Yale University

Political Science 366b/755b

European Politics
David R. Cameron Wednesdays, 1:30 - 3:20
Spring, 2017 202 Rosenkranz Hall

I. Introduction

This seminar examines contemporary politics in Europe, defined broadly, la de Gaulle, as

the more than three-dozen countries that extend from the Atlantic to the Urals. While the seminar
will often focus on politics in particular countries, it is organized around a series of themes that
apply to several, many, or all of the countries. The seminar will consider the similarities and
differences among the countries in their political institutions, the reasons those institutional
differences exist and their consequence on politics and policy. For example, it will consider the
various ways in which political executives and legislatures are selected and relate to each other and
will compare the effects of presidential vs. parliamentary government, proportional vs. majoritarian
forms of representation, unitary vs. federal forms of state organization, and political centralization
vs. decentralization. The seminar will also consider the various forms of economic organization that
exist in Europe; although all of the countries have market-oriented economies, they vary widely in
the nature of the relationships that exist between the public and private sectors and within the
private sectors themselves. The seminar will consider the various ways through which the states
provide social and economic assistance to their citizens and the varying degrees to which the
welfare states have expanded or have been subjected to cutbacks in programs and funding in recent
years. The seminar will also consider electoral politics and political parties. It will explore the
social bases of support for various parties and how they have been changing, the growth in support
for eurosceptic and xenophobic parties and movements that are challenging the status quo
throughout Europe and why they are much stronger in some countries than in others. In that regard,
the seminar will devote particular attention to the support for and possible consequences of the June
referendum in the United Kingdom in which a narrow majority voted in favor of leaving the EU,
the support for the Front National and for Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election in April
and May, the eroding support for Angela Merkels CDU and the growing support for the far-right
AfD in Germany, and the support for similar parties and movements in the Netherlands, Italy,
Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and other countries in Europe. The seminar will
also consider the support for secessionist movements in some countries most notably, in Catalonia
in Spain and Scotland in the UK. Finally, since a course on European Politics would be incomplete
without considering the role of the EU and its relations with its member states, the seminar will
examine that role and those relationships in the continuing crises involving the eurozone, Russias
annexation of Crimea and aggression in eastern Ukraine, the inflow of refugees from Syria and the
other war-torn states of the Middle East, and the upcoming EU-UK Brexit negotiation.
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II. Course Requirements

This course is open to undergraduate and graduate students with the permission of the
instructor. The enrollment is limited to 18 students. Prior coursework about European politics is
not required but PLSC 166, The New Europe, or a similar introductory course would be helpful
preparation for the seminar. The primary obligation of all students in the class will be to do the
required reading for each week prior to the seminar meeting in which that reading will be discussed,
prepare a one-page critical comment on the reading, and participate in the seminar discussion of the
reading. The required readings for each week are indicated by an asterisk. Non-asterisked books
are other readings related to the weeks topic that may be of interest. Graduate students are
expected to read, in addition in addition to the asterisked reading, one of the non-asterisked readings
each week. All of the required readings will be available at the Yale Bookstore, or via Orbis or will
be posted on the Classes V2 site. Seminar participation will contribute 33 per cent of the overall
grade for the course.

The one-page critical comment on some aspect of the reading under consideration should
not summarize the reading but, rather, address some aspect of the reading or topic that warrants
discussion. It may pose a question that follows from the reading, challenge the author's argument or
analysis, bring other evidence to the question, or simply highlight an interesting question raised by
the reading. Each weeks comment should be emailed to <david.r.cameron@yale.edu> by
Midnight on Tuesday evening. Taken together, the comments will contribute 33 per cent of the
overall grade in the course.

Students will be expected to write a 15-page paper on a topic related to or about some aspect
of European politics. The paper will be due no later than 6 p.m. on the last day of undergraduate
exams, Wednesday, May 10. Political Science majors wishing to use the research paper as their
Senior Essay may do so but must observe the departments requirements regarding the suggested
page length and required due date. The paper will contribute 33 per cent of the overall grade in the
course.

In preparing the research paper, students should be mindful of the rules regarding the
citation of published material that is quoted or drawn upon closely. Students are expected to be
familiar with and adhere to the universitys regulations pertaining to the documentation of sources.
Those regulations can be accessed at http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/cheating-plagiarism-and-
documentation.

