Reforming Democracy: Institutional Engineering in Western Europe (Comparative Politics) – eBook

Description

**Reforming Democracy: Institutional Engineering in Western Europe (Comparative Politics)** is an essential addition to the library of educators, researchers, and scholars specializing in political science, focusing on the intricate dynamics of contemporary governance and political structures. This comprehensive series is globally recognized for its commitment to comparative analysis and robust methodological integrity. It is proudly published in collaboration with the esteemed European Consortium for Political Research.

Why, when, and how do democratic institutions undergo reform? At the heart of this inquiry lies the pressing issue of the crises faced by representative democracy today. Core democratic rules, which govern the intricate relationships between political elites, parties, and citizens, are pivotal to the stability and efficacy of any political system. This ebook investigates the motivations, contexts, and mechanisms that drive institutional engineering within established European democracies from 1990 to 2015. It specifically examines the critical decisions made by political elites to implement— or avoid implementing— institutional engineering in response to various challenges.

**Reforming Democracy: Institutional Engineering in Western Europe** enriches our empirical understanding of democratic reforms through a newly developed dataset that spans six dimensions of reform across 18 European nations. Importantly, it sheds light on the relationship between diminished political support and the need for democratic reforms, as well as how electoral changes can invigorate these reform initiatives. This research illustrates that the outcomes of reforms are significantly influenced by both the nature of the reform itself and the methods employed during the debating phase of the reform process, utilizing insightful case studies from Italy, Ireland, and France.

Ultimately, this ebook challenges the prevailing notion that reforms of core democratic rules are rare. It asserts that such reforms are, in fact, a common response from beleaguered political elites confronting a decline in political support and shifting electoral landscapes.

Edited by a distinguished trio—Emilie van Haute, Professor of Political Science at Université libre de Bruxelles; Ferdinand Muller-Rommel, Director at the Center for the Study of Democracy, Leuphana University; and Susan Scarrow, Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston—this series highlights the multifaceted nature of democratic governance.

NOTE: Only the PDF document is included.