Tim Bale

In spite of the fact that Conservative, Christian democratic and Liberal parties continue to play a crucial role in the democratic politics and governance of every Western European country, they are rarely paid the attention they deserve. This cutting-edge comparative collection, combining qualitative case studies with large-N quantitative analysis, reveals a mainstream right squeezed by the need to adapt to both 'the silent revolution' that has seen the spread of postmaterialist, liberal and cosmopolitan values and the backlash against those values – the 'silent counter-revolution' that has brought with it the rise of a myriad far right parties offering populist and nativist answers to many of the continent's thorniest political problems. What explains why some mainstream right parties seem to be coping with that challenge better than others? And does the temptation to ride the populist wave rather than resist it ultimately pose a danger to liberal democracy?

This is a fully updated and revised fourth edition of the highly acclaimed textbook, European Politics A lively and thematically organized introduction to the governance and politics of Eu

What do we really mean when we say a political party has changed? And exactly what is it that drives that change? Political scientists working in the comparative tradition have come up with a general

In May 2010, Labour suffered one of its worst ever election defeats. A few months later it chose Ed Miliband as its new leader. His task? To win back power after just one term in opposition - a tall o

This accessible, rigorously researched and highly revealing book lifts the lid on political party membership. It represents the first in-depth study of the UK's six biggest parties – Labour, the Conse

The Conservatives are back, and back with a bang Ð two election wins in a row and, providing they can hold things together till 2020, in a pretty good position to win another. But many questions about