III. Office Hours

Prof. Cameron will have office hours in 339 Rosenkranz Hall on Thursdays from 2:30 to
4:30 p.m. and at other times by appointment. When emailing Prof. Cameron for an appointment or
for any other reason, please be sure to include the middle initial.
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IV. Syllabus

Week 1 (Jan. 18) Introduction

Week 2 (Jan. 25) Brexit: A Case Study in British and European Politics

* Cameron, Brexit: Why It Happened and What It Means for the UK and the EU.

Cameron, Brexit will have far-reaching economic, constitutional and geopolitical

consequences, Yale MacMillan Center, June 24, 2016 (at http://macmillan.
yale.edu/news).
Cameron, UK court rules Parliament must approve Brexit notification, Yale
MacMillan Center, Nov. 4, 2016 (at http://macmillan.yale.edu/news)
Cameron, UK learns Brexit is easier said than done, Yale MacMillan Center,
Dec. 22, 2016 (at http://macmillan.yale.edu/news).
George, An Awkward Partner: Britain in the European Community, ch. .
George, ed., Britain and the European Community: The Politics of Semi-
Detachment, ch. 1-15.
House of Commons Library, In Brief: UK-EU Economic Relations, Briefing
Paper, No. 06091, June 13, 2016.e
MacShane, How Britain Left Europe, ch. 1-15.
McLean and McMillan, State of the Union: Unionism and the Alternatives in
the United Kingdom Since 1707, ch. 8-11.
Oliver, Unleashing Demons: The Inside Story of Brexit, ch. 1-10.
Shipman, All Out War: The Full Story of How Brexit Sank Britains Political
Class, ch. 1-32.
Scottish Government, Scotlands Place in Europe, December, 2016.
UK High Court of Justice, R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the EU,
Judgment, Nov. 2, 2016.
UK Supreme Court, Article 50 Brexit Appeal: Written Arguments, References,
and Transcripts, available at https://www.supremecourt.uk/news/article-50-
brexit-appeal.html.
Wall, A Stranger in Europe: Britain and the EU from Thatcher to Blair, ch. 1-10.

Week 3 (Feb. 1) Varieties of European Political Institutions (1)

* Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-

Six Countries, 2nd ed., ch. 1-8. (Yale Bookstore)

Cole, Governing and Governance in France, ch. 1-8.

Conradt, The German Polity, 9th ed., ch. 5-9 .
Elgie and Grossman, eds., The Oxford Handbook of French Politics, ch. 1-48.
Gunther and Montero, The Politics of Spain, ch. 1-6.
Hancock, ed., Politics in Europe, 6th ed., ch. 1-7.
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Jones and Norton, Politics UK, 7th ed., ch. 5-20.

Leach, Coxall, Robins, British Politics, 2nd ed., ch. 1-24.
Newell, The Politics of Italy: Governance in a Normal Country, ch. 1-10.

Week 4 (Feb. 8) Varieties of European Political Institutions (2)

* Lijphart, Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-

Six Countries, 2nd ed., ch. 9-16. (Yale Bookstore)

Brzel, States and Regions in the European Union, ch. 1-12.

Cowles, Caporaso, and Risse, eds., Transforming Europe: Europeanization and
Domestic Political Change, Ch. 1-7.
Hooghe and Marks, Multi-Level Governance and European Integration, ch. 1.
Kelemen, The Rules of Federalism: Institutions and Regulatory Politics in the EU
and Beyond, ch. 1-2,4, 6.
Mny, Muller and Quermonne, eds., Adjusting to Europe: The Impact of the
EU on National Institutions, ch. 2-8.
Ziblatt, Structuring the State: The Formation of Italy and Germany and the
Puzzle of Federalism, ch. 1-2, 4-5, 7.

