By Simon Bornschier, Hanspeter Kriesi, Edgar Grande, Romain Lachat, Martin Dolezal and Tim Frey
Over the past three decades the effects of globalization and denationalization have created a division between ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in Western Europe. This study examines the transformation of party political systems in six countries (Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK) using opinion surveys, as well as newly collected data on election campaigns. The authors argue that, as a result of structural transformations and the strategic repositioning of political parties, Europe has observed the emergence of a tripolar configuration of political power, comprising the left, the moderate right, and the new populist right. They suggest that, through an emphasis on cultural issues such as mass immigration and resistance to European integration, the traditional focus of political debate – the economy – has been downplayed or reinterpreted in terms of this new political cleavage. This new analysis of Western European politics will interest all students of European politics and political sociology.
Published:
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008
Online available:
www.cambridge.org
‘This book provides the best analysis I have seen of the political repercussions of globalization for voters, for political parties, and for the structure of political competition. The authors explain why different countries experience globalization in different ways, and they underpin their conclusions with an impressive diversity of data. A tour de force that will shape the study of European politics for years to come.’ Gary Marks, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Free University of Amsterdam
‘…this book is both theoretically fruitful and methodologically innovative. It raises many interesting research questions and it should spur future work … This book should appeal to scholars of party systems, political parties, electoral politics and globalization.’ The Journal of Politics
‘… warmly welcomed … the book makes an impressive and stimulating contribution to the extant literature and will be of interest to comparativists and national specialists alike.’ Political Studies Review