In 2010, the Conservative Party returned to office after over a decade of largely ineffective opposition to New Labour. This book explains why it took so long to recover, and why the party was unable to win an overall majority despite the charismatic leadership of David Cameron. It covers all aspects of Conservative Party politics since 1997.

In this work Conan Fischer investigates how the public-brawling between Communists and Nazis during the Weimar Era masked a more subtle and complex relationship. It examines the way in which the National Socialists' growth across traditional class and regional barriers came to threaten the Communists on their home ground and forced them to adopt increasingly precarious, comprising strategies to confront this challenge. Encouraged by Moscow, they ascribed a qualified legitimacy to grass-roots Nazism which justified fraternisation with Hitler's ordinary supporters. Fischer's book thereby strengthens and elaborates recent perceptions of Nazism as a populist mass movement and shows the collapse of Weimar to have been even more convoluted and controversial than hitherto believed.

This edited volume seeks to provide guidance on how we can approach questions of governing and agency-particularly those who endeavour to embark on grounded empirical research- by rendering explicit some key challenges, tensions, dilemmas, and confluences that such endeavours elicit. Indeed, the contributions in this volume reflect the growing tendency in governmentality studies to shift focus to empirically grounded studies. The volume thus explicitly aims to move from theory to practice, and to step back from the more top-down governmentality studies approach to one that examines how one can/does study how relations of power affect lives, experience and agency. This book offers insight into the intricate relations between the workings of governing and (the possibility for) people's agency on the one hand, and about the possible effects of our attempts to engage in such studies on the other. In numerous ways, and from different starting points, the contributions to this volume provide thoughtful insights into, and creative suggestions for, how to work with the methodological challenges of studying the agency of being governed. This work will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, global governance and research methods.

A sophisticated theoretical framework and up-to-date analysis of the Europeanisation of domestic party systems and political parties' policy stances. This book covers a range of contemporary topics: party systems, policy stances of political parties, opposition/co-operation over European integration, cleavage theory of party response to European integration, domestic depoliticisation and EU representation. It presents a sophisticated political analysis of Europe, and an exceptional amount of factual information about European countries and parties.

"This new encyclopedia will be invaluable for political science and history reference collections. . . . Highly recommended." Library Journal

Despite the increasing academic interest in populism, we still lack understanding of individual factors contributing to populist voting. One of the main reasons for this is that populism is almost always attached to other ideologies which makes it difficult to isolate factors. This book draws on an innovative research design by comparing the reasons to vote for six populist parties which differ remarkably in terms of their host ideology in Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. The results show that populist voters are motivated by their dissatisfaction with the functioning of democracy and a desire for more direct democracy. Furthermore it appears that populist parties do not mobilize among one specific social group although deprived groups are generally more susceptible to populist voting. Finally, this study explored why some populist parties persist while others decline. Origins of party formation and how leaders organize their party internally seem the most important factors determining party persistence. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of populism, European politics and contemporary political theory.

The end of World War II intensified Morocco's nationalist struggle against French colonial rule, with the establishment of the Istiqlal ('independence') party and the Moroccan Sultan's emergence as a national leader. In this book, Daniel Zisenwine charts the rise of Morocco's leading nationalist party, and illustrates the weakness of Moroccan political parties at the outset of the anti-colonial struggle. While Morocco today faces formidable challenges, its political system remains profoundly influenced by the events charted in this book. Drawing from a wide range of previously unpublished sources, Daniel Zisenwine presents the background to the Istiqlal's establishment, its initial actions and demands, and an extensive discussion of its social activities aimed at mobilizing the Moroccan public during the anti-colonial struggle.

A pioneering case study of a major political party under extreme strain, Getting the Donkey Out of the Ditch traces in detail what the Democratic Party actually did in the two years immediately following its resounding defeat in the 1980 elections. Caroline Arden argues that in November 1980 the Democratic Party was under the most severe stress it had experienced in this century, brought on not only by the loss of an election but also by the perceived threat of a major party realignment and to the Democrat's long-term status as a majority party. She shows that even though it still had sufficient power, the Democratic Party did not perform a fundamental or effective restoration to a unifying center after the disastrous election, which led in part to the disarray that has characterized the Party during the 1988 primaries.

To a large extent, elite politicians, bureaucrats, and businessmen hold the fortunes of their societies in their hands. This edited volume describes how formal and informal institutions affect elite behaviour, which in turn affects corruption and the quality of government.