Week 5 (Feb. 15) Creating Democratic Polities in Post-Communist Europe

* Vachudova, Europe Undivided: Democracy, Leverage, & Integration After

Communism,ch. 1-8.
* Cameron, Post-Communist Democracy: The Impact of the European Union,
Post-Soviet Affairs, 2007. (To be distributed)

Bunce, McFaul, and Stoner-Weiss, eds., Democracy and Authoritarianism in

the Postcommunist World, ch. 1-6.
Bunce and Wolchik, eds., Defeating Authoritarian Leaders in Postcommunist
Countries, ch. 1-4.
Dawisha and Parrott, eds., The Consolidation of Democracy in East-Central
Europe, ch. 1-9.
Grzymala-Busse, Redeeming the Communist Past: The Regeneration of
Communist Parties in East Central Europe, ch. 1-5.
Grzymala-Busse, Rebuilding Leviathan: Party Competition and State Exploitation
in Post-Communist Democracies, ch. 1-5.
Kitschelt, Mansfeldova, Markowski, and Tka, Post-Communist Party Systems:
Competition, Representation, and Inter-Party Competition, ch. 1-2.
Levitsky and Way, eds., Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the
Cold War, ch. 1-8.
Orenstein, Out of the Red: Building Capitalism and Democracy in
Postcommunist Europe, ch. 1-5.
Wolchik and Curry, eds., Central and East European Politics: From
Communism to Democracy, ch. 1-9, 19.
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Week 6 (Feb. 22) Varieties of European Electoral Systems

* Boix, Setting the Rules of the Game: The Choice of Electoral Systems in
Advanced Democracies, American Political Science Review, 1999.
(Available on Orbis or Google Scholar)
* Iversen and Soskice, Electoral Institutions and the Politics of Coalitions: Why
Some Democracies Redistribute More Than Others, American Political
Science Review, 2006. (Available on Orbis or Google Scholar)

Boix, Electoral Markets, Party Strategies and Proportional Representation,

American Political Science Review, 2010.
Cusack, Iversen and Soskice, Economic Interests and the Origins of Electoral
Systems, American Political Science Review, 2007.
Grofman and Lijphart, eds., Electoral Laws and Their Political Consequences,
ch. 1-6, 9-12.
Shugart and Wattenberg, eds., Mixed-Member Electoral Systems: The Best of
Both Worlds? ch. 1-3, 5, 1-1, 15, 21-23.
Taagepera and Shugart, Seats and Votes: The Effects and Determinants of
Electoral Systems, ch. 1-12.

Week 7 (Mar. 1) Varieties of European Capitalism

* Hall and Soskice, eds., Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations

of Comparative Advantage, ch. 1-2.
* Hanck, ed., Debating Varieties of Capitalism: A Reader, ch. 1-3, 8-9.

Atkinson, Inequality, ch. 1-10.

Boix, Democracy and Redistribution, ch. 1-7.
Cameron, Creating Market Economies after Communism: The Impact of the
European Union, Post-Soviet Affairs, 2009.
Hall, Governing the Economy: The Politics of State Intervention in Britain and
Europe, ch. 5, 8-10.
Hanck, Rhodes, and Thatcher, eds., Beyond Varieties of Capitalism: Conflict,
Contradictions, & Complementarities in the European Economy, ch. 1-2.
Martin and Swank, The Political Construction of Business Interests:
Coordination, Growth and Equality, ch. 1-10.
OECD, Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD
Countries.
Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, intro., ch. 1-16, conclusion.
Shonfield, Modern Capitalism: The Changing Balance of Public and Private
Power, ch. 4-9, 11-12.
Streeck, Buying Time: The Delayed Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, intro,
ch. 1-4.
Zysman, Governments, Markets, and Growth: Financial Systems and the Politics
of Industrial Change, ch. 1-5.
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Week 8 (Mar. 8) Varieties of European Welfare States

* Esping-Andersen, The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, ch. 1-4, 6-7.

Castles, Liebfrried, Lewis, Obinger, Pierson, eds., The Oxford Handbook of the
Welfare State, ch. 1-48.
Huber and Stephens, Development and Crisis of the Welfare State: Parties and
Policies in Global Markets, ch. 1-8.
Iversen, Capitalism, Democracy, and Welfare, ch. 1-6.
Kersbergen, Social Capitalism: A Study of Christian Democracy and the
Welfare State, ch. 1-8.
Kersbergen and Manow, eds., Religion, Class Coalitions, and Welfare States,
ch. 1-10.
Mares, Taxation, Wage Bargaining and Unemployment, intro, ch. 1-7.
Mares, The Politics of Social Risk: Business and Welfare State Development,
ch. 1-7.
Pontusson, Inequality and Prosperity: Social Europe vs. Liberal America, ch. 1-9.
Rothstein, Just Institutions Matter: The Moral and Political Logic of the
Universal Welfare State, ch. 1-9.
Swenson, Capitalists Against Markets: The Making of Labor Markets and
Welfare States in the United States and Sweden, ch. 1-2, 4-6.

