Authoritarianism and UMNO's factional conflicts

Abstract

Do democratic political regimes facilitate more robust environmental and natural resource regulatory policies? Yes, in many cases. Using detailed cases of natural resource policy making in Thailand, however, we find that neither political parties nor civil society nor state institutions do well in representing diffuse interests, mediating among conflicting ones or defining compromises and securing their acceptance by most key players. Gains in environmental or natural resource policy making have not been dramatically more likely under democratic regimes than under “liberal authoritarian” ones with broad freedoms of speech and association. We argue that Thailand's democratic political system features weak linkages between groups in society and political parties, lacks alternative encompassing or brokering institutions in civil society, and that these features account for a tendency for political democracy to fail to deliver on its policy potential in Thailand.     

Analysen zur Entstehung der Massenparteien und zu ihrem Einfluß auf das Parlament: Ostrogorski,Michels, Weber

SUMMARY

The object of this article is the analysis of Ostrogorski's, Michels' and Weber's statements on the connections between parties and Parliament. These three authors are really known as the founders of the sociology of parties, but their consideration of the relations between parties and Parliament in the time of mass-society represents an interesting component of their inquiry. Firstly, their remarks are significant in the historical respect, because they take into account (although in different ways) the problematical function of mediation taken on by the parties in political life; secondly, they arouse interest from the political point of view, because they look for alternative solutions and emendations. Their suggestions concern both the internal organization of the party, how to obtain more flexibility in the framework and more democracy and discussion on the decision-making level, and the integration of the party-system in a general political system of balance of powers, which should include at the same time a more consistent development of direct and participative democracy.     

Le probléme des origines des Assemblées d'États: Réflexions méthodologiques à la lumière de l'histoire sud‐est européenne de l'institution

Summary

This paper examines the relations between republican and democratic forces in Restoration Spain. From the middle of the last century, republicanism was the political movement most clearly involved with the democratization of Spanish politics. After the collapse of the 1873 Republic, the republican movement went through a severe crisis which led to its fragmentation over issues both of principle (federalists against unitarists) and of practice (revolutionaries against reformists). Between 1873 and 1931 Spanish republicanism underwent a marked transformation. The old republicanism was characterized by the modes of political activity of the nineteenth century — the club, the committee, the masonic lodge. The new republicanism, on the other hand, emerged from the first decade of the present century clearly moving in the direction of the modern political parties which finally crystallized out in 1931. Together the Radical and the Reformist parties are a case‐study in the transition between the classical and the modern which perfectly exemplifies the hybrid nature of republican democracy.

Though Spanish republicanism was socially heterogeneous, embracing within its various parts elements of the upper and middle bourgeoisie, substantial sections of the petty, urban bourgeoisie, and a declining, but still numerous, section of the working class, it still needed an alliance with the socialists (the Conjunción of 1910). However, what was most notable about Spanish republicanism was its link with the intelligentsia; it was they who gave it its character and who made the greatest effort to integrate Spain into the most modern currents