This unique study presents the results of a cross-national analysis of citizenship and participation among citizens in twelve European democracies. Research on the future and quality of contemporary democracy is usually restricted to focus either on political participation, on particular aspects of citizenship, or on social activities, exclusively. This new book offers the first empirical investigation of the relationships both between social and political involvement, and between "small-scale" and "large-scale" democracies.
"Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies" offers representative samples of the populations in a selection of European countries between 2000-2, including: Denmark; Germany [East and West]; Moldova; the Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; Romania; Russia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; and Switzerland. The leading contributors provide new theoretical insights and offer a broad conceptualization of citizenship, stimulating the ongoing discussions about the problems and challenges of democratic political systems.
This book has a companion volume entitled "Social Capital and Associations in European Democracies" edited by William A. Maloney and Sigrid Roteutscher (Routledge, 2006). Both volumes will be of great interest to students and researchers of European Politics, Comparative Politics and Sociology.

The relevance of social participation and intermediary associations for democracy has been at the centre of approaches to democratic politics since the 19th century. More recently the rise of new states in Central and Eastern Europe and contemporary discussions about social conflict, civil society, communitarianism, and social capital have stimulated a revival of the subject. This study explores the changing role and functions of voluntary associations, intermediary organizations and other social movements in democratic societies. The contributors employ macro- and mico-perspectives to examine the relationship between social and political involvement in the democratic process, and use previously unpublished empirical data from countries such as Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium, Norway and Spain. They find the structure of voluntary associations and intermediary organizations throughout these countries has changed significantly and their membership levels and relevance to democratic decision-making have grown pointing to a changing, but not declining, democratic culture in Western Europe.

In the last decades, political participation expanded continuously. This expansion includes activities as diverse as voting, tweeting, signing petitions, changing your social media profile, demonstrating, boycotting products, joining flash mobs, attending meetings, throwing seedbombs, and donating money. But if political participation is so diverse, how do we recognize participation when we see it? Despite the growing interest in new forms of citizen engagement in politics, there is virtually no systematic research investigating what these new and emerging forms of engagement look like, how prevalent they are in various societies, and how they fit within the broader structure of well-known participatory acts conceptually and empirically. The rapid spread of internet-based activities especially underlines the urgency to deal with such challenges. In this book, Yannis Theocharis and Jan W. van Deth put forward a systematic and unified approach to explore political participation and offer new conceptual and empirical tools with which to study it. Political Participation in a Changing World will assist both scholars and students of political behaviour to systematically study new forms of political participation without losing track of more conventional political activities.

In the last decades, political participation expanded continuously. This expansion includes activities as diverse as voting, tweeting, signing petitions, changing your social media profile, demonstrating, boycotting products, joining flash mobs, attending meetings, throwing seedbombs, and donating money. But if political participation is so diverse, how do we recognize participation when we see it? Despite the growing interest in new forms of citizen engagement in politics, there is virtually no systematic research investigating what these new and emerging forms of engagement look like, how prevalent they are in various societies, and how they fit within the broader structure of well-known participatory acts conceptually and empirically. The rapid spread of internet-based activities especially underlines the urgency to deal with such challenges. In this book, Yannis Theocharis and Jan W. van Deth put forward a systematic and unified approach to explore political participation and offer new conceptual and empirical tools with which to study it. Political Participation in a Changing World will assist both scholars and students of political behaviour to systematically study new forms of political participation without losing track of more conventional political activities.

This book examines the role of civil society organizations in several advanced European democracies: Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Specifically the book focuses on how voluntary organizations contribute to civic and democratic health and assesses the impact of different organizational types on social capital. Building on Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies and Social Capital and Associations in Europe (2007), this volume seeks to widen and deepen the analysis by introducing new data on activists and combining it with the organizational data and the population data. It evaluates the impact of the organizational context on individual activity profiles and attitudes and values of activists and provides a unique assessment on the contribution that voluntary associations make to civil and democratic society. Part One deals with the consequences of associational involvement for several attitudinal and behavioural orientations and Part Two expands the scope of the effects of voluntary associations towards European attitudes. This book is essential reading for students and scholars of civil society, democracy, political participation, politics and sociology.

This book examines the role of civil society organizations in several advanced European democracies: Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Specifically the book focuses on how voluntary organizations contribute to civic and democratic health and assesses the impact of different organizational types on social capital.

Building on Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies and Social Capital and Associations in Europe (2007), this volume seeks to widen and deepen the analysis by introducing new data on activists and combining it with the organizational data and the population data. It evaluates the impact of the organizational context on individual activity profiles and attitudes and values of activists and provides a unique assessment on the contribution that voluntary associations make to civil and democratic society. Part One deals with the consequences of associational involvement for several attitudinal and behavioural orientations and Part Two expands the scope of the effects of voluntary associations towards European attitudes.

