Updated for the fourth edition, this work analyzes the political systems of 18 European countries, their political parties, elections, and party systems, as well as government structure at local, regional, national and European Union levels. Key theoretical ideas are accessibly introduced and examined against empirical data on civil society and the state. The dominant theme continues to be that political institutions and political outcomes are conditioned by the social structure. The authors probe the nature and form of western European political systems in terms of civil society, the market economy and the divisions of class, ethnicity, regional identity and religion, and present a rich picture of contemporary western European society and politics.
Jan-Erik Lane is Professor of Political Science at the University of Geneva.
Introduction A Neo-Tocquevillian Approach PART ONE: CIVIL SOCIETY The Market Economy Cleavages Political Parties Parties and Voters Party Systems PART TWO: GOVERNMENT Decision-Making Institutions Autonomy Decision-Making Systems Influence European Integration Issues PART THREE: OUTCOMES Political Stability Public Sector Growth and the Welfare State Conclusion
`This fourth edition of Politics and Society in Western Europe remains not only one of the best coursebooks in political sociology I know, but has also been greatly improved. In addition to a complete update in terms of cross-national data and literature, Lane and Ersson have developed an even more lucid structure, based on an elaboration of de Tocqueville's ideas on Democracy and Society. The authors confront these ideas with qualitative and quantitative information on the political process in postwar Europe and thereby provide a wealth of knowledge on European politics and society which is accessible and interesting for students in the political and social sciences' - Hans Keman, Free University, Amsterdam `Continuously developed, enlarged and updated, Lane and Ersson's book is one of the most useful textbooks ever produced in the discipline. It is a book that one keeps on the desk, or nearby at hand; ready for consultation of its immensely rich tables and data, for rapid excursions in areas and topics outside one's competence, and for quick updating on literature, facts and theories. Reading it all is the best way to get a comprehensive picture of European politics in the last half century' - Stefano Bartolini, European University Institute `This book skillfully combines a comprehensive survey of new data with theory using longitudinal studies in the tradition of Tocqueville' - Klaus von Beyme, University of Heidelberg `This is a wonderfully comprehensive and systematic study, covering all 18 West European democracies, and it brims with suggestive ideas and important data. The authors know their subject thoroughly, and they deserve special congratulations for keeping their factual materials so up-to-date' - Arend Lijphart, University of California, San Diego `This Fourth Edition of Politics and Society in Western Europe remains not only one of the best coursebooks in political sociology I know, but has also been greatly improved. In addition to a complete update in terms of cross-national data and literature, Lane and Ersson have developed an even more lucid structure, based on an elaboration of de Tocqueville's ideas on democracy and society' - Hans Keman, Free University, Amsterdam
