Political Parties in the European Community. Stanley HenigThe Christian Democratic Parties of Western Europe. R. E. M. IrvingA Continent Astray: Europe, 1970-1978. Walter LaqueurTwentieth-Century Europe: Paths to Unity. Richard Vaughan

1982 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 772-775
Author(s):  
Stephen R. Graubard
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
European Community ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Democratic Parties

Fostering peace through dialogue The international social democratic movement and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-177
Author(s):  
Pentti Väänänen
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Active Member ◽  
Vice Presidents ◽  
Democratic Movement ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Political Force ◽  
Willy Brandt ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Global Affairs

The Socialist International (SI), the worldwide forum of the socialist, social democratic, and labor parties, actively looked for a solution to the Jewish-Palestinian conflict in the 1980s. At that time, the Israeli Labour Party still was the leading political force in Israel, as it had been historically since the foundation of the country. The Labour Party was also an active member of the SI. The Party’s leader, Shimon Peres, was one of its vice-presidents. At the same time, the social democratic parties were the leading political force in Western Europe. Several important European leaders, many of them presidents and prime ministers, were involved in the SI’s work. They included personalities such as Willy Brandt of Germany; former president of the SI, Francois Mitterrand of France; James Callaghan of Great Britain; Bruno Kreisky of Austria; Bettini Craxi of Italy; Felipe Gonzalez of Spain; Mario Soares of Portugal; Joop de Uyl of the Netherlands; Olof Palme of Sweden; Kalevi Sorsa of Finland; Anker Jörgensen of Denmark; and Gro Harlem Brudtland of Norway—all of whom are former vice-presidents of the SI. As a result, in the 1980s, the SI in many ways represented Europe in global affairs, despite the existence of the European Community (which did not yet have well-defined common foreign policy objectives).

The European identity formation in Ukraine

2017 ◽  
pp. 102-109
Author(s):  
Larysa Kovryk-Tokar
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Community ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Political Integration ◽  
European Identity ◽  
European Values

Every nation is quite diverse in terms of his historical destiny, spiritual priorities, and cultural heritage. However, voluntary European integration, which is the final aim of political integration that began in the second half of the twentieth century from Western Europe, provided for an availability of large number of characteristics in common in political cultures of their societies. Therefore, Ukraine needs to find some common determinants that can create inextricable relationship between the European Community and Ukraine. Although Ukrainian culture is an intercultural weave of two East macrocivilizations, according to the author, Ukraine tends to Western-style society with its openness, democracy, tolerance, which constitute the basic values of Europeans. Keywords: Identity, collective identity, European values, European integration

Diploma Democracy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bovens ◽  
Anchrit Wille
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Organized Interests ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Political Meritocracy ◽  
Almost All

Lay politics lies at the heart of democracy. Political offices are the only offices for which no formal qualifications are required. Contemporary political practices are diametrically opposed to this constitutional ideal. Most contemporary democracies in Western Europe are diploma democracies—ruled by those with the highest formal qualifications. Citizens with low or medium educational qualification levels currently make up about 70 per cent of the electorates, yet they have become virtually absent from almost all political arenas. University graduates have come to dominate all relevant political institutions and venues, from political parties, parliaments and cabinets, to organized interests, deliberative settings, and internet consultations. This rise of a political meritocracy is part of larger trend. In the information society, educational background, like class, or religion, is an important source of social and political divides. Those who are well educated tend to be cosmopolitans, whereas the lesser educated citizens are more likely to be nationalists. This book documents the context, contours, and consequences of this rise of a political meritocracy. It explores the domination of higher educated citizens in political participation, civil society, and political office in Western Europe. It discusses the consequences of this rise of political meritocracy, such as descriptive deficits, policy incongruences, biased standards, and cynicism and distrust. Also, it looks at ways to remedy, or at least mitigate, some of the negative effects of diploma democracy.

Democracy and Dictatorship in Interwar Western Europe Revisited

1998 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Ertman
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
International System ◽  
Explanatory Framework ◽  
The World ◽  
Entire Universe ◽  
Western European ◽  
Methodological Advance

Almost none of the conditions that, according to the latest research, favor democratic durability were present in Western Europe between the world wars. Yet only four Western European states became dictatorships during this period, whereas the others remained democratic despite economic crisis, an unhelpful international system, and the lure of nondemocratic alternatives. Several recent works offer new explanations for this pattern of interwar outcomes. Insofar as these works analyze the entire universe of Western European cases, they represent an important methodological advance. However, they remain too wedded to a class-coalitional framework to provide both a parsimonious and a historically accurate account of why democracy collapsed in some states but not in others. This article proposes an alternative explanatory framework that focuses on how political parties can shape association life in such a way as to support or undermine democracy.

China and the European Community

1973 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 647-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dick Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
European Community ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Chinese Leadership ◽  
Political Unity ◽  
Formal Relationship

”France and China,” said Alain Peyrefitte, the Gaullist leader, in Peking two years ago, “ are objective allies.” In a broader sense it could be said today that China and the European Community are objective allies - even though they do not yet enjoy a formal relationship. The Chinese leadership has consistently and strongly supported the enlargement of the European Economic Community (EEC) which from the beginning of 1973 has joined Great Britain, the Irish Republic and Denmark to the original six founders (Belgium, France, West Germany, Holland, Italy and Luxembourg) in a venture which promises at long last an institutional framework within which Western Europe could move towards economic and political unity.

scholarly journals Sociodemografic and psychological characteristics of voters for SNSD and SDP BiH: Two faces of social democracy in Bosnia & Herzegovina

Psihologija ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-175
Author(s):  
Srdjan Puhalo
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Republika Srpska ◽  
Social Democratic Parties

There are two social democratic parties in Bosnia Herzegovina: SNSD and SDP BiH. These two parties differ regarding their origin and their political activity in Bosnia Herzegovina. Thus, it was assumed that voters of the two parties differ regarding their national composition, socio-demographic characteristics and political attitudes. In May of 2007 a face to face interview was conducted with 260 voters of SNSD and 147 voters of SDP BiH. SNSD?s voters were found to be less tolerant, less liberal and more prone to nationalism and the feeling of ethical superiority relative to voters of SDP BiH. As a matter of fact, SNSD?s voters were more similar to voters of some nationalistic political parties like SDS then to voters of SDP BiH. The observed differences between political attitudes of SNSD and SDP BiH voters was explained by increasing ethnic tensions in Bosnia Herzegovina in Spring of 2007 and by their essential dissimilarity: SNSD?s primary objective is Republika Srpska and its survival, while SDP BiH insist on unity of Bosnia Herzegovina.

scholarly journals Did Youth Destabilize Politics? Western European Social Democracies and Student Movements in «the Long Sixties»

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ismail Ferhat
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Student Movements ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Western European ◽  
Progressive Reforms ◽  
Post War ◽  
Democratic Parties

Student movements during «the Long Sixties» had a profound impact on Western politics and societies. One of the major political families in Western Europe, the social-democratic parties, were particularly affected. A major governmental force in a majority of Western European democracies, their post-war views on education, founded on optimistic and careful prospects (democratization of schools, progressive reforms) were destabilized by student protests and radicalism. How did social democrats react to the strong criticism of the universities, pedagogies and hierarchies in educational institutions that they had helped to build? This article is based on archives, documents and publications from the Socialist International, kept at the International Institute of Social History (Amsterdam), and on documents held by several national archives and libraries. It uses a transnational and interdisciplinary approach, linking political history and educational studies.

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