The European People's Party and the East

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaf Wientzek
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Party Development ◽  
European People’S Party ◽  
Party Transformation

Using the example of the European People’s Party’s (EPP) activities in the Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, this book demonstrates that European political parties may, under certain conditions, successfully influence political party transformation in the Eastern European Neighbourhood. In order to cover the highest possible variety of interactions between the EPP and its partner parties, the study examines three different mechanisms of norm promotion: conditionality, persuasion and social influence. While the EPP has influenced its partner parties to a certain extent both on an internal and an external level of party development, certain features of its partner parties have, however, strongly limited its influence, and its partner parties have often been resistant to change. Equally, their compliance with the EPP has frequently been merely rhetorical or formal. Finally, the author suggests a typology of which type of partner parties has been more likely to demonstrate such compliance.

scholarly journals The evolution of the European People’s Party after the integration of parties from Western and Eastern Europe

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Μιχαήλ Πεγκλής
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
People's Party ◽  
European People’S Party ◽  
European Parties ◽  
Academic Discussion ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Eastern European Countries

[…] The aim of this thesis is to review and, based on evidence, re-envisage the foundation and development of the European People’s Party (EPP) through primary research. Through this, we aspire to contribute to the academic discussion on the Europarties within the European integration context. Starting from its creation and early-days period, in the 1970s, as the ‘party’ of the Christian Democratic parties from member states of the European Communities and going through the subsequent integration of political parties from Western and, later on, Eastern European countries, in the 1980s and 1990s to its status at the early 2000s. The originally founded ‘Christian Democratic organisation’ was transformed to a political family, or a ‘network’, of centre-right parties including Christian democratic, conservative and like-minded parties. We will attempt to understand why this change took place, under what reasons, dependent and independent variables, normative conditions, within the historical context. We will follow the timeline of events in the wider context of the European integration that has been underlining, historically, our subject. Ultimately, we are looking for a deeper understanding of this evolution and how does it help understand the broader issue of European parties. Additionally, we are tracing theoretical patterns that its evolution can contribute towards the academic discussion about European integration and their prospects for the future. […]

scholarly journals Why does the European Right accommodate backsliding states? An analysis of 24 European People’s Party votes (2011–2019)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-187
Author(s):  
Lise Esther Herman ◽  
Julian Hoerner ◽  
Joseph Lacey
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
European People’S Party ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Fundamental Values ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

AbstractOver the last decade, the EU’s fundamental values have been under threat at the national level, in particular among several Central and Eastern European states that joined the EU since 2004. During this time, the European People’s Party (EPP) has been criticized for its unwillingness to vote for measures that would sanction the Hungarian Fidesz government, one of its members, in breach of key democratic principles since 2010. In this paper, we seek to understand how cohesive the EPP group has been on fundamental values-related votes, how the position of EPP MEPs on these issues has evolved over time, and what explains intra-EPP disagreement on whether to accommodate fundamental values violators within the EU. To address these questions, we analyse the votes of EPP MEPs across 24 resolutions on the protection of EU fundamental values between 2011 and 2019. Our findings reveal below-average EPP cohesion on these votes, and a sharp increase in the tendency of EPP MEPs to support these resolutions over time. A number of factors explain the disagreements we find. While the EPP’s desire to maintain Fidesz within its ranks is central, this explanation does not offer a comprehensive account of the group’s accommodative behaviour. In particular, we find that ideological factors as well as the strategic interests of national governments at the EU level are central to understanding the positions of EPP MEPs, as well as the evolution of these positions over time. These results further our understanding of the nature of the obstacles to EU sanctions in fundamental values abuse cases, and the role of partisanship in fuelling EU inaction especially.

Swords into plowshares: The organizational transformation of rebel groups into political parties

2011 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Ishiyama ◽  
Anna Batta
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Organizational Transformation ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Party Transformation ◽  
Rebel Group

How do the features of a rebel group and the external political environment interact to affect the internal dynamics within a rebel group after it transforms into a political party? In this paper we combine literature on organizational change in parties in new democracies with the emerging literature on rebel group-to-party transformation, to develop a framework by which to understand these dynamics. Using the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) as a case study, we find that the legacies of the conflict, the organizational legacies of the rebel group, and the post civil war incentives for electoral gain, create political cleavages within parties that generate considerable organizational centripetal pressures, pressures that will need to be accommodated in new party organizational structures.

Political Party Development in Argentina

1975 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Spencer Wellhofer
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Elected Officials ◽  
Public Office ◽  
Socialist Labor ◽  
Party Development ◽  
Wide Range

Many authors (for example, Ostrogorski, 1964; Michels, 1962: 175 ff.; Weber, 1946: 101 ff.; Duverger, 1967: 182-197; Schlesinger, 1965: 766-767, 1967: 268; Seligman, 1967: 315; Stinchombe, 1965: 153; McKenzie, 1963: 581-591; Epstein, 1967: 167-233, 289-314) have noted that contemporary political parties are predominantly electoral organizations engaged in public office-seeking and dominated by elected officials. While American parties have always been characterized by office-seeking, this phenomenon was not intially characteristic of socialist, labor, or communist parties which endeavored to create a working-class subculture and to whom public office-seeking was only one of several activities. In many such parties, however, office-seeking has come to dominate or even replace a previously wide range of activities.

scholarly journals The role of political parties in multi-level environmental governance in the European Union and Germany

Upravlenie ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-138
Author(s):  
A. D. Lisenkova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Environmental Governance ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
The European Union ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Federal States ◽  
European People’S Party ◽  
Multi Level

