Search Results

Difference, Negotiation, and Constraints in the Policy Process

Debra L. Dodson

in The Impact of Women in Congress

The ratings of ten interest groups, along with party unity and presidential support scores, are analyzed to explore the broader evidence of change and stability in gender difference and women’s ... More

The ratings of ten interest groups, along with party unity and presidential support scores, are analyzed to explore the broader evidence of change and stability in gender difference and women’s impact across the strikingly different environments of the 103rd and 104th Congresses. Although the results suggest that increased descriptive representation will enhance substantive representation of women, these findings of gender difference coexist with evidence that descriptive representation might not necessarily contribute to increased substantive representation of women. Gender differences narrowed in the 104th, primarily due to the influx of a new cohort of Republican women who were in some cases even more conservative than their male colleagues, but also due to ‘conversion’ effects, as veteran Republican women shifted rightward in an institutional environment where the cost of difference increased. With Democratic men on average being more feminist/liberal than Republican women on average, the question is raised whether substantive representation of women would be better served by increasing the proportional presence of Democrats (regardless of gender) or by increasing women’s presence regardless of party.Less

Political Parties in Costa Rica: Democratic Stability and Party System Change in a Latin American Context

John A. Booth

in Party Politics in New Democracies

Arising from the 1948 Costa Rican civil war, a multiparty system developed in Costa Rica under a social democratic National Liberation Party (PLN) that dominated the polity for decades. Small ... More

Arising from the 1948 Costa Rican civil war, a multiparty system developed in Costa Rica under a social democratic National Liberation Party (PLN) that dominated the polity for decades. Small conservative opposition parties coalesced to win the presidency upon occasion. These merged into the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), which challenged the PLN for dominance within the system in the 1990s. Under stresses imposed by neo-liberalism, the Costa Rican party system destabilized in the early 2000s. This chapter traces the evolving system, examines the parties in presidential and legislative elections over time, and discusses citizen electoral participation. It examines major parties' social bases and their evolving legitimacy, organization, membership, recruitment, financing, factionalism, and interest articulation. It describes the impact for the party system of the rise of media-dominated retail electoral politics, depersonalization partisan politics, and the adoption of primary elections. The PLN stumbled badly in the elections of 1998 and especially 2002, but rallied while the PUSC — plagued by scandals in two administrations — effectively collapsed in the 2006 election. Trends suggest increasing instability and volatility of the system.Less

Conclusion

DIRK SPILKER

in The East German Leadership and the Division of Germany: Patriotism and Propaganda 1945-1953

The German communists who resumed their work in Soviet-occupied eastern Germany in the dying days of World War II were determined to exploit the existing power vacuum and seize — with help from the ... More

The German communists who resumed their work in Soviet-occupied eastern Germany in the dying days of World War II were determined to exploit the existing power vacuum and seize — with help from the Soviet Union — the key posts in the new administrations. Their plan was to absorb Germany's proud but weakened Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) into a communist-led Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and thus win control of the German workers' movement, destroy the power of Germany's upper bourgeoisie through a series of radical economic reforms promoted under the guise of anti-fascism, and win the support of the German middle classes by protecting their interests and rejecting calls for an immediate transition to socialism. This strategy worked well until, in the autumn of 1945, opposition to the communists from Germany's other political parties, which had earlier been non-existent because of the post-war chaos, increased. Still, the founding of the SED was a success for the communists at a time when few things were certain in Germany.Less

Responsiveness

Reuven Y. Hazan and Gideon Rahat

in Democracy within Parties: Candidate Selection Methods and Their Political Consequences

This chapter addresses each of the four main dimensions of candidate selection (candidacy, selectorate, decentralization, and voting/appointment) according to its impact on different aspects of ... More

This chapter addresses each of the four main dimensions of candidate selection (candidacy, selectorate, decentralization, and voting/appointment) according to its impact on different aspects of responsiveness. It begins with a discussion of political party unity, seeing high levels of unity as a sign of party‐centered responsiveness and low levels of it as a sign of candidate‐centered responsiveness. It then assesses the relationship between candidate selection and party unity, addressing each of the four dimensions and showing how the influence of different candidate selection methods on responsiveness can vary significantly. The chapter also deals with an important associated aspect that is relevant for responsiveness in particular, party financing, and points to its relationship with candidate selection. Throughout the chapter there is a constant reflection on the influence of the democratization of candidate selection, particularly as two contrasting approaches are delineated and empirical data is presented.Less