This is an analysis of the impact of the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union on the communist parties of Western Europe. Seven case-studies, covering the Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, British and German parties, provide a comparative perspective. The conclusion assesses the range of responses to the dramatic events of 1989-91 and the likely future direction of the west-European communist movement. It is argued that, whilst it is no longer possible to talk of a coherent "family" of communist parties, various individual parties - some of them in revised form - may continue to prosper.

This title evaluates the Blair government from 1997-2007 conducting high quality research into aspects of British politics with particular emphasis on parties, policies and ideologies.It includes contributions from key figures in the field including three peers of the realm - Lord Norton, Lord Giddens and Lord Plant. This is the timely - cutting edge title published to coincide with a period of intense scrutiny of the New Labour administration's first decade. It is a core title in Palgrave Macmillan's market leading, established group of practical British politics titles and those focused specifically on New Labour. It's publication coincides with and mark the opening of a new British Politics research centre at Hull, with funding and publicity attached to it.With contributions from key figures in the field further topics include New Labour's record on social policy, defence policy, constitutional reform and public expenditure.

Party Structure and Organization in East-Central Europe focuses on the origin and development of new political parties within different countries in East-Central Europe. The book has a clear focus on party structure and organization. It is one of the first books to present empirical studies of the development of political parties in Eastern Europe. Whilst making a distinctive contribution, it also feeds into the broader debate about party development and links with other issues of political theory. The book fills a major gap in our understanding of developments within political parties and their structural evolution. It raises questions about the status and role of a modern political party - not least in East-Central Europe - and the links that can be drawn between developments within the parties and their changing position within the political system as a whole. All those with an interest in comparative party development and the processes of post-communist change in Eastern Europe will welcome this well focused empirical study.

Since the 1880s, the Conservative Party has been an important political force in Britain. In this study of Conservative ideology since the end of Second World War, first published in 1974, Andrew Gamble considers the nature of Conservative party opinion, and the factors that have accounted for its success. The adaptation of the party post-1945 is discussed, as well as the ascendancy of the Right progressives in the leadership, and the challenge of the Whigs and Imperialists. Finally, the book includes a discussion of the fluctuations within the Conservative Government between 1970 and 1974, with an account of what Gamble believes to have been ultimately a failure. A rigorous and comprehensive analysis of Conservative thought and policy, this study will be of particular value to those with an interest in the history of British Conservative politics and government.

Bantu Holomisa is one of South Africa’s most respected and popular political figures. Born in the Transkei in 1955, he attended an elite school for the sons of chiefs and headmen. While other men his age were joining Umkhonto weSizwe, Holomisa enrolled in the Transkeian Defence Force and rose rapidly through the ranks.

As head of the Transkeian Defence Force, Holomisa led successive coups against the homeland regimes and then became the head of its military government. He turned the Transkei into a ‘liberated space’, giving shelter to ANC and PAC activists, and declared his intention of holding a referendum on the reincorporation of the Transkei into South Africa. These actions brought him immense popularity and the military dictator became a liberation hero for many South Africans.

When the unbanned ANC held its first election for its national executive in 1994, Holomisa, who had by now joined the party, received the most votes, beating long-time veterans and party stalwarts. He and Mandela developed a close relationship, and Holomisa served in Mandela’s cabinet as deputy minister for environmental affairs and tourism. As this biography reveals, the relationship with both Mandela and the ANC broke down after Holomisa testified before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, among other issues, that Stella Sigcau and her cabinet colleagues had accepted a bribe from Sol Kerzner.

After being expelled from the ANC, Holomisa formed his own party, the United Democratic Movement, with Roelf Meyer. As leader of the UDM, Holomisa has played a prominent role in building coalitions among opposition parties and in leading important challenges to the dominant party.

This biography, written in collaboration with Holomisa, presents an engaging and revealing account of a man who has made his mark as a game changer in South African politics.

The historical involvement of Jews in the political Left is well known, but far less attention has been paid to the political and ideological factors which attracted Jews to the Left. After the Holocaust and the creation of Israel many lost their faith in universalistic solutions, yet lingering links between Jews and the Left continue to exist.

This volume surveys recent Taiwanese politics, mainly from the perspective of the ruling KMT party. It includes analysis of recent changes in the party itself and also in the relations between the party, the opposition, and society generally. Also included is simple statistical analysis of rank-and-file KMT activists and of the 1989 national elections. The work's theoretical center is the question of democratization, with an attempt to explore an anomaly: the KMT is, apparently, an example of a ruling hegemonic party that has undertaken a genuine liberalization, instituting changes that would put its rule at risk.

