Political Studies Association of the UK

POSME: Research Group on Politics and Society in Mediterranean Europe

Welcome to the POSME Home Page

POSME is one of the research groups organised by members of the UK-based Political Studies Association. Members of POSME have an active research or teaching interest in the politics and society of the European countries in the Mediterranean basin. The group meets formally at the PSA annual conference (last meeting at the University of Nottingham, March 1999) as well as informally in parallel with conferences and workshop meetings all across the UK.

The group has as a goal the promotion of links between members in order to facilitate the growth of research in the field. The prospect of 'deepening' of European integration makes the EU Mediterranean countries, their politics and society increasingly relevant to political interaction at the European level. The possibility of 'widening' the European Union towards the Mediterranean (i.e. Cyprus and Malta) naturally increases interest in the politics and society of the region.

Services to POSME Members: POSME provides its members with a copy of its research register which contains information on social science researchers with an interest in the field. POSME regularly convenes panels as a part of the annual PSA conference as well as organising workshops and short conferences. Members of POSME are also eligible for reductions in subscriptions to specialist publications and academic journals.

We are always interested on any pertinent information on ongoing research projects, forthcoming conferences, recently submitted research dissertations, recent publications, research forums and work (or web links) of similar research associations. Information on any activities will be promoted through our web pages. We also welcome any suggestions you may have on future activities for POSME.

For further information on the work of POSME, you can contact the co-convenors:

A series of EU funded summer schools take place annually:

The first was held between 6-18 July 1998 in Crete with the theme: "The reshaping of the welfare state".

In 1999 the summer school took place in Lisbon and focused on "Decentralisation and Federalism".

In the year 2000 the summer school will take place in Siena and Florence and will be concerned with "The Impact of the EU on Southern Europe".

For further information contact, professor Maurizio Cotta, University of Siena (cotta@unisi.it).

ECPR, Warwick Joint Sessions of Workshops, 23-28 March 1998.

Listed below are selected papers with a focus on Southern Europe. Copies of these papers can be requested directly from ECPR Central services: University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.

  1. Arregui, Javier (Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas, Madrid) Policy Commitments and Party Relations in Spanish Politics
  2. Bardi, Luciano (Universita di Bolognia) The Functionality of Italian Parties
  3. Biorcio, Roberto (Universita di Milano) The Role of the Northern League in Italian Political System Transformation
  4. Bull, Martin (University of Salford) & Campus, Donatella (University of Essex) Changing Political Attitudes in Italy: A Study of the 1996 Elections
  5. Canel, Maria Jose & Sanders, Karen (University of Sheffield) The buck stops here but so does the sleaze: constructing prime ministerial plausible deniability in Socialist Spain and Conservative Britain
  6. Della Porta, Donatella (Universita di Firenze) The Judiciary and Politics
  7. Donovan, Mark (University College of Wales, Cardiff) Is there a Place for Charisma in Contemporary Politics?
  8. Fabbrini, Segio (Universita di Trento) The Italian Experience with Consensualism
  9. Ferrera, Maurizio (Universita di Pavia) & Fusaro, Carlo (Universita di Piza) The Politics of Constitutional Reform in Italy
  10. Gallego-Calderon, Raquel (London School of Economics) Explaining New Public management Implementation Failures from a Transaction Costs Approach: The Case of the Catalan Health Administration
  11. Graus I Creus, Mirela (EUI, Florence) Intergovernmental Policy Making in Spain: Cracks in the System
  12. Guarnieri, Carlo (Universita di Bologna), Hine, David (Christ Church College, University of Oxford) & Hopkin , John (University of Birmingham) Party Collapse and the Italian Case: A Theoretical Framework and Preliminary Findings
  13. Isernia, Pierangelo (Universita di Siena) Italian Support for the Use of Force Lobo, Marina Costa St Anthonyss College, Oxford, The Role of Political Parties in the Portuguese Democratic Process
  14. Martin, James (Queens University of Belfast) Interpreting Italys Crisis
  15. Massari, Oreste (Universita di Roma) The Constitutional Reform in Italy
  16. Morlino, Leonardo(Universita di Firenze), Newell, James (University of Salford) & Venturino, Fulvio (Universita di Genoa) Issue Voting in Italy: The Role of Political Sophistication
  17. Pagoulatos, George (University of Athens) Policy Paradigms and Ideas of National Exceptionalism: Lessons from Southern Europe
  18. Roncarolo, Franca (Universita di Torino) Prime Ministers Media Relations: Recent Italian Cases
  19. Ruesta, Maria Bustelo (Universidad de Madrid) Regional Public Policies and Gender Equality in Spain: Analysis and Evaluation
  20. Sanchez De Dios, Manuel(Universidad de Madrid) The Spanish Welfare State under the PSOE Government (1982-1993)
  21. Valiente, Celia (Universidad de Madrid) Gender Equality Institutions and Public Policy Debates: The Case for Job Training in Spain (1983-1998)
  22. Warner, Carolyn (University of Harvard) Getting Out the Vote with Patronage and Threat: Constructing the French and Italian Christian Democratic Parties, 1944-58.

Register of Research on Politics and Society in Mediterranean Europe

This publication is compiled with a view to facilitate the interaction among individual researchers as well as to provide an over-view of the direction of research in the field.

Information was kindly provided by the researchers listed on the register. We would welcome the opportunity to include your research profile or if you are already included to append your details with an update on your research. Entries are encouraged from researchers working on Southern Europe from all disciplines of the social sciences.

Please contact Dimitrios Christopoulos for a copy of the questionnaire or a copy of the register at the : Faculty of Economics and Social Science, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, e-mail: DC.Christopoulos@uwe.ac.uk

Some useful links:

Maintained by: Dimitrios Christopoulos (DC.Christopoulos@uwe.ac.uk),
Last updated: 11 October 1999.