Politicians without Parties and Parties without Politicians: The Foibles of the Peruvian Political Class, 2000–2006*

Since the collapse of the Fujimori regime in November 2000, the Peruvian political system has experienced considerable turbulence, which has focused attention on the capabilities and comportment of the country’s elected politicians. While some analysts hold that ‘there is no political class in Peru’, others maintain that since Fujimori’s demise a ‘resurrection’ has occurred in the fortunes of both parties and politicians who occupied centre stage during the 1980s. This article examines these claims, arguing that despite appearances to the contrary, the core of Peru’s political class operates in a rational and responsible fashion.     

Political Representation in Bailed-out Southern Europe: Greece and Portugal Compared

The emergence of the economic and financial crisis has already shown important electoral and political consequences in southern Europe. Drawing on the experience of two bailed-out countries, Greece and Portugal, we use original data collected before and after 2008 to examine how patterns of political representation have changed during this period. We argue that austerity measures have significantly affected the way MPs represent their electorates, namely in terms of policy congruence. In addition, the economic crisis has also deepened the legitimacy crisis in both countries. Finally, we find that the short-term impact of the crisis has had a greater impact on voters' attitudes than on those of their representatives.     

Can Politicians Control Bureaucrats? Applying Theories of Political Control to Argentina's Democracy

In the United States, an important literature shows that legislators use interest groups, courts, and budgets to assert political control over bureaucrats. Similar theories can be applied to study the scores of new democracies that have emerged in recent decades. In Argentina, politicians in the first administration of Carlos Menem (1989-95) rewrote administrative procedures and relied on both "police patrol" and "fire alarm" oversight to realign the behavior of tax bureaucrats in conformance with their own policy preferences. Whereas U.S. legislators generally prefer complex administrative procedures, different electoral incentives led their Argentine counterparts to support reforms that significantly streamlined those procedures. This finding challenges theories that attribute legislators' bureaucratic preferences to the separation or fusion of powers between the executive and legislative branches.     

Political Representation and Gender in Brazil: Quotas for Women and their Impact

In the 1990s, Brazilian Congress approved an electoral quota for female candidates in parliamentary competition (with exception of the Senate). The reticence of the law and the peculiarities of the Brazilian open lists electoral system have given rise to concern that the quotas will fail. In fact, there has been no great increase in the number of women in Brazilian legislatives – there has been some change in the municipalities, a little less in the states and almost nothing at the federal level. Analysing in detail the results of four elections to the federal Chamber of Deputies, two before and two after the quotas, it becomes apparent that, in Brazil, the impact of quotas is mediated far more than in other countries. Quotas provide, above all, an incentive to party elites to support an increase in the number of female political leaders, and the results may appear only at mid term.     

Putin,Popular Protests,and Political Trajectories in Russia: A Comparative Perspective

During December 2011, large-scale, anti-regime protests erupted across Russia. What do the Russian uprisings reveal about popular challenges to authoritarian rule and the political trajectory of contemporary Russian authoritarianism? This study identifies two models of citizen mobilization against authoritarian leaders, one focusing on street-based protests and the other using elections as the key arena for launching popular challenges. Three factors encouraging both models are analyzed: declining public support for the regime; growing evidence that leaders are no longer invincible; and changing political opportunities for the opposition. The extent to which these conditions are present in Russia and what this ledger suggests about plausible political trajectories there are evaluated.     

Gender Quotas and Political Representation in Spain and Portugal: Electoral Competition,Learning and Emulation

Contagion theory, one of the most appealing explanations of women’s representation, posits that when small parties start actively promoting women candidates, larger parties will be incentivised to follow suit and contagion will eventually spread throughout the party system. In examining the diffusion of gender quotas in Spain and Portugal, this article revisits contagion theory and adopts a more comprehensive approach. The results suggest that diffusion is better captured when one takes into account that political parties not only react to electoral competition but also adapt to policy innovation through learning and emulation, whose effects are often shaped by intra-party factors.     

