scholarly journals When Things Get Personal: How Informal and Personalized Politics Produce Regime Stability in Small States

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-412
Author(s):  
Wouter Veenendaal
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Small States ◽  
Regime Stability ◽  
Informal Politics ◽  
Ideological Parties ◽  
Personalization Of Politics

AbstractThe personalization of politics, the decline of political parties and the weakening of political institutions in large democracies are considered to produce instability and to undermine democratic governance. Yet despite having extremely informal and personalized systems with non-ideological parties, small states around the world maintain significantly higher levels of democracy and regime stability than large ones. This article addresses this paradox by offering a systematic literature review of 167 case study publications on personalization and informal politics in 46 small states. The analysis reveals that personalized relations between political elites translate into either fragmentation or power concentration, while pervasive patron–client linkages structure the interaction between citizens and politicians. Despite the obvious downsides of these dynamics for democratic governance, the small state system is functional in the sense that it fulfils the needs of both citizens and politicians, which explains why small states have succeeded in maintaining their political stability.

Neo-Liberalism and the Decline of Democratic Governance in Australia: A Problem of Institutional Design?

2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Marsh
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Subsequent Evolution ◽  
Preliminary Attempt ◽  
Changing Patterns

This paper is a preliminary attempt to evaluate changing patterns of democratic governance, at least in Westminster-style parliamentary settings, and possibly more generally. It has two specific purposes: first, to propose a paradigm for evaluating the empirical evolution of democratic governance; and second, to illustrate the explanatory potential of this paradigm through a mini-case study of changing patterns of governance in one particular polity. The conceptual framework is drawn from March and Olsen's eponymous study (1995) from which polar (‘thick’ and ‘thin’) forms of democratic governance are derived. Four conjectures about its evolution are then explored. First, in its mass party phase, the pattern of democratic governance approximated the ‘thick’ pole. Second, the subsequent evolution of democratic politics has been in the direction of the ‘thin’ (minimalist or populist) pole. Third, the cause of this shift was a failure to adapt political institutions to changing citizen identities, which was masked by the ascendancy amongst political elites of the neo-liberal account of governance. Fourth, the paper considers the means by which democratic governance might be renewed. The approach is applied to explain changes in Australian politics over recent decades.

Democratization and Cultural Diversity

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Corbett ◽  
Wouter Veenendaal
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The State ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Small States ◽  
Cultural Codes ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Personalization Of Politics

Chapter 3 interrogates the argument that cultural homogeneity is a prerequisite for democratic persistence. The thesis here is that the absence of diverse interests and agreement around cultural norms produces a unified citizenry. This is supported by the view that democracy is harder to sustain in ethnically and religiously diverse societies. The problem is that many small states are ethnically, socially, and linguistically divided and stubbornly democratic. They also tend to operate majoritarian rather than consensual or consociational political institutions. Indeed, in some cases, such as the Melanesian region of the Pacific, it has been argued that hyper-fragmentation actually aides consolidation by ensuring that no group can come to dominate the apparatus of the state. Conversely, many homogenous small states have dominant cultural codes that, when combined with the personalization of politics, stifle pluralism and dissent. So, homogeneity is not a perquisite for democracy any more than economic growth is.

Impact of Political Instability on the Reality of Iraqi Political Parties: A Study According to the Results of the 2018 Elections

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-162
Author(s):  
Hamsa Kahtan Khalaf
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Forces

