SAGE Modern Politics series – serie

The rapid worldwide phase of democratization since the 1980s has stimulated a renewed interest in how we define and measure democracy. The contributors to this volume include leading political theorists, political scientists and experts in comparative government from across Europe.

Defining and Measuring Democracy offers an integrated analysis of key debates and issues ranging from the question of how to define democracy to the issue of cultural diversity. Each chapter offers new insights and approaches placed in the context of contemporary debates.

How can mainstream models and classifications be used in analyzing welfare states and gender? What sorts of modifications to traditional theory are required? These and other questions are addressed in this book - the first to synthesize the insights of feminist and mainstream research in examining the impact of gender on welfare state analysis and outcomes. The text also highlights the effect of welfare state policies on women and men.

The international and interdisciplinary contributors approach the subject on two levels. First, they test the applicability of mainstream frameworks to new areas in analyzing gender. Second, they highlight possible reconceptualizations and innovative frameworks designed to provide gender-based analyses. These approaches are combined with a strong comparative component, focusing on a cross-section of countries of major interest in welfare state research.

The New Politics of Abortion compares the reactions of eight Western political systems to demands for abortion legislation. The abortion issue is not easily integrated into party doctrines and consequently has been marginalized except where effective pressure groups have intervened. Examining the experience of Europe and the US in the last two decades, the contributors draw the surprising conclusion that the effect of abortion legislation has in many respects been minimal. The availability of abortion is ultimately dependent less on the law than on the existence of good medical facilities.

Theories of Exploitation examines the concept of exploitation and its place as a critical category in social theory. Discussion of the concept is internal to both liberalism and Marxism as well as being an obvious point of contention between the two.

The contributors explain the historical emergence of themes in exploitation theories. They present exegeses of the theories of writers in the Scottish Enlightenment, the 'Ricardian Socialists', mutualists and Marx. The concerns of these writers are carried forward by essays presenting contemporary liberal theories, and theories based on the notion that socialism or communism is ethically superior to capitalism.

The magnitude, causes and consequences of the current economic crisis, and the responses of governments in different industrial countries are explored in this comparative analysis. The options available to government and the existing constraints of policy-making are examined in the context of crisis management and economic policy formation. The first part of the book focuses on the relationship between the policy process and institutional structures. The second part looks at the implementation and outcomes of policy strategies designed to cope with the crisis.

This book addresses the concept of need and how needs can be, and are, met in western societies. Different models of welfare provision are examined both in theoretical terms and through two case studies: of models of pension provision and of the connection between the satisfaction of needs and electoral success for governments. This timely study makes an important contribution to the understanding of welfare and politics in advanced industrial western states.

This book addresses the concept of need and how needs can be, and are, met in western societies. Different models of welfare provision are examined both in theoretical terms and through two case studies: of models of pension provision and of the connection between the satisfaction of needs and electoral success for governments. This timely study makes an important contribution to the understanding of welfare and politics in advanced industrial western states.

Challenges to Local Government offers a timely discussion of how local governments have implemented public policies during the last decade. Concentrating on Britain and the United States (but with essays on Scandinavia, France and Canada) the authors document, explain and analyze the implications of these policies for local autonomy, focusing especially upon local economic initiatives.

Can the dominant theories in foreign policy analysis explain recent European events - particularly the twin `revolutions' of the ending of the Cold War and the proposed further integration of Europe under the Maastricht treaty?

In European Foreign Policy leading international scholars address the implications of this question. Analyzing foreign policy changes in the new Europe, the contributors assess the state and foreign policy, foreign economic policy, the long term future of European security and the role of multinational companies. The book also focuses on foreign policy actors in the light of major theories. The discussions range from the examination of weak power theory in the context of Nordic reactions to the Soviet coup to the agency-structure debate after the collapse of the Cold War European system.

In addition, there are two critiques by specialists from outside the field that explore the issues raised in this book from a feminist perspective as well as from a postmodern view of the wider theoretical context within which foreign policy analysis is embedded.