Nationwide Goals and Zonal Priorities:The KPD/SED and the German Question from Potsdam to Bizonia

DIRK SPILKER

in The East German Leadership and the Division of Germany: Patriotism and Propaganda 1945-1953

This chapter deals with the German Question and the attitudes of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) towards it. It argues that, with Moscow's backing, the SED leaders ... More

This chapter deals with the German Question and the attitudes of the Soviet Union and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) towards it. It argues that, with Moscow's backing, the SED leaders sought to extend their control over the whole of Germany but found themselves frustrated by the Western Allies as well as the incompetence of their West German fellow comrades. By mid-1946, the lines for the division of Germany had been drawn following a dramatic decline in Soviet-Western relations as well as the SED's failure to turn itself into a nationwide party, although the belief that Western Germany was not viable on its own gave the SED leaders hope. The founding of the SED via a zonal rather than a nationwide merger between the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was a severe blow to the idea of German political unity. Its implications were not lost on the KPD leaders.Less

Building and Unbuilding the GDR

PATRICK STEVENSON

in Language and German Disunity: A Sociolinguistic History of East and West in Germany, 1945-2000

This chapter focuses on public language use in the GDR. It is organized as follows. Section 3.1 examines the official discourse of the Socialist Unity Party as manifested in statements of various ... More

This chapter focuses on public language use in the GDR. It is organized as follows. Section 3.1 examines the official discourse of the Socialist Unity Party as manifested in statements of various kinds. This formed the bedrock of ‘public language’ in the GDR — not the language of everyday social intercourse, but the discourse of authority and political orthodoxy which ordinary citizens would inevitably encounter, and in which they would develop at least a passive competence. Section 3.2 considers the functions and importance of the ritualization of speech events involving most members of the population (focusing on May Day and the Jugenweidhe, the secular equivalent of confirmation).Less

Introduction

ALAN McDOUGALL

in Youth Politics in East Germany: The Free German Youth Movement 1946-1968

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of how throughout the 20th century, the government and political movements in Germany sought to win over the young generation to their ... More

This introductory chapter begins with a brief discussion of how throughout the 20th century, the government and political movements in Germany sought to win over the young generation to their ideological cause. It then focuses on the founding of the Free German Youth (FDJ) as a ‘non-partisan, united, and democratic youth organization’. It discusses the limitations of a one-sided ‘Stalinization’ approach to the FDJ's early years, which serves as an effective starting point for one of the central premises of this book: namely, that the FDJ's experiences during the fifties and sixties wholly discredit the ‘totalitarian’ paradigm as a valid means of explaining and understanding the character of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany's (SED) dictatorship.Less

Introduction

DIRK SPILKER

in The East German Leadership and the Division of Germany: Patriotism and Propaganda 1945-1953

This book offers a new perspective on the ‘German Question’ — why Germany was divided after World War II and whether that division could have been avoided. Although this question has intrigued many ... More

This book offers a new perspective on the ‘German Question’ — why Germany was divided after World War II and whether that division could have been avoided. Although this question has intrigued many historians, it has never before been studied comprehensively from the point of view of the SED (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands), the communist-dominated Socialist Unity Party of Germany installed by the Soviet Union in what was to become East Germany. While numerous publications have dealt with the SED and the German Question in one way or another, many of these were written before the collapse of communism and thus without recourse to archival material. This book looks at the period between 1944, the year when the future leaders of the SED determined their post-war strategy, and 1953, the year of the failed East German uprising that sealed the division of Germany for almost 50 years. The focus of the book is on the SED's collective leadership.Less

Party Organization and Party Unity

Conor Little and David M. Farrell

in Organizing Political Parties: Representation, Participation, and Power

This chapter examines the crucial role that political parties play in maintaining a unified voting bloc in parliament. This party-based approach sets it apart from most existing studies in this area. ... More

This chapter examines the crucial role that political parties play in maintaining a unified voting bloc in parliament. This party-based approach sets it apart from most existing studies in this area. The focus of this chapter is on the factors that incentivize MPs to vote in a unified manner. The chapter tests three hypotheses: (1) whether party unity is improved by greater party organizational strength; (2) whether the greater threat of disciplinary sanctions increases party unity; and (3) whether greater access to resources by MPs reduces party unity. The authors use the Political Party Database (PPDB) dataset to test these hypotheses in thirteen of Europe’s democracies, finding strong support for the third hypothesis, some support for the first hypothesis, but little support for the second hypothesis. This study adds an important new dimension to research on how institutions affect party unity by showing the distinct role party organizations can play in this regard.Less

A Chance to Experiment?

