Consociationalism and Intergovernmental Relations ‐ Linking Internal and External Power‐Sharing in the Swiss Federal Polity1

For several decades, comparative politics has treated the Swiss political system as the prime example of a power‐sharing polity in which consociationalism and cooperative intergovernmental relations co‐exist in a mutually reinforcing manner. Surprisingly enough, so far the linkages between these two types of power‐sharing have been neither adequately theorized nor empirically analyzed. In order to substantiate how intra‐governmental power‐sharing facilitates intergovernmental cooperation, this paper proposes a rational choice approach specifying different mechanisms driving actors' choices in favour of or against strong intergovernmental arrangements (IGAs). Just to mention two of the mechanisms at work: given multi‐party executives in the cantons, over time, party compositions hardly change and ideological differences between cantonal executives are moderate. Hence, a fairly stable horizontal interest profile characterized by little ideological divergence facilitates the setting‐up of strongly institutionalized IGAs. These mechanisms are examined empirically, first, by systematically assessing the organization of Swiss intergovernmental relations and second, by identifying the motives of Swiss intergovernmental actors to establish the given structures on the basis of in‐depths interviews. While the results indicate that intra‐cantonal power‐sharing facilitates inter‐governmental institutionalization, they also reveal what culturalist approaches on Swiss federalism presupposing actors' inclination towards cooperation commonly overlook, namely Swiss actors' strategic moves to guard own powers and defend institutional self‐interests affecting organizational developments in the intergovernmental arena.     

Pre-capitalist Reproduction on the Nepal Tarai: Semi-feudal Agriculture in an Era of Globalisation

This article highlights the continued significance of pre-capitalist formations in shaping the trajectory of economic transition in peripheral regions, even in an era of neo-liberal globalisation. There is a tendency for Marxist scholars to assume the inevitable “dominance” of capitalism over older modes of production. Using a case study from Nepal's far eastern Tarai, this paper seeks to understand the reproduction of feudal social relations in a region which is both accessible and integrated into regional and global markets. The paper traces the early subordination of indigenous groups to feudalism from the eighteenth century onwards, and the political and ideological processes through which these social relations were reinforced. Through examining the historical role of feudal-colonial alliances, however, the paper notes that pre-capitalist reproduction in Nepal is a dynamic process, actively negotiated and reinforced by the external imperatives of capitalist expansion itself as well as through the entrenched political power of landed classes. Today feudal and capitalist formations co-exist and articulate, with surplus divided between landlords and non-farm employers. Understanding the complex dynamics of feudal or “semi-feudal” reproduction in an era of globalisation is crucial if one is to identify avenues for collective mobilisation against inequitable pre-capitalist and capitalist class relations.     

Contra‐Associational Strategy in a Hybrid Regime: Ecuador, 2007–2015

Over the last decade, political scientists have identified Ecuador as one of Latin America's hybrid regimes. This article examines how President Rafael Correa combined legal reforms, bureaucratic controls and other policies in a contra‐associational strategy aimed at extending executive control over civil society. While the strategy significantly altered the operational environment for civil society groups, it did not completely strip them of their capacity to oppose the regime. Ecuador's experience underscores the ambiguity at play in hybrids; in pursuit of regime legitimation, regimes must cede some space to opponents while simultaneously sabotaging civil liberties.