Margit Tavits
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199553327
- eISBN:
- 9780191721007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199553327.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Chapter 2 addresses the most critical issue related to selecting heads of state: the extent to which direct elections enhance presidential powers and political involvement. First, it outlines the ...
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Chapter 2 addresses the most critical issue related to selecting heads of state: the extent to which direct elections enhance presidential powers and political involvement. First, it outlines the conventional argument that direct elections influence presidential activism by increasing presidents' legitimacy. Next, this chapter develops an alternative explanation that concrete political opportunity framework, rather than abstract legitimacy, constrains presidents' incentives and opportunities for participating in political processes. Finally, this chapter presents the results of a large-N empirical test of the alternative rival hypotheses, using presidential intervention in the process of cabinet formation to measure political activism. The results corroborate the theory on political opportunity framework, and show that election mechanisms do not affect presidential activism.Less
Chapter 2 addresses the most critical issue related to selecting heads of state: the extent to which direct elections enhance presidential powers and political involvement. First, it outlines the conventional argument that direct elections influence presidential activism by increasing presidents' legitimacy. Next, this chapter develops an alternative explanation that concrete political opportunity framework, rather than abstract legitimacy, constrains presidents' incentives and opportunities for participating in political processes. Finally, this chapter presents the results of a large-N empirical test of the alternative rival hypotheses, using presidential intervention in the process of cabinet formation to measure political activism. The results corroborate the theory on political opportunity framework, and show that election mechanisms do not affect presidential activism.
Kaare Strøm
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199253098
- eISBN:
- 9780191599026
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199253099.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Examines whether the behaviour of parties in cabinet formation and in control of the executive branch have changed over time. The evidence indicates that parties remain entrenched in the core of the ...
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Examines whether the behaviour of parties in cabinet formation and in control of the executive branch have changed over time. The evidence indicates that parties remain entrenched in the core of the executives studied, but party control seems to wane the further we move from this institution. The chapter concludes by examining the implications such changes have on the primacy of parties in government, arguing that among the several alternatives to representative democracy, pluralist democracy seems to be the most likely alternative to party government.Less
Examines whether the behaviour of parties in cabinet formation and in control of the executive branch have changed over time. The evidence indicates that parties remain entrenched in the core of the executives studied, but party control seems to wane the further we move from this institution. The chapter concludes by examining the implications such changes have on the primacy of parties in government, arguing that among the several alternatives to representative democracy, pluralist democracy seems to be the most likely alternative to party government.
Andrew Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295105
- eISBN:
- 9780191600128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295103.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
A comparative analysis is given of both actual and simulated election results of the five country case studies (from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) presented in the book, along ...
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A comparative analysis is given of both actual and simulated election results of the five country case studies (from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) presented in the book, along a number of dimensions relating to system inclusiveness: party system dynamics, disproportionality, executive formation, and descriptive representation. Chief among the questions addressed are: what determines the index of disproportionality, how representative are comparative parliaments in terms of the presence of women and ethnic minorities, what are the electoral system implications for voter accessibility, does the chosen system alleviate or accentuate entrenched and geographically concentrated party fiefdoms, how competitive or frozen is the party system, is there an electoral system effect on cabinet formation, and does the type of proportional representation (PR) used matter to the final results? The chapter concludes with a detailed discussion of the Horowitz alternative vote in multi-member districts (AV-MMD) proposal across all five case study countries, and an institutional choice-based analysis of the interaction between negotiated transitions to democracy and the type of electoral system chosen for the new democratic constitution. Overall, the chapter demonstrates that in the context of institutional design in southern Africa, PR systems outperform their plurality–majority alternatives in almost all the categories of analysis.Less
A comparative analysis is given of both actual and simulated election results of the five country case studies (from Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) presented in the book, along a number of dimensions relating to system inclusiveness: party system dynamics, disproportionality, executive formation, and descriptive representation. Chief among the questions addressed are: what determines the index of disproportionality, how representative are comparative parliaments in terms of the presence of women and ethnic minorities, what are the electoral system implications for voter accessibility, does the chosen system alleviate or accentuate entrenched and geographically concentrated party fiefdoms, how competitive or frozen is the party system, is there an electoral system effect on cabinet formation, and does the type of proportional representation (PR) used matter to the final results? The chapter concludes with a detailed discussion of the Horowitz alternative vote in multi-member districts (AV-MMD) proposal across all five case study countries, and an institutional choice-based analysis of the interaction between negotiated transitions to democracy and the type of electoral system chosen for the new democratic constitution. Overall, the chapter demonstrates that in the context of institutional design in southern Africa, PR systems outperform their plurality–majority alternatives in almost all the categories of analysis.