John Curtice

in Has Devolution Delivered?

Probably the most remarkable feature of the outcome of the 2003 Scottish Parliament election in Scotland was the success of political parties and election candidates other than those representing one ... More

Probably the most remarkable feature of the outcome of the 2003 Scottish Parliament election in Scotland was the success of political parties and election candidates other than those representing one of the country's four largest parties. Such ‘other’ candidates accounted for no fewer than seventeen of the 129 parliamentary members sent to fill the Holyrood chamber. As many as seven of them came from the Scottish Green Party, another six represented the Scottish Socialist Party, while the remainder comprised three independents and a candidate from the Scottish Senior Citizens' Unity Party. This major breakthrough by parties and candidates from outside Scotland's political establishment led to the newly elected body being dubbed by the media a ‘rainbow parliament’. This chapter examines who supported ‘other’ parties in Scottish Parliament elections and why, focusing on the 2003 election and especially the ballot on which such parties were most successful, the list vote.Less

The Collapse of the East German State

Sharon Erickson Nepstad

in Nonviolent Revolutions: Civil Resistance in the Late 20th Century

This chapter focuses on the 1989 East German uprising. East Germans found that shifting international dynamics—linked to Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost policies and Hungary’s decision to open ... More

This chapter focuses on the 1989 East German uprising. East Germans found that shifting international dynamics—linked to Gorbachev’s perestroika and glasnost policies and Hungary’s decision to open its border—enabled them to mobilize. As tens of thousands of East Germans emigrated through Hungary, a labor shortage and an economic crisis developed. When state officials stopped emigration, citizens expressed opposition to regime policies through demonstrations, which were initially tied to Protestant churches’ peace prayer services. As demonstrations expanded, regime leaders tried to repress the movement. But troops defied orders and many deserted, since protesters’ nonviolent demeanor made it difficult to justify the use of force. Hence security force defections, combined with the loss of emigrants’ labor skills, paralyzed the regime. Subsequently, the Berlin Wall fell, and the East German state was dismantled.Less

The Landscape's “Socialist Transformation” and Flight from the Countryside (1949–1961)

Arvid Nelson

in Cold War Ecology: Forests, Farms, and People in the East German Landscape, 1945-1989

Under Soviet occupation, reparations and land reform sparked an ecological and economic revolution in the German countryside until the late 1940s. German foresters could not do anything as the Soviet ... More

Under Soviet occupation, reparations and land reform sparked an ecological and economic revolution in the German countryside until the late 1940s. German foresters could not do anything as the Soviet Union purged experienced forest ecologists and silviculturists. With the end of formal Soviet occupation, the new East German government took shape. The German Communist Party was reconstituted in April 1946 as the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and announced the formation of the East German state three years later. East Germany's foresters took responsibility for forest management as the new government appeared to adopt pragmatic policies and conservationist, close-to-nature forestry.Less

Staging a fightback

Geoff Horn

in Crossing the floor: Reg Prentice and the crisis of British social democracy

This chapter examines Prentice‘s fightback campaign and his attempts to reverse the deselection decision of his local party in Newham North East. His strategy involved using his right of appeal as an ... More

This chapter examines Prentice‘s fightback campaign and his attempts to reverse the deselection decision of his local party in Newham North East. His strategy involved using his right of appeal as an opportunity to publicise the influence of the Left, highlight the predicament of the Right, and provide evidence that Labour‘s Left-Right coalition was irreparably fractured. Underlying his public campaign was a growing view that the Party would inevitably have to break up, with the creation of a new social democratic party. It was at this stage that Prentice became a potential catalyst for realignment, but the cause was negatively affected by short-term factors, including the initial success of a new incomes policy agreed between the Government and the trade unions. It also became apparent that the confrontational approach to internal party divisions pursued by Prentice and his associates was opposed by the majority of their natural allies on the Right. Influential figures, including amongst the Jenkinsite faction, favoured attempts at conciliation with the Left to ensure party unity.Less

