West European Politics in the Age of Globalization

Examines the new configuration of political power in Western Europe, as the radical right mobilises globalisation's losers.

Hanspeter Kriesi (Author), Edgar Grande (Author), Romain Lachat (Author), Martin Dolezal (Author), Simon Bornschier (Author), Timotheos Frey (Author)

9780521719902, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 18 September 2008

448 pages, 68 tables
22.9 x 15.3 x 2.6 cm, 0.71 kg

'… warmly welcomed … the book makes an impressive and stimulating contribution to the extant literature and will be of interest to comparativists and national specialists alike.' Political Studies Review

Over the past three decades the effects of globalization and denationalization have created a division between 'winners' and 'losers' in Western Europe. This study examines the transformation of party political systems in six countries (Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK) using opinion surveys, as well as newly collected data on election campaigns. The authors argue that, as a result of structural transformations and the strategic repositioning of political parties, Europe has observed the emergence of a tripolar configuration of political power, comprising the left, the moderate right, and the new populist right. They suggest that, through an emphasis on cultural issues such as mass immigration and resistance to European integration, the traditional focus of political debate - the economy - has been downplayed or reinterpreted in terms of this new political cleavage. This new analysis of Western European politics will interest all students of European politics and political sociology.

Part I. Theory and Methods: 1. Globalization and its impact on national spaces of competition
2. Contexts of party mobilization
3. The design of the study: the distinguishing characteristics of our approach
Part II. Country Studies: 4. France: the model case of party system transformation
5. Austria: transformation driven by an established party
6. Switzerland: another case of transformation driven by an established party
7. The Netherlands: a challenge that was slow in coming
8. The United Kingdom: moving parties in a stable configuration
9. Germany: the dog that didn't bark
Part III. Comparative Analyses: 10. Demand side: dealignment and realignment of the structural political potentials
11. Supply side: the positioning of the political parties in a restructuring space
12. The electoral consequences of the integration-demarcation cleavage
13. Globalizing West European politics: the change of cleavage structures, parties and party systems in comparative perspective
Appendix A. Technical appendix
Appendix B. Detailed statistical results.

Subject Areas: EU & European institutions [JPSN2], Politics & government [JP], Globalization [JFFS]