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Party Decline in the Parties State? The Changing Environment of German Politics

Susan E. Scarrow

in Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies

The 1949 (West) German Basic Law established a system of party‐based democracy that has now endured for more than half a century, yet today's political system is not identical to that of earlier ... More

The 1949 (West) German Basic Law established a system of party‐based democracy that has now endured for more than half a century, yet today's political system is not identical to that of earlier years. Since the beginning of the 1980s, new party alternatives have made coalition politics harder to manage, the established parties have lost votes and members, and waning public support for all the parties has drawn unfavourab1e attention to the parties’ entrenched positions. These changes grew more pronounced in the 1990s, exacerbated, though not caused, by German unification, and developments reached a new stage in 1998, when one of the new parties of the 1980s, the Greens, became a party of government—an event made possible at least as much by the transformation of the Green Party itself as by a revolution in German politics. Nevertheless, despite the recent challenges to traditional political patterns, Germany remains very much a parties state, with parties still serving as the central mechanisms for political linkage and political decision‐making, and the same big parties being the principal players in state and federal coalition politics. The introductory sections discuss German parties and political institutions; the next three sections cover the same topics as the other country case studies in the book, and examine party legitimacy, party organizational strength (finance, staffing, members, mass media, parties in eastern Germany), and party functionality (in governance, interest articulation and aggregation, political participation, political recruitment and patronage, and political communication and education).Less

Continuing Reforms in the Era of Coalition Politics

Suresh D. Tendulkar and T.A. Bhavani

in Understanding Reforms: Post-1991 India

This chapter addresses some speculative suggestions about the sustainability and ownership of reforms. The critical role of the emergence of regional parties in national politics with neutral ... More

This chapter addresses some speculative suggestions about the sustainability and ownership of reforms. The critical role of the emergence of regional parties in national politics with neutral economic ideology is considered. The Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the imperative need for a rapid double-digit growth in their 2004 election manifestos,and the associated need for attracting private foreign investment to supplement domestic savings, along with the necessity to upgrade the technological base towards international competitiveness. As long as the instrumental role of rapid growth for classifying distributional conflicts in an orderly fashion is discerned by all the political parties in the coalition game, the reform process is bound to continue.Less

Institutions and Coalition Building in Post‐Communist Transitions

Olga Shvetsova

in The Architecture of Democracy: Constitutional Design, Conflict Management, and Democracy

In the ten years of post‐communist transition, the countries of Eastern and Central Europe have passed through several election cycles, providing new evidence of the influence of formal political ... More

In the ten years of post‐communist transition, the countries of Eastern and Central Europe have passed through several election cycles, providing new evidence of the influence of formal political institutions on transition dynamics. This chapter examines the transitional development of their party systems as a function of institutional choices. Focusing on party systems, it identifies the process of coalition formation as the transmission mechanism by which institutions influence political consolidation at this stage. It addresses the transitional influence of combinations of majoritarian and power‐sharing institutions, suggesting that their interactive effect may undermine or weaken the incentives for party‐building that each of them can separately provide. The article provides supporting evidence from Poland and Romania.Less

Divided Government in Mexico's Presidentialist Regime: the 1997–2000 Experience

Joseph L. Klesner

in Divided Government in Comparative Perspective

This chapter analyses the historical background, which led to the emergence of divided government in the 1990s, and the way in which this new political environment was managed during the 1997–2000 ... More

This chapter analyses the historical background, which led to the emergence of divided government in the 1990s, and the way in which this new political environment was managed during the 1997–2000 Congress. The analysis describes changes in the internal organization of the Chamber of Deputies, and the formation of coalitions to support presidential initiatives. To provide better insight into the coalition formation process, it reviews the experiences of the 1997–2000 Congress in passing the three budgets sent to it by President Zedillo.Less

“This is What Democracy Looks Like”: Protests as Democratic Imaginary

Michaele L. Ferguson

in Sharing Democracy

This chapter argues that it would be insufficient for theorists to adopt the view that commonality is the product of human activity. Democratic theory requires shifting from an orientation to ... More