菲律宾政治文化的发展过程及其特点

笔者在本文中以广义的政治文化的概念为基石 ,尝试性地将菲律宾的政治文化发展过程主要分成三个阶段 :早期政治文化、殖民地政治文化和独立后的政治文化。早期政治文化是菲律宾在东方文化的影响下形成的带有“个人权威”色彩的政治文化源头 ;殖民地政治文化是菲律宾在西班牙的殖民统治下 ,宗教作为一种文化现象对菲律宾政治文化的影响 ;独立后的政治文化是菲律宾在 1946年以后以政党政治为主要特点的政治文化。笔者从菲律宾的传统文化的特点出发 ,考察菲律宾政治发展过程和文化发展过程 ,总结菲律宾政治文化的特点 ,并从菲律宾现实的政治行为找出菲律宾政治文化的表现形式 ,从而为了解菲律宾政治运作方式提供一个新的视角。     

Politicians and decolonization of Hong Kong

This article discusses the nature of political leadership in Hong Kong in general and the dilemmas facing politicians in the process of decolonization in particular. The politicians are certainly not performing “public service” as in a colonial administration. They are competing for political power and control in the government during the transition of Hong Kong from a British colony to a Chinese Special Administrative Region. Some politicians adopt a mobilization style of leadership to draw public support; some maintain an elitist style to preserve the status quo; some use a confrontational style to push for a democratic government and to resist Chinese intervention in the internal affairs of Hong Kong; some take a cooperative and compromising approach in resolving conflicts and dealing with China; and some attempt to adopt a moderate style by emphasizing rational and workable solutions to political dilemmas. The dilemmas of transition include: (1) the choice between democracy and conservatism; (2) the proper relationship between Hong Kong and China after 1997; (3) the conflict as to whom the politicians represent: the Hong Kong people or the Chinese leaders. The choice of any two polarized positions in the dilemmas will result in devastating consequences for Hong Kong. The task of the politicians is therefore to balance, rather than to accentuate, the divergent tensions between the antagonistic political forces. In the final analysis, the politicians will have to play the role of balancer between the future sovereign master and various political actors.     

"碎片化"社会的政治整合——马来西亚的政治文化探析

复杂多元、碎片化的政治亚文化使马来西亚的各种族、各政党、各团体之间存在着紧张关系,削弱了政治整合的效能,而自由民主制度的竞争性特征更加剧了这一趋势。然而,由于各种族、各阶层的政治文化存在着相近的或共融的内容,比如权威主义心理取向和集体主义价值观等,再加上政治运作过程中逐渐磨合出的政治妥协、合作和理性等精神,既构成了马来西亚主流政治文化的内在机理,也为马来西亚的政治整合提供了有效的政治文化资源。这种政治文化奠定了马来西亚软权威主义政治的重要基石,从而成为后发国家政治发展中的一道独特的政治景观。     

华人参政与印尼政治文化革新

本文首先叙述了苏哈托统治时期,印尼华人在政治生活和文化心理上所受到的沉重打击,然后对"五月骚乱"后印尼华人的参政情况作了介绍.文章还从内外两个方面分析了印尼华人对政治生活不够积极的原因,其内因是印尼华人结构复杂,没有形成统一的族群意识,其外因是印尼政治仍有歧视华人倾向,印尼政治文化有待革新.     

Transitions between Formations and Organisations: An Historical Perspective on the Political Representation of Australian Farmers

The political representation of Australian farmers merits more attention from an historical perspective. Drawing upon the existing wealth of organisational histories it is argued that one can identify a number of shifts in the dominant organisational form or strategy pursued by primary producers in seeking political representation over time. Each phase has its own logic and rationale rooted in a range of historical conditions. The article identifies the importance of the pattern of social interaction, economic conditions and the prevailing political process in catalysing transitions between "phases" of representation. It concludes that the current debate over representation amongst primary producers and rural communities should be interpreted as the precursor to yet another phase of representation.     

Campaign Strategies of Afro-Brazilian Politicians: A Preliminary Analysis

Racial politics in Brazil have changed dramatically: the nation-state that once denied racism now enacts racial policies for Afro-Brazilians. The discourse of race has also changed: it is now common for the media to discuss Afro-Brazilians as a voting bloc. Using qualitative methods, this article tests the hypothesis that Afro-Brazilian politicians seek a racial vote from the Afro-Brazilian electorate. Analyzing campaign advertisements from select candidates in Salvador and São Paulo, this study finds that most Afro-Brazilian politicians use racial cues, and interviews show that most Afro-Brazilian politicians address racial issues during their campaigns. Not all of them seek racial votes, however: at the federal level, Afro-Brazilian politicians believe that this strategy would not get them elected. Many use campaigns nevertheless to raise racial consciousness among the electorate.