The growing technical uncertainties and complexities of problems of global concern have made international policy coordination not only increasingly necessary but also increasingly difficult. If decision makers are unfamiliar with the technical aspects of a specific problem, how do they define state interests and develop viable solutions? What factors shape their behavior? Under conditions of uncertainty, what are the origins of international institutions? And how can we best study the processes through which international policy coordination and order emerge? While a variety of analytic approaches have been used to address the problems of international cooperation, the approaches have yielded only fragmentary insights. At its core, the study of policy coordination among states involves arguments about determinism versus free will and about the ways in which the international system is maintained and transformed. Among the overlapping topics of debate are whether national behavior is determined or broadly conditioned by system-level factors, unit-level factors, or some complex interplay between the two; whether state policymakers can identify national interests and behave independently of pressures from the social groups they nominally represent; and whether states respond consistently to opportunities to create, defend, or expand their own wealth and power, to enhance collective material benefits, or to promote nonmaterial values.' A related question of

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Introduction: epistemic communities and international policy coordination

The qEffectiveq Number of Parties: qA Measure with Application to West Europeq Laakso, Markku;Taagepera, Rein Comparative Political Studies; Apr 1, 1979; 12, 1; Proouest pg. 3 “EFFECTIVE” NUMBER OF PARTIES A Measure with Application to West Europe MARKKU LAAKSO University of Helsinki REIN TAAGEPERA University of California, Irvine I s a large number of parties bound to destabilize a political system (Duverger, 1954) or is it not (e.g., Lijphart, 1968; Nilson, 1974)? Before this question can be answered, the number of parties must be operationally deﬁned in a way that takes into account their relative size. Such a number is also needed if one wants to detect trends toward fewer or more numerous parties over time, or the effects of a proposed change in electoral rules. This article presents ways to calculate this important political variable, calculates it for I42 post-1944 elections in 15 West European countries, and analyzes its possible effect on stability. We often talk of two-party and multiparty systems. We further dis- tinguish three~ or four—party systems in some countries, and even talk (e. g., Blondel, 1969: 535) of a two-and-a-half-party system whenthere is a third party of marginal size. Mexico could be viewed as a one-and-a- half-party system because the PR1 is so much larger than all other parties. Rather than take the number of all existing parties, including even the very smallest, one visibly has a need for a number that takes into account their relative size. We will call this number the “effective number of parties,” using the word “effectiveq somewhat in the sense pressure group literature uses it when talking about “effective access” (Truman, 195]: 506), but even more in the operational sense physicists give it when they talk about effective current (Richards et al., 1960: 594), COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES. Vol. I2 No. I. April 1979 3-27 © I979 Sage Publications. Inc. Copyright (c) 2000 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company Copyright (c) Sage Inc.

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“Effective” Number of Parties: A Measure with Application to West Europe

Giandomenico Majone and Andrew Moravcsik have argued that the EU does not suffer a ‘democratic deficit’. We disagree about one key element: whether a democratic polity requires contestation for political leadership and over policy. This aspect is an essential element of even the ‘thinnest’ theories of democracy, yet is conspicuously absent in the EU.

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Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to Majone and Moravcsik

The course is focused on historical texts, most of them philosophical. Context for understanding the texts and the course of democratic development will be provided in lecture and discussions, and by some background readings (Dunn). We begin with the remarkable Athenian democracy, and its frequent enemy the Spartan oligarchy. In Athens legislation was passed directly by an assembly of all citizens, and executive officials were selected by lot rather than by competitive election. Athenian oligarchs such as Plato more admired Sparta, and their disdain for the democracy became the judgment of the ages, until well after the modern democratic revolutions. Marsilius of Padua in the early Middle Ages argued for popular sovereignty. The Italian citystates of the Middle Ages did without kings, and looked back to Rome and Greece for republican models. During the English Civil War republicans debated whether the few or the many should be full citizens of the regime. The English, French, and American revolutions struggled with justifying and establishing a representative democracy suitable for a large state, and relied on election rather than lot to select officials. The English established a constitutional monarchy, admired in Europe, and adapted by the Americans in their republican constitution. The American Revolution helped inspire the French, and the French inspired republican and democratic revolution throughout Europe during the 19 century.

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Democracy and Its Critics

Do differences in individualism and collectivism influence values, self-concept content, relational assumptions, and cognitive style? On the one hand, the cross-national literature provides an impressively consistent picture of the predicted systematic differences; on the other hand, the nature of the evidence is inconclusive. Cross-national evidence is insufficient to argue for a causal process, and comparative data cannot specify if effects are due to both individualism and collectivism, only individualism, only collectivism, or other factors (including other aspects of culture). To address these issues, the authors conducted a meta-analysis of the individualism and collectivism priming literature, with follow-up moderator analyses. Effect sizes were moderate for relationality and cognition, small for self-concept and values, robust across priming methods and dependent variables, and consistent in direction and size with cross-national effects. Results lend support to a situated model of culture in which cross-national differences are not static but dynamically consistent due to the chronic and moment-to-moment salience of individualism and collectivism. Examination of the unique effects of individualism and collectivism versus other cultural factors (e.g., honor, power) awaits the availability of research that primes these factors.