This chapter argues that it would be insufficient for theorists to adopt the view that commonality is the product of human activity. Democratic theory requires shifting from an orientation to locating commonalities, to one of expressing and encouraging political freedom. Even where the commonality in question is one that actors understand as the product of their activity, a reading of the 2006 U.S. immigrant rights protests shows that the orientation towards commonality generates antidemocratic pressures to sacrifice political freedom for the sake of shared goals. While feminists and others have argued for coalition as an imaginary of democracy, coalition politics does not move theory beyond a preoccupation with commonality. In its place, this chapter offers protests as paradigmatic of a democratic action. Protests are cacophonous, multivocal, and unpredictable. They exemplify “democracy sense”: the awareness that people inhabit the world together with plural others who all possess the capacity for world-building. Protests, therefore, are self-authorizing expressions of political freedom that embrace the uncertainty, unpredictability, and risk of acting together with others to try to shape a common world.Less

The Dynamics of Coalition Politics and Democracy in Sri Lanka

Jayadeva Uyangoda

in Coalition Politics and Democratic Consolidation in Asia

This chapter explores political contexts and conditions that have made coalition politics an enduring feature in the politics of parliamentary governance in Sri Lanka since the political independence ... More

This chapter explores political contexts and conditions that have made coalition politics an enduring feature in the politics of parliamentary governance in Sri Lanka since the political independence of 1948. The chapter investigates the following questions: what are the factors that have made coalition politics a recurring dimension of regime formation in Sri Lanka? How has the electoral system contributed to creating conditions necessitating coalition regime formation? Has the availability of coalition options widened the space for participation in governance for ethnic minority and small parties? What are the dynamics of party politics that are revealed in the politics of coalition regimes? Has coalition governance provided opportunities for ethnic minority parties to influence the process of policy-making? In exploring these questions, the chapter surveys the evolution and dynamics of Sri Lanka’s electoral democracy, party system, electoral systems, and ethnic politics and their impact on the politics of regime formation as well as making and breaking-up of coalition regimes.Less

Coalition Politics in India: A Cultural Synergy or Political Expediency?

Bidyut Chakrabarty

in FORGING POWER: Coalition Politics in India

This chapter explores the history of the coalition politics in India. Coalitions are articulated within an institutional framework, and two specific methods for this have been concretized in Indian ... More

This chapter explores the history of the coalition politics in India. Coalitions are articulated within an institutional framework, and two specific methods for this have been concretized in Indian constitutional law and practice. It suggests that the historical roots of coalition politics can be traced back to the nationalist movement, especially to the Gandhian conceptualization of Swaraj while its social roots can be found in the breakdown of the federal and coalitional pillars of the Congress in the 1970s which reinvigorated regional politics. It describes the links among the processes that contributed to a significant metaphorphosis of India's federal system, which highlights its multi-cultural spirit and suggests that the role of federalism in strengthening India's pluralist character can be traced back to the complex processes in which federalism is conceptualized historically.Less

Reforms in Perspective: General Issues for India

Suresh D. Tendulkar and T.A. Bhavani

in Understanding Reforms: Post-1991 India

The hesitant economic policy reforms of the 1980s and the wide-ranging systemic ones since 1991 have resulted in a remarkable transformation of the Indian economy from a slow-growing one to ranking ... More

The hesitant economic policy reforms of the 1980s and the wide-ranging systemic ones since 1991 have resulted in a remarkable transformation of the Indian economy from a slow-growing one to ranking among the top ten fastest growing economies in the world. This chapter reflects on certain general issues in the reform process in the light of experiences in India and other countries. It specifically deals with the role of external influences, reforming leaders, economic and political crises, and the all-important issue of ownership of reforms and consensus-building.Less

Questions in the Post-1991 Reforms Process

Suresh D. Tendulkar and T.A. Bhavani

in Understanding Reforms: Post-1991 India

This chapter provides a set of coherent and plausible clues towards unscrambling the puzzling features of the Indian reform process, while addressing the challenging questions in political economy ... More

This chapter provides a set of coherent and plausible clues towards unscrambling the puzzling features of the Indian reform process, while addressing the challenging questions in political economy and institutional analysis that they pose. India’s low-growth distributional equilibrium was disturbed despite a stepped-up growth rate of GDP in the 1980s by the entry of numerically large groups of farmers and small-scale industrialists/traders. The disturbed distributional equilibrium of the 1980s opened a window of opportunity for the post-1991 reforms, which form the theme of the remaining chapters, along with the questions they raise. The author investigates the context, timing, and direction of the macro-level reform process and shows how these were basically the result of interaction amongst individual growth-promoting reform initiatives that try to produce micro-level structural adjustments in the economy. An overview of the rest of the chapters in this book is also presented in this chapter.Less

