This book explains the contrasting strategies and their electoral fortunes ofsocial democratic parties in the major European democracies in the 1970s and 1980s. Going beyond approaches that focus on the influence of class structure and political economic institutions, TheTransformationofEuropeanSocialDemocracy analyses the party's competitive situation in the electoral arena, the constraints and opportunities of party organisation, and the role of ideological legacies to explain the strategic choices social democratic parties have made and the electoral results they have achieved. Far from being doomed to decline, socialdemocracy's success depends on its ability to transform its political message and to construct new electoral coalitions.
This book explains the contrasting strategies and their electoral fortunes ofsocial democratic parties in the major European democracies in the 1970s and 1980s. Going beyond approaches that focus on the influence of class structure and political economic institutions, TheTransformationofEuropeanSocialDemocracy analyses the party's competitive situation in the electoral arena, the constraints and opportunities of party organisation, and the role of ideological legacies to explain the strategic choices social democratic parties have made and the electoral results they have achieved. Far from being doomed to decline, socialdemocracy's success depends on its ability to transform its political message and to construct new electoral coalitions.
This book critically engages Jürgen Habermas's comprehensive vision of constitutional democracy in theEuropean Union. John P. McCormick draws on the writings of Max Weber (and Habermas's own critique ofthem) to confront the difficulty oftheorizing progressive politics during moments of radical state transformation. Both theorists employ normative and empirical categories, drawn from earlier historical epochs, to analyze contemporary structural transformations: Weber evaluated the emergence ofthe Sozialstaat with antedated categories derived from nineteenth-century and premodern historical examples; while Habermas understands the EU almost exclusively in terms ofthe liberal (Rechtsstaat) and welfare state (Sozialstaat) paradigms. Largely forsaking the focus on structural transformation that characterized his early work, Habermas conceptualizes the EU as a territorially expanded nation-state. McCormick demonstrates the deficiencies of such an approach and outlines a more appropriate
This book critically engages Jürgen Habermas's comprehensive vision of constitutional democracy in theEuropean Union. John P. McCormick draws on the writings of Max Weber (and Habermas's own critique ofthem) to confront the difficulty oftheorizing progressive politics during moments of radical state transformation. Both theorists employ normative and empirical categories, drawn from earlier historical epochs, to analyze contemporary structural transformations: Weber evaluated the emergence ofthe Sozialstaat with antedated categories derived from nineteenth-century and premodern historical examples; while Habermas understands the EU almost exclusively in terms ofthe liberal (Rechtsstaat) and welfare state (Sozialstaat) paradigms. Largely forsaking the focus on structural transformation that characterized his early work, Habermas conceptualizes the EU as a territorially expanded nation-state. McCormick demonstrates the deficiencies of such an approach and outlines a more appropriate
Thetheme of public intellectuals has become a familiar feature in discussions on contemporary societies and thetransformationof public spheres. Questions about the cultural authority, thesocial co
Where Did the Revolution Go? considers the apparent disappearance ofthe large social movements that have contributed to democratization. Revived by recent events ofthe Arab Spring, this question is once again paramount. Is the disappearance real, given the focus of mass media and scholarship on electoral processes and 'normal politics'? Does it always happen, or only under certain circumstances? Are those who struggled for change destined to be disappointed by the slow pace oftransformation? Which mechanisms are activated and deactivated during the rise and fall of democratization? This volume addresses these questions through empirical analysis based on quantitative and qualitative methods (including oral history) of cases in two waves of democratization: Central Eastern European cases in 1989 as well as cases in the Middle East and Mediterranean region in 2011.
Where Did the Revolution Go? considers the apparent disappearance ofthe large social movements that have contributed to democratization. Revived by recent events ofthe Arab Spring, this question is once again paramount. Is the disappearance real, given the focus of mass media and scholarship on electoral processes and 'normal politics'? Does it always happen, or only under certain circumstances? Are those who struggled for change destined to be disappointed by the slow pace oftransformation? Which mechanisms are activated and deactivated during the rise and fall of democratization? This volume addresses these questions through empirical analysis based on quantitative and qualitative methods (including oral history) of cases in two waves of democratization: Central Eastern European cases in 1989 as well as cases in the Middle East and Mediterranean region in 2011.
This is a much-needed new overview of Spanish social and political history which sets developments in twentieth-century Spain within a broader European context. Julián Casanova, one of Spain's leading historians, and Carlos Gil Andrés chart the country's experience ofdemocracy, dictatorship and civil war and its dramatic transformation from an agricultural and rural society to an industrial and urban society fully integrated into Europe. They address key questions and issues that continue to be discussed and debated in contemporary historiography, such as why the Republic was defeated, why Franco's dictatorship lasted so long and what mark it has left on contemporary Spain. This is an essential book for students as well as for anyone interested in Spain's turbulent twentieth century.
This is a much-needed new overview of Spanish social and political history which sets developments in twentieth-century Spain within a broader European context. Julián Casanova, one of Spain's leading historians, and Carlos Gil Andrés chart the country's experience ofdemocracy, dictatorship and civil war and its dramatic transformation from an agricultural and rural society to an industrial and urban society fully integrated into Europe. They address key questions and issues that continue to be discussed and debated in contemporary historiography, such as why the Republic was defeated, why Franco's dictatorship lasted so long and what mark it has left on contemporary Spain. This is an essential book for students as well as for anyone interested in Spain's turbulent twentieth century.