Lecture 1
Introduction West European Politics
Today:
I. Course organisation
II. Introduction to West European Politics
Course organisation
Course supervisor:
Dr. Kai Arzheimer
Email: karzh@essex.ac.uk
Tel: ext 3504
Office hours: Monday 12-13 (room 5.006)
course supervisor
Class teacher
Kyriaki Nanou, MA
Student workload
► Attending the lectures ► Course reading ► Preparing for classes and
► Two
actively participate
essays – of max. 3500 words each (deadlines in week 7, 22) ► Two end-of-term class tests – of about 45 minutes duration (weeks 11, 25) ► One three-hour end-of-year examination
Rules
submission of essay: zero tolerance ► No extensions ► extenuating circumstances (“circumstances beyond the student's control, of a medical, practical or personal nature“, see http://www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/student s/ug/crswk_pol.htm)
► Late
Zero Tolerance
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All coursework submitted after the deadline will receive a mark of zero. The mark of zero shall stand unless the student submits satisfactory evidence of extenuating circumstances that indicate that the student was unable to submit the work prior to the deadline There is only one deadline: 8 a.m. on the day of the lecture during submission week (electronic submission); a hard copy has to be handed in to the class teacher in the same week. No extensions will be granted: A student submitting coursework late will have the department‟s and the University‟s arrangements for Extenuating Lateness drawn to their attention. http://www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/services/students/ztm. htm
Rules
Late submission of essay: zero tolerance ► No extensions ► extenuating circumstances (“circumstances beyond the student's control, of a medical, practical or personal nature“, see http://www2.essex.ac.uk/academic/students/ug/crswk_pol. htm) ► Plagiarism (http://www.essex.ac.uk/plagiarism/)
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Study Skills Officer Theresa Crowley: crowtx@essex.ac.uk
Study Skills Support
Department provides study skills support that is available for all students who feel they may benefit from advice and instruction to assist them in developing and improving the study skills required to study politics. ► First-year students in particular are strongly recommended to use the support, which is available in two forms: individual study skills appointments (usually 30 minutes) and group sessions.” ► Please see note outside 5.306 for details
► “The
Course material
slides will be placed onto the Course Material Repository (CMR) ► http://courses.essex.ac.uk/gv/gv271/ ► After the lecture ► To print out slides go to
FILE PRINT PRINT WHAT HANDOUTS SLIDES PER PAGE OK 3
► PowerPoint
Course reading
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Bale, T. 2005. European Politics – A Comparative Introduction. Palgrave Gallagher, M., Laver, M., and Mair, P. 2005 (4 th edn.) Representative Government in Modern Europe . McGrawHill.
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Meny, Y., and Knapp, A. 1998. (3rd. edn.) Government and
Politics in Western Europe: Britain, France, Italy, and Germany. Oxford University Press.
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Hogwood, P., and Roberts, G. 2003. (2nd edn) European Politics Today. Manchester University Press.
Course objectives
concepts to engage in comparative analysis; ► knowledge about the political systems in Western Europe; ► an understanding of the organisation of politics in West European states; ► the basic knowledge, understanding, and analytic tools for undertaking more specialised study in your final year or at graduate level.
► analytic
Course contents - Part I
‘Political Developments Across Western Europe’
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2. 3.
4. 5. 6.
7. 8. 9.
10.
Introduction and Overview The Comparative Method The historical legacy Cleavages and Party families across Western Europe Party systems across Western Europe Proportional Electoral Systems New Politics – parties and agendas Veto Players; Media, Public Opinion, and Interest Groups Restructuring state administrations Class Test
Course contents - Part II
„Governing Institutions and Political Practices‟
Germany 1949-1989: „The Bonn Republic‟ Unification and the politics of the „Berlin Republic France: Foundations and Party Politics of the Fifth Republic The two Italian Republics: 1945-1990 and 1992-today The Nordic Social Democratic Model Consociational Democracy The New Democracies: Spain, Greece and Portugal Political integration in Europe: rescue or surrender of the nationstate? 19. The Institutions and Policies of the European Union 20. Class Test 21. Retrospect: Varieties of Liberal-Democratic Governance in Western Europe
11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Introduction to West European Politics
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4. 5. 6. 7.
Scope of Western European Politics The region The family of liberaldemocratic states Three political generations Variations within the family The European nation state Challenges to the nation-state
Introduction to West European Politics
► Justification
of „Western Europe‟ (literature, Cold War/non-communist past, family character, European integration process, limited scope)
► why
Britain and East-Central European polities are not included
Defining Western Europe
Lines of division:
- geographical - social/cultural - historical - economic
- political
(Western) Europe: A matter of self-perception?
WEST EUROPEAN “FAMILY” OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACIES DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
INSTITUTIONS:
GOVERNMENT PARLIAMENT JUDICIARY POLITICAL PARTIES CIVIL ADMINISTRATION REGULAR ELECTIONS CONSTITUTION HUMAN RIGHTS
RULES OF THE GAME:
ELECTIONS FREE, FAIR & REGULAR FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION FREEDOM OF SPEECH “LOYAL” OPPOSITION MAJORITY RULE “ALTERNANCE” PROTECTION OF MINORITIES
WEST EUROPEAN NATION STATES – THREE POLITICAL GENERATIONS
“OLD” NATION-STATES (PRE-1800) FRANCE DENMARK SPAIN SWEDEN PORTUGAL (BRITAIN)
“FRENCH REVOLUTION”- STATES (19th CENTURY) GREECE BELGIUM GERMANY ITALY LUXEMBOURG NETHERLANDS
SWITZERLAND
“POST-WORLD WAR I”- STATES (1918 - ) AUSTRIA FINLAND IRELAND ICELAND NORWAY 1905
WEST EUROPEAN NATION STATES –
VARIATIONS AMONG THE “FAMILY”
FRANCE GERMANY NORWAY SWEDEN
BELGIUM AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND SPAIN GREECE ITALY
PRESIDENTIAL FEDERAL FINLAND DENMARK
NETHERLANDS LUXEMBOURG
“SOCIAL DEMOCRACIES”
“CONSOCIATIONAL DEMOCRACIES”
PORTUGAL
“NEW DEMOCRACIES”
“SUI GENERIS”
“The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation” – not a nation state!
Nation-building in retrospect
Problems of nation-state building:
boundaries accidental outcomes of war, leadership and elite politics
Why there is hardly any true nation-state: Still language, cultural or religious borders do not coincide Why in most cases nation-building followed state-building (top-down):
Nationalism became prominent ideology in order to secure political legitimacy and stability
Challenges to the nation-state
- Two world wars
- Fascism
- Internationalisation of economies/globalisation - The emergence of the welfare state - Changing notions of citizenship - International cooperation and institutionalisation
- Political integration processes (EU)
Summary
- Western Europe distinct from the rest of the world in economical and political terms
- Yet internally heterogeneous - Largest concentration of established liberal democracies in the world - Invented and realised the nation state - As well as political integration