Politics and Society in Western Europe

Politics and Society in Western Europe is a comprehensive introductory text for students of Western European and comparative politics. The book presents a thorough description and analysis of the major political systems of Western Europe, their party systems and the decision-making institutions of government.A dominant theme is that institutional arrangements and political stability are determined by underlying social cleavages.The substantial description of these social cleavages -- class, ethnicity, regional identity and religion -- gives the reader a clear picture of contemporary European society and politics.The book begins with an overview of the theory on comparative politics and political sociology. Throughout it examines key theoretical ideas, such as political stability and conflict, and tests them against wide-ranging empirical data on European politics.The diverse experiences of political stability in Western European countries since 1945 are revealed and accounted for by considering their political and social causes.