Parliamentary cabinets are supposed to be collective bodies, taking their decisions on the basis of agreements among all the members. Yet much has been made of the growth of the role of prime ministers, not just in Britain, but all over Western Europe. Much has also been made of the trend towards letting cabinet decisions be taken by committees or even by individual ministers.;These are the issues which this study examines, on the basis of the replies of over 400 cabinet ministers across Western Europe. The result is an empirical analysis of a subject on which what has been known so far has tended to be speculation.;Other works by Jean Blondel include "Voters, Parties and Leaders", "An Introduction to Comparative Government", "Comparative Legislatures", "Political Parties", "The Discipline of Politics", "World Leaders", "The Organisation of Governments", "Government Ministers in the Contemporary World", "Political Leadership" and "Cabinets in Western Europe". Ferdinand Mueller-Rommel is the author of "New Politics in Western Europe", "Cabinets in Western Europe" and "Gruene Parteien in Westeuropa".

A fully-updated second edition of the presentation of the structure and workings of the national cabinets in Western European countries today. This book is based on a common framework which enables the reader to compare the origins, structure, composition and activities of these cabinets and to draw lessons from this comparison. Emphasis is placed on the leadership and on the character of coalitions. When West European ministers are working ever more closely together, a knowledge of the life of national cabinets is vital as is an understanding of the differences between types of cabinet decision-making in the context of the reforms proposed of Western European governments.

By the late 1990s Green parties had entered national governments in five Western European countries - Finland, Italy, Germany, France and Belgium.This book analyzes the performance of Green parties in these five governments by answering the following questions: what are the political conditions under which Green parties have gained effective office? How do Green parties behave in government? What is the impact of Green parties on the policy performance of the national government? What is the effect of government participation on the electoral and organizational stability of the Greens?

This book examines the changes in the career experiences and profiles of 350 European prime ministers in 26 European democracies from 1945 to 2020. It builds on a theoretical framework, which claims that the decline of party government along with the increase of populism, technocracy, and the presidentialization of politics have influenced the careers of prime ministers over the past 70 years. The findings show that prime ministers' career experiences became less political and more technical. Moreover, their career profiles shifted from a traditional type of 'party-agent' to a new type of 'party-principal'. These changes affected the recruitment of executive elites and their political representation in European democracies, albeit with different intensity and speed.

This edited collection, in honour of the late political scientist Peter Mair, contains original chapters that are directly linked to his theoretical and/or methodological ideas and approaches. Peter Mair demonstrated that political parties have traditionally been central actors in European politics and an essential focus of comparative European political science. Though the nature of political parties and the manner in which they operate has been subject to significant change in recent decades, parties remain a crucial factor in the working of European liberal democracies. This volume analyses recent developments and current challenges that European parties, party systems and democracy face. The volume will be of key interest to students and scholars of comparative politics, democracy studies, political parties, and European politics and European Union studies.

This edited collection, in honour of the late political scientist Peter Mair, contains original chapters that are directly linked to his theoretical and/or methodological ideas and approaches. Peter Mair demonstrated that political parties have traditionally been central actors in European politics and an essential focus of comparative European political science. Though the nature of political parties and the manner in which they operate has been subject to significant change in recent decades, parties remain a crucial factor in the working of European liberal democracies. This volume analyses recent developments and current challenges that European parties, party systems and democracy face. The volume will be of key interest to students and scholars of comparative politics, democracy studies, political parties, and European politics and European Union studies.

This truly comparative volume examines the "life cycle" of party governments in Europe from 1990 onwards, and analyses its role and function in contemporary European parliamentary democracies. The life and the performance of party governments in Europe became more and more volatile and publicly contested. In some cases, it has even challenge the democratic quality of the state. This book presents comparative analyses of party governments from formation and duration, to performance. It brings together some of the foremost scholars researching on party government to evaluate existing theories and compare both the developments in the Western and the 'new' Eastern Europe in an empirically-grounded comparative analysis. The book discusses the interaction between various institutions, political parties and policies, and evaluates how institutional change and party behaviour can drive the "life cycle" of party government. Party Government in the New Europe will be of interest to students and scholars of Comparative Politics, Democracy, Government and European Politics.

