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Which theories best fit a study of the relationship between parties at the na tional and European level? To date, the theoretical underpinning of works on transnational parties has generally reflected the general debate on European integration. As Haas covered the topic of transnational parties, it follows that 74 neofunctionalism has been drawn upon. This has been complemented by 75 transnationalism and domestic policy approaches. As the talk is of parties, 76 the literature on political parties has been used extensively to conceive of transnational parties as a complementary arena to national parties arenas. ?7 78 More recently, the literature on networks has been used, this demonstrating the tendency to treat transnational political parties as an integral part of the ED system in which they are embedded. This move away from International Relations paradigms has also seen comparativists increasing their interest in 79 transnational parties. Again following the general debate on the nature of the 80 ED, new institutionalist approaches have also been used. In this chapter, I shall introduce the main theoretical basis of this study, New Institutionalism, which will be complemented by considerations of the transformation of political parties. Then, a hypothetical concept of 'detach ment' will be introduced to explain the nature of inter-level party relations in the ED. From this, some hypotheses will be extracted which will be put to test in the later case study. 2. 1.
List of contents
1. Parties at the European Level and Research Question.- 1.1 The question of parties at the European level.- 1.2 Transnational parties in the EU.- 1.3 Research interest and question.- 1.4 Research design and method.- 2. Theoretical Background.- 2.1 New institutionalism.- 2.2 Parties as institutions and party change.- 2.3 Hypothesising about detachment and national party reactions.- 2.4 Conclusion.- 3. Setting the Scene: The European Parliament.- 3.1 The EP in the political system of the EU.- 3.2 The EP as an institutional setting for party work.- 3.3 The EP - a new sort of parliament?.- 4. The Group of the Party of European Socialists.- 4.1 History and development.- 4.2 Organisational make-up.- 4.3 The Group of the PES - a detached entity.- 5. The SPD.- 5.1 The SPD - organisation and 'anarchy'.- 5.2 Relations between the SPD leadership and the SPD delegation.- 5.3 SPD in the group of the PES - a summary.- 6. The Labour Party.- 6.1 The Labour Party - organisation and change.- 6.2 Relations between the Labour leadership and the EPLP.- 6.3 Labour in the group of the PES - a summary.- 7. Conclusions - Lessons for European Parties.- 7.1 The SPD and Labour in the group of the PES in the EP - a comparison.- 7.2 Suggestions for improvement.- 7.3 Is detachment legitimate?.- 7.4 Lessons for EU parties and the EU party system.
About the author
Dr. rer. pol. Joey-David Ovey, Fachbereich Sozialwissenschaften, Universität Osnabrück.
Summary
Das englischsprachige Buch zeigt die Beziehungen der SPD und der Labour Party zum Europäischen Parlament.
