This thoroughly revised and updated edition of The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe provides an authoritative and thorough analysis of the political changes which have occurred in Central and Eastern Europe since the demise of communism. It offers an historical, comparative perspective of the region and focuses on the social consequences of the democratization process throughout the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century. Significantly, this new edition includes an examination of the South East European countries of Croatia, Serbia and Moldova, which are often overlooked in studies on post-communist political development. The country-specific chapters are each written by distinguished scholars with particular expertise in their respective cases: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Moldova. Each chapter includes detailed examinations of elections, the formation of governments, electoral systems and constitutional arrangements. These up-to-date analyses are supplemented by conclusions on the party systems and emerging political structures in the region as a whole, and the consolidation of democracy in a post-communist setting. The revised and expanded version of The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe provides a state-of-the art companion which will be indispensable for students and scholars in the social sciences, including political science, comparative politics, European studies and political history.

The book is the first systematic and comparative effort to capture political culture in the Baltic countries, including political orientation and support for democracy. Revolving around public opinion data from the 1990s and onwards, including two recent surveys commissioned by the authors, the book takes stock of the political climate prevailing in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania a quarter of a century after reclaiming independence and fifteen years after becoming members of NATO and the EU. These three countries share the same geopolitical fate and many contemporary challenges, and yet each has been marked by their own transitions and struggles between nation building and European integration, Western and post-Soviet orientations, and past experience and future aspirations.

The Making of the European Union argues that the process of European integration has drifted into serious crisis, perhaps the most serious since the Danes voted against the Treaty of the European Union in 1992. French and Dutch voters blatantly rejected the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe in the summer of 2005, thus freezing the constitutional process for at least a year. The outcome of these referenda indicates that the views and attitudes of average Europeans have not been sufficiently listened to.Analysing the conditions for European integration, this book applies a citizens' or 'bottom-up' perspective on the integration process. The difficulties that the constitutional process has encountered illustrate the relevance of bringing public opinion into the analysis of the prospects for European integration. The book describes and analyses the historical, mental, intellectual, and attitudinal denominators of European integration, denominators that have shaped the processes so far and will continue to do so in the future. The authors apply a broad comparative perspective, where European nation-states constitute the primary units of analysis. The focus is on the foundations of European integration, public views about the EU, including various shades of Euroscepticism, and the long-term prospects of the EU. This is a fascinating and penetrating look at the EU and will therefore appeal to a wide audience including scholars and researchers in the social sciences - particularly political science, comparative politics and European studies. The book will also be of great interest to journalists and all those involved in the EU, including policy makers and civil servants throughout the EU itself.

Democratic Innovations in Central and Eastern Europe expands research on democratic innovations by looking specifically at different forms of democratic innovations in Central and Eastern Europe. The book covers direct democracy (referendums in particular), deliberative democracy practices and e-participation - forms which are salient in practice because they match the political realities of our time. Expert contributors show how the recent actions of ordinary citizens in several Central and Eastern European countries have challenged the contemporary political order, and grassroots movements and diverse forms of mobilization have challenged the notion of weak civil societies in the East. The empirical evidence presented attempts to deepen citizen involvement in political contexts sometimes quite different from the democratic political systems in the Western world. Using lessons from a still largely underexplored part of Europe, the book both complements and revises theoretical approaches, or complements empirical results in existing studies on democratic innovations. Democratic Innovations in Central and Eastern Europe will be of great interest to scholars working on democracy, political systems, political engagement, and Central and Eastern European politics. The chapters originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Politics.

This original and thought provoking book addresses the major issues in the present debate surrounding the EU, including the impact of eastward enlargement as well as the prospect of further expansion.Treating the EU as a single political entity comparable to other political systems, the authors discuss the implications of the neighbourhood programmes, the balance between vertical and horizontal integration, the constitutional crisis and the foundations of a potential European society. They also focus on topics rarely raised in the political and academic debate including the hybrid nature of the EU: It does not qualify as a state, but it is not just another intergovernmental organisation; it promotes democracy, but it is not yet a democracy in its own right. The EU is placed within a global federal context, and it is argued that the territorial expansion from the EU15 to the EU27 has added substance, but also complexity to the EU. All this makes the book a unique addition to the current literature. Applying a broad, pan-European comparative perspective, this invaluable research tool will strongly appeal to academics and students of European studies and political science and institutions such as foreign offices, embassies and EU organizations.