This truly comparative volume examines the "life cycle" of party governments in Europe from 1990 onwards, and analyses its role and function in contemporary European parliamentary democracies.

The life and the performance of party governments in Europe became more and more volatile and publicly contested. In some cases, it has even challenge the democratic quality of the state. This book presents comparative analyses of party governments from formation and duration, to performance. It brings together some of the foremost scholars researching on party government to evaluate existing theories and compare both the developments in the Western and the new Eastern Europe in an empirically-grounded comparative analysis. The book discusses the interaction between various institutions, political parties and policies, and evaluates how institutional change and party behaviour can drive the "life cycle" of party government.

Party Government in the New Europe will be of interest to students and scholars of Comparative Politics, Democracy, Government and European Politics.

This book provides an introduction to the green party phenomenon in Western Europe that will enable the student of comparative politics to acquire detailed understanding of the green parties and to compare them meaningfully across countries.

This book provides an introduction to the green party phenomenon in Western Europe that will enable the student of comparative politics to acquire detailed understanding of the green parties and to compare them meaningfully across countries.

By the late 1990s Green parties had entered national governments in five Western European countries - Finland, Italy, Germany, France and Belgium.This book analyzes the performance of Green parties in these five governments by answering the following questions: what are the political conditions under which Green parties have gained effective office? How do Green parties behave in government? What is the impact of Green parties on the policy performance of the national government? What is the effect of government participation on the electoral and organizational stability of the Greens?

Political executives have been at the centre of public and scholarly attention long before the inception of modern political science. In the contemporary world, political executives have come to dominate the political stage in many democratic and autocratic regimes. The Oxford Handbook of Political Executives marks the definitive reference work in this field. Edited and written by a team of word-class scholars, it combines substantive stocktaking with setting new agendas for the next generation of political executive research.

This volume brings together some of the foremost scholars of European party politics to discuss the challenges currently faced by western European political parties. Each contributor provides a concise, critical review of the theoretical and methodological 'state of the art' in respect of a specific aspect, and also reviews the latest empirical findings in that area.

A fully-updated second edition of the presentation of the structure and workings of the national cabinets in Western European countries today. This book is based on a common framework which enables the reader to compare the origins, structure, composition and activities of these cabinets and to draw lessons from this comparison. Emphasis is placed on the leadership and on the character of coalitions. When West European ministers are working ever more closely together, a knowledge of the life of national cabinets is vital as is an understanding of the differences between types of cabinet decision-making in the context of the reforms proposed of Western European governments.

Parliamentary cabinets are supposed to be collective bodies, taking their decisions on the basis of agreements among all the members. Yet much has been made of the growth of the role of prime ministers, not just in Britain, but all over western Europe. Much has also been made of the trend towards letting cabinet decisions be taken by committees or even by individual ministers. It is indeed true that twenty men and women, meeting only a few hours a week, cannot take all the decisions of the State. These are the issues which this study examines, on the basis of the replies of over 400 cabinet ministers across western Europe. The result is the first truly empirical analysis in a subject on which what has been known so far has tended to be speculation.

A presentation of the structure and workings of the national cabinets in Western European countries today, based on a common framework which enables the reader to compare their origins, structure, composition and activities. Emphasis is placed on the leadership and on the character of coalitions.

Holger Meyer zeigt, dass sich der Einfluss der EU nicht in allen umweltrelevanten Bereichen qualitatsverbessernd auswirkt, und weist auf alarmierende Fehlentwicklungen hin, da die neuen Mitgliedslander umweltdegradierende Verhaltensweisen der alten Mitgliedsstaaten aufgreifen.