Week 9 (Mar. 15) Retrenchment and Reform of European Welfare States

* Kersbergen and Vis, Comparative Welfare State Politics: Development,

Opportunities and Reform, ch. 1-10. (Yale Bookstore)

Atkinson, The Economic Consequences of Rolling Back the Welfare State,

ch. 1-8.
Clayton and Pontusson, Welfare-State Retrenchment Revisited: Entitlement
Cuts, Public Sector Restructuring, and Inegalitarian Trends in
Advanced Capitalist Societies, World Politics, 1998.
Esping-Andersen, Welfare States in Transition: National Adaptations in Global
Economics, ch. 1-3.
Hall and Lamont, eds., Social Resilience in the Neo-Liberal Era, ch. 1-12.
Husermann, The Politics of Welfare State Reform in Continental Europe,
ch. 1-9.
. Pierson, Dismantling the Welfare State? Reagan, Thatcher and the Politics of
Retrenchment, ch. 1-7
Rothstein and Steinmo, Restructuring the Welfare State: Political Institutions
and Policy Change, ch. 1-9.
Swank, Global Capital, Political Institutions, and Policy Change in Developed
Welfare States, ch. 1-10.
Thelen, Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity, ch.
1-8.
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Week 10 (Mar. 29) European Responses to the Great Recession

* Bermeo and Pontusson, eds., Coping with Crisis: Government Reactions to the
Great Recession, ch 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10, 12. (Yale Bookstore)

Akerlof, Blanchard, Romer and Stiglitz, eds., What Have We Learned:

Macroeconomic Policy After the Crisis, ch. 1-29.
Bermeo, ed., Unemployment in the New Europe, ch. 1-3, 6-11.
Bermeo, ed., Unemployment in Southern Europe, ch. 1-12.
Eichengreeen, Hall of Mirrors: The Great Depression, the Great Recession and
the Uses and Misuses of History, intro, ch. 1-26, concl.
Gourevitch, Politics in Hard Times: Comparative Responses to International
Economic Crises, ch. 1-6.
Grusky, Western, and Wimer, eds., The Great Recession, ch. 1-10.
Krugman, The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008,
intro, ch. 1-10, epilogue
Schfer and Streeck eds., Politics in the Age of Austerity, ch. 1-11.
Wolf, The Shifts and the Shocks: What Weve Learned and Still Have to
Learn from the Financial Crisis, ch. 1-9.

Week 11 (Apr. 5) Partisan Politics Before and After the Great Recession

* Bermeo and Bartels, eds., Mass Politics in Tough Times: Opinions, Votes,
and Protest in the Great Recession, ch. 1-11. (Yale Bookstore)

Boix, Political Parties, Growth and Equality, ch. 1-7.

Cronin, Ross, and Shoch, eds., Whats Left of the Left: Democrats and Social
Democrats in Challenging Times, parts 1-3.
Culpepper, Hall, and Palier, eds., Changing France: The Politics that Markets
Make, ch. 1-11.
Daley, ed., The Mitterrand Era: Policy Alternatives and Political Mobilization
in France, ch. 3.
Esping-Andersen, Politics Against Markets: The Social Democratic Road to
Power, ch. 1-10.
Goldthorpe, ed., Order and Conflict in Contemporary Capitalism: Studies in the
Political Economy of Western European Nations, ch. 7.
Kitschelt, The Transformation of European Social Democracy, ch. 1-7.
Korpi, The Democratic Class Struggle, ch. 1-10.
Pontusson, The Limits of Social Democracy, ch. 1-8.
Przeworski, Capitalism and Social Democracy, ch. 1-6.
Rothstein, The Social Democratic State: The Swedish Model and the
Bureaucratic Problem of Social Reforms, ch. 1-5.
Scharpf, Crisis and Choice in European Social Democracy, ch. 1-12.
Shapiro and Reeher, eds., Power, Inequality, and Democratic Politics, ch. 12.
Stephens, The Transition from Capitalism to Socialism, ch. 1-7.
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Week 12 (Apr. 12) Immigration and Integration

* Fetzer and Soper, Muslims and the State in Britain, France, and Germany,
ch. 1-6. (Yale Bookstore)

