European Politics into the Twenty-First Century: Integration and Division

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This short and simple introduction to European politics, which includes Western and Eastern Europe as well as Russia, demonstrates how European nations have attempted to cope with division within Europe and in international politics. Highlighting differences with US politics, Slomp examines the European system from various perspectives, including geography, religion, economics and social composition. Two separate chapters discuss relations within the European Union as well as its interaction with nations outside the group. Tables and figures provide a wealth of information on the location of minorities, the ideological spectrum and social policies. Directed toward both an American and a European readership, this study includes information about the importance of ethnicity and religion, the impact of new migration waves, and the position of the labour movement. It covers the role of political parties, the "Americanization" of election campaigns, and the prevalence of coalition governments. A chapter on European style civil society focuses on the influence of pressure groups, the popularity of formal business/trade union/government contracts, the mass media, local politics and federal political systems. Every chapter deals with the social transformation of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. A final section contains a brief description of all the nations by groupings.

Reviews

"Students learn much about American government from informed comparisons with European political systems. Unfortunately, American students know little about European politics, and few books on European governments are suitable as supplementary texts for the introductory course on U.S. politics....In fewer than 300 pages, this book analyzes the differences between the U.S. and European political systems according to four dimensions: language-based ethnicity, parliamentary democracy, religion, and social class. Slomp offers no dry exposition, but a slicing, even witty, analysis of European politics for an American audience. It is an ideal supplementary text for the introductory course, and I plan to use it."-Kenneth Janda Payton S. Wild Professor of Political Science Northwestern University
Recommended for undergraduate and community college students.-Choice
"Recommended for undergraduate and community college students."-Choice

Author Bio

HANS SLOMP is Senior Lecturer in the Political Science Department at the University of Nymegen in Holland. He teaches European and American Politics and Labor Relations and has lectured at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University, and at universities in Colombia and Peru. His other books include Between Bargaining and Politics: An Introduction to European Labor Relations (Praeger, 1998).