Synopses & Reviews
The European elections of 1999 highlight the liberation of the “European Question” from the old left-right conflicts. This electoral geography of Europe maps an increasingly diverse world of political opinion and commitment. The increasing strength of Green parties, the continued decline of European communism, and ethno-regionalism are some of the key issues that this book explores with the hope that Europe can begin constructing a real European public space within which a strong link to citizens can be woven.
Synopsis
In election after election for the European parliament there has been a growing ability for voters to deal with Europe, by-passing categories that are still used to think about essentials political issues within individual countries. Europe at the Polls highlights this liberation of the 'European Question' from the old left-right conflicts that have marked political life within the 15 members of the European Union. Across national borders, this study of those elections shows that diverse trends are taking root in homes, towns, and in the workplace, and are reflected in the electoral geography at the level of the European Union. The increasing strength of Green parties, the continued decline of European Communism, and ethno-regionalism are just some of the issues that this book explores with the hope that Europe can begin constructing a real European public space within which a strong link to citizens can be woven.
Synopsis
Twenty years after the first democratic European elections, the 1999 elections are the occasion to take stock of the fifteen European countries' citizen's attitudes towards Europe, the state of political forces in Europe, and of the new emerging European institutions
About the Author
Pascal Perrineau is Professor of Political Science at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, Paris, and has been the Director of the Center for the Study of French Politics (CEVIPOF) since 1991.
Gerard Grunberg is a researcher at CEVIPOF and is the coordinator of the European Thematic Network Political Science.
Colette Ysmal is a researcher at the CEVIPOF.
Table of Contents
Part I: Europe, Citizens, and Political Elites * The 1999 European Parliament Elections and the Political Culture of European Integration—B. Cautrés, R. Sinnott * Dynamic Representation: The Case of European Integration—H. Schmitt & J. Thomassen * Identity and Electoral Participation: For a European Approach to European Elections—A.P. Frognier * The Faltering Europeanization of National Campaigns—J. Gerstlé, H.A. Semetko, K. Schoenbach, M. Villa *
Part II: The Europe of Political Forces * The Communist and Extreme Left Galaxy—M. Lazar * The Disillusionment of European Socialists—G. Grunberg & G. Moschonas * Green Parties and European Elections: The Success Story—F. Mueller-Rommel * Ethnoregionalist Parties and European Integration at the 1999 European Elections—L. De Winter * The European People's Party and the Restructuring of Right Wing Parties in Europe—D. Hanley & C. Ysmal * The Extreme Right in the June 1999 European Elections—P. Ignazi & P. Perrineau *
Part III: The Europe of Voters and of Instututions * Electoral Geography of Europe—C. Vandermotten & P. Medina Lockhart * Electoral Participation and European Poll: A Limited Legitimacy—P. Delwit * The New European Parliament—C. Lord
Part I: Europe, Citizens, and Political Elites * The 1999 European Parliament Elections and the Political Culture of European Integration—B. Cautrés, R. Sinnott * Dynamic Representation: The Case of European Integration—H. Schmitt & J. Thomassen * Identity and Electoral Participation: For a European Approach to European Elections—A.P. Frognier * The Faltering Europeanization of National Campaigns—J. Gerstlé, H.A. Semetko, K. Schoenbach, M. Villa * Part II: The Europe of Political Forces * The Communist and Extreme Left Galaxy—M. Lazar * The Disillusionment of European Socialists—G. Grunberg & G. Moschonas * Green Parties and European Elections: The Success Story—F. Mueller-Rommel * Ethnoregionalist Parties and European Integration at the 1999 European Elections—L. De Winter * The European People's Party and the Restructuring of Right Wing Parties in Europe—D. Hanley & C. Ysmal * The Extreme Right in the June 1999 European Elections—P. Ignazi & P. Perrineau * Part III: The Europe of Voters and of Instututions * Electoral Geography of Europe—C. Vandermotten & P. Medina Lockhart * Electoral Participation and European Poll: A Limited Legitimacy—P. Delwit * The New European Parliament—C. Lord