This third edition of The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe provides an authoritative and thorough analysis of the political changes, which have occurred in Central and Eastern Europe since the demise of communism. It offers an historical, comparative perspective of the region and focuses on the social consequences of the democratization process. The country-specific chapters are written by scholars with well-documented area expertise on their respective cases: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. Each chapter includes detailed examinations of elections, the formation of governments, electoral systems and constitutional arrangements. These in-depth and up-to-date analyses are supplemented by conclusions on the party systems and emerging political structures in the region as a whole, as well as the consolidation of democracy in a post-communist setting. The revised and expanded version of The Handbook of Political Change in Eastern Europe provides a state-of-the art companion, which will be indispensable for students and scholars in the social sciences including political science, comparative politics, European studies and political history, as well as for policy makers and practitioners. Contributors: F.H. Aarebrot, D. Auers, C. Berglund, S. Berglund, W. Crowther, G. ular, K. Deegan-Krause, T. Donais, K. Duvold, J. Ekman, J.O. Haukaas, A. Henjak, R. Hislope, M. Jurkynas, G. Karasimeonov, T. Knutsen, M. Lagerspetz, M. Lyubenov, Z. Mansfeldova, A. Murati, S. Popa, O. Protsyk, B. Stanley, O.-V. Suciu, B. Todosijevi , G. Toka, H. Vogt, D. Zajc, N. Zako ek

Democratic Innovations in Central and Eastern Europe expands research on democratic innovations by looking specifically at different forms of democratic innovations in Central and Eastern Europe. The book covers direct democracy (referendums in particular), deliberative democracy practices and e-participation - forms which are salient in practice because they match the political realities of our time. Expert contributors show how the recent actions of ordinary citizens in several Central and Eastern European countries have challenged the contemporary political order, and grassroots movements and diverse forms of mobilization have challenged the notion of weak civil societies in the East. The empirical evidence presented attempts to deepen citizen involvement in political contexts sometimes quite different from the democratic political systems in the Western world. Using lessons from a still largely underexplored part of Europe, the book both complements and revises theoretical approaches, or complements empirical results in existing studies on democratic innovations. Democratic Innovations in Central and Eastern Europe will be of great interest to scholars working on democracy, political systems, political engagement, and Central and Eastern European politics. The chapters originally published as a special issue of Contemporary Politics.

The book is the first systematic and comparative effort to capture political culture in the Baltic countries, including political orientation and support for democracy. Revolving around public opinion data from the 1990s and onwards, including two recent surveys commissioned by the authors, the book takes stock of the political climate prevailing in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania a quarter of a century after reclaiming independence and fifteen years after becoming members of NATO and the EU. These three countries share the same geopolitical fate and many contemporary challenges, and yet each has been marked by their own transitions and struggles between nation building and European integration, Western and post-Soviet orientations, and past experience and future aspirations.

Following World War II, Germany was divided in two parts. For a period of more than 40 years, two German states developed in separation from each other, and because of the horrors of the recent past, both states badly needed to develop new national self-images. In the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the communist regime desperately tried to foster a distinct socialist GDR identity among the East Germans. In the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the successful economic and political development led to the emergence of a new, post-war national identity. The Berlin Wall was opened on November 9, 1989, and Germany was formally unified not even a year later, on October 3, 1990. The past decades have shown, however, that Germany has had difficulties in becoming informally unified. This study examines attitudinal differences between East Germans and West Germans, and asks if differences today are primarily ascribable to different historical experiences, or rather an outcome of the uneasy unification process.

The present compilation is a commented overview of post-1945 public opinion surveys in Germany, focused on contents, regularity and availability of the surveys. The compilation breaks down into seven chapters. Following the introduction on the use of public opinion surveys in social science research, the presentation follows a chronological structure, starting with public opinion polls in early post-war Germany. The overview proceeds with a chapter on public opinion surveys in the former GDR, and a chapter on political science and elections studies in the FRG. Thereafter, a number of public opinion surveys in unified Germany are presented. The last empirical chapter deals with cross-national public opinion barometers in which Germany, Austria and Switzerland participate. The overview concludes with a discussion about the merits and shortcomings as well as the contents of the different public opinion surveys conducted in Germany.