Europeanization and the variable influence of the EU: national parties and party systems in Western and Eastern Europe

The literature on the Europeanization of post-communist states often points to the substantial difference between this process and that occurring in the older member states. Primary attention has been drawn to the relationship between the European Union (EU) and the new and prospective member states, namely, conditions laid down in the economic realm—transition to a market economy— and the political realm—monitoring progress in meeting democratic criteria, administrative reform, and the promotion and institutionalization of human rights and minority rights. The direct and indirect involvement of the EU in this transition by post-communist states has no comparable equivalent in Western experiences of either becoming a member of the EU or in subsequent domestic change as a result of membership (i.e. Europeanization). When we turn our attention more specifically to the issue of Europeanization and political parties, there is also a clear difference between the Western and Eastern experiences. This is not surprising, given the fundamental degree of political system change that has and is occurring in post-communist states. Nevertheless, it may be worthwhile to compare and contrast more clearly and explicitly the distinction between the two processes, and in so doing gain further insights into the trajectories of change in each set. Employing Ladrech’s five research dimensions of Europeanization and parties, the paper briefly summarizes in Part 1 findings in each dimension among Western parties, and then contrasts these general findings with those among Eastern/post-communist parties. Due to the constraints of space, the presentation and comparison will remain at a fairly general level of analysis. As the concept of Europeanization is employed in its ‘top-down’ understanding, a consideration of the ‘top’, that is, the EU itself, or more specifically its influence or attraction on its current and prospective member states, will be explored as an explanatory factor in variable Europeanization dynamics. Part 2 therefore explores the variable nature of the