The European Union is paradoxical: it is not a state, yet it performs many traditional functions of the state. Its regulatory powers are immense but its redistributive functions are negligible; its decisions penetrate all aspects of economic and social life, yet Brussels has no local administration or tribunals, no controllers capable of guaranteeing the correct and faithful implementation of the regulations or objectives which frame European policies. Ths book explores the means through which this paradox is confronted. It examines the nature and modalities of policy-making at Community level and discusses the implications of the specific nature of European institiutions for bargaining group mobilization and policy style. It then studies how the three major nation states have adjusted their policy processes and institutions to the European challenges. Finally, it considers the impact of community decisions in three areas: industrial, competition and social policy.

In this volume, distinguished French and U.S. historians, economists, and political scientists explore the dimensions of France's current crisis of identity. Although every European nation has been adjusting to the dramatic transformations on the continent since the end of the Cold War, France's struggle to adapt has been particularly difficult. Responding to a mix of external and internal pressures, the nation is now questioning many basic assumptions about how France should be governed, what the objectives of national policies should be, and ultimately what it means to be French. Rather than focusing explicitly on the problem of identity, the contributors offer differing perspectives on the issues at the heart of the country's debate about its future. They begin by examining how France's historical legacy has influenced the way the nation confronts contemporary problems, giving special attention to the manner in which past traumatic experiences, socioeconomic and cultural traditions, and the belief in French exceptionalism have shaped current political thinking. They then consider how favoring a more open approach to trade and building a strong franc have changed the culture of economic policy and created dilemmas for the rule of the state as a guarantor of welfare. They go on to explore changes in elite structures, the evolution of the party system, and the spillover of new political conditions that are driving France's efforts to establish a strong national identity in the area of trade. Finally, the contributors examine the central influence of the changing international framework on France's self-definition, on its security policies, its relationship to the European Union, and its basic perceptions of the state and sovereignty. They also consider how the answers to these questions are affecting France's relationships with the outside world and the overriding policy dilemmas faced by all the European nations.

In this volume, distinguished French and U.S. historians, economists, and political scientists explore the dimensions of France's current crisis of identity. Although every European nation has been adjusting to the dramatic transformations on the continent since the end of the Cold War, France's struggle to adapt has been particularly difficult. Responding to a mix of external and internal pressures, the nation is now questioning many basic assumptions about how France should be governed, what the objectives of national policies should be, and ultimately what it means to be French. Rather than focusing explicitly on the problem of identity, the contributors offer differing perspectives on the issues at the heart of the country's debate about its future. They begin by examining how France's historical legacy has influenced the way the nation confronts contemporary problems, giving special attention to the manner in which past traumatic experiences, socioeconomic and cultural traditions, and the belief in French exceptionalism have shaped current political thinking. They then consider how favoring a more open approach to trade and building a strong franc have changed the culture of economic policy and created dilemmas for the rule of the state as a guarantor of welfare. They go on to explore changes in elite structures, the evolution of the party system, and the spillover of new political conditions that are driving France's efforts to establish a strong national identity in the area of trade. Finally, the contributors examine the central influence of the changing international framework on France's self-definition, on its security policies, its relationship to the European Union, and its basic perceptions of the state and sovereignty. They also consider how the answers to these questions are affecting France's relationships with the outside world and the overriding policy dilemmas faced by all the European nations.

Government and Politics in Western Europe offers a clear and accessible comparative introduction to the political institutions of Western Europe's four largest countries: Britain, France, Italy, and Germany. The existing chapters, thoroughly revised to cover developments at national level, are now complemented by two completely new chapters on the European Union.

The book also includes tables and diagrams which provide the student with invaluable reference material to key facts and processes. Clearly written and comprehensive, this text will be essential reading for all students of comparative politics, European Studies, and West European politics.

This book re-examine what democracy is, in the context of democratic disenchantment and surge of support for populist parties, in most, if not all, democratic systems. It argues that these popular protests and claims are not by themselves anti-democratic but they are manifestations of a fundamental misunderstanding about what democracy is and can be. The starting point is to underline that all democracies are the result of an historical 'bricolage' where many heterogeneous components have been included over time and space, becoming part and parcel of what constitutes a democratic system, even when these foreign elements are literally anti-democratic, in the proper sense of the term. Liberalism is at stake. Many political systems are deemed un-democratic as they tend to become illiberal, forgetting that reforms inspired by liberalism were often directed at limiting, repressing and forbidding the full expression of the will of the people. Today, democracies are, for the most part, characterized not only by periodic crises and the fall of representative institutions (i.e. political parties) but also by the growing expropriation of the 'political' by non-political institutions. Governance has replaced governments; elections do not matter, or at least, it seems that a growing number of citizens feel apathetic and resent the political process. Populism is a radical by-product of a popular rage which has not found the appropriate channels to convey its messages and aspirations for change.

Examines policy-making at EU-level; explores how three major nation-states have adapted their policy processes and institutions to the European challenge; and focuses on the impact of the EU on industrial, competition and social policies.