Party Politics and Democracy in Europe Essays in honour of Peter Mair [Hardcover]

This edited collection, in honour of the late political scientist Peter Mair, contains original chapters that are directly linked to his theoretical and/or methodological ideas and approaches.

Peter Mair demonstrated that political parties have traditionally been central actors in European politics and an essential focus of comparative European political science. Though the nature of political parties and the manner in which they operate has been subject to significant change in recent decades, parties remain a crucial factor in the working of European liberal democracies. This volume analyses recent developments and current challenges that European parties, party systems and democracy face.

The volume will be of key interest to students and scholars of comparative politics, democracy studies, political parties, and European politics and European Union studies.

1 Introduction Ferdinand M?ller-Rommel Part One: Comparative and National Politics 2 Mapping definitions of feudalism: A conceptual analysis J?rgen M?ller3 Fill in the void? The politics of institutional reform in times of democratic crisis in Ireland Camille Bedock4 Party competition and policy output in Ireland Evelyne H?bscher 5 Regional presidents, multi-level parties and organizational stratarchy: The case of Italy Alex Wilson Part Two: Political Parties and Party Systems 6 The attitudinal implications of the cartel party thesis: Ideological convergence and political efficacy in contemporary democracies Sergi Pardos-Prado and Pedro Riera 7 Conflict regulation in political parties: Organizational and legal dimensions Nicole Bolleyer 8 Party system institutionalization: A travelling concept? Fernando Casal B?rtoa Part Three: European Union 9 Representing without governing Jorge Fernandes and David M. Willl��