Rethinking green parties : the emergence and electoral success of green parties in Austria, Britain and the Netherlands.

The proliferation of green parties on the European political landscape in recent
decades has prompted much debate concerning the explanation of their
emergence and the factors considered to influence their varying levels of
electoral success. This thesis critically examines a number of perspectives and
concepts drawn from the sociological and political studies literatures which shed
light on these two key issues. Through a comparison of green party politics in
Austria, Britain and the Netherlands, the thesis challenges the assessment of
those who maintain that the emergence and/or electoral success of green parties
can be understood principally in terms of the theory of 'post-materialist' value
change, or in terms of the shift to 'post-industrial' society. Drawing on
contemporary studies of 'high-consequence' risks, it argues for an alternative
approach to understanding the emergence of green parties which is rooted in
processes of social and global environmental change that have taken place during
the post-war period.
The question of green party electoral success is examined by means of the
organisation of a variety of political and institutional factors into four
overarching themes: political state-institutional structures, electoral dealignment
and political competition, modes of interest representation, and internal
dynamics. It is contended that attention to each of these can yield important
insights into the conditions which have impacted on the electoral significance of
green parties in Austria, Britain and the Netherlands. The final part of the thesis
develops a new, ecologically informed approach to the emergence of green
parties based primarily upon a reworking and synthesis of themes explored in
previous chapters.