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WWI Alliances

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Triple Entente - France, Britain, Russia Triple Alliance - Germany, Austrian Empire, Italy

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Neocoporatism

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The state "referees" between unions and employers. The state is very involved with the economy.

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Keynesian Welfare State

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Creation of "safety nets" like unemployment, health care, etc

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Post-Materialism

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People are more financially stable so they begin to be concerned about other things (environment, social justice etc) - 1970s

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Neo-liberalism

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Movement on the right to take the state of the economy. Also impose austerity measures (think Thatcher)

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"Third Way"

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1990s, Blair and Schroeder create a centrist movement, liberal social policy w/ more rightest economics. V. ambiguous

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Majoritarian

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Concentrates power in the hands of the bare majority. Characteristics: single party cabinet, dominant executive, two party system, majoritarian electoral system, unitary state, unicameral house, flexible constitution

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Consensus

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Tries to share, disperse and limit power. Characteristics: multi-party coalitions, balance of power, multi-party system, proportional electoral system, federal state, bicameral legislature, rigid constitution

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Separation of Powers

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Directly elected president. Constitutional difference between the executive and the legislature. President names the cabinet. The President and legislature cannot dismiss each other

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Fusion of Powers

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Executive responsible to the legislature. Indirectly elected executive. Legislature can bring down executive and PM can dissolve the legislature and call for early elections

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Power of Prime Minister

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head of government, head of party, resolves legislature, agenda setting power, most important political actor

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Collective v. Individual Responsibility

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Collective: All cabinet ministers dismissed if the government is voted out Individual: A minister can be personally dismissed

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Directly Elected President

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Austria, Finland, Ireland, France

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Indirectly Elected President

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Italy, Germany

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Monarchs

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UK, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Spain, Netherlands

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British Monarchy

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Pros: History, tourism, tradition, hassle to change Cons: Not democratic, against republican ideals, costly w/o adding value

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Semi-Presidentialism

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Coexistence of a PM and cabinet alongside the President. Exists in France, used to exist in Finland and Poland

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Formateur

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Person who forms the government. Usually becomes PM

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Informateur

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looks for alternatives, appoints a Formateur

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Investiture Vote

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Formal or informal vote of approval for a government from the legislature

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Vote of Confidence

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Gov. calls for a vote in the legislature in support of their government. Usually used when sure of winning, as tool to push through legislation

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Vote of No Confidence

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Opposition w/i legislature calls for a vote against the current gov. In constructive version, they must offer an alternative government.

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Caretaker Government

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Temporary government that forms after a government collapses and before a new government forms. Often is simply the old government continuing to run day-to-day affairs

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Parliamentary Government

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Pros: Efficiency, Clearer responsibility Cons: Limited representation of minorities, Possibility of unstable gov. (especially with coalitions)

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Constraints on Gov.

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Existing rules, political culture, minority gov. problems (coalition), within government support problems

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Inter-Party v. Cross-Party

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Inter-party - Majoritarian set up, one party really making all political decisions, ex. UK Cross-party - Consensus, multiple parties coordinate and negotiate to create policy, ex. Scandanavia

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Roles of Parliament

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Dismissing or appointing the government, lawmaking, Oversight of government (interpellation, question time),

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Oversight Committee Characteristics

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Reflect structure of gov, each MP belongs to one committee, can summon individuals including ministers and have a right to access all pertinent information

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Consequences of Party Voting

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vote w/ national agenda, less incumbency advantage, valuable party labels, must remain loyal to party to succeed as politician

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Strength of Bicameralism

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1) Formal constitutional powers 2)Method of selection (direct or indirect election) 3) Difference in composition (ex. incongruence in Germany)

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Strong Bicameral

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Germany, Switzerland

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Medium Bicameral

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Netherlands, Italy

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Weak Bicameral

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Austria, Ireland, Sweeden

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Unicameral

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Finland, Greece, Portugal

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Bicameralism Pros/Cons

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Pros: veto constrain majority tyranny, opportunity for careful review of legislation, more info yields better policy, makes sure popular preference does not drive policy, structure w/i parties to reduce cross-chamber disagreement Cons: slows down process, over represents minority opinions, may not have legitimacy but still uses power

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Constitution

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" a body of rules that defines how all other legal rules are to be produced, applied, and interpreted." Regulates actions b/w courts and political actors, defines powers of each, shows precommitment, declares rights and duties

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Constitutional Traditions

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US- very rigid, Constitution above the will of the people etc France - v. changeable, people's will is always supreme ever over constitution

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Common Law

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Judges make rulings based on precedent

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Civil Law

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Judges make rulings based on an established legal code. More common in Europe. In practice, precedent is also used.

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Concrete v. Abstract

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Concrete: a specific case Abstract: consideration of a law w/o a case, usually brought up by a political actor, like the opposition

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Strong Judicial Review

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W/ Constitutional Courts - Germany, Italy W/o Constitutional Courts - France, Ireland

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FCC

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German constitutional court, abstract and concrete review, v. power and seen as above politics, "interpretation in conformity with constitution" (lawmaking almost) debates over ECB etc.

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Constitutional Court of Italy

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Defender of civil liberties, not follower of Gov - but only sort of true because they are only elected for 9 years and want a political career after

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Constitutional Council France

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first created to protect President but in 74 became centralized. Abstract review only - can only be brought cases by political actors not courts

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Weak Judicial Review

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Britain, Netherlands, Scandinavian countries.

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Judicial Review Pros/Cons

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Pro: checks power of majority, keeps laws and actors restrained, balances power of legislature, slows down radical change Cons: can act against popular will - slows down change, appointed body has power over elected body?

