ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. This book examines recent developments and challenges to political parties, party systems and democracy in Europe. It examines the degree to which political parties in Europe are declining or surviving. In the United States, the section on 'European politics and society' of the American political science association (APSA) has initiated the 'Peter Mair memorial award'. Political parties are constantly under change. The speed and the direction of these changes are intrinsically linked to the changes within liberal democracies. The book encompasses concept formation in comparative politics and the impact of political parties on national politics in Ireland and Italy. It also includes the evolution and the transformation of party organizations and party systems. The book concludes different aspects of the 'party-democracy linkage' and can be classified into those that agree and those that disagree with Peter Mair's assumptions and predictions.