Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe

Tim Haughton is Senior Lecturer in the Politics of Central and Eastern Europe, University of Birmingham.

"This timely book explores EU impacts during the first four years of membership in the leading accession countries and traces their significance in a series of well-researched country studies. A further chapter explores the impact of EU entry on issue stances and programmatic coherence on a comparative basis. This is essential reading for those interested in the growing field of Europeanisation studies and the problematic development of party politics in Central and Eastern Europe." Professor Paul G Lewis, Open University, UK"This is a nuanced and sophisticated account of the impact of the European Union on post-communist, democratic, party politics. Both the comparative analyses and the in-depth country chapters show where, how, and why the EU influences domestic party politics—and why it so often does not, even in new member countries. This innovative volume undermines the common assumption that the EU is a powerful player in domestic politics and, as such, is a must read for scholars and policymakers alike." - Professor Anna Grzymala-Busse, University of Michigan, USA"Tim Haughton’s book is an important contribution to the literature on the Europeanisation of national political parties. It not only describes in detail the characteristics of the EU’s impact on political parties in the countries in question shortly before and right after their accession to the EU, but it is itself an extended source of information that undoubtedly can better the understanding of these countries’ current political situations. These two aspects make the volume very helpful for academic researchers, students and practitioners." - Dragomir Stoyanov, Sofia University - Europe-Asia Studies (2013)

• 1. Introduction: Driver, Conductor or Fellow Passenger? EU Membership and Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe Tim Haughton 2. The dog that did not bark? Assessing the impact of the EU on party politics in Hungary Agnes Batory 3. When in doubt, (re-)turn to domestic politics? The (non-) impact of the EU on party politics in Poland Aleks Szczerbiak and Monika Bil 4. Force Mineure? The Effects of the EU on Party Politics in a Small Country: The Case of Estonia Allan Sikk 5. The European Union: A Joker or Just an Ordinary Playing Card for Slovenian Political Parties? Alenka Krašovec and Damjan Lajh 6. Europeanization of Political Parties and the Party System in the Czech Republic Vít Hloušek and Pavel Pšeja 7. A Tool in the Toolbox: Assessing the Impact of EU Membership on Party Politics in Slovakia Tim Haughton and Marek Rybář 8. The Europeanization of Political Parties in Central and Eastern Europe? The Impact of EU Entry on Issue Stances, Salience and Programmatic Coherence Stephen Whitefield and Robert Rohrschneider