The Politics Today companion to West European politics

Book abstract:

This book sets out to provide a detailed companion, offering background information on the history of West European Politics. It deals with the period approximately from 1939 at the beginning of the Second World War, right up to December 2001. This time frame was chosen because the writers argue that the Second World War and its aftermath figured as such an important turning point for West European politics in the twentieth century. There are, however, some earlier entries on crucial pre-war developments like the Spanish Civil War and the rise of Nazism. Equally, partly with university politics courses in mind, the writers generally focus on key states like the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, as well as the political system of the European Union (EU), although again there is room in the book for important incidents and figures pertaining to the smaller nations in question.

The work is separated into five major sections, all in alphabetical order. Section one deals with events, groups and developments. It contains entries, for example, from the 'acquis communitaire' to the 'Young Turk's revolt'. Section two is on biographies of major figures; section three explains abbreviations; section four looks at important chronologies in five large countries: the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, as well as at smaller democracies and the question of integration. Section five contains information relating to political systems, from which the book concludes with selected references.

The companion is aimed at students, teachers, and other readers with an interest in the field.