Coalition and Collaboration among Advocacy Organizations

in Affirmative Advocacy: Race, Class, and Gender in Interest Group Politics

This chapter examines the coalitions among advocacy organizations, asking whether such alliances are an alternative vehicle for activity on issues affecting disadvantaged subgroups. Alliances with ... More

This chapter examines the coalitions among advocacy organizations, asking whether such alliances are an alternative vehicle for activity on issues affecting disadvantaged subgroups. Alliances with other organizations represent one of the most promising avenues for meaningful attention to and energetic advocacy on intersectional issues. Coalitions bring into sharper resolution interorganizationally the intraorganizational challenges of intersectionality. They capture and advance the moral as well as the numerical strengths of social justice work for organizations that advocate on behalf of marginalized populations. Advocacy organizations rely heavily on their credibility with and access to policy makers in order to effectively press their agendas. The evidence presented in the chapter reinforces the contention that coalition politics are about intersectional politics. Many organizations do exploit the opportunities presented by coalitions to more effectively advocate on behalf of intersectionally disadvantaged groups.Less

Agency and Feminist Politics: The Role of Democratic Coalitions

Carisa R. Showden

in Choices Women Make: Agency in Domestic Violence, Assisted Reproduction, and Sex Work

This chapter discusses how feminist coalition politics highlights the development and deployment of women’s agency. Coalition politics accommodates the shifting capacities for agency across sites for ... More

This chapter discusses how feminist coalition politics highlights the development and deployment of women’s agency. Coalition politics accommodates the shifting capacities for agency across sites for social interaction and time, and within individuals and among groups. Particularly speaking, coalition politics increases the level of citizen accountability and responsiveness to remedy group-based harms. Among the principles of coalition politics used in the discourse are reflective solidarity, receptive generosity, and mutual respect. This chapter then explores the different strategies provided by Jodi Dean, Romand Coles, and Bernice Johnson Reagon in an attempt to justify the coalition works of the feminist groups and to eventually promote women’s agency.Less

Between Hindu Nationalism and Coalition Politics: Jana Sangh, BJP, and the ‘Moderation Thesis’ Regarding the ‘Radical Parties’

Christophe Jaffrelot

in Interrogating India's Modernity: Democracy, Identity, and Citizenship

Focusing on the ‘right-wing’ radical political formations in India, the essay examines how far their participation in electoral process has produced a process of moderation. As per the proposed ... More

Focusing on the ‘right-wing’ radical political formations in India, the essay examines how far their participation in electoral process has produced a process of moderation. As per the proposed ‘hypothesis’, when an extremist party contests elections in a democratic framework, it accepts institutions that are based on liberal principles and dilute its ideology to attract voters outside of its core constituency. When radical parties become power-driven, those who fail to win an absolute majority are likely to rely on alliances with parties that do not share its extremism. Though the extremist parties emerge from ideological movements displaying a deep sense of doctrinal purity, they gradually dilute their ideology in the process of transforming from niche into mass parties. The history of the right-wing radical parties in India shows that this process of moderation is not linear. There have been instances where while participating in the electoral process, religious political parties became even more radical.Less

Free Soil Politics and the Twilight of the Second Party System, 1849–1853

Corey M. Brooks

in Liberty Power: Antislavery Third Parties and the Transformation of American Politics

This chapter highlights the role Free Soil Party politicians like Salmon Chase and John P. Hale played in heated debates over the Compromise of 1850 and then Free Soilers’ efforts to rouse opposition ... More

This chapter highlights the role Free Soil Party politicians like Salmon Chase and John P. Hale played in heated debates over the Compromise of 1850 and then Free Soilers’ efforts to rouse opposition to new legislation. Targeting the Fugitive Slave Act especially, political abolitionists in the Free Soil Party worked to ensure continued attention to the Slave Power’s control over both major parties. Simultaneously, in several northern states, Free Soil managers experimented with coalition politics, often collaborating with Democrats at the state level but with mixed results. While these coalitions typically ended in disillusionment, Massachusetts Free Soilers succeeded in electing Charles Sumner to the United States Senate, where he would become perhaps the most noted antislavery firebrand in national politics. The immediate results of the presidential election of 1852 proved deeply disappointing, seemingly signalling national consensus on the recent sectional compromise, but Free Soilers remained confident that as old issues differentiating the major parties receded into the background, impending new slavery controversies would force the partisan reorganization political abolitionists had long sought.Less

