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Many studies of the policy process in Spain use distinct periods as an organising framework for analysis, and this approach implies that the process itself changes according to the different periods in question. However, we argue that this 'periodisation' approach fails to draw an appropriate distinction between policy choices and outcomes, on the one hand, and the policy process on the other. Whereas different policy choices may of course have very different consequences, these choices may not result from different processes: the outcomes should be distinguished from the causes. In seeking to explain the policy process, as opposed to policy choices and outcomes, this paper emphasises the need to look at institutional factors - in particular, the institutional design of contemporary Spanish democracy and Spain's economic model as the core explanatory variables. Only in this way can an account be provided which accommodates both core stable characteristics of the policy process as well as short-term variations in policy choices and outcome both across time and across different sectors. Adapted from the source document.

The article argues that the study of western democracies benefits from a conceptualisation of Christian churches as societal veto players characterised by three features: their power, which depends on their potential for mobilisation; their preferences, which can be deduced from churches' official statements and which are often outside the political spectrum; and their coherence, which determines the size of their indifference curve. Conceptualised as societal veto players, churches can be included in actor-centred theories of policy-making. Particular attention should be paid to veto points, church-state relations and religious parties, as these are the features of the political system that affect churches' behaviours. A comparative study of churches' roles in stem-cell policies illustrates the use of the concept. The study shows that the Catholic Church is a 'stronger' veto player than protestant churches, but that this stronger role can have paradoxical effects on the resulting policies and the policy process. Adapted from the source document.

This article assesses the extent to which institutional change has produced a consensus democracy in the Republic of Ireland. It measures this change over time, examining each of the variables Lijphart associates with the distinction between majoritarian and consensus democracy. We show that the Irish system is moving away from its Westminster roots, but some variables on the executive-parties dimension have hardly changed at all. Hence, we relate the Irish preference for 'divided power' forms of consensus democracy to the strong British imprint on the state's core legislative institutions. Adapted from the source document.

This article reports the results of interviews with Muslim leaders in Portugal and Spain. The main finding of the article is that key Muslim leaders and principal Islamic organisations are seeking to spread views about how Islam and western democracy ought to thrive together. The political belief systems of Muslim leaders reveal a diverse set of influences, including universalist syntheses of Islam with liberalism, as some claim to find in the work of Tariq Ramadan, but also anti-modernist political Islamism and notable figures such as Hassan Al Banna, Yusef Al Qaradawi, and Ali Shariati. The research finds that the views of Muslim elites are shaped by the national political context, especially partisan polarisation vs. consensus over the political regulation of religion, and the cultural and educational resources within Muslim communities. Adapted from the source document.

This article compares the institutionalisation of policy advice inside offices which service chief executives in the UK and Germany. It focuses on the institutionalisation of 'policy units' during the early 1970s and late 1990s which reveals different patterns. Whereas British policy units are allowed to interfere in any departmental business and address a variety of issues, German policy units are narrowed to provide administrative support and avoid partisan issues. Applying a new institutionalist perspective and the veto approach, this article argues that institutionalisation processes as strategic interactions of organisational actors are affected by institutional features at the macro-level of parliamentary systems. These features include principles of cabinet decision-making and the electoral system with its effects on parliament and cabinet composition which both set veto positions in the executive and legislative decision arena. Next to these institutional features, the empirical evidence shows how organisational legacies account for the influential role of British policy units as power resource for the PM and the nearly irrelevance of German policy units as power resource for the Chancellor. Adapted from the source document.

This article examines the Italian election of 2008 which occurred as a result of the collapse of the centre-left government headed by Romano Prodi. The Prodi government was characterized as a "fractious governing coalition," including a twenty-plus party legislature. The election revolved around a center-right coalition, led by Silvio Berlusconi, & the Democratic Party, led by Walter Vertroni, which provided an unexpected challenge to Berlusconi's coalition. In the end, Berlusconi's center-right coalition won & secured a significant governing majority in both chambers of parliament, forming a new government in May 2008. This article traces the collapse of Prodi's government, the process of alliance & coalition formation, the campaign & candidate selection, the election results, & the formation of the new Berlusconi government. The author concludes by discusses how the 2008 elections were a watershed in Italian politics in terms of party strategies & coalition building. C. Goger