Claire Annesley, Karen Beckwith, and Susan Franceschet
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190069018
- eISBN:
- 9780190069049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190069018.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Chapter 1 introduces the three research questions guiding the book and outlines the patterns of timing, magnitude, and persistence of women’s cabinet inclusion in Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, ...
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Chapter 1 introduces the three research questions guiding the book and outlines the patterns of timing, magnitude, and persistence of women’s cabinet inclusion in Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It identifies the year of appointment of the first woman to cabinet; the year of the last all-male cabinet; and addresses the questions of cross-country and cross-time variation in numbers of women in cabinet. The chapter identifies formal and informal rules as forces shaping women’s opportunities for cabinet appointment, and introduces the concept of the “concrete floor,” the minimum proportion or number of women for the cabinet team to be perceived as legitimate.Less
Chapter 1 introduces the three research questions guiding the book and outlines the patterns of timing, magnitude, and persistence of women’s cabinet inclusion in Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It identifies the year of appointment of the first woman to cabinet; the year of the last all-male cabinet; and addresses the questions of cross-country and cross-time variation in numbers of women in cabinet. The chapter identifies formal and informal rules as forces shaping women’s opportunities for cabinet appointment, and introduces the concept of the “concrete floor,” the minimum proportion or number of women for the cabinet team to be perceived as legitimate.
Claire Annesley, Karen Beckwith, and Susan Franceschet
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190069018
- eISBN:
- 9780190069049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190069018.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Chapter 2 sets out the book’s theoretical, conceptual, and methodological approaches for explaining gendered patterns and processes of cabinet formation. Employing a feminist institutionalist ...
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Chapter 2 sets out the book’s theoretical, conceptual, and methodological approaches for explaining gendered patterns and processes of cabinet formation. Employing a feminist institutionalist approach, the chapter explains how formal and informal rules create and maintain gendered hierarchies that have historically advantaged men in the cabinet appointment process. The chapter also shows how rules change over time, emphasizing the importance of agency, ambiguity, and ideas. The chapter offers a model of the relationship among sets of rules to produce cabinets that include women. The chapter provides justification of the case selection, methods of data collection and organization, and a description of each country case.Less
Chapter 2 sets out the book’s theoretical, conceptual, and methodological approaches for explaining gendered patterns and processes of cabinet formation. Employing a feminist institutionalist approach, the chapter explains how formal and informal rules create and maintain gendered hierarchies that have historically advantaged men in the cabinet appointment process. The chapter also shows how rules change over time, emphasizing the importance of agency, ambiguity, and ideas. The chapter offers a model of the relationship among sets of rules to produce cabinets that include women. The chapter provides justification of the case selection, methods of data collection and organization, and a description of each country case.
Claire Annesley, Karen Beckwith, and Susan Franceschet
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190069018
- eISBN:
- 9780190069049
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190069018.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Cabinets, Ministers, and Gender explores why men have been more likely than women to be appointed to cabinet, why gendered patterns of appointment vary cross-nationally, and why, over time, women’s ...