Abstract The Iraqi political parties had been affected since 2003 by the political pivotal transformations which happened according to the aftermaths of democratic elections , especially under the disruptions of American’s invasion that led in cooperation with its allies in April 2003 .So the social and political situations became ruling according to the new aspects of practicing the new stage of authority as compromise settlements and quota and ethno - sectarian distribution to be as following as compatible with theory of practicing the authority responsibilities(Power sharing ) as what happened now , besides to that all political democracy scene has greatly been distorted because of the instability penetrated within rebuilding the state and its institutions from the beginning as planned by an active powerful political forces . Many functions that are characterized by competitions among the political parties had changed the concepts of exercising democracy in a real way to be done an effective shape ,because of the political and social actors had different role ,which were being a reflection of another reality within the democracy’s process .So that all the situations had been complicated too much owing to the factors of political instability that influenced negatively on the framework of the state , especially the impacts of economic and social factors as of poverty, stagnation , ignorance and disease and another underdevelopment features which predominated over political and social retrogression levels . In addition to that the absence of an efficient administrative elites , which appeared recently under different conditions and circumstances .So it was became very obviously as we know precisely that democracy’s process in Iraq since 2003 was comprehensively undemocratic in practicing because the political forces have not democratic culture that encourage the dialogue to solve all pending problems , and have not abundant tolerance to accept the differences of others parties yet . The phenomenon of the political instability has divided into different varieties by which scattering among the addresses of suspicion and it definitely has a sectarian discourse dimension in case of dealing among each other . So these addresses and dialogues were being away from the political national conformity correctly , because of there was something like definitely as the exclusion and marginalization discourses in order to narrowing any active political party within the political process try to do pro - active role to settle all pending crises . Furthermore , the reality of political life has been under the continuous crises and conflicts over an authority along time not to gain gradually the outcomes of procurement during application the constitution clauses and valid laws , in order to preserving the political stability and to be done more far from the national unity fragmentation and the weakness of political institutions . Finally , we need too much time to reach into condition of stability , especially after opening anew spaces toward active real participation , and because there was a growing need for educated people who could administer the society and the state institutionally by existing strong government, and ultimately peoples will have ability to form new political governing elites later.

Party Systems in Africa

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Basedau
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
The Government

Political party systems are an important element of political systems in Africa and elsewhere. They form the central intermediate institution between the general population and the government. Party systems represent and aggregate diverse political views and group interests, and they form coalitions that then form governments with potentially important consequences of democracy and political stability. Unlike the case in the period directly after independence, African party systems have been overwhelmingly multiparty since the 1990s. As a result, the literature has grown significantly, although most works focus on political parties rather than party systems. Many efforts have been devoted to classification, referring to the legal context as well as, more specifically, the number of relevant parties, the levels of institutionalization, and, less often, the degree of ideological or other polarization. While levels of institutionalization and ideological differences are generally not pronounced, more than half of African party systems have been one-party dominant, of which most are authoritarian. In contrast, two-party and pluralist-party systems, which make up approximately one half of all multiparty systems, are generally more democratic. Besides determining classifications, most analytical work focuses on the determinants of African party systems using quantitative and qualitative as well as macro- and micro-level methodologies. Three determinants are debated: first, ethnicity, which has been cited as the main social cleavage behind African party systems; however, while ethnicity matters, its effects vary and are limited; second, political institutions, especially electoral systems for legislative elections, which only partly explain fragmentation or other features; third, the performance of political parties and rationalist approaches. Scholars largely agree that all of these elements need to be taken into account. While certain functions of party systems may facilitate democratization and political stability or other outcomes, little empirical work exists on the consequences of party systems. Some evidence suggests that highly institutionalized, moderately fragmented, and polarized systems promote democracy. Future research faces many challenges, in particular the development of integrated theory and more fine-grained data, as well as an increased focus on the consequences of party systems.

Democratization and Economic Development

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Corbett ◽  
Wouter Veenendaal
Keyword(s):  
Economic Resources ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Small States ◽  
Regime Stability ◽  
Public Expectations ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Personalization Of Politics ◽  
Freedom House

Chapter 2 interrogates modernization theory and the belief that economic growth is key to explaining why democratic regimes rise and fall. Many small states in Africa, the Caribbean, and most significantly the Pacific are poor but retain high Freedom House scores. Conversely, some small states, in Europe in particular, but also Brunei in Asia, tend to be both richer and poorly scored. This demonstrates that while economic performance is clearly relevant to the survival of regimes, the key link is not how wealthy a country is but how elites both utilize their economic resources and narrate the story of their performance. In poorer states, elites keep public expectations low while rewarding loyal followers via practices of clientelism and patronage. In wealthy states, elites link high living standards with regime stability and centralized authority. Thus, the personalization of politics can have unexpected benefits for democratization, especially in small, poorer countries.

