【精品】PPT课件 Contemporary Europe.ppt

Contemporary Europe
Similarities to the USA
Most are democratic political systems
Multi-party systems
Elections
Representative democracy
Most are capitalist economic systems
The Euro: the main currency
Racism and Ethnic Tensions
The former Yugoslavia
Parts of France and Germany
Religious Tensions
Ireland/Northern Ireland
Turkey
The former Yugoslavia
Dissimilarities to the USA
Some have monarchies
Belgium, Sweden, and Spain
Parliamentary systems of government
Single currency officially dominates a continent
More potent density
Very strong notions about the role of government and social welfare
Major Focal Points Lately
Iraq
Major source of contention between the Europeans and the Americans
Germany and France actively opposed military action
Euro vs. The US Dollar
Turkey and entrance into the EU
Greek-Cyprus Issue
France: political scandal
Germany: human services policy reform
Russian Fed: Chechnya, jailing of businessmen opposed to Putin
EU Court Battle with Microsoft
Ireland/Northern Ireland: IRA moving anized crime?
European Politics In General
EU Parliament
National Parliaments/Assemblies
Multi-Party Democracies
Parliamentary Systems of Government
Majority Party rules
Votes of “no confidence”
“Question Times”
Parliamentary Systems Differ
Differences in structure depending on which country we are talking about
Some countries have strong, elected Heads of State (France)
Most Heads of State are primarily ceremonial
Some employ “proportional representation”
Western Europe
Typically more “western”
Democratic political systems
Rule of law
Stable political systems
Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus
Capitalist systems either strongly industrial or post-industrial
Eastern Europe
Countries that used to be under the “Warsaw Pact”
Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, The Baltics, Ukraine, Russian Fed, Bulgaria
munist countries
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