Bowen, Why the French Dont Like Headscarves: Islam, the State and Public
Space, ch. 1-10.
Brubaker, Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the
New Europe, ch. 1, 3-4, 6.
Buruma, Murder in Amsterdam: Liberal Europe, Islam, and the Limits of
Tolerance, ch. 1-7.
Caldwell, Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the
West, ch. 1-12.
Dancygier, Immigration and Conflict in Europe, ch. 1-9.
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, Annual Reports.
Howard, The Politics of Citizenship in Europe, ch. 1-8.
Jopke, Veil: Mirror of Identity, ch. 1-5.
Kelley, Ethnic Politics in Europe, ch. 1-9.
Lahav, Immigration and Politics in the New Europe: Reinventing Borders,
ch. 1-6.
Luedtke, ed., Migrants and Minorities: The European Response, ch. 1-15.
Schain, The Politics of Immigration in France, Britain, and the United States,
ch. 1-7.
Sasse and Thielemann, eds., Special Issue: Migrants and Minorities in Europe,
Journal of Common Market Studies, 2005.
Weil, How to be French: Nationality in the Making Since 1789, ch. 1-10.

Week 13 (Apr. 19) The Rise of the Xenophobic Right

* Art, Inside the Radical Right: The Development of Anti-Immigration Parties in

Western Europe, ch. 1-7. (Yale Bookstore)

Betz and Immerfall, eds., The New Politics of the Right: Neo-Populist Parties and
Movements in Established Democracies, ch. 1-10.
Davies, The National Front in France: Ideology, Discourse and Power, ch. 1-4.
Ellinas, The Media and the Far Right in Western Europe: Playing the Nationalist
Card, ch. 1-7.
Givens, Voting Radical Right in Western Europe, ch. 1-8.
Ignazi, Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe, ch. 1-12.
Kriesi and Pappas, European Populism in the Shadows of the Great Recession,
ch. 1-18.
Mudde, Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe, ch. 1-13 .
Mudde, The Populist Radical Right: A Reader, intro, ch. 1-32, concl.
Mudde, Three Decades of Populist Radical Right Parties in Western Europe: So
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What?, European Journal of Political Research, 2013.

Schain, Zolberg, and Hossay, eds., Shadows Over Europe: The Development and
Impact of the Extreme Right in Europe, ch. 1-12.
Simmons, The French National Front: The Extremist Challenge to Democracy,
ch. 1-11.
Stockemer, The Front National in France: Continuity and Change Under Jean-
Marie Le Pen and Marine Le Pen, ch. 1-12.

Week 14 (Apr. 26) The EUs Democratic Deficit and Crisis of Legitimacy

* Cameron, The Democratic Deficit and Crisis of Legitimacy in the European

Union. (To be distributed)
* Fllesdal and Hix, Why There is a Democratic Deficit in the EU: A Response to
Majone and Moravcsik, Journal of Common Market Studies, 2006.
(To be distributed.)

European Parliament, Results of European Parliament Elections at http://www.-

europarl.europa.eu/parliament/archives/elections2014/en/index_en.html.
Harmsen and Spiering, Euroscepticism: Party Politics, National Identity and
European Integration, ch. 1-10.
Hix, Whats Wrong with the European Union and How to Fix It, ch. 1-8, 10.
Hobolt, Europe in Question: Referendums on European Integration, ch. 1-9.
Majone, Europes Democratic Deficit: The Question of Standards, European
Law Journal, 1998
Mny, De la dmocratie en Europe: Old Concepts and New Challenges, Journal
of Common Market Studies, 2003.
Moravcsik, In Defence of the Democratic Deficit: Reassessing Legitimacy in the
European Union, Journal of Common Market Studies, 2002.
Scharpf, Governing in Europe: Effective and Democratic?, ch. 1-5.
Szczerbiak and Taggart, eds., EU Enlargement and Referendums, ch. 1-9.
Taggaart, A Touchstone of Dissent: Euroscepticism in Contemporary Western
European Party Systems, European Journal of Political Research, 1998.
Taggart and Szczerbiak, eds., Opposing Europe? The Comparative Party Politics
of Euroscepticism, ch. 1-20.
Topaloff, Political Parties and Euroscepticism, ch. 1-5.
Usherwood and Startin, Euroscepticism as a Persistent Phenomenon, Journal of
Common Market Studies, 2013. (To be distributed)