Labour and Racism: Trade Unions and the Selection of Parliamentary Candidates

1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Les Back ◽  
John Solomos
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Candidate Selection ◽  
British Society ◽  
Black Candidates ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Selection Of

The issue of the representation of minorities in political institutions has become central in recent debates about the political sociology of race in British society. This paper uses a case study of a selection process for a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party to explore the dynamics of recent developments. It explores the following questions: What impact have minority activists had on processes of candidate selection? How have political parties responded to demands for the selection of more black candidates?

scholarly journals The Outlooks of Using the European Populists Experience in the Development of Political Parties in the Post-Soviet Space

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Amiantova Irina S. ◽  
Mikhaylova Natalia V.
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Resource Potential ◽  
European Experience ◽  
Substantial Resource ◽  
Limited Degree ◽  
Soviet Space ◽  
The Stability

The study features prospects for the implementation of European experience in the development of political parties in the post-Soviet states. The methodology of the study is based on a combination of descriptive analysis with case study. The article shed light on the fact that the experience of European populists can be successfully employed in the post-Soviet countries, but to a limited degree. First, a favorable environment for its application is present in states where there is no vertical power structure that help elites to integrate, and establishment groups have a substantial resource potential and can politically challenge respective opponents’ control over key political institutions. Accordingly, it can be employed at the regional level, in depressed areas that are not essential to the stability of the political system and have long been governed ineffectively. Bearing in mind ways and means of the European populists, it can be concluded that in order to avoid sanctions their experience can be successfully applied by those groups within the non-mainstream opposition that are exploited by the factions of the ruling establishment to organize attacks on competitors.

2018 Fiji Election Results: Patterns of Voting by Provinces, Rural-Urban Localities, and by Candidates

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haruo Nakagawa
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
The Political ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Election Results

Akin to the previous, 2014 event, with no data on voter ethnicity, no exit polls, and few post-election analyses, the 2018 Fiji election results remain something of a mystery despite the fact that there had been a significant swing in voting in favour of Opposition political parties. There have been several studies about the election results, but most of them have been done without much quantitative analyses. This study examines voting patterns of Fiji’s 2018 election by provinces, and rural-urban localities, as well as by candidates, and also compares the 2018 and 2014 elections by spending a substantial time classifying officially released data by polling stations and individual candidates. Some of the data are then further aggregated according to the political parties to which those candidates belonged. The current electoral system in Fiji is a version of a proportional system, but its use is rare and this study will provide an interesting case study of the Open List Proportional System. At the end of the analyses, this study considers possible reasons for the swing in favour of the Opposition.

TRENDS AND PROSPECTS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE INSTITUTION OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN MODERN RUSSIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
D.L. TSYBAKOV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Party System ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Party Elites ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
State Bureaucracy ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Post Industrial

The purpose of the article is to assess the nature of the evolution of the institution of political parties in post – Soviet Russia. The article substantiates that political parties continue to be one of the leading political institutions in the modern Russian Federation. The premature to recognize the functional incapacity of party institutions in the post-industrial/information society is noted. It is argued that political parties continue to be a link between society and state power, and retain the potential for targeted and regular influence on strategic directions of social development. The research methodology is based on the principles of consistency, which allowed us to analyze various sources of information and empirical data on trends and prospects for the evolution of the party system in the Russian Federation. As a result, the authors come to the conclusion that in Russian conditions the convergence of party elites with state bureaucracy is increasing, and there is a distance between political parties and civil society.

Diploma Democracy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Bovens ◽  
Anchrit Wille
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
University Graduates ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Organized Interests ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Political Meritocracy ◽  
Almost All

Lay politics lies at the heart of democracy. Political offices are the only offices for which no formal qualifications are required. Contemporary political practices are diametrically opposed to this constitutional ideal. Most contemporary democracies in Western Europe are diploma democracies—ruled by those with the highest formal qualifications. Citizens with low or medium educational qualification levels currently make up about 70 per cent of the electorates, yet they have become virtually absent from almost all political arenas. University graduates have come to dominate all relevant political institutions and venues, from political parties, parliaments and cabinets, to organized interests, deliberative settings, and internet consultations. This rise of a political meritocracy is part of larger trend. In the information society, educational background, like class, or religion, is an important source of social and political divides. Those who are well educated tend to be cosmopolitans, whereas the lesser educated citizens are more likely to be nationalists. This book documents the context, contours, and consequences of this rise of a political meritocracy. It explores the domination of higher educated citizens in political participation, civil society, and political office in Western Europe. It discusses the consequences of this rise of political meritocracy, such as descriptive deficits, policy incongruences, biased standards, and cynicism and distrust. Also, it looks at ways to remedy, or at least mitigate, some of the negative effects of diploma democracy.

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