In election after election for the European parliament there has been a growing ability for voters to deal with Europe, by-passing categories that are still used to think about essentials political issues within individual countries. Europe at the Polls highlights this liberation of the 'European Question' from the old left-right conflicts that have marked political life within the 15 members of the European Union. Across national borders, this study of those elections shows that diverse trends are taking root in homes, towns, and in the workplace, and are reflected in the electoral geography at the level of the European Union. The increasing strength of Green parties, the continued decline of European Communism, and ethno-regionalism are just some of the issues that this book explores with the hope that Europe can begin constructing a real European public space within which a strong link to citizens can be woven.

Autorentext

PASCAL PERRINEAU is Professor of Political Science at the IEP, Paris, and has been the director of the Center for the Study of French Politics (CEVIPOF), a research center at Sciences Po., Paris since 1991. His research focuses primarily on the French elections and on the extreme-right in Europe. His published works include Political Behavior (1992) with Nonna Mayer and The Le Pen Symptom, Radiographie des Électeurs du Front National (1997). GERARD GRUNBERG is a researcher at CEVIPOF and is the coordinator of the European Thematic Network Political Science. He is interested in electoral behavior and the European social democracy. His books include Towards a European Socialism (1997) with Alain Bergounioux and The Proof for Utopia, European Socialism in the 20th Century (1996). COLETTE YSMAL is a researcher at the CEVIPOF, where she works on electoral behavior and on European right-wing political forces. Her main publications are Electoral Behavior of the French (1990) with Piero Ignazi, Eds. and The Organization of Southern Parties (1998).

Inhalt

Introduction PART ONE: EUROPE, CITIZENS, AND POLITICAL ELITES The 1999 European Parliament Elections and European integration; B.Cautrés, R.Sinnot Dynamic Representation: The Case of European Integration; H.Schmidtt, J.Thomassen Identity and Electoral Participation; A.P.Frognier The Faltering Europeanization of National Campaigns; J.Gerstlé, H.A.Semetko, K.Schoenbach, M.Villa PART TWO: THE EUROPE OF POLITICAL FORCES The Communist and Extreme Left Galaxy; M.Lazar The Disillusionment of European Socialists; G.Grunberg & G.Moschonas Green Parties and European Elections : The Success Story; F.Mueller-Rommel Ethnoregionalist Parties and European Integration at the 1999 European Elections; L.De Winter The European People's Party and the Restructuring of Right Wing Parties in Europe; D.Hanley & C.Ysmal The extreme right in the June 1999 European elections; P.Ignazi & P.Perrineau PART THREE: THE EUROPE OF VOTERS AND OF INSTITUTIONS Electoral Geography of Europe; C.Vandermotten & P.Medina Lockhart Electoral Participation and European Poll : A Limited Legitimacy; P.Delwit The new European Parliament; C.Lord Appendices (Electoral Results in Each Country, Parliamentary Groups Inside the European Parliament, Electoral Maps)