This book is essential reading for students and scholars of civil society, democracy, political participation, politics and sociology.

The research presented in this book - based on new primary data - demonstrates that in terms of civil society actors adapting to the European political space the Europeanization process has an uneven development. This innovative book integrates 'top-down' approaches for the study of relationships within the developing EU-multilevel system (i.e., the consequences of Europeanization for civil society at the local level) and 'bottom-up' approaches (i.e., the consequences of civil society for the process of European integration and democracy in the EU). The contributors argue that exploration of these recursive linkages requires a rethinking of the relationships between (local, national, and trans-national) civil society on the one hand, and multi-level governance on the other. In analyzing the opportunities for civil society associations to contribute to European integration and decision-making from various perspectives, the following findings are presented, amongst others: engagement with and confidence in the EU (compared to national institutions) is relatively weak among associational members party elites play a key gatekeeper role in the European space the EU and interest groups have had limited success in stimulating the development of citizen engagement, civil society and social capital in various countries. In the rapidly expanding field of research on democratic decision-making in Europe, this book will be welcomed by academics and scholars alike at postgraduate levels and above. Experts working in the field of European decision-making (such as lawyers and lobbyists) who are looking for conclusions based on high-quality empirical research will also find much in this book to engage them.

This unique study presents the results of a cross-national analysis of citizenship and participation among citizens in twelve European democracies. Research on the future and quality of contemporary democracy is usually restricted to focus either on political participation, on particular aspects of citizenship, or on social activities, exclusively. This new book offers the first empirical investigation of the relationships both between social and political involvement, and between 'small-scale' and 'large-scale' democracies. Citizenship and Involvement in European Democracies offers representative samples of the populations in a selection of European countries between 2000-2002, including: Denmark, Germany (East and West), Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The leading contributors provide new theoretical insights and offer a broad conceptualization of citizenship, stimulating the ongoing discussions about the problems and challenges of democratic political systems. This book has a companion volume entitled Social Capital and Associations in European Democracies edited by William A. Maloney and Sigrid Rossteutscher (Routledge, 2006). Both volumes will be of great interest to students and researchers of European politics, comparative politics and sociology.

Now in its fourth edition, this textbook gives a clear and concise account of the government and politics of democratic states, comprehensively updated with recent developments. It provides an ideal guide for undergraduate students who want to understand how and why democratic systems differ between countries and how they are changing in the modern world. It is written and structured in an easy to follow style, enabling students to gain a thorough understanding of the explanations behind complex ideas and theories. The 'Briefings' and 'Controversies' sections give life to the analyses with illustrations drawn from around the globe, whilst its 'Key Term' entries provide students with a route through the concepts of political science. The fourth edition has been fully revised to reflect recent changes in political attitudes and behaviour, voting, parties, party systems and ideologies. The final chapter addresses the future of democratic states facing with these changes and challenges, by examining democratic crisis, populism and post-democracy.

Now in its fourth edition, this textbook gives a clear and concise account of the government and politics of democratic states, comprehensively updated with recent developments. It provides an ideal guide for undergraduate students who want to understand how and why democratic systems differ between countries and how they are changing in the modern world. It is written and structured in an easy to follow style, enabling students to gain a thorough understanding of the explanations behind complex ideas and theories. The 'Briefings' and 'Controversies' sections give life to the analyses with illustrations drawn from around the globe, whilst its 'Key Term' entries provide students with a route through the concepts of political science. The fourth edition has been fully revised to reflect recent changes in political attitudes and behaviour, voting, parties, party systems and ideologies. The final chapter addresses the future of democratic states facing with these changes and challenges, by examining democratic crisis, populism and post-democracy.

The complications of using similar concepts in different situations are well-known to everyone in comparative politics. This volume faces the problems of comparability and equivalence head on and indicates practical ways they can be tackled. Each contribution focuses on a theoretically relevant theme, such as tolerance, political values, religious orientation, gender roles, voluntary associations, party organisations, party positions, democratic regimes, and the mass media. The chapters cover different approaches, methods, data and countries, making use of widely available empirical research to illustrate the gains of finding equivalent measures in realistic research settings. Many of the strategies show how the complicated search for comparability and equivalence uncovers substantial additional information in comparative politics. Dealing with these problems can enhance the quality and reliability of any research. This edition includes a new introduction from the Jan van Deth, examining developments in the field over the last 20 years.

