Government and Politics in EuropeOctober 30, 2014

By Hung-jen Wang王宏仁

Today’s OutlineEuropean Constitutions and PoliticsParty Systems and Party Politics (Brief

intro.)Presentations: Group 5 and 6Appendix: Questions of “debating about

Europe’s future”

European Constitutions and Politics

Introduction: “the rules of the game”The “rules of the game”, not only play an

important role in U.S., but also play a large part in determining European politics.

European constitutions contain a number of common features but also exhibit some significant variation.

In recent years, there has been a clear trend toward the “judicialization” of politics and the “politicization” of the judicial system.

The Origins of ConstitutionsVarious waves of constitution-making: (1) at the end of

Napoleonic wars: countries that regained independence; (2) 1848 revolutions; (3) after the WWI

==> Most of the above constitutions failed to survive.After WWII: (1) new constitutions were adopted by countries

moving from autocratic to democratic forms of government (Greece, Portugal, and Spain); (2) when countries embarked on independent statehood (Finland in 1919, and Ireland in 1922); (3)Dramatic changes of regime (Italy in 1948, and Germany in 1949); (4) to adjust the nature of an existing liberal democratic system (France in 1958, Denmark in 1973, Sweden in 1974, Belgium in 1989, and Finland in 2000)

Sometimes, major political changes do not lead to a new constitution: “Basic Law” in Germany, 1949

If nothing dramatic happens, there may seem to be no need for a new constitution: Britain

==> except: 1997~2000==> Britain has no formal codified constitution: which from a number of sources: (1) statute law; (2) EU treaties and Convention on Human Rights; (3) common law; (4) convention; (5) works of authority

Constitutional TraditionsThe spectrum of constitutionalism

France: lack of veneration for constitution

U.S.: the constitution has priority over all things

Most European countries

Amending a ConstitutionBy “referendum”: Denmark, Ireland, and SwitzerlandMinor changes by parliament, but major changes by

referendum: Austria, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Poland, and Spain

In Germany, votes of two-thirds in both Bundestag and the Bundesrat

In France, by one of two ways: Article 89, and Article 11

In Britain: no firm rules and by powerful political cultural constraints

Judicial ReviewTwo forms: Concrete and abstract judicial

reviewFor EU members, the Court of Justice of the

European CommunitiesStrong Judicial Review (Germany) vs. Weak

Judicial Review (U.K.)

Party Systems and Party Politics

Politics of representation in modern Europe is about party politics

Most of these parties can be classified as being “the Christian democratic family”, “the social democratic family”, or “the liberal family”

We will focus on 9 countries because they include most of the types of variation about modern European politics

Appendix