This is the most comprehensive empirical analysis to date of coalition politics. Based on large cross-national data collection covering the entire post-war period from 1945 to 1999, it is the first systematic study of the institutions of governance and conflict resolution in coalition governments. The book is also an unparalleled source of information on cabinet formation, membership, termination, and electoral performance of coalition parties.

This is the most ambitious and comprehensive account of the institutions of democratic delegation in West European parliamentary democracies to date. It provides an unprecedented cross-national investigation of West European political institutions from 1945 until the present day, as well as situating modern parliamentary democracy in the context of changing political parties and the growing importance of the European Union.

Traditional comparative studies of parliaments have focused on constitutional and organizational characteristics of parliaments, or differences in the historical context, in which legislative assemblies have developed. The motivations of individual members of parliament have been neglected.

Traditional comparative studies of parliaments have focused on constitutional and organizational characteristics of parliaments, or differences in the historical contexts, in which legislative assemblies have developed. The motivations of individual Members of Parliament have been neglected.
This volume provides empirical work on legislative role orientations and behaviour in six West European parliaments: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom. All contributions present a wealth of empirical findings on parliamentarians' role orientations in different...

How have Europe's mainstream political parties responded to the long-term decline in voter loyalties?

What are the consequences of this change in the electoral markets in which parties now operate?

Popular disengagement, disaffection, and withdrawal on the one hand, and increasing popular support for protest parties on the other, have become the hallmarks of modern European politics.

This book provides an excellent account of how political parties in Western Europe are perceiving and are responding to these contemporary challenges of electoral...

How have Europe's mainstream political parties responded to the long-term decline in voter loyalties?

What are the consequences of this change in the electoral markets in which parties now operate?

Popular disengagement, disaffection, and withdrawal on the one hand, and increasing popular support for protest parties on the other, have become the hallmarks of modern European politics.

This book provides an excellent account of how political parties in Western Europe are perceiving and are responding to these contemporary challenges of electoral...

​​Given the centrality of political parties in modern democracies, most research on these systems either directly address their internal functioning and activities or question their critical role. Political science has moved from describing institutions to the thorough analysis of behavior within these institutions and the interactions between them. The inevitable consequences of the maturing and institutionalization of the discipline of political science in many countries include the forming of sub-fields and specialized research communities. At the same time the number of...