Gemeinden haben positive Effekte auf die politischen Orientierungen der Burger. Weil die raumliche Nahe intensivere Kontakte mit Politikern ermoglicht, mehr Moglichkeiten der Beteiligung bietet und eine grossere Vertrautheit mit dem politischen Prozess erlaubt, tragt die lokale Ebene dazu bei, die Legitimitat des politischen Systems zu starken und das Vertrauen in die Demokratie zu fordern. Diese plausible These und weitverbreitete Argumentation wird allerdings nur selten empirisch uberpruft. Die Beitrage in diesem Band, versuchen diese Lucke zu schliessen. Zu klaren ist, welche Bedeutung das lokale Umfeld fur politische Orientierungen hat und wie mogliche wechselseitige Einflusse von individuellen und kontextuellen Merkmalen zustande kommen. Fur die empirischen Analysen wurden in 28 zufallig ausgewahlten Gemeinden insgesamt uber 12.000 Burger befragt. Ausserdem fanden in diesen Gemeinden eine Kommunalpolitikerbefragung sowie eine Sammlung von statistischen Informationen zur politischen, gesellschaftlichen und wirtschaftlichen Situation in diesen Kommunen statt. Diese einzigartigen Daten ermoglichen eine umfangreiche empirische Uberprufung der Bedeutung von Gemeinden in gegenwartigen Demokratien."

Wichtigstes Ziel der Publikation ist die Prasentation empirischer Ergebnisse bezuglich der politischen Orientierungen sowie der Entwicklung dieser Orientierungen in der ersten Klasse der Grundschule. Dabei wird zunachst nachgewiesen, wie Kinder Politik verstehen und auf welche Weise dieses Verstandnis fur die empirische Politikforschung zuganglich gemacht werden kann.
Hauptthema des Bandes liegt auf der Beschreibung politischer Orientierungen junger Kinder auf der Basis der beiden Wellen der Kinderbefragung des Forschungsprojekts 'Demokratie Leben Lernen' (etwa 800 Kinder). Die Analysen sind auf drei Hauptbereiche (Themen, Wissen, Werte) fokussiert. Die hierbei aufgedeckten Unterschiede in Niveau und Persistenz der politischen Orientierungen werden auch auf ihren Zusammenhang mit einigen wichtigen Einflussfaktoren wie Geschlecht, Alter, Nationalitat usw. untersucht.
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Jugendliche wenden sich zunehmend von der Politik ab. Ihr Interesse am politischen Geschehen, ihr Vertrauen in politische Institutionen sowie ihre politische Beteiligungsbereitschaft sind deutlich niedriger als bei Erwachsenen. Diese Klischees uber das Verhaltnis der Jugendlichen zur Politik sind immer wieder anzutreffen. Aber sie treffen nicht zu. Das Verhaltnis der Jugendlichen zur Politik unterscheidet sich nicht grundsatzlich von dem Erwachsenen. Man kann es in der Jugendsprache als "voll normal!" bezeichnen. Empirische Analysen vergleichen ein breites Spektrum unterschiedlicher politischer Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen der Jugendlichen mit denen der Erwachsenen. Auch wird untersucht, wie sich die Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen in den letzten 30 Jahren entwickelt haben.

In diesem Band werden die wichtigsten Aspekte der Bundestagswahl 2002 analysiert: der Wahlkampf, die Fernsehduelle, die Wahlkampfanzeigen, die Parteiprogramme, die Wahlbeteiligung, die Briefwahl und die Wahlentscheidung der Burger.

In diesem Band werden die Positionen und Meinungen der Burger, der Parteien und der Parlamentarier zur Europaischen Union und dem weiteren europaischen Integrationsprozess untersucht.

Welche Bedeutung haben Religion, Bildung, Klassenzugehorigkeit heute noch fur politische Einstellungen und fur politisches Verhalten? Die Beitrage in diesem Band untersuchen u.a., ob an die Stelle einer politisierten Sozialstruktur inzwischen Individualisierung und Fragmentierung des Politischen getreten sind.

Dieses Buch behandelt die sozialen und politischen Einstellungen, die staatsburgerlichen Orientierungen und das soziale und politische Engagement der deutschen Bevolkerung. Dabei wird erstmals und umfassend ein doppelter Vergleich angestellt: Ein Vergleich der Einstellungen in West- und Ostdeutschland und ein Vergleich Deutschlands mit west- und osteuropaischen Landern. Dieser Band beantwortet somit zwei wichtige Fragen: Wie einheitlich ist die politische Kultur in Deutschland mehr als zehn Jahre nach der Deutschen Einheit? Wichtiger noch: Sind die Orientierungen in Deutschland als eigenstandige Kultur in Europa zu betrachten? Die Ergebnisse des Bandes beruhen auf der Arbeit des European Social Survey (ESS), in dessen Rahmen umfangreiche Befragungen der Einwohner von mehr als 20 europaischen Landern durchgefuhrt wurden.