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Cabinets, Ministers, and Gender explores why men have been more likely than women to be appointed to cabinet, why gendered patterns of appointment vary cross-nationally, and why, over time, women’s inclusion in cabinets has grown significantly. The book is innovative in conceiving of cabinet formation as a gendered process governed by rules that empower and constrain presidents and prime ministers as selectors of cabinet ministers, and rules that prescribe, prohibit, and permit a range of criteria (experiential, affiliational, and representational) that qualify individuals for inclusion in cabinet. Focusing on seven country cases (Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States) using three data sets—elite interviews, media data, and autobiographies—the book reveals the complex sets of rules governing cabinet formation in each country and demonstrates their gendered effects. The book shows how different types of rules empower and constrain selectors, and how these rules interact to create different opportunities and obstacles for women’s cabinet inclusion. The findings demonstrate how institutional change emerges from a complex iterative process through which political actors interpret and exploit ambiguity in rules to deviate from past practices of appointing mostly male cabinets. These selectors help to develop new rules about women’s inclusion, which constrain future leaders in assembling their cabinet. The authors coin the term “concrete floor” to capture the process by which minimum levels for women’s cabinet inclusion are established and become locked in over time, explaining how competing rules for cabinet appointments, changing norms, and women’s mobilization in political parties shape outcomes.Less
Cabinets, Ministers, and Gender explores why men have been more likely than women to be appointed to cabinet, why gendered patterns of appointment vary cross-nationally, and why, over time, women’s inclusion in cabinets has grown significantly. The book is innovative in conceiving of cabinet formation as a gendered process governed by rules that empower and constrain presidents and prime ministers as selectors of cabinet ministers, and rules that prescribe, prohibit, and permit a range of criteria (experiential, affiliational, and representational) that qualify individuals for inclusion in cabinet. Focusing on seven country cases (Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States) using three data sets—elite interviews, media data, and autobiographies—the book reveals the complex sets of rules governing cabinet formation in each country and demonstrates their gendered effects. The book shows how different types of rules empower and constrain selectors, and how these rules interact to create different opportunities and obstacles for women’s cabinet inclusion. The findings demonstrate how institutional change emerges from a complex iterative process through which political actors interpret and exploit ambiguity in rules to deviate from past practices of appointing mostly male cabinets. These selectors help to develop new rules about women’s inclusion, which constrain future leaders in assembling their cabinet. The authors coin the term “concrete floor” to capture the process by which minimum levels for women’s cabinet inclusion are established and become locked in over time, explaining how competing rules for cabinet appointments, changing norms, and women’s mobilization in political parties shape outcomes.
Claire Annesley, Karen Beckwith, and Susan Franceschet
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190069018
- eISBN:
- 9780190069049
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190069018.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Chapter 3 focuses on the political actors who are empowered to select ministers: predominantly presidents and prime ministers. It identifies all the rules, formal and informal, that determine whether ...
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Chapter 3 focuses on the political actors who are empowered to select ministers: predominantly presidents and prime ministers. It identifies all the rules, formal and informal, that determine whether selectors are empowered or constrained when constructing their cabinet. The chapter shows that, in most cases, presidents and prime ministers are strongly empowered to choose their minsters, although in some cases selectors are constrained by having to share powers with co-selectors from other parties (i.e. in coalition governments) and within their own party organization. The chapter categorizes the book’s seven country cases into three groups: one where formal and informal rules always empower a single selector, one where party rules have constrained selectors, and one where selectors are always constrained.Less
Chapter 3 focuses on the political actors who are empowered to select ministers: predominantly presidents and prime ministers. It identifies all the rules, formal and informal, that determine whether selectors are empowered or constrained when constructing their cabinet. The chapter shows that, in most cases, presidents and prime ministers are strongly empowered to choose their minsters, although in some cases selectors are constrained by having to share powers with co-selectors from other parties (i.e. in coalition governments) and within their own party organization. The chapter categorizes the book’s seven country cases into three groups: one where formal and informal rules always empower a single selector, one where party rules have constrained selectors, and one where selectors are always constrained.
