ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is threefold. First, it seeks to identify the points of agreement and disagreement between the five parties in the immediate postConvention period. Second, given the enduring diversity of these parties’ preferences on European integration – a finding that refutes the argument that associates European integration with convergence – it discusses the sources of the diversity of their preferences. Finally, it draws some broader conclu - sions regarding the nature of social democracy in Europe and the challenge that it faces in the beginning of the twenty-first century. More specifically, the first section of this chapter (a) categorises the current preferences of these parties in terms of the scope, aims and institutions of integration and then (b) discusses the extent to which they have changed over time. The second section examines the extent to which interests, institutions and ideas affect preference formation on European integration in these parties. Drawing on the material presented in the five substantive chapters of this volume, the final section of this chapter outlines the broader implications of this study for our understanding of the nature of social democracy in Europe and the challenges it faces in the early twenty-first century.
