Emilie van Haute - Böcker

The emergence of green parties throughout Europe during the 1980s marked the arrival of a new form of political movement, challenging established models of party politics and putting new issues on the political agenda. Since their emergence, green parties in Europe have faced different destinies; in countries such as Germany, Belgium, Finland, France, and Italy, they have accumulated electoral successes, participated in governments, implemented policies and established themselves as part of the party system. In other countries, their political relevance remains very limited. After more than 30 years on the political scene, green parties have proven to be more than just a temporary phenomenon. They have lost their newness, faced success and failure, power and opposition, grassroots enthusiasm and internal conflicts. Green Parties in Europe includes individual case studies and a comparative perspective to bring together international specialists engaged in the study of green parties. It renews and expands our knowledge about the green party family in Europe.

This book analyzes parties beyond the national borders and their increasing institutionalization abroad, in order to understand their development, their organizational specificities, their functions, and their impact on the party system and national politics at home. With 12 contrasted case studies, it comparatively addresses a wide range of perspectives on political parties abroad and lays the foundation for a framework of analysis of political parties abroad, contributing to a better understanding of transnationalism and long-distance democracy. The generalization of overseas voting and the development of representative institutions for emigrants has transformed the civic and political links between states and their diaspora. This has also created new opportunities for political parties, with the task to reach out to citizens living abroad, mobilize them for elections, and even organize their representation at home. This book represents the first in-depth study of an emerging phenomenon. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political parties/party politics, immigration, and more broadly to democracy studies and comparative politics.

This book investigates how liberal parties have evolved over time as a party family, in a comparative perspective. Through a discussion of the applicability of the concept of party family to liberal parties, it gives a better picture of the development, challenges, and opportunities for liberal parties in Europe.The history of liberal parties in Europe is peculiar and the origins of the liberal family are not clearly defined. Liberal parties are still quite heterogeneous given the various meanings embraced in the idea of liberalism, including economic liberalism, cultural liberalism, progressivism, social-liberalism. Bringing together the best specialists engaged in the study of liberal parties, and with a two-levels perspective (comparative and case study), this book renews and expands our knowledge on the liberal party family in Europe. Four major themes are developed, linked to the four approaches of the concept of party family: electoral performances, participation to power, ideology and political program, and party organization. These themes are systematically developed in case studies, and in comparative chapters.Primarily aimed at scholars and students in comparative politics, this book should especially appeal to scholars in the fields of political parties and party systems, representation and elections, voting behavior, and public opinion.

This book investigates how liberal parties have evolved over time as a party family, in a comparative perspective. Through a discussion of the applicability of the concept of party family to liberal parties, it gives a better picture of the development, challenges, and opportunities for liberal parties in Europe.The history of liberal parties in Europe is peculiar and the origins of the liberal family are not clearly defined. Liberal parties are still quite heterogeneous given the various meanings embraced in the idea of liberalism, including economic liberalism, cultural liberalism, progressivism, social-liberalism. Bringing together the best specialists engaged in the study of liberal parties, and with a two-levels perspective (comparative and case study), this book renews and expands our knowledge on the liberal party family in Europe. Four major themes are developed, linked to the four approaches of the concept of party family: electoral performances, participation to power, ideology and political program, and party organization. These themes are systematically developed in case studies, and in comparative chapters.Primarily aimed at scholars and students in comparative politics, this book should especially appeal to scholars in the fields of political parties and party systems, representation and elections, voting behavior, and public opinion.

This book analyzes parties beyond the national borders and their increasing institutionalization abroad, in order to understand their development, their organizational specificities, their functions, and their impact on the party system and national politics at home. With 12 contrasted case studies, it comparatively addresses a wide range of perspectives on political parties abroad and lays the foundation for a framework of analysis of political parties abroad, contributing to a better understanding of transnationalism and long-distance democracy. The generalization of overseas voting and the development of representative institutions for emigrants has transformed the civic and political links between states and their diaspora. This has also created new opportunities for political parties, with the task to reach out to citizens living abroad, mobilize them for elections, and even organize their representation at home. This book represents the first in-depth study of an emerging phenomenon. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of political parties/party politics, immigration, and more broadly to democracy studies and comparative politics.

The third edition of this highly respected text covers the numerous political developments that have taken place in Belgium since 2012.This book covers topics such as the implementation of the sixth state reform, the rebranding of political parties with new party leaders, several elections at all levels of government (from local to European) leading to new governing coalitions, democratic innovations in several parliaments and, of course, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges of climate changes on all political and social institutions.Key features:Gives an even-handed and analytically sophisticated account of contemporary Belgium politics.Explains the background to the territorial divide between a Dutch-speaking north and a French-speaking south that has shaped the political system and led to polarized communities and the need for institutional responses to internal conflict.Provides a thorough example of a consociational democracy, and shows how this form of democratic government, along with Belgium’s particular federal system has provided a basis – most of the time – to govern a deeply divided country.Provides a comprehensive picture of Belgian politics which helps answer the question of whether Belgium – and indeed other divided societies – can be governed in a legitimate democratic manner.This text is essential reading to students and scholars of Belgian politics and society, democracy and democratic innovations, political systems, and more broadly to European and comparative politics.

The third edition of this highly respected text covers the numerous political developments that have taken place in Belgium since 2012.This book covers topics such as the implementation of the sixth state reform, the rebranding of political parties with new party leaders, several elections at all levels of government (from local to European) leading to new governing coalitions, democratic innovations in several parliaments and, of course, the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges of climate changes on all political and social institutions.Key features:Gives an even-handed and analytically sophisticated account of contemporary Belgium politics.Explains the background to the territorial divide between a Dutch-speaking north and a French-speaking south that has shaped the political system and led to polarized communities and the need for institutional responses to internal conflict.Provides a thorough example of a consociational democracy, and shows how this form of democratic government, along with Belgium’s particular federal system has provided a basis – most of the time – to govern a deeply divided country.Provides a comprehensive picture of Belgian politics which helps answer the question of whether Belgium – and indeed other divided societies – can be governed in a legitimate democratic manner.This text is essential reading to students and scholars of Belgian politics and society, democracy and democratic innovations, political systems, and more broadly to European and comparative politics.

Membership of political parties is diverse. Not everyone participates and those who do, do not participate in the same way.This book engages with the debate over the significance and future of political parties as membership organisations and presents the first broad comparative analysis of party membership and activism. It is based on membership surveys which have been administered, gathered and collated by a group of prominent party scholars from across Europe, Canada and Israel. Utilizing this rich data source together with the insights of party scholars, the book investigates what party membership means in advanced industrial democracies. In doing so, it provides a clearer picture of who joins political parties, why they do it, the character of their political activism, how they engage with their parties, and what opinions they hold. This text will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, particularly to those interested in representation, participation, political parties and elections.

Membership of political parties is diverse. Not everyone participates and those who do, do not participate in the same way.This book engages with the debate over the significance and future of political parties as membership organisations and presents the first broad comparative analysis of party membership and activism. It is based on membership surveys which have been administered, gathered and collated by a group of prominent party scholars from across Europe, Canada and Israel. Utilizing this rich data source together with the insights of party scholars, the book investigates what party membership means in advanced industrial democracies. In doing so, it provides a clearer picture of who joins political parties, why they do it, the character of their political activism, how they engage with their parties, and what opinions they hold. This text will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, particularly to those interested in representation, participation, political parties and elections.