The subject of the study is the involvement of political parties in multi-level environmental governance in the European Union, using Germany and its federal states as an example. This article describes the theoretical and practical foundations of multi-level governance. The place of European parties and their national member parties from Germany in the institutional system and decision-making process of environmental policy has been defined. For practical illustration, the climate policy guidelines of Germany’s main national parties (the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Alternative for Germany, the Free Democratic Party of Germany, the Left and the Alliance 90 / The Greens) and their European affiliations (the European People’s Party, the Party of the European Socialists, the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, the European Green Party and the Party of European Left) were compared with an emphasis on the new targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The unique opportunity for parties to participate in environmental policymaking at all key levels, which is not limited to parliamentary institutions has been highlighted. Appointments to environmental positions at different levels often correlate with membership of the most environmentally oriented parties, although the level of environmental involvement may differ between national parties and their European affiliations. Among other things, this has to do with participation in governing coalitions and dependence on a senior partner in them, as shown by the examples of the Bundestag and the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg. The final decision depends heavily on the unity of the coalition at federal and state level, whereas in the European Parliament there is a great differentiation of opinions, which allows even the most influential European People’s Party to be blocked from voting.

The weaknesses of political parties

2020 ◽  
pp. 355-368
Author(s):  
Adams Oloo
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
The State ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Party Development ◽  
Ordinary Citizens ◽  
Opposition Parties

The chapter addresses the weaknesses of political parties in Kenya, which include structural constraints; institutional fragilities; legal hurdles; the nature of society; and, in the case of opposition parties, insubordination to the state machinery. Despite the foregoing challenges, the chapter demonstrates how the country has held regular and periodic elections since Independence under various party systems—something that stands as a testimony to a rich political party history. On this basis, the chapter concludes by asserting that, despite the numerous weaknesses of Kenyan parties, there exist several opportunities for political party development, especially under the 2010 Constitution. Such opportunities include an improved regulatory framework, the institutionalization of political parties, greater access to human and financial resources, and stronger party ownership by ordinary citizens and members.

The influence of Europarties on Central and Eastern European partner parties: a theoretical and analytical model

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin von dem Berge ◽  
Thomas Poguntke
Keyword(s):  
Party Systems ◽  
Power Relationship ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Party Change ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
Asymmetric Power ◽  
European People’S Party ◽  
European Partner ◽  
Analytical Tools

This article provides a comprehensive theoretical model for analysing the influence of European party federations (Europarties) on their Central and Eastern European (CEE) partner parties. It draws on the concepts of Europeanization and party change and is, in principle, applicable to similar processes of party enlargement elsewhere. In the process of their Eastern enlargement, Europarties have searched for suitable CEE partner parties on which they have tried to exert influence. Thus far, little is known about the precise mechanisms involved and the actual impact of these processes. We argue that Europarty influence leads to party change on the side of the CEE partners, which brings about ‘West-Europeanization’. Europarties are expected to apply a double strategy that consists of a process of political exchange based on a largely asymmetric power relationship in favour of Europarties and a socialization strategy in which Europarties try to socialize their partners and convince them of the appropriateness of change. We present the theoretical and analytical tools for the analysis of the arguably largest extension of transnational party organizations, which provides ample testing ground for more general theories on party change. Furthermore, we present preliminary empirical evidence on the two most important cases, namely the European People's Party and the Party of European Socialists, which indicates that Europarties played an important role in the development of CEE parties and party systems in general.

scholarly journals Independent MPs, Political Party Legislation and Electoral Politics in Solomon Islands

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lincy Pendeverana ◽  
Gordon Nanau
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Solomon Islands ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Gender Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Parliament ◽  
Party Development ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Almost All

Independent MPs have always determined formation of government in Solomon Islands. In an effort to limit the critical influence of independent MPs in forming governments, which has been a problem after almost all elections since 1974, the National Parliament of Solomon Islands debated and passed the Political Parties Integrity Act (PPIA) in 2014. The PPIA promises to limit the influence of independent MPs and prescribes how political parties are to be administered. It is also intended to establish fairer gender representation in Parliament. We noted with interest that most MPs who debated and passed the PPIA went on and contested as independent candidates. In this paper, we look at the 2014 and 2019 election results to assess the impacts, effectiveness, and weaknesses of the PPIA. We also explain why it may have failed, and highlight factors that determine voter behaviour, election outcomes, and government formation in the country. Lessons learnt from the loopholes and weaknesses of the PPIA and electoral politics more generally are then used to suggest ways forward for political party development, inclusiveness, integrity, and stability in Solomon Islands.

Election Poster Persuasion

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Schott ◽  
Jule Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Policy Evaluation ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Additional Measure ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
Voting Intentions

Abstract. We examined the effect of presenting unknown policy statements on German parties’ election posters. Study 1 showed that participants inferred the quality of a presented policy from knowledge about the respective political party. Study 2 showed that participants’ own political preferences influenced valence estimates: policy statements presented on campaign posters of liked political parties were rated significantly more positive than those presented on posters of disliked political parties. Study 3 replicated the findings of Study 2 with an additional measure of participants’ need for cognition. Need for cognition scores were unrelated to the valence transfer from political parties to policy evaluation. Study 4 replicated the findings of Studies 2 and 3 with an additional measure of participants’ voting intentions. Voting intentions were a significant predictor for valence transfer. Participants credited both their individually liked and disliked political parties for supporting the two unknown policies. However, the credit attributed to the liked party was significantly higher than to the disliked one. Study 5 replicated the findings of Studies 2, 3, and 4. Additionally, participants evaluated political clubs that were associated with the same policies previously presented on election posters. Here, a second-degree transfer emerged: from party valence to policy evaluation and from policy evaluation to club evaluation. Implications of the presented studies for policy communications and election campaigning are discussed.

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