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/89921/oyserman_lee_2008_psychbulletin.pdf?sequence=1

Does culture influence what and how we think? Effects of priming individualism and collectivism.

Systemes de partis et types de structures gouvernementales dans les democraties occidentalesIl existe quatre types de systemes de partis dans les democraties occidentales, le systeme de deux partis, le systeme de deux partis et demi, le systeme multi-parti avec parti dominant, et le systeme multi-parti sans parti dominant. Presque toutes les democraties occidentales ont conserve le meme type de parti tout au long de l'apresguerre. Chaque type a ses caracteristiques propres qui constituent autant de mecanismes automatiques d'equilibre. Les types de structures gouvernementales peuvent etre definies par l'intermediate des forces politiques qui se trouvent representees au gouvernement, soit conjointement, soit successivement; ils peuvent egalement etre definis en termes de stabilite. Au cours de l'apres-guerre, le systeme multi-parti avec parti dominant semble avoir donne naissance a la forme de representation la moins equitable; la stabilite gouvernementale parait dependre de la presence d'un seul, et non de deux partis importants.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/4AECF261AC303B5AB08CA88CA86653B4/S0008423900036507a.pdf/div-class-title-party-systems-and-patterns-of-government-in-western-democracies-div.pdf

Party Systems and Patterns of Government in Western Democracies

1. Electoral Participation, Democracy, and Legitimacy in the European Union 2. The Extent and Nature of the Problem of Abstention in European Parliament Elections 3. Legitimacy and Participation 4. Interest, Knowledge, and Participation 5. The European Parliament: Power, Responsiveness, Image, and Participation 6. Parties, Candidates, and Campaigns 7. Turnout in Context: Variations among the Member States 8. Sources of Turnout and Abstention in the European Parliament 9. Conclusion: Participation, Democracy, and Legitimacy in the European Union

People and Parliament in the European Union

Political leaders are the most universal, recognized, and talked about element of political life. However, the general analysis of political leadership has been little advanced. In this book Professor Blondel provides a general framework for the systematic study of leadership to make possible future empirical study and comparative analysis of political leadership. After examining the current state of political leadership studies, Professor Blondel categorizes the leaders of the world taking into account both their goals and the constraints and opportunities resulting from the environment. Important features and influences on leadership are identified: the sources of personal power, the role of leaders' own psychology and perspective, the instruments of power available to leaders, their relationship with subordinates and citizens, the influence of institutions on leadership and the impact of leaders.

Political Leadership: Towards a General Analysis

Cabinet government and cabinet ministers, Jean Blondell the social background of Western European ministers, J.L.Thiebault local and regional politics and cabinet membership, J.L.Thiebult parliamentary and party pathways to the cabinet, L.Dewinter the ministerial career, W.Bakema ministers and ministries, H.Keman elite circulation in cabinet government, A.P.Frognier Prime Ministers and other government heads, W.C.Muller and W.Philipp the post-ministerial careers, Jean Blondell.

The Profession of Government Minister in Western Europe

List of Tables Notes on the Contributors Preface Cabinets in Postcommunist East-Central Europe and in the Balkans: An Introduction J.Blondel PART I: EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE Estonia F.Muller-Rommel & G.Sootla Latvia F.Muller-Rommel & O.Norgaard Lithuania F.Muller-Rommel & O.Hersted Hansen Poland J.Blondel &F.Muller-Rommel Czech Republic F.Muller-Rommel & Z.Mansfeldova Slovakia F.Muller-Rommel & D.Malova Hungary F.Muller-Rommel & G.Ilonzki Slovenia F.Muller-Rommel & S.Gaber PART II: THE BALKANS Romania J.Blondel & I.Penescu Moldova J.Blondel & S.Matteucci Bulgaria J.Blondel & S.Andreev Albania J.Blondel & L.Chiodi Macedonia J.Blondel Croatia J.Blondel & S.Selo Sabic Bosnia-Herzegovina J.Blondel & S.Selo Sabic Serbia and the New Yugoslavia J.Blondel & F.Privitera Cabinets in Postcommunist East-Central Europe and the Balkans: Empirical Findings and Research Agenda F.Muller-Rommel Appendices Bibliography Index

Jean Blondel

Papers

Party Systems and Patterns of Government in Western Democracies

People and Parliament in the European Union

Political Leadership: Towards a General Analysis

The Profession of Government Minister in Western Europe

Cabinets in Western Europe