The general theoretical issue must be seen in the context of the specific Taiwan situation, and the work analyzes the complications this engenders. Democratization in particular has implications for the future relations between mainlanders and Taiwanese (particularly, can the KMT retain its integrity as a cohesive party if it becomes a Taiwanese-dominated political organization operating on Taiwan alone?), and the potential contradiction between a democratic Taiwan and the future unification of China. This volume will be essential reading for political scientists, students and scholars involved in the study of Taiwan as well as mainland China.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of the study of political parties provided by leading experts in the field. In an era of widespread political disillusionment, political parties are often the main targets of citizen dissatisfaction, yet they are the key institutions that make democracy work. Analysing political parties in unrivalled depth and breath, with comparative thematic chapters throughout, as well as a dedicated section on political parties and party politics in specific country and regional settings, this handbook examines and illuminates the key questions around: how parties organise; how their ideologies have evolved over time; their relationship with society; how they differentiate themselves and how they respond to new social, economic, and political developments. The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties is essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in and actively concerned about research in the study of political parties, party systems, and party politics.

Traditional perceptions of centre parties stress their moderating factors, but their opposite tendency of contributing to party system polarization has generally been treated as if it were of lesser consequence. This study seeks to settle an age-old debate by claiming that what has become acceptable almost universally by political scientists, and has achieved the status of an axiom when politics are discussed, is dubious, if not outright incorrect. Examining this important aspect of European parliamentary democracies, this book reassesses the perception of centre parties as a force of moderation, arguing that the centre has the capacity to cause polarization. An examination of contemporary centre parties is provided to prove this maxim.

Party and Government is an eleven-country study of the relationship between the governments of liberal democracies, mainly from Western Europe, but also including the United States and India, and the parties which support these governments. It examines this relationship at the three levels at which governments and parties connect: appointments, policy-making, and patronage. The emphasis is on a two-way relationship: parties influence governments but governments also influence parties. The extent and the direction of this influence varies from country to country. In some cases, governments and parties are almost autonomous from each other, as in the United States; in other cases, on the contrary, there is considerable power of one over the other: sometimes the party dominates, sometimes the government.

Proposes both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Straddles multiple subject areas, including political philosophy, political history, democratization, and populism.

This engaging exploration of the French Socialist Party details the exceptional problems that the party has faced and the way it has dealt with them. The result is a comprehensive and compelling guide to the quiddities of political infighting, the structure of power and of the environment in which the party operates.

Describes the origins (since 1925), the foundation (1978) and the evolution (until today) of the 'European People's Party' and shows how political parties are vital to the integration process within the European Union. The book examines the emergence of a transnational party system to which the Christian Democrats contribute with the EPP alongside the Social Democrats (ESP) and the Liberal Democrats (ELDR). The analysis of the political, structural and programmatic development of the EPP shows clearly that European politics have become to a large extent domestic affairs and vice versa.

South Africa in Transition utilises new theoretical perspectives to describe and explain central dimensions of the democratic transition in South Africa during the late 1980s and early 1990s, covering changes in the politics of gender and education, the political discourses of the ANC, NP and the white right, constructions of identity in South Africa's black townships and rural areas, the role of political violence in the transition, and accounts of the democratization process itself.

This engrossing narrative chronicles the period immediately following the collapse of the Greenback-Labor Party in the 1880s and the subsequent rise of Populism a few years later. Originating in the Midwest and the South as a political response to the increasingly painful economic distress of the nation's farmers, the Populist Party-the most powerful agrarian movement in American history-achieved major-party status in several states while electing governors in Colorado, Kansas, and South Dakota. In addition to winning nearly 400 state legislative races and holding five seats in the U.S. Senate, the Populists also captured twenty-two congressional seats during their high-water mark in 1896-the largest bloc of third-party congressmen since the Know-Nothing Party of the 1850s.

Culminating with the party's demise in 1908, this period of rapid and unprecedented industrialization in American society also included the founding of the Socialist Party, a young and virile organization led by labor leader Eugene V. Debs that quickly eclipsed the older Socialist Labor Party on the American Left, and witnessed the venerable Prohibitionists-the country's oldest minor party-briefly emerge as the leading third-party movement in the United States.

The Liberal Party of South Africa was founded in 1953 to promote nonracial democratic liberalism in opposition to white supremacist apartheid. Under Alan Paton, it quickly moved into the extra-parliamentary field and won considerable black support, competing with Communism and black nationalism. Growing influence brought heavy government attack, and the 'banning' of nearly 50 of its leaders, black and white. Despite forced dissolution in 1968, the Liberals' ideas have triumphed over those of left and right in the 'new South Africa'.