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The Americanization of European Union Democracy Promotion: Ideology, Diversity, and United States Hegemony is a timely and thought-provoking exploration of the origins, development and growing prominence of international democracy promotion in the past hundred years. Building upon the vast literature on the topic, chapters look at the EU as a global governance actor and map its multilevel governance system in democracy promotion, contextualising and comparing this with the United States hegemonic design, which has become a fundamental instrument of national foreign policy in the past two decades. Creating a comprehensive understanding of the similarities and differences between the EU and US approaches, José M. Magone examines various EU models of democracy, analysing how different national democracy understandings in Europe coexist with the technocratic liberal European one. The book ultimately argues that since 2004 the EU has aligned with a more aggressive ideological US hegemonic model of democracy promotion that has its roots in Wilsonian international liberalism.

Revised throughout, the second edition of this comprehensive and highly respected textbook continues to provide a thorough introduction to European and European Union politics. Pairing a genuinely comparative approach with in-depth analysis of the national, supranational, local and regional political systems of large and small countries across Europe, including Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans, this accessible book covers history, theory, institutions, parties and party systems, and interest groups, among others. Key topics and features of this book: Examines the European Union multilevel governance system and uses a regional cluster approach to highlight differences across Europe. Contextualises European politics in a theoretical framework explaining the major political, social and economic transformations taking place in the information age. A new chapter on the comparative political systems and cultures of wider Europe, particularly Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Belarus and Turkey. Engages with the latest challenges and crises facing Europe, including new streamlined chapters on parties, elections, politics and policy-making of the European Union. Extended coverage of hot topics such as finance and the Eurocrisis, immigration, populism and xenophobia. Uses a wide range of pedagogical features including further readings and revision questions. Includes a fully updated companion website containing rich reference data, chapter summaries and weblinks. Richly illustrated throughout, this work is an indispensable resource for all students and scholars of European politics.

Drawing on the work of Arend Lijphart, this book focuses on consensus democracies. These democracies entail a complex set of democratic institutional and conventional arrangements and can be regarded as a product of path-dependent development towards a national culture of compromise and bargaining. Taking a multi-dimensional and multi-spatial approach, this book examines the West central European consensus democracies of Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Switzerland, over the past 40 years. Magone examines how these democracies have been transformed by Europeanization thrusts and global turbulence yet are able to maintain political stability. It provides historical context including the different phases of transformation: the golden period (1945-1979); disorganised capitalism (1979-1993); and re-equilibration (1993- ). It includes chapters on political culture, government, parliament, the rise of populism and political parties, subnational government, and the political economy and concludes deliberating on the relevance of consensus democracies' experiences for the future of European and global governance. Based on original research, this book will be of strong interest to students and scholars of comparative politics, European government, West European politics, the politics of small states in Europe, and those with a particular interest in the politics of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.--

"This fully revised and updated 3rd edition reflects the considerable changes in Spain over the last decade as the country celebrates 40 years of its constitution. The author gives fresh insight into the formal and informal workings of this dynamic southern European democracy. Thoroughly examining Spains historical background, political culture, core political institutions and foreign policy-making, each chapter provides a research-based overview of the studied topic which can then be used as the basis for further research by students. Key themes of the book include:A thorough overview of contemporary Spanish politics, especially the governments of Zapatero and Rajoy;Spains political culture and institutional framework;The Spanish economy, and the consequences of the economic and sovereign debt crisis;Foreign policy making; the reaction to the global anti-terrorist coalition and the Madrid bombings;Policy making process and the system of interest intermediation;Party system and electoral process;The dynamics of regional/territorial politics and the Basque, Catalan and Galician nationalisms, particularly the quest for Catalan independence;External relations with the European Union, the Mediterranean and Latin America;Constitutional Reform;Immigration.Richly illustrated with maps and presenting large amounts of statistical and quantitative data, this book is an indispensable source of information for students, academics and the wider public interested in Spanish politics."--Provided by publisher.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Preface -- List of abbreviations -- 1 The statecraft of consensus democracies -- 2 The creation and development of consensus democracies -- 3 Constitutional change in consensus democracies -- 4 Society and civic culture -- 5 The Americanisation of electoral and party politics -- 6 Patterns of government in consensus democracies -- 7 The institutional performance of parliaments in consensus democracies -- 8 Regional and local patterns in consensus democracies -- 9 The changing political economy of consensus democracies -- 10 Consensus democracies as the model for European and global governance -- List of interviews and written testimonies -- References -- Index

"Since the Treaty of the European Union was ratified in 1993, the European Union has become an important factor in an ever-increasing number of regimes of pooled sovereignty. This Handbook seeks to present a valuable guide to this new and unique system in the 21st century, allowing readers to obtain a better understanding of the emerging multilevel European governance system that links national polities to Europe and the global community. Adopting a pan-European approach, this handbook brings together the work of leading international academics to cover a wide range of topics such as: o the historical and theoretical background o the political systems and institutions of both the EU and its individual member nations o political parties and party systems o political elites o civil society and social movements in European politics o the political economy of Europe o public administration and policy-making o external policies of the EU. This is an invaluable and comprehensive resource for students, scholars, researchers and practitioners of the European Union, European Politics and Comparative Politics"--

"Since the Treaty of the European Union was ratified in 1993, the European Union has become an important factor in an ever-increasing number of regimes of pooled sovereignty. This Handbook seeks to present a valuable guide to this new and unique system in the 21st century, allowing readers to obtain a better understanding of the emerging multilevel European governance system that links national polities to Europe and the global community. Adopting a pan-European approach, this handbook brings together the work of leading international academics to cover a wide range of topics such as: o the historical and theoretical background o the political systems and institutions of both the EU and its individual member nations o political parties and party systems o political elites o civil society and social movements in European politics o the political economy of Europe o public administration and policy-making o external policies of the EU. This is an invaluable and comprehensive resource for students, scholars, researchers and practitioners of the European Union, European Politics and Comparative Politics"--