Restricted Access
After the eastward enlargement : the institutionalization of the Europarties and the EU party system
Loading...
Files
PDF in Restricted Access
License
Access Rights
Cadmus Permanent Link
Full-text via DOI
ISBN
ISSN
Issue Date
Type of Publication
Keyword(s)
Other Topic(s)
EUI Research Cluster(s)
Initial version
Published version
Succeeding version
Preceding version
Published version part
Earlier different version
Initial format
Author(s)
Citation
Florence : European University Institute, 2012
EUI; SPS; PhD Thesis
Cite
BRESSANELLI, Edoardo, After the eastward enlargement : the institutionalization of the Europarties and the EU party system, Florence : European University Institute, 2012, EUI, SPS, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/21356
Abstract
In the long debate about the EU constitutional and institutional reform which accompanied the Central and Eastern enlargement of the Union, political parties at the European level – in brief: Europarties – have rarely featured. This research, acknowledging the growing role played by political parties in the EU polity and their importance for its legitimization, addresses the following question: what impact has the mega-enlargement of the Union had upon the process of institutionalization of the Europarties and the EU party system? Theoretically, this work draws from the literature on party and party system institutionalization in the developing polities, and makes these concepts 'travel' to the European Union. More specifically, it identifies two main dimensions in the concept of party institutionalization: a 'structural' dimension, referring to party organizational consolidation, and a 'value' dimension, capturing the party value-system and ideology. By treating enlargement as an 'external shock', and relying on the literatures on partisan formation and development, three main propositions are then advanced. In sum, enlargement is expected to have a positive effect on the party structural dimension, but a more negative impact on the value dimension of institutionalization and on the competitiveness of the EU party system. Empirically, the validity of the above propositions is assessed by combining qualitative and quantitative research strategies. On the one hand, the impact of enlargement upon the Europarty organizations is evaluated through an analysis of their 'official stories' and by interviewing Europarty elites and administrators. On the other, its impact on the value dimension is tested by using descriptive and inferential techniques on different data: attitudinal and textual data (Euromanifestos and EU Profiler data) are combined with behavioural data (roll-call votes).
Table of Contents
Additional Information
Examining Board: Luciano Bardi, Adrienne Heritier, Richard Rose, Alexander H. Trechsel (replacing Peter Mair, supervisor until summer 2011)
On 14 June 2013 awarded the Linz Rokkan Prize prize.
Defence date: 15 March 2012
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
On 14 June 2013 awarded the Linz Rokkan Prize prize.
Defence date: 15 March 2012
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses