This chapter explains what ideology is, why ideology is seen as a ‘contested concept’, and what roles ideology plays in politics and society. In particular, it analyses the basic conception of ideology as a system of ideas involving a vision of the good society, a critique of existing society, and a notion of political action. It examines the relationship between ideology, politics, and policy; negative perceptions of ideology prevalent in political discourse; the idea that we are all ideologists; the components or building blocks of a basic conception of ideology; and the Marxist understanding of ‘ideology’ as false or misleading ideas. The chapter also considers whether there is an independent vantage point from which to assess the claims of rival ideologies. It concludes by reflecting on the problem of relativism and the link between ideology and globalization.
Chapter
1. Introduction to ideology
Contesting the nature of the ‘good society’
Paul Wetherly
Chapter
11. Law-Making in Governments and Parliaments
This chapter explores how political systems across Europe actually make policy and also how they change policy. It examines in detail how coalitions are formed and looks at how coalitions function. The chapter uses the theoretical lens of the Veto Players theory to consider how the nature of governments, and parties within governments, affect the type of policies that become law. It also looks at the ease with which governments can change existing policy. The chapter moves on to address the role of informal actors such as interest groups. Processes differ across different countries and at the European Union (EU) level and that is examined in this chapter as well.
Book
Edited by Rory Costello and Neil Robinson
This book provides a broad and accessible introduction to contemporary European politics, covering the fundamental elements of European democracies, institutions, and practices of government. It provides comprehensive coverage of the twenty-seven member states of the European Union, additionally drawing on examples from the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 focuses on democratic representation, examining the core features of electoral democracy in Europe. Part 2 turns to the institutions and practices of government, focusing in particular on how institutional design shapes political outcomes. Part 3 examines a number of contemporary issues and challenges, including migration, economic crises, the threat of international terrorism, and the rise of anti-establishment parties, and examines the effects they have had on politics in European countries. Throughout, up-to-date examples on issues such as Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, and growing instability in Europe are used to help students understand the real-world context of European politics.
Chapter
17. Europeanization and Sub-National Authorities (SNAs)
Peter Bursens
This chapter examines the impact of Europeanization upon the sub-national authorities (SNAs) of European Union member states. The Europeanization of SNAs can be broken down to the effect of EU membership on the policies, politics, and polity of SNAs. With respect to policies, the scarce literature available suggests that SNAs implement EU legislation in diverse ways according to the varying national contexts. The politics dimension discusses the impact on EU policy coordination mechanisms, domestic horizontal and vertical relations, and actors’ preferences and strategies. The chapter first provides a background on SNAs in the EU before discussing the Europeanization of SNA policies, politics, and polities. It also considers the Europeanization of Central and Eastern European Countries and concludes with some remarks regarding the analytical approaches and the variables used in the research on the Europeanization of SNAs.
Chapter
3. Europeanization: Concept, Theory, and Methods
Theofanis Exadaktylos, Paolo R. Graziano, and Maarten P. Vink
This chapter explores a number of fundamental issues that arise when studying Europeanization. It first explains what Europeanization is and what it is not, why some parts of political life seem more affected by the process of European integration than others, and how to interpret variation between member states of the European Union. It then considers the theoretical debates about the relevance of Europeanization, focusing on new institutionalism, goodness of fit, mediating factors, and domestic compliance. It also provides examples of Europeanization studies. It reviews main trends in Europeanization research on policy domains, politics, and polity. Finally, the chapter considers research design issues in Europeanization studies.
Chapter
12. Contrasting States of Europeanization?
Simon Bulmer and Christian Lequesne
This chapter examines recurrent themes in the experiences of the countries discussed earlier in terms of European Union membership. It first considers the contribution of Europeanization as an analytical tool for understanding EU member state relations on a country-by-country basis before discussing emergent themes and issues. In particular, it assesses the significance of timing of accession for the member states’ Europeanization experience, showing how timing has often interacted with a geographical focus to each enlargement wave. It also asks whether the Europeanization experience is different for large states rather than small states, or whether the embeddedness of member states’ political systems plays a role. The chapter concludes by identifying different impacts of Europeanization along the dimensions of politics, polity, and policy, including the politicization of the 2010s.
Chapter
16. Internal Security and External Complication(s)
Sarah Wolff
After the end of the Cold War, the internal–external security nexus, which refers to the links between what used to be distinct concepts under the Westphalian approach to international relations, has become a reality of European security. This chapter reviews the development of the external dimension of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA), which manifests this internal–external nexus, covering its evolution from a side product of European economic integration to a multi-dimensional and increasingly digitalized policy area. In the last decade, multiple ‘crises’—from the Syrian refugee inflows of 2015, to Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021, the war in Ukraine in 2022 and its ensuing refugee flows to the European Union (EU)—shaped the policy responses. From the reintroduction of internal border controls in March 2020 as a first reaction of EU member states to the Covid-19 crisis to the adoption of the temporary protection directive as an unprecedented response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, the EU has developed new coordinating tools to adapt to this state of continuous emergency and to the proteiform nature of global security changes.
Book
Rory Costello and Neil Robinson
This book provides a broad and accessible introduction to contemporary European politics, covering the fundamental elements of European democracies, institutions, and practices of government. The book is organized thematically and is divided into three parts. Part 1 focuses on democratic representation, examining the core features of electoral politics in European democracies. Part 2 turns to the institutions and practices of government, focusing in particular on how institutional design shapes political outcomes. Part 3 examines a number of contemporary issues and challenges, including migration, economic crises, climate change, populism, European integration, and defence and security, and examines the effects that these issues have had on politics in European countries. Each chapter is written by subject specialists and draws on examples from the full range of established European democracies (the twenty-seven member states of the European Union, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland) plus selected consolidating democracies (Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina). Throughout, up-to-date examples on issues such as Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and growing instability in Europe are used to help students understand the real-world context of European politics.
Book
Edited by Manuela Moschella, Lucia Quaglia, and Aneta Spendzharova
European Political Economy combines the key theoretical and empirical approaches of political economy and EU scholarship. It draws on theoretical debates and recent policy case studies, to help readers apply theories and methods to real life issues in European political economy. The book offers a clear analysis of some of the most pressing challenges confronting Europe, such as the political impact of rising inequality, the functioning and the effects of Economic and Monetary Union, the future of the ‘European’ social model, the ongoing impact of Brexit, Europe's role in a changing global economy, and Europe's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chapter
9. Women and Gender
Vicky Randall
This chapter explores the relationship between women/gender and political processes in the developing world. It begins with a discussion of the social context and ‘construction’ of gender, as well as the ways in which the state and politics have shaped women’s experience. It then considers the women’s movement, with case studies based in Brazil, Pakistan, and South Korea, along with women’s political representation and participation. It also examines the development and impact of feminism and women’s movements before concluding with an analysis of factors affecting policy related to women, focusing on issues such as abortion and girls’ access to education.
Chapter
3. The UK government
This chapter concentrates on the UK government, the part of the UK political system responsible for creating policy and putting it into effect. The chapter looks at the nature of the UK government, and the way it is made up of ministers, and civil servants and departments. The chapter also looks at the types of ministers, their legal and political powers, and the rules applying to them. The chapter assesses the constitutional position of the civil service, and its relationship with ministers and Parliaments. It also describes the departmental structure of the UK government and the so-called arm’s-length bodies within it. The chapter presents a number of perspectives on the way in which power operates within government and considers how the various ideas play out in reality. The chapter revisits the issue of Brexit but this time in the context of the civil services and ministers.
