European Integration and Party Competition in German Federal Elections

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Weldon ◽  
Hermann Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Main Question ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Election Manifestos ◽  
Election Results ◽  
German Data

Europe has been hit by a global financial crisis, and so has Germany. This crisis is associated, among European Union citizens, with the degree of support for European integration: those who are skeptical about the Euro and the debt crises in parts of the Eurozone tend also to be skeptical about European integration more generally. Our main question in this article is whether the pledges of political parties (as issued in their election manifestos) can add to our understanding of electoral choices in Germany. Relating German election results to the German data provided by the Comparative Manifesto Project MRG/CMP/MARPOR research tradition, our expectation is that political parties' European pledges have been irrelevant for the vote over half a century. Now that the European Union is rapidly moving in its postfunctional phase, the election of 2013 is expected to mark a turning point in that regard.

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.

National Political Parties and European Integration: Mapping Functional Loss

Politics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Gijs Berends
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Functional Loss

This article specifically examines the role of national political parties in the light of European integration. It introduces the functions that are normally associated with parties, which allows for a systematic evaluation of the performance of national parties in the European Union. Probing these functions that parties are reputed to implement, it arrives at the conclusion that national parties are fairly unsuccessful in fulfilling their core tasks at the European level.

scholarly journals The Europeanisation of Slovak Political Parties

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dušan Leška
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Government Relations ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The aim of the study is to analyse the Europeanisation of Slovak political parties in the various stages of the transition and transformation of the political system of Slovakia before and after the entry into the European Union. Methodologically, the paper is based on the concept of Ladrech, who divided five areas of research to suit the study of the impact of the Europeanisation on political parties and their politics. Visible can be changes in political programmes, organisational changes, a formula of party competition, relations between parties and government, relations beyond the national party system (a new look at transnational cooperation between political parties). Our research proved that the Europeanisation has been visible at all stages of development, with varying degrees of intensity and in various forms since the signing of the association agreement with the European Union. Its effect was important already in the stage of the society transition when it helped the return of Slovakia on the path of democratic development. In the two stages of development, Europeanisation created an individual line of cleavage of political parties, affected the rivalry of political parties, and thus a party system model. Unambiguously, it was reflected in political programmes of all parties, and an important role was played by the incorporation of political parties in the European political parties, by their cooperation and coordination of their policies. The election in the European Parliament was an important turning point in completion of programme orientations of political parties.

scholarly journals 13. Europeanization and Political Parties

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Ladrech
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Types Of Change

This chapter examines the ways in which the European Union and the political parties of member states interact and cause change. It considers various types of change, causal mechanisms, and the differences between parties and the EU in both older and newer member states. The chapter first provides an overview of the different partisan actors that operate in the multi-level system of domestic and EU politics before discussing the manner in which domestic political parties can be said to have ‘Europeanized’. It then shows how parties in older and newer member states differ and concludes with an assessment of the wider effects of Europeanization on domestic politics in general and party politics in particular. The chapter suggests that the EU’s influence, in both east and west, may be more significant in the long run in terms of its indirect impact on patterns of party competition.

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.

Die neunten Direktwahlen zum Europäischen Parlament: Rahmenbedingungen, Parteien und Bürger in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-735
Author(s):  
Daniela Braun ◽  
Markus Tausendpfund
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Significant Loss ◽  
The Other ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Elections ◽  
The One ◽  
European Parliament Elections

Despite a higher turnout, the ninth elections to the European Parliament can still be considered as second-order elections . In Germany, the governing parties - in particular the CDU and SPD - experienced a significant loss compared to the 2017 Bundestag elections and the 2014 European elections, whereas the Greens are the winners . The article provides information on the conditions framing the European Parliament elections and focuses on political parties and citizens . The empirical findings show, on the one hand, that the European integration issue is more salient in the manifestos than generally assumed and, on the other hand, that citizens’ knowledge of the European Union continues to be low . Against this background, turnout, electoral choices and reasons for these are discussed . Moreover, the composition of the newly elected European Parliament and possible implications are described . [ZParl, vol . 50 (2019), no . 4, pp . 715 - 735]

scholarly journals Ireland, Europe and the Global Crisis

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maurice Coakley
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Fully Integrated ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
The Eu

For Ireland – along with Spain, Portugal and Greece – membership of ‘Europe’ was seen as an opportunity to escape their historical legacy of ‘underdevelopment’ and become fully integrated into core positions in the global system. Each of these states, and especially Ireland experienced significant growth in the European Union but once the global financial crisis struck, they suffered a deep economic and social crisis, and came to be categorised once again as ‘peripheral’ to Europe. This acute recurrence of a core-periphery divide in the European Union has been accompanied by a rapid diminution of democracy in the EU and its transformation into an increasingly coercive formation. The deprivation programmes imposed by the EU on the peripheral societies has not only damaged growth in the European economy, they have hugely diminished the legitimacy of the European integration project. The essay explores the roots of Europe’s changing power structures and assesses the implications of the Eurozone crisis for the future of the European integration project.

scholarly journals United Europe – Yes, or no?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amra Nuhanović ◽  
Jasmila Pašić
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Collective Interest ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Common ◽  
Eastern European Countries

In recent years, the European Union has been facing a number of challenges that it is finding it increasingly difficult to overcome. Most EU member states are facing a crisis of confidence in Europe and its institutions, and at the same time nationalist political parties and ideas are developing more and more, leading to a weakening of European solidarity. Eastern European countries weakened awareness of the collective interest. The common values that existed until then have become “diluted”, because different understandings of the nature of the state have emerged, as well as different views on international politics. At the same time, support for European integration among citizens has been declining, and fewer and fewer have seen membership as good and can bring significant benefits. Today, the idea of a united EU is in crisis and that is precisely the cause of the crisis the Union is facing.

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