Europarties After Enlargement

"On the one hand, the EU enlargement of 2004/7 brought into the EU 12 new member states ten of which are post-communist countries. On the other, the Lisbon Treaty signed in 2007 states that the 'Union shall be founded on representative democracy' and its political parties contribute 'to express the will of the citizens'. Is representative (party) democracy possible in the enlarged and more diverse Union? What are the constraints and opportunities for its political parties? This study provides a systematic assessment of the impact of enlargement on political parties at the EU level. Theoretically, it builds on the literature on partisan formation and development to frame the consequences of the Union's widening. Empirically, it undertakes an extensive analysis combining qualitative and quantitative methodologies"--