European integration has had a profound impact on the politics of Southern Europe, a region that was initially at the margin of the decision-making processes of the European Union, but is gradually becoming more and more influential. This volume offers a comparative overview of modern politics in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece, focusing in particular on the process of integration of these countries into the European Union and on the impact of European public policy. The author analyzes the development of Southern European political systems, from the establishment of democratic governments to the most recent political events, looking at each individual system and finding patterns, similarities of development, as well as differences between them. Among the topics examined are the building of institutions, the parties and party systems, foreign policies, the political culture of each country, and the recent efforts towards the creation of a space of security and peace in the Mediterranean.

This book offers important new insights into recent advances and perspectives in the field of political economy of development in Southeastern European countries. In addition, it provides theoretical and empirical contributions to political economy of development in an international context. Written by authors from Greece, Serbia and Turkey, the book covers a broad spectrum of topics – from macroeconomics and economic policy to international political economy and globalization. Presenting new and original ideas, this is a valuable resource for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding of political economy of development in Southeastern Europe: academicians, policymakers and business practitioners.

The only textbook to provide a complete introduction to post-1989 Central and Southeast European politics, this dynamic volume provides a comprehensive account of the collapse of communism and the massive transformation that the region has witnessed. It brings together 23 leading specialists to trace the course of the dramatic changes accompanying democratization. The text provides country-by-country coverage, identifying common themes and enabling students to see which are shared throughout the area, giving them a sense of its unity and comparability whilst strengthening understanding around its many different trajectories. The dual thematic focus on democratization and Europeanization running through the text also helps to reinforce this learning process. Each chapter contains a factual overview to give the reader context concerning the region which will be useful for specialists and newcomers to the subject alike.

A study of major trends in public finance and fiscal justice in developed capitalist countries since the 1970s.

`Europe is sometimes credited with a `polis,' but not a `demos'. Political integration and economic globalisation cannot diminish local identity and social memories. This fascinating collection of national case studies shows why there will always be a local `demos' located in ecology, economy, and society. But there will never be a transnational `demos', precisely because locality is the basis for meaningful sustainability. Long may it triumph.' Tim O'Riordan, CSERGE, University of East Anglia 'The book offers a refreshing perspective on the diversity of Europe and at the same time, on the interdependence of the policies, economies, and societies of European countries. Going beyond the dichotomies of `good and bad' and `leaders and laggards' in environmental matters, the authors contribute to a different understanding of the North-South divide in the process of European integration.' Angela Liberatore, European Commission, Directorate General for Research `This is a self-consciously revisionist volume, whose findings are theoretically significant, policy-relevant, and timely. Its insistence on `bringing society back in,' its debunking of the notion of a `Mediterranean syndrome,' its emphasis on developmental `leapfrogging' capacity of late-comers to emerge as leaders in contexts of late modernity, and its systematic attempt to reconceptualize the politics of Europeanization should be carefully listed to students and policy-makers concerned with collective action, Southern Europe, European integration, and environmental politics.' P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, University of Athens

Until relatively recently most of southern Europe was governed by authoritarian dictatorships, but within the space of two decades more or less stable democracies have become established throughout the entire region. At the same time, backward peasant economies have been transformed by the injection of huge amounts of capital and new technology, into modern economies which are now approaching the size of the more established economies of Northern Europe. Southern Europe is a major contribution to our understanding of European politics. The product of original research and synthesis on exceptionally wide literature, it provides authoritative and systematic coverage of the politics, economics and society of this important region of Europe from 1945, up to the 1994 election of Silvio Berlusconi's far right alliance in Italy.

The breakdown of authoritarian regimes in Greece, Spain and Portugal in the mid-70s was the beginning of a new cycle of democratization at the world scale. The 1980s have seen the emergence of formal, constitutional democracies in many countries, especially in Latin America and Southeast Asia. This book analyses in a comparative perspective the causes, the modalities and the prospects of these political changes in three regions: Southern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Gegenwärtig erlebt der Süden Europas in der öffentlichen Debatte eine neue Konjunktur. Mit Vorliebe wird dabei ein europäischer Nord-Süd-Gegensatz heraufbeschworen, ohne jedoch auf seine lange Geschichte zu blicken. Wirtschaftlich und politisch unterentwickelt, unterschieden sich Italien, Spanien, Portugal und Griechenland nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg von den sogenannten westeuropäischen Gesellschaften. Zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts schien diese Ungleichheit überwunden. Nun droht die Schuldenkrise den Kontinent erneut zu spalten. Die Beiträge hinterfragen gängige Annahmen und Bilder von "Südeuropa " und ergründen, inwiefern der "Süden" einen homogenen Raum mit strukturellen Gemeinsamkeiten darstellt.

Considering the enormous problems of the Balkans during the 1990s, the experts who contributed to this study believe that there are solutions to the seemingly intractable situation and the legacy of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union.