A Tool in the Toolbox: Assessing the Impact of EU Membership on Party Politics in Slovakia

Abstract

Although EU accession created some expectations of change, an examination of party politics in Slovakia demonstrates the limited impact of EU membership on party organization and programmes during the first four years of membership. Moreover, distinguishing between ad hoc and coordinated change suggests that only weak Europeanization occurred. Nonetheless, the EU played three roles in the post-accession period: as a source of agreement, a reference point, and a measure of competence.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the ECPR General Conference in Pisa in September 2007; at the Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen in Vienna in March 2008; and at a Centre for East European Language Based Area Studies (CEELBAS) workshop at University College London in May 2008. We are grateful to all those who commented on these presentations. In addition, Marek Rybář would like to acknowledge financial support accorded by VEGA (No. 1/4665/07: Integration Strategies of the New EU Member States: Emerging Patterns of Membership). Tim Haughton's contribution draws partially on findings from an ESRC-funded project (RES-000-22-2786).

Notes

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Zsolt Enyedi and Paul Lewis, ‘The Impact of the European Union on Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe’, in Paul Lewis and Zdenka Mansfeldová (eds.), The European Union and Party Politics in Central and Eastern Europe (Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave-Macmillan, 2006), pp.231–49 (p.245).

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Marušiak, ‘Fenomén strany Smer’.

Tim Haughton and Marek Rybář, ‘A Change of Direction: The 2006 Parliamentary Elections and Party Politics in Slovakia’, Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics, Vol.20, No.3 (2004), pp.115–32.

Among the themes prominent in the ‘other’ category were energy, transport, and sport.

Haughton and Rybář, ‘A Change of Direction’.

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Sme, 18 Dec. 2006.

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ČTK news agency, 9 Jan. 2007.

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Radio Slovakia International, 15 Dec. 2006.

See Sikk's contribution to this collection.

Nat Copsey and Tim Haughton, ‘The Choices for Europe: National Preference Formation in Old and New Member States’, Journal of Common Market Studies, Vol.47, No.2 (2009), pp.263–86.

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Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tim Haughton

Tim Haughton is Senior Lecturer in the Politics of Central and Eastern Europe at the University of Birmingham. He is currently undertaking research on party politics in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the electoral fortunes of ‘new’ and ‘populist parties’, and has embarked on an ESRC-funded project examining National Preference Formation in three new EU Member States: Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

Marek Rybář

Marek Rybář is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Comenius University, Bratislava. His main research interests include party politics in East-Central Europe and the impact of EU membership on the domestic politics of the region.