European Policy-making in the SPD

Abstract

Part II looks into the mechanics of policy-making in the SPD in the light of the political parties’ literature tackled in Chapter 1. The examination of ‘policy contexts’ is an especially helpful way of looking at policy formation, as it maps out the central actors and structures that have impacted upon SPD EU policy since 1990. The purpose of the section is to lay out the context for EU policy formation within the SPD, and the pursuit of its policy objectives both in opposition and in government since 1990. The climatic changes described in Chapter 2 demonstrate the transient nature of the policy contexts, and the chapters in this part will seek to bring out this dynamism (Figure 3.1).