Richard Rose

In the days when Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee faced each other in the House of Commons, there was disagreement about whose hands should be on the Mace, the symbol of power at Westminster. Everyone assumed that the hands on the Mace would be British. In the past half century, the Prime Minister's power at Westminster has increased greatly, but it has diminished in the worlds beyond. In Westminster, the Prime Minister is now first without equal. But in councils of the European Union, he or she is only one among fifteen national leaders. In a shrinking world the chief issues facing Downing Street today are 'intermestic', an amalgam of domestic politics and international concerns. Tony Blair may say that he is batting for Britain, but cricket skills are no match for an American president playing hard ball, and policy-making in the European Union is definitely not cricket. In an era of television politics, the faces and voices of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair are familiar to every voter, and the press cooperates in turning politicians into media celebrities. But what you see on the box is politics; it has little to do with the policies of British government. Old-school leaders such as Harold Macmillan devoted as much time to policy as to politics. But new-style prime ministers put politics first. Tony Blair wants to speak for all the British people, but the result is 'managed populism', for his voice travels down a one-way street. In Whitehall, Blair's Third Way blunts the cutting edge of policy, leaving officials puzzled about what to do when hard choices arise, especially about Europe. Anyone interested in politics and current affairs, whether a student or a thoughtful reader and viewer, will find insight and illumination in a book that draws on the author's unrivalled first-hand knowledge of British politics over the past half century. Richard Rose's work has been recognized by a lifetime achievement award from the Political Studies Association. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde.

In the days when Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee faced each other in the House of Commons, there was disagreement about whose hands should be on the Mace, the symbol of power at Westminster. Everyone assumed that the hands on the Mace would be British. In the past half century, the Prime Minister's power at Westminster has increased greatly, but it has diminished in the worlds beyond. In Westminster, the Prime Minister is now first without equal. But in councils of the European Union, he or she is only one among fifteen national leaders. In a shrinking world the chief issues facing Downing Street today are 'intermestic', an amalgam of domestic politics and international concerns. Tony Blair may say that he is batting for Britain, but cricket skills are no match for an American president playing hard ball, and policy-making in the European Union is definitely not cricket. In an era of television politics, the faces and voices of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair are familiar to every voter, and the press cooperates in turning politicians into media celebrities. But what you see on the box is politics; it has little to do with the policies of British government. Old-school leaders such as Harold Macmillan devoted as much time to policy as to politics. But new-style prime ministers put politics first. Tony Blair wants to speak for all the British people, but the result is 'managed populism', for his voice travels down a one-way street. In Whitehall, Blair's Third Way blunts the cutting edge of policy, leaving officials puzzled about what to do when hard choices arise, especially about Europe. Anyone interested in politics and current affairs, whether a student or a thoughtful reader and viewer, will find insight and illumination in a book that draws on the author's unrivalled first-hand knowledge of British politics over the past half century. Richard Rose's work has been recognized by a lifetime achievement award from the Political Studies Association. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and director of the Centre for the Study of Public Policy at the University of Strathclyde.

The collapse of communism has created the opportunity for democracy to spread from Prague to the Baltic and the Black seas. But the alternatives - dictatorship or totalitarian rule - are more in keeping with the traditions of Central and Eastern Europe. Will people put up with new democracies which are associated with inflation, unemployment, crime and corruption? Or will they return to some form of authoritarian regime? Half a century ago, Winston Churchill predicted that people will accept democracy with all its faults - because it is better than anything else that has ever been tried. To find out if Churchill was right, this book analyses a unique source of evidence about public opinion, the New Democracies Barometer, covering the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus and Ukraine. The authors find that there is widespread popular support for democracy compared to communism, dictatorship and military rule. People who have been denied democratic freedoms value new political rights more highly. Economic concerns are second in importance. If democracy fails, it will be because political elites have abused their power, not because the public does not want democracy. Looking at post-communist Europe makes us think again about democracy in countries where it is taken for granted. The abrupt transition to democracy in post-communist countries is normal; gradual evolution in the Anglo-American style is the exception to the rule. Complaints in Western countries about democracy being less than ideal reflect confidence that there is no alternative. Post-communist citizens do not have this luxury: they must make the most of what they have. This important book makes an important contribution to current debates about democratization and democratic theory and to the growing literature on the social and political changes taking place in post-communist societies. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars in politics and sociology.

The collapse of communism has created the opportunity for democracy to spread from Prague to the Baltic and the Black seas. But the alternatives - dictatorship or totalitarian rule - are more in keeping with the traditions of Central and Eastern Europe. Will people put up with new democracies which are associated with inflation, unemployment, crime and corruption? Or will they return to some form of authoritarian regime? Half a century ago, Winston Churchill predicted that people will accept democracy with all its faults - because it is better than anything else that has ever been tried. To find out if Churchill was right, this book analyses a unique source of evidence about public opinion, the New Democracies Barometer, covering the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Belarus and Ukraine. The authors find that there is widespread popular support for democracy compared to communism, dictatorship and military rule. People who have been denied democratic freedoms value new political rights more highly. Economic concerns are second in importance. If democracy fails, it will be because political elites have abused their power, not because the public does not want democracy. Looking at post-communist Europe makes us think again about democracy in countries where it is taken for granted. The abrupt transition to democracy in post-communist countries is normal; gradual evolution in the Anglo-American style is the exception to the rule. Complaints in Western countries about democracy being less than ideal reflect confidence that there is no alternative. Post-communist citizens do not have this luxury: they must make the most of what they have. This important book makes an important contribution to current debates about democratization and democratic theory and to the growing literature on the social and political changes taking place in post-communist societies. It will be of particular interest to students and scholars in politics and sociology.

Lesson-drawing in Public Policy introduces readers to a novel way of thinking about the familiar problems of public policy. It sets out the crucial questions that must be asked in order to draw logical and empirically sound conclusions from observing experiences in the past, or in other places.

The International Almanac is the only up to date source for the history of election results in the Western world from their origins to the present. It provides clear and authoritative information for 25 different countries, ranging alphabetically from Australia to the USA, and geographically across four continents, including Japan and new Mediterranean democracies as well as old Anglo-American and Scandinavian democracies. Each chapter gives a comprehensive list of all parties that have contested one or more elections, its vote at each election and percentage share of the poll, and the number of seats won in the national assembly. The results have been checked from original sources in more than 15 languages. The new edition of the Almanac brings election results up to date and incorporates fresh materials from historical research, while retaining the features that have made the volume the authoritative book on elections.

What determines the loyalties of voters? The factors identified by social scientists range from a politician's last-minute television appeal to the social class of the voter's parents. But which of the many influences are most important electorally? For the first time The Loyalties of Voters offers a convincing answer, firmly based on an analysis of three decades of electoral behaviour.