Fall 2006

Anton Pelinka

COMPARATIVE EUROPEAN POLITICS

Political Parties and Interest Groups
Course Description:
The focus of this course is on: - giving a theoretically based introduction into political systems in general, into European political systems in particular; - emphasizing especially the role of political parties and interest groups in Europe. Basic questions to be answered in different ways during the whole term will be: - Is there a specific European type of democracy? - What are the common characteristics of European parties, party families, party systems? - To which extent have interest groups a defining role in (for) European politics? - What is the state of Europeanization within the EU, and what is the impact of Europeanization especially for national politics and political parties? The course is designed to start with the essentials of European politics the understanding of democracy, of parliamentary systems, of elections, of parties and interest groups. Based on these essentials, specific political systems will be approached major (i.e. larger) as well as smaller countries. The phenomenon of political transition and the analysis of the European Union as a political system will be studied at the end of the term.

Requirements:
Students are expected to - participate actively in all classes. It is necessary to be prepared for each class by reading the specific texts designated to the different weeks. - give at least one special presentation in class. The presentations (person, topic, time) will be decided at the terms second week. - write a term paper of approx. 5000 words. The paper should be delivered at the end of the term. active participation in class 30 % at least one presentation in class 30% term paper 40 %.

Schedule:
1. Week 1: Political Systems and the Self-Evidence of Democracy Almond/Powell: The basics of political systems Lakin/Lipset: The essentials of democracy
Readings: Almond/Powell, Comparative Politics: A Developmental Approach, Boston 1966 (Little, Brown and Co.), 16 72 Lakin/Lipset, The Democratic Century, Oklahoma, OK 2004 (University of Oklahoma), 19 49

2. Week 2: Parliamentary Systems the European Concepts Sodaro: Parliamentary rule vs. presidential rule Different Articles in Bogdanor, resp. in the Oxford Companion: definitions
Readings: Sodaro (ed.), Comparative Politics. A Global Introduction, 2nd ed., Boston 2004 (McGraw Hill), 185 206; Bogdanor (ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Institutions, Oxford 1987 (Basil Blackwell), 407 410, 535 540; Krieger (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Politics in the World, New York, NY 1993 (Oxford University), 220 224, 532 533, 685 - 686

3. Week 3: Majoritarian vs. Consensus Democracy Lijphart: The different models of democracy Schmidt: The European Union a specific model of democracy?
Readings: Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy. Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries, New Haven, CT 1999 (Yale University), 9 47; Schmidt, in: Steiner/Ertman (eds.), Consociationalism and Corporatism in Western Europe. Still the Politics of Accomodation?, Amsterdam 2002 (Utigeverij Boom, Acta Politica), 213 - 227

4. Week 4: Elections and Electoral Systems Sodaro: Basic definitions Lijphart: The consequences of electoral laws
Readings: Sodaro, op.cit., 230 254 Lijphart, Electoral Systems and Party Systems. A Study of Tewnty-Seven Democracies, 1945 1990, Oxford 1995 (Oxford University), 10 56

5. Week 5: Political Parties and Party Systems Duverger: Functions and structures Sartori: A typology of party system Volkens/Klingemann: The most recent developments
Readings: Duverger, Party Politics and Pressure Groups. A Comparative Introduction, London 1972 (Nelson), 3 18; Sartori, Parties and Party Systems. A Framework for Analysis, Colchester 2004 (ECPR), 116 192 Volkens/Klingemann in Luther/Mller-Rommel, 143 - 168

6. Week 6: Interest Groups and Industrial Policies Duverger: Functions and structures Hyman: European trade unions the case of Italy
Readings: Duverger, op.cit., 101 125 Hyman, Understanding European Trade Unions. Between Market, Class & Society, London 2001 (Sage), 38 65, 143 168

7. Week 7: Case Studies: The United Kingdom and France Basic description and analysis from Kesselman et al.
Readings: Krieger, Kesselman, in: Kesselman/Krieger/Joseph (eds.), Introduction to Comparative Politics, 3rd ed., Boston, MA 2004 (Houghton Mifflin), 24 - 134

8. Week 8: Case Studies: Germany and Russia Basic description and analysis from Kesselman et al.
Readings: Allen, DeBardeleben, in: Kesselman/Krieger/Joseph, op.cit., 135 192, 345 - 406

9. Week 9: Case Studies: Political Transition in Central-Eastern Europe Linz/Stepan: The concept of transition McFaul: The post-soviet party system in Russia
Readings: Linz/Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation. Southern Europe, South Amerivca and Post-Communist Europe, Baltimore, MD (Johns Hopkins University) 1996, 235 292 McFaul, in McFaul, Petrov, Ryabov (eds.), Between Dictatorship and Democracy. Russian Post-Communist Political Reform, Washington, D.C. 2004 (Carnegie Endowment), 105 134

10. Week 10: Case Studies: Smaller European Democracies Basic description and analysis about the Netherlands and Switzerland, from Steiner/Erdmann
Readings: Koole/Daalder, van Waarden, Steiner, Armingeon, in: Steiner/Erdman (eds.), op.cit., 23 67, 104 138

11.The European Union and the Dawn of a European Party System Oudenaren: The EUs government Bardi: Transnational European parties
Readings: Oudenaren, Uniting Europe. An Introduction to The European Union, 2nd ed., Lanham, MD 2005 (Rowman & Littlefield),71 118 Bardi, in Luther/Mller-Rommel (eds.), Political Parties in the New Europe. Political and Analytical Challenges, Oxford 2005 (Oxford University), 293 322