Nationalist Politics in Europe : The Constitutional and Electoral Dimensions

Nationalism in Europe is often studied in historical, sociological and philosophical ways. The constitutional and electoral dimensions have been comparatively neglected, yet these are very necessary to an understanding of what nationalism means in contemporary Europe. Focusing on electoral support for nationalist parties and for nationalist demands, James G. Kellas provides a detailed and up-to-date survey of nationalist politics in practice. Europe is still dominated by nationalism. Despite some opinions to the contrary, Europe has not replaced nations as the main force of loyalty for citizens. With the advent of democracy in the formerly authoritarian states, first in Spain and Portugal, and then in the former communist bloc, nationalism has become the predominant form of politics along with liberal democracy. This has been expressed in the establishment of nation-states where these did not exist before, and in the widespread demand for national self-determination where this has not previously been granted. Nationalist Politics in Europe describes each state in terms of its constitution, where that impinges on nationality, language, citizenship, and minority rights, including national self-rule. Elections are also analysed to show the strength of electoral nationalism, not only in the voting for nationalist parties, but also in the voting for anti-immigrant or anti-EU parties. Support for European integration is compared with support for nationalism in contemporary politics. Nationalism is seen as the inevitable result of democratic instiutions, and nation-states as the most normal form of democracy today. This does not mean that alternatives are not available, such as 'consociational' multinational states such as Switzerland or Belgium. But they are unusual - James G. Kellas concludes that everywhere in Europe the future lies with nations, even as members of an 'ever-closer' European Union Front Matter....Pages i-vi Introduction....Pages 1-2 States and Nations....Pages 3-22 The British Isles....Pages 23-54 France....Pages 55-80 Spain/España and Portugal....Pages 81-97 Italy/Italia ....Pages 98-107 Germany/Deutschland ....Pages 108-114 The Low Countries (Belgium/ Koninkrijk België/Royaume de Belgique, the Netherlands/Nederland, and Luxembourg)....Pages 115-125 Scandinavia (Iceland/Ísland, Denmark/Danmark, Norway/Norge, Sweden/Sverige, Finland/Suomi)....Pages 126-137 Switzerland/Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera ....Pages 138-145 ‘Mitteleuropa’ (Austria/Osterreich, Hungary/Magyarország, the Czech Republic/Ćeská Republika and Slovakia/Slovenská Republika)....Pages 146-157 The Balkans....Pages 158-192 Poland/Polska ....Pages 193-196 The Baltic Nations (Lithuania/Lietuva, Latvia/Latvija, and Estonia/Eesti)....Pages 197-207 Russia-in-Europe, Belarus and Ukraine....Pages 208-220 Conclusion....Pages 221-225 Back Matter....Pages 226-261