scholarly journals Analyzing the cross-national comparability of party positions on the socio-cultural and EU dimensions in Europe

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Ryan Bakker ◽  
Seth Jolly ◽  
Jonathan Polk
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Cultural Dimension ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Core ◽  
Chapel Hill ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Common Scale ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Cross National

Abstract Using survey vignettes and scaling techniques, we estimate common socio-cultural and European integration dimensions for political parties across the member states of the European Union. Previous research shows that party placements on the economic left-right dimension are cross-nationally comparable across the EU; however, the socio-cultural dimension is more complex, with different issues forming the core of the dimension in different countries. The 2014 wave of the Chapel Hill Expert Survey included anchoring vignettes which we use as “bridge votes” to place parties from different countries on a common liberal/authoritarian dimension and a separate common scale for European integration. We estimate the dimensions using the Bayesian Aldrich–McKelvey technique. The resulting scales offer cross-nationally comparable, interval-level measures of a party's socio-cultural and EU ideological positions.

Party Politics Triumph over Substantive Scrutiny and Principled Policy: Examining Czech MPs’ Voting Behaviour in Regard to EU Affairs

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-125
Author(s):  
Martin Kuta
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Voting Behaviour ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
European Dimension ◽  
The Eu

The paper deals with the European dimension of the competition and contention between Czech political parties and argues that domestic party interests undermine the formal oversight of EU politics by the Czech national parliament. Within the current institutional arrangements, national political parties assume stances – which are expressed through voting – towards the European Union (and European integration as such) as they act in the arena of national parliaments that are supposed to make the EU more accountable in its activities. Based on an analysis of roll-calls, the paper focuses on the ways the political parties assume their stances towards the EU and how the parties check this act by voting on EU affairs. The paper examines factors that should shape parties’ behaviour (programmes, positions in the party system, and public importance of EU/European integration issues). It also focuses on party expertise in EU/European issues and asserts that EU/European integration issues are of greater importance in extra-parliamentary party competition than inside the parliament, suggesting a democratic disconnect between voters and parliamentary behaviour. The study's empirical analysis of the voting behaviour of Czech MPs also shows that the parliamentary scrutiny introduced by the Lisbon Treaty is undermined by party interests within the system.

scholarly journals Euroscepticism – a today’s issue with tomorrow consequences

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Buturoiu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Core ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Theoretical Foundations ◽  
The Eu

<p>The European Union is dominated by permanent change and diversity so that public opinion regarding different EU-related issues follows a similar trend. Within this continually changing context, there are two important interconnected things to be considered: first, public opinion towards the EU represents the core of political and academic debates over the present and future of the European integration. Second, the favorable attitudes and opinions towards the EU have increasingly changed into disapproving or sceptic attitudes in the last years. Although there are studies on Eurosceptic attitudes and their causes in almost all EU member states, only a few of them offer a clear overview of this issue. The present paper addresses four questions: What is actually Euroscepticism?; What are the faces of Euroscepticism in the EU as a whole?; How prominent are Eurosceptic attitudes in Romania?; Where do we go from here? The aim of this paper is to examine the theoretical foundations of Euroscepticism and to provide insightful information to be used in future studies.</p>

Affirmative gender equality policies in Central and Eastern Europe: Moving beyond the EU requirements

2020 ◽  
pp. 135406882090678
Author(s):  
Vera Beloshitzkaya
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Original Data ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Feminist Movements ◽  
Theory Of Democracy ◽  
The Eu

What affects the adoption of affirmative gender equality measures across Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, given that the European Union directives do not require them? Drawing on mandate theory of democracy and using original data on party positions on gender equality in eight postcommunist countries observed over 25 years, I argue that CEE political parties and their position on the issue are the answer to this empirical puzzle. Contrary to the earlier scholarship on new democracies that finds only limited mandate fulfillment (Roberts 2010; Stokes, 2001), the study shows that parties in government act responsively when it comes to gender equality promotion. My findings also demonstrate that it is parties, not feminist movements that drive the adoption of affirmative action policies in the region

The French about the Future of the European Union: Confederation or Federation?

2014 ◽  
pp. 35-39
Author(s):  
K. Zueva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Public Figures ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

The article examines positions of the main French political parties, scientific community and public figures regarding the future of the European Union. The facts confirm convergence of different European integration models: confederation and federation. This process is based on understanding that it is necessary to level economic and social situation in the EU member states. The French are discontented with uncontrolled activities of Brussels bureaucracy and lack of democracy. The result of this process is the growth of Euroscepticism in France that was corroborated by recent Euro-Parliament election.

In Search of Acceptance

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Grimm
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The Eu

This chapter argues that the European Union suffers from a legitimacy deficit and explains how it can gain acceptance from its citizens. In the beginning, there were good reasons for European integration. Approval was high, but that high approval has been lost. With respect to integration, the 1992 Maastricht Treaty marked the beginning of the EU’s weak acceptance. In the long run it fostered the spread of anti-European political parties. This chapter considers the various proposals aimed at bringing the EU closer to its citizens, including a full parliamentarization of the EU, before making its own recommendations: first, the European Parliament must be brought closer to the public; second, there must be clearer limits on communalization; and third, decisions with significant political implications must be re-politicized. The point is not to abandon constitutionalization, but to draw proper conclusions from the constitutionalization that has already taken place.

scholarly journals From convergence to congruence: European integration and citizen–elite congruence

2021 ◽  
pp. 146511652110249
Author(s):  
Daniel Devine ◽  
Raimondas Ibenskas
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
The European Union ◽  
State Party ◽  
The Public ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Expert Surveys

Recent research argues that European integration has led to an ideological convergence of member state party systems, which is purported to have significant consequences for democratic representation. We argue that convergence of party positions is less problematic if congruence between governed and governing is maintained. We therefore turn to test whether integration has had an effect on congruence between the public and their governing elites. Using five measures of integration, two sources of public opinion data, and expert surveys on political parties, we find little evidence that integration into the European Union reduces congruence between the public and the national party system, government or legislature either ideologically or across five issue areas. These results should assuage concerns about integration’s effect on domestic political representation.