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EU Integration Pros/Cons

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Pro: economic benefits, increased bargaining power Cons: loss of sovereignty, susceptible to economic problems of other member countries, loss of national identity

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Reasons for EU

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European economic reconstruction, reconstruct Germany but contain its power, threat of Soviet domination

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ECSC

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European Coal and Steel community, Shuman creates it in 1950, France Germany Italy BENELUX,

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EEC

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Same 6 founding members create a "common market" with the European Economic Community in 1957

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Treaty of Maastricht

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1991, Formally calls it the EU, begins internal social policies

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Schengen

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first created in 1985, then in 1997 incorporated in to EU law with the Treaty of Amsterdam

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Euro

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adopted as idea in 1999, first paper money in 2002.

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Constitutional Treaty

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Created in 2004 to make previous treaties in to a constitution and create a president and foreign minister. Referendum fails in France and Netherlands, Treaty of Lisbon in 2009 makes same reforms w/ different names and no formal constitution

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Expansion Reasons

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73: DeGaulle had previously blocked them. (UK, Ireland, Denmark) 80s: Greece, Portugal and Spain had previously been not democratic 95: Austria Finland Sweden had wanted to be Cold War neutral 04: Post communist wave 07: Bulgaria and Romania weren't ready yet

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Candidate Countries

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Iceland (not interested), Macedonia (issue w/ name), Montenegro, Albania (newest), Serbia, Turkey

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Conditions for Membership

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Article from the TEU as well as Copenhagen Criteria (democracy, rule of law, human rights, respect for minorities, functioning market economy, adherence to aims of EU)

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Steps to EU Membership

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Apply for candidacy, only TEU and C. Criteria satisfied need unanimous vote to become candidate, complete 35 "chapters", unanimous approval of Accession Treaty by all member parliaments and candidate country

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Pros/Cons of Expansion

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Pro: export potential, foreign investment, diverse European labor market, extension of zone of peace, stability and prosperity Cons: extra costs for EU (invest in weaker economy), social concerns of labor migration, weak boarders leads to concerns about illegal immigration and organized crime, weak democracies and economies

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Turkish Membership

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Pros: increased diversity, young and growing population and economy, support democracy in a Muslim yet secular state, keep Turkey attached to Western values Cons: relative poverty, potential for significant labor migration, human rights issues, Kurdish rights, freedom of press, freedom of speech, police brutality, judicial independence, not geographically in Europe, issue of Cyprus, cultural differences

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Privileged Partnership

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A status that includes all the economic benefits of being in the EU but does not actually include membership in EU. Turkey against it but France and Germany are supporters

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European Parliament

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Directly elected by Europeans, system of committees, has hand in lawmaking, power over budget and other institutions. BUT cannot tax, cannot introduce laws and cannot enact laws alone (codecision with Council)

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Council of Ministers

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National government ministers for each topic area (environment, defense, finance etc), final decision on EU law and policy, represent national interests

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European Commission

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President and 27 commissioners (one from each country), each commissioner has a portfolio they work on, power of initiation AND implementation of laws.

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European Council

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Council of all the executives of the member countries, responsible for providing direction and determining priorities.

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European Court of Justice

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Rules on constitutionality of EU laws and their conformity with treaties, gives rulings to national courts and settles member country disputes, like Supreme Court but there is no constitution

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Countries in Euro Crisis

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Greece (tourism drop off), Ireland (bank property bubble), Portugal (gov. overspending), Spain (unemployment still high) Italy (debt), Cyprus (tied to Greece economy)

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British Proposal

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Faced with UKIP, Cameron promises to bring reforms to Britain's relationship with EU and referendum on exit, Scotland is biggest EU supporter in UK, will they really leave?

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Types of Civil Service

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Britain - generalists France - specialists with technical training German - technical expertise w/ reliance on legal

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Unitary State

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local government only implements central policies, with limited local power

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Federal State

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Local government really is a government and has constitutional powers. Two conditions: Federal state defined by constitution, each regional unit had the same amount of power

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Confederation

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a loose association of local states that come together to solve common problems

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UK Regional Autonomies

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Northern Ireland : Good Friday Agreement in 1998 finally ends IRA violence Wales: parliament since 98 but weak powers, only 26 policy areas Scotland: parliament since 98, nationalist movement with the SNP, failed referendum (banking issues, Cameron grants more powers, cold feet, economic concerns not addressed)

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Spain RA

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"asymmetric federalism" Catalonia - different language, rich region, independence v. popular but unlikely because Madrid says no Basque - terrorism of ETA, don't want independence so much as more autonomy Also: Valencia

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Belgium RA

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Wallonia - Fench speaking, Flanders - Dutch speaking, Brussels - in Flanders but French speaking. Only common areas of governance are taxes, monarchy, social security and national sports teams. Cannot separate b/c Brussels issue

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Italy RA

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Lega Nord - wanted to create Padania with three northern Italian regions, gains credence b/c in Berlusconi's gov. but in 2011 becomes more moderate Others: Venitia and Sardinia

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France RA

answer

Rhones-Aples (Lyon) wants more autonomy, Corsica uses bombs and violence to gain greater autonomy in 2001

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Separatism Consequences

answer

status of each region, isolation, EU inclusion?, financial ties and difficulties

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Basic Roles of Local Gov.

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land planning, environmental issues, local services like garbage collection, policy force and school system, public housing, personal health. Denmark - local taxes, Italy - distribution of central gov. taxes

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Second-Order Elections

answer

Many Europeans see local elections as "second order", they vote with their national preferences in mind

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