The European Union and Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe examines the influence of the EU on the party politics of the eight post-communist countries that joined the Union in 2004, as well as that of Bulgaria and Romania, from the 1990s and through the first 18 months of EU membership. For much of the decade after the end of communist rule, popular support for EU membership was generally strong, if abstract, in nature and EU influence did not provide the basis for much political conflict or substantive party competition. It was mostly assumed that strengthening European integration would help consolidate the newly emerged party systems and reinforce post-communist democracy. As EU membership became a more practical and immediate prospect however, currents of Euroscepticism grew and after accession in May 2004 there was extensive government instability throughout the region. As well as conducting a multi-facetted examination of the influence of the EU on parties, party systems, public opinion and voting patterns, this volume also confronts the broad question of whether EU membership will indeed act to consolidate democratic party government in Central and Eastern Europe or produce new tendencies of Euroscepticism that strengthen extremism and undermine democratic stability.

List of Tables
List of Figures
Notes on Contributors
The EU and Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe: Questions and Issues; P.G.Lewis
The Impact of the EU on the Czech Party System; L.Linek & Z.Mansfeldová
From 'Sexy Men' to 'Socialists Gone Nuts': The European Union and Estonian Party Politics; A.Sikk
Playing with Europe: The Impact of European Integration on the Hungarian Party System; Z.Enyedi
Does Europe Matter?: The EU and Latvia's Political Parties; J.Ikstens
Europeanization without Party Involvement: The Case of Lithuania; K.Duvold & M.Jurkynas
EU Membership and the Polish Party System; R.Markowski
Slovak Political Parties and the EU: From Symbolic Politics to Policies; K.Henderson
The European Union and Party Politics in Slovenia: An Apparent or Real Impact?; A.KraŠovec, D.Lajh & S.Kustec-Lipicer
The Impact of EU Integration on the Bulgarian Party System; D.Stoyanov
Accession without Integration? The Impact of EU Enlargement on the Romanian Party System; R.Grecu
The Impact of the European Union on Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe; Z.Enyedi & P.G.Lewis
Index

PAUL G. LEWIS is Professor of European Politics at the Open University, UK. His publications include Political Parties in Post-Communist Eastern Europe (2000) and Party Development and Democratic Change in Post-Communist Europe: The First Decade (2001).

ZDENKA MANSFELDOVÁ is a Senior Researcher and Head of Department of the Sociology of Politics at the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Her research focuses on political institutionalization and the representation of interests, both in political terms (parties and parliament) and the non-political meso-structures of social interests.