Tempered by the EU? : political parties and party systems before and after accession
By: VACHUDOVA, Milada A
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ArticlePublisher: Oxfordshire, UK : Taylor & Francis, September 2008Journal of European Public Policy 15, 6, p. 861-879Abstract: Party systems of European Union (EU) candidate states follow a predictable evolution over time. Before negotiations begin, most major political parties respond to EU leverage by adopting agendas that are consistent with qualifying for membership. Consequently, the party systems - at least for a while - reflect a consensus on the direction of domestic policy-making. Candidate states where regime change in 1989 was followed by illiberal democracy or authoritarianism are the most interesting. For key parties in these states, pushing for EU accession is a marker of profound moderation in their agendas. Yet after EU accession, the parameters for party competition broaden again. The lifting of accession-related constraints is especially apparent among parties that adopt more nationalist and culturally conservative positions. However, preliminary evidence suggests that such parties have made only modest political gains
Party systems of European Union (EU) candidate states follow a predictable evolution over time. Before negotiations begin, most major political parties respond to EU leverage by adopting agendas that are consistent with qualifying for membership. Consequently, the party systems - at least for a while - reflect a consensus on the direction of domestic policy-making. Candidate states where regime change in 1989 was followed by illiberal democracy or authoritarianism are the most interesting. For key parties in these states, pushing for EU accession is a marker of profound moderation in their agendas. Yet after EU accession, the parameters for party competition broaden again. The lifting of accession-related constraints is especially apparent among parties that adopt more nationalist and culturally conservative positions. However, preliminary evidence suggests that such parties have made only modest political gains
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