Diese Einfuhrung in die umweltorientierten Sozialwissenschaften bietet einen leichten uberblickartigen Einstieg in die Thematik. Dabei werden die wichtigsten sozial-umweltwissenschaftlichen Disziplinen wie Umweltpolitologie, Umweltplanung, Umweltpsychologie, Umweltbildung vorgestellt. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf den theoretischen Grundlagen dieser Forschungsfelder. Praxisbezuge werden aber vielfach angefuhrt und verdeutlichen die Relevanz dieses umweltwissenschaftlichen Teilgebiets. Der Aufbau des Buches orientiert sich an den verschiedenen Forschungsfeldern, die einerseits eine tiefgehende Analyse des jeweilige Teilgebiets liefern und andererseits weiterfuhrende Handlungspotentiale aufzeigen. Das Buch wendet sich in erster Linie an Studierende der Umweltwissenschaften, die ihr oekologisches Wissen in sozialwissenschaftliche Handlungsbezuge setzen moechten. Aber auch anderen interessierten Lesern vermittelt es ein Grundverstandnis uber sozialwissenschaftliche Zusammenhange.

Der Band gibt einen Uberblick uber die Geschichte aller Grunen Parteien in Westeuropa uber einen Zeitraum von mehr als 10 Jahren. Ferner wird empirisch uberpruft, unter welchen gesellschaftspolitischen Rahmenbedingungen die Grunen in Europa hohe bzw. niedrige Wahlergebnisse erzielen. Dabei werden im einzelnen folgende Faktoren untersucht: das soziookonomische System, das politische System, das Parteiensystem, die ausserparlamentarischen Krafteverhaltnisse, die politischen Werte und Einstellungen der Wahler sowie die Parteiorganisation der Grunen in 15 westeuropaischen Landern. Abschliessend werden die Schwierigkeiten und Grenzen von landervergleichender Parteienforschung unter theoretischen und methodischen Gesichtspunkten thematisiert."

Entwicldung und Stellenwert der Vergleicbenden Politikwissenscbaft Die Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft ist hiufig als "KOnigsweg" des Faches insgesamt bezeichnet worden (z. B. Massing 1969: 286). Zum einen, well sie auf eine altehrwiirdige Tradition, die zumindest bis zu Autoren wie Thukydides und Aristoteles reicht, zuriick blicken kann und sich komparative Aussagen in Werken nahezu alIer klassischen Autoren des Faches finden. Zum andem, well die ihr in newohnende methodische Perspektive in die Lage versetzt, die je wells eigenen politischen Verhiltnisse kritisch am Beispiel anderer zu iiberpriifen und potentiell zu universal giiltigen Aussagen zu ge langen. Auf diese Weise kann sie auch per Uberwindung der jeweili gen Subjektivitiit und Ethnozentriertheit beitragen (Dogan und Pe lassy 1984: Sff. ). Der Vergleich wird oft auch als "Quasi-Experi ment" herangezogen, das Erkenntnisfortschritte unter ahnlich kontrollierbaren Bedingungen wie in den Naturwissenschaften er moglichen soIl. 1m folgenden soIl auf einige Etappen dieses Weges, aber auch aufweiterbestehende Probleme und Grenzen des Ansatzes kurz eingegangen werden. Der aktuelle Stand und konkrete Perspek tiven in zentralen Bereichen der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft werden dann in den Einzelbeitriigen dieses Bandes verdeutlicht. Eine gewisse Konfusion besteht bereits in den jeweils verwendeten Begrlffen. Der im angelsachsischen Raum lange Zeit vorherr schende Terminus "comparative government" wird im Deutschen meist als "vergleichende Regierungslehre" iibersetzt (vgl. z. B. Stammen 1976). Er steht aber auch in enger Beziehung zur ilteren deutschen "Staatslehre" und "Polizeywissenschaft" (Maier 1966)."

The scope and intensity of the challenges currently faced by West European political parties is exceptionally great, threatening the viability of the manner in which they have traditionally operated and causing them to seek new behaviours and strategies. This volume brings together some of the foremost scholars of European party politics, whose evaluation of political parties in 'the new Europe' is organised under four broad headings: 'Parties and Society'; 'Parties as Purposive Organizations'; 'Parties and National Government' and 'Parties, the Nation State, and Beyond'. The contributors review the latest empirical findings and provide a concise, critical review of the theoretical and methodological 'state of the art'. They also highlight the analytical challenges confronting party researchers and suggest new avenues for party research.