at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, and at universities in Colombia and Peru. His other books include Between Bargaining and Politics: An Introduction to European Labor Relations (Praeger, 1998).

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
The Main Lines of Social Division
Liberals Are Not Liberals: The European Ideologies
From Elections to Governments, The Long Way
Government and Parliament
Between State and Society
Public Policy in Europe
Supranational Politics: The European Union
International Politics
Europe by Region
Appendices
Index

Editorial Reviews

On his trips through America and in meetings with travelling Americans, Slomp (political science, U. of Nymegan, the Netherlands) detected a great interest in and a great bewilderment about European politics. So he here sets out in broad strokes what he sees as the current and probable near future both of the continent as a political and economic union and as a multitude of separate countries and cultures that he predicts will rapidly degrade into regional variations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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