‘Lucullus’: Opera and National Identity

Joy H. Calico

in Brecht at the Opera

This chapter argues for the significance of Lucullus in the nation-building project undertaken by both the ruling SED (Socialist Unity Party) and prominent intellectuals in the Soviet-Occupied Zone, ... More

This chapter argues for the significance of Lucullus in the nation-building project undertaken by both the ruling SED (Socialist Unity Party) and prominent intellectuals in the Soviet-Occupied Zone, subsequently the German Democratic Republic. It highlights the agreement that opera had a role to play, but its form, its message, and its sound were major points of contention between SED leadership and intellectuals returning from exile in the West. The Trial of Lucullus (Das Verhör des Lukullus) and its attendant dispute marked a watershed moment in the development of cultural policy in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Because portraying the Lucullus controversy as an early step in a regime's ineluctable course to repression ignores the genuine, messy processes through which a young nation attempted to establish its identity and the familiar, nation-building role opera played in that agenda.Less

Building the Stasi in the German Democratic Republic

Molly Pucci

in Security Empire: The Secret Police in Communist Eastern Europe

This chapter examines the creation of the East German Stasi in February 1950 and the training of new officials in the 1952 Campaign to Build Socialism. It places the founding of the Stasi in the ... More

This chapter examines the creation of the East German Stasi in February 1950 and the training of new officials in the 1952 Campaign to Build Socialism. It places the founding of the Stasi in the context of a radical shift in the internal culture of the leading Socialist Unity Party, which was transformed from a mass organization to a ruling elite through terror and expulsions between 1948 and 1951. Throughout, it explores the shift from Soviet to East German jurisdiction in the security forces, police, and courts. It concludes with a discussion of the uprising in Germany in June 1953 and its consequences for the Stasi’s structure and personnel.Less

Subnational Undemocratic Regime Continuity in Mexico: Puebla and Oaxaca

Agustina Giraudy

in Democrats and Autocrats: Pathways of Subnational Undemocratic Regime Continuity within Democratic Countries

This chapter compares the influence of presidential power on SUR continuity in two Mexican SURs during the years of the first two PAN administrations, under Presidents Vincente Fox and Felipe ... More

This chapter compares the influence of presidential power on SUR continuity in two Mexican SURs during the years of the first two PAN administrations, under Presidents Vincente Fox and Felipe Calderón. Unlike in Argentina, Presidents Fox and Calderón could count on loyal copartisans at local government levels to foster the national–local alliances necessary to challenge subnational rulers’ power from within. As the results of the analyses depict, partisan presidential power was strong in Puebla, leading to SUR reproduction from above. In Oaxaca, in contrast, partisan presidential power was ineffective, prompting Presidents Fox and Calderón to strategically oppose and weaken the regime. Still, because autocrats managed to ensure party elite unity they were able to uphold the SUR’s local power and sustain the regime in power. These results again underscore the extent to which within-country differences between SURs dramatically affect different SURs’ chances of maintaining power.Less

Revolutionary Laws: Emergence and Emergency

in The Skin of the System: On Germany's Socialist Modernity

In the early 1970s, critical socialists such as Franz Fühmann and Christa Wolf had felt optimistic that the Socialist Unity Party (SED) dictatorship in East Germany would finally give way to a mature ... More

In the early 1970s, critical socialists such as Franz Fühmann and Christa Wolf had felt optimistic that the Socialist Unity Party (SED) dictatorship in East Germany would finally give way to a mature era in which there would be “no taboos in the realm of art and literature.” However, the hardline revision of the criminal code in 1979 was anything but a mature piece of normative reflection on what the content of socialist justice could be. Instead, it demonstrated the sharpening strategic considerations of a system that seemed incapable of feeling secure in its sovereignty. This chapter shows that the promised new law of socialist order in East Germany remains stubbornly suspended between the emergence of socialism and its catastrophic state of emergency. This suspension is evident in Fühmann's correspondence around the time of several aggressive legal actions against East German writers in the mid-1970s.Less