Spain: Opinion on European Integration

2014 ◽  
pp. 48-53
Author(s):  
E. Cherkasova
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Think Tanks ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The Core ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Foreign And Security Policy ◽  
The Eu

The article analyzes the changes that characterize Spanish approach to political aspects of European integration, and more specifically, the approach of different political parties to the process. Spanish political circles and even think tanks pay relatively little attention to theoretical aspects of European integration, whereas practical relations with the EU are of paramount importance. This is due to the fact that the question of belonging to the EU was settled in Spain long ago and definitively. Majoritarian character of Spanish democracy facilitates the transfer of powers from Brussels to Madrid, i.e. objectively favors the choice of federalization. Nevertheless, Spain continues to upload its national preferences onto the EU decision-making process. In recent years, Spain’s influence and authority in the EU have declined because of the economic crisis. This loss of authority will be overcome as soon as the economic growth is resumed. Constantly emphasizing its belonging to the core of the EU, the “Old Europe”, and to the core of the euro zone, maintaining close relationship with the Latin group within the EU, Spain has consistently advocated a united and strong Europe with a Common Foreign and Security Policy.

European Integration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Arnason
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
History Of ◽  
External Conditions ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Totalitarian Regimes ◽  
The Eu

Different understandings of European integration, its background and present problems are represented in this book, but they share an emphasis on historical processes, geopolitical dynamics and regional diversity. The introduction surveys approaches to the question of European continuities and discontinuities, before going on to an overview of chapters. The following three contributions deal with long-term perspectives, including the question of Europe as a civilisational entity, the civilisational crisis of the twentieth century, marked by wars and totalitarian regimes, and a comparison of the European Union with the Habsburg Empire, with particular emphasis on similar crisis symptoms. The next three chapters discuss various aspects and contexts of the present crisis. Reflections on the Brexit controversy throw light on a longer history of intra-Union rivalry, enduring disputes and changing external conditions. An analysis of efforts to strengthen the EU’s legal and constitutional framework, and of resistances to them, highlights the unfinished agenda of integration. A closer look at the much-disputed Islamic presence in Europe suggests that an interdependent radicalization of Islamism and the European extreme right is a major factor in current political developments. Three concluding chapters adopt specific regional perspectives. Central and Eastern European countries, especially Poland, are following a path that leads to conflicts with dominant orientations of the EU, but this also raises questions about Europe’s future. The record of Scandinavian policies in relation to Europe exemplifies more general problems faced by peripheral regions. Finally, growing dissonances and divergences within the EU may strengthen the case for Eurasian perspectives.

Euroscepticism and the Future of European Integration

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E. De Vries
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Public Preferences ◽  
Novel Theory ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is facing one of the rockiest periods in its existence. At no time in its history has it looked so economically fragile, so insecure about how to protect its borders, so divided over how to tackle the crisis of legitimacy facing its institutions, and so under assault by Eurosceptic parties. The unprecedented levels of integration in recent decades have led to increased public contestation, yet at the same the EU is more reliant on public support for its continued legitimacy than ever before. This book examines the role of public opinion in the European integration process. It develops a novel theory of public opinion that stresses the deep interconnectedness between people’s views about European and national politics. It suggests that public opinion cannot simply be characterized as either Eurosceptic or not, but rather that it consists of different types. This is important because these types coincide with fundamentally different views about the way the EU should be reformed and which policy priorities should be pursued. These types also have very different consequences for behaviour in elections and referendums. Euroscepticism is such a diverse phenomenon because the Eurozone crisis has exacerbated the structural imbalances within the EU. As the economic and political fates of member states have diverged, people’s experiences with and evaluations of the EU and national political systems have also grown further apart. The heterogeneity in public preferences that this book has uncovered makes a one-size-fits-all approach to addressing Euroscepticism unlikely to be successful.

scholarly journals Free movement of workers in the EU and occupational pensions

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Del Sol ◽  
Marco Rocca
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Free Movement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Occupational Pensions ◽  
Minimum Standards ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Free Movement Of Workers ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Cross National

The European Union appears to be promoting at the same time both cross-national mobility of workers and an increased role for occupational pensions. There is, however, a potential tension between these two objectives because workers risk losing (some of) their pension rights under an occupational scheme as a consequence of their mobility. After long negotiations, the EU has addressed this issue through a minimum standards Directive. Shortly before the adoption of this Directive, the Court of Justice also delivered an important decision in the same field, in the case of Casteels v British Airways. By analysing the resulting legal framework for safeguarding pension rights under occupational schemes in the context of workers’ mobility, we argue that the application of the case law developed by the Court of Justice in the field of free movement of workers has the potential to offer superior protection compared to the Directive. We also highlight the fact that the present legal framework seems to afford a much fuller protection to the intra-company cross-national mobility of workers employed by multinational companies, while also seemingly favouring mobility for highly specialised workers.

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