Synopses & Reviews
Enhance your understanding of European politics with CONTEMPORARY EUROPEAN POLITICS! With coverage of ideology, political culture, and social constructs of regions and countries, this political science text helps you comprehend the changing global order and the challenges that the United States will face in the years ahead. Case studies found throughout allow you to see how theory and concepts play out in real scenarios. Exam preparation is made easy with highlighted key terms, chapter overviews, summary and conclusions sections, and suggested readings.
About the Author
Thomas Magstadt earned his doctorate at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is the author NATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS: COMPARATIVE POLITICS IN REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE, Sixth Edition, (Wadsworth Publishing, 2011), and AN EMPIRE IF YOU CAN KEEP IT: POWER AND PRINCIPLE IN AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY (CQ Press, 2004). He has also published numerous journal articles, policy papers, and op-ed pieces, and is a regular contributor to Nation of Change, an on-line daily newspaper. He has chaired political science departments at Augustana College (Sioux Falls) and the University of Nebraska (Kearney), and has taught at the Thunderbird School, the Air War College, and the University of Missouri--Kansas City. In the 1980s, he served for a time as a foreign intelligence analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. He was a Fulbright Scholar in the Czech Republic from 1994 to 1996. From 2007 to 2010, he lectured on the European Union at the University of Kansas.
Table of Contents
1. THE EUROPEAN DILEMMA: UNITY OR DIVERSITY. What is Europe? Civilization, Culture, and Identity. Europe's Dark Side: War and Tyranny. War and Revolution: An Ambiguous Legacy. Postwar Europe. Summary and Conclusions. Part I: ESTABLISHED DEMOCRACIES. 2. WESTERN EUROPE: DIVERGENT PATHS TO THE MODERN STATE. Overview. Case Studies: The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. 3. POLITICS IN WESTERN EUROPE: TRIUMPH OF CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY. Overview. Miraculous Recovery, Postmodern Malaise. Case Studies: Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. 4. WESTERN EUROPE TODAY: DEMOCRACY IN POSTMODERN SOCIETIES. Overview. The Downside of Modernity. Welfare States: Broken and Beyond Repair? The Bumpy Road Ahead. Britain: The Great Dilemma. France: Model or Relic? Germany: Beyond Unification, What? Italy: Reform or Relapse? Spain: Nation of Region or Region of Nations? Summary and Conclusions. Part II: EMERGING DEMOCRACIES. 5. EASTERN EUROPE: THE SLAVIC. Overview. Slavic Europe. The Imprint of History. The Origins of Soviet Totalitarianism. The Cold War Era (1945-1991). Ideology and Political Culture. Eastern Europe Before 1945. Slavic But Not Russian: Poland, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Summary and Conclusions. 6. POLITICS IN EASTERN EUROPE: BLENDING THE OLD AND THE NEW. Overview. The Legacy of Soviet Communism. Postcommunist Russia. Eastern Europe: From Stalinism to Pluralism. Case Studies: Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia). Summary and Conclusions. 7. EASTERN EUROPE TODAY: THE LONG (BUT WIDE OPEN) ROAD WEST. Overview. Russia: Neither East Nor West. Eastern Europe: Heading West. Poland: The Shock Treatment. Ukraine: Geography Is Destiny...Or Maybe Not? Czech Republic: Challenges Ahead. Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia): Rejecting Dictatorship. Summary and Conclusions. Part III: THE EUROPEAN UNION. 8. BEYOND EAST AND WEST: WHAT IS EUROPE? Overview. What Makes Europeans European. Summary and Conclusions. 9. THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE: INEVITABLE OR IMPOSSIBLE? Overview. Becoming Europe: The EU as Catalyst. The Mother of All Treaties: The European Constitution. Is Europe Weak? Summary and Conclusions. INDEX.