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.

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.

Social capital is a relatively new concept in the social sciences. In the last twenty or so years it has come to indicate that networks of social relationships represent a 'resource' for both the individual and society, since they provide support for the individual and facilitate collective action. Although this is not an entirely new idea, the more systematic way in which social capital captures such an intuition has created a new theoretical paradigm and helped to develop a series of innovative research programs in politics, economics, and the study of human well-being. The concept has gained currency beyond academia, extending its influence to political and policy-making circles at local, national, and international levels. It has also affected the way in which social surveys are conceived and public policies assessed. As the idea of social capital has spread, the literature about it has increased exponentially. After twenty years of rapid expansion it is time for a more considered and critical assessment of how the original concept has been adapted and refined, and how successful its application has been. The Handbook of Social Capital intends to do precisely that. It offers a state-of-the-art view of discussions about the concept of social capital and the way in which it has been applied in empirical research.
The organization of the Handbook reflects this intention by focusing on conceptual development and analysis in the first part; by identifying two main areas of research in which social capital has favored the development of new and influential research programs--political participation in democratic societies, and economic development; and by exploring the more normativeand policy oriented consequences of social capital. All chapters comprising the volume were specifically written for the Handbook by some of the main experts in the fields. The book provides an authoritative and innovative introduction to the study of social capital.

A decline in religious belief, waning class values, rising postmaterialism, along with green values, feminism, and postmodernism - all these phenomena are indicative of widespread change in value orientations among West European citizens during the last two decades. The extent of these changes and their impact on politics are the dual concerns of this volume. The first chapters present a simple model of the relationship between value orientations and political participation, and follow this up with an account of how value orientations can be identified empirically. Subsequent chapters draw on a vast data set from across Europe over the last two decades to track changes in three central value orientations - religious-secular, left-right materialism, materialism-postmaterialism - as well as the emergence of feminism, postmodernism, and green orientations. The third part of the volume examines the impact on the three central orientations on political efficacy, political trust, interest in politics, voting, and involvement in new social movements. The volume concludes with an assessment of the effects of changing value orientations for government in advanced industrial societies. A Choice `Outstanding Academic Book of the Year'. Series description This set of five volumes is an exhaustive study of beliefs in government in post-war Europe. Based upon an extensive collection of survey evidence, the results challenge widely argued theories of mass opinion, and much scholarly writing about citizen attitudes towards government and politics. The series arises from a research project sponsored by the European Science Foundation. Reviews of the series: `The quality of the empirical analysis is consistently high...[an] important collection of empirical studies addressing the debate about the "crisis of representation" in Europe,' Journal of Public Policy `These volumes contain the work of many of the most important scholars in the field of public opinion in Europe today...These five volumes represent a major contribution to comparative politics, especially the study of mass politics. The chapters provide a wealth of information about public opinion in contemporary Europe and the relationship between state and society...The volumes clearly will be read by all students of European politics...' Times Educational Supplement `The Beliefs in Government series is a monumental achievement. It tells us at least everything we want to know about the structure of European public opinion'. The Good Society Reviews of The Impact of Values: `The Impact of Values does not disappoint. Meticulously organized chapters ensure that this is a volume which can either be read comfortably from cover to cover, or dipped into at leisure'. Democratization ` a well-integrated and informative account of the subject...a painstakingly-crafted and meticulously researched exercise which will stand as a major reference work for many years to come...' Political Studies

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.
"

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 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.

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.

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.

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.