Introduction

Zoya Hasan

in Congress after Indira: Policy, Power, Political Change (1984-2009)

The introduction discusses the theme of this volume which is about the changes in the political strategies and structure of the Indian National Congress after Indira Gandhi. This volume provides an ... More

The introduction discusses the theme of this volume which is about the changes in the political strategies and structure of the Indian National Congress after Indira Gandhi. This volume provides an interpretation of how the politics of change in India influenced the development of the Congress, particularly under the coalition of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). It discusses how the Congress adjusted to the realities of coalition politics and the government–party relationship under the UPA arising out of Sonia Gandhi’s decision to decline the post of prime minister in 2004. It tracks the overall policy change and the attempt to reconcile equity with growth and examines the Congress’s political–policy response to three critical issues: rural inequalities, minority development, and the Indo–US nuclear deal. The book concludes by looking at the challenges of sustaining a policy-driven reinvention of the party.Less

Clash of Ideas

Fredrick C. Harris

in The Price of the Ticket: Barack Obama and Rise and Decline of Black Politics

This chapter examines the evolutionary forces within black politics that paved the way for Barack Obama's ascendency to the White House. It begins by revisiting the campaigns of Shirley Chisholm and ... More

This chapter examines the evolutionary forces within black politics that paved the way for Barack Obama's ascendency to the White House. It begins by revisiting the campaigns of Shirley Chisholm and Jesse Jackson in the presidential elections of 1972 (Chisholm) and in 1984 and 1988 (Jackson). It then considers the ideological battle between independent black politics and coalition politics, along with its persistence in contemporary black political life in America. It also looks at the rise in local black politics, particularly in Chicago, where blacks went up against the city's well-entrenched Democratic Party.Less

Inheritance Unbound: The Politics of Personal Law Reform in Pakistan and India

Sunil Khilnani, Vikram Raghavan, and Arun K. Thiruvengadam

in Comparative Constitutionalism in South Asia

This chapter describes the constitutional and political dimensions of formal legal change in Pakistan and India. The process of change referred to is one with an explicitly ‘religious’ dimensions: in ... More

This chapter describes the constitutional and political dimensions of formal legal change in Pakistan and India. The process of change referred to is one with an explicitly ‘religious’ dimensions: in effect, a process of changing ostensibly ‘transcendent’ or ‘God-given’ personal laws. What are the constitutional and political conditions under which the content of such laws can change in Pakistan and India? What are the constitutional and political conditions that might intervene to stifle or restrict such change? In Pakistan, how does the nature of the Islamic state constrain legal change in religious personal law? In India, is it possible for the Indian legislature, facing its own very different set of conditions, to easily change religious laws? The author examines such questions in the light of the special constitutional provisions in each country from the point of view of the issue of inheritance. The author concludes that both countries find it difficult to bring about personal law reforms even though their constitutions allow them to do so. In Pakistan, substantive religious-cum-legal reform was taken up and put into practice only in two contexts — military/non-military authoritarianism and one-party dominant regimes where the ruling party held more than 60 per cent of the seats in Parliament. The Indian government addresses the task of ‘substantive’ religious-cum-legal reform as a matter of routine civil society engagement and is often hindered by the pressures of coalition politics. The author points out that India under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajiv Gandhi and Pakistan under Generals Ayub Khan and Zia-ul-Haq pursued major ‘substantive’ reforms; Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Narasimha Rao did not.Less

Demands for Representation

José María Maravall

in Demands on Democracy

Representation always means delegation of power. This delegation is called into question when voters believe that their control over politicians is undermined. This happens when politicians operate ... More

Representation always means delegation of power. This delegation is called into question when voters believe that their control over politicians is undermined. This happens when politicians operate with large asymmetries of information compared to voters; when a concentration of power suppresses uncertainty in elections; when politicians usurp the decision of who is to govern, replacing popular preferences by political coups within governments; when opaque internal party politics does not facilitate information about political decisions; when the attribution of political responsibilities becomes hardly possible. If these are grounds for dissatisfaction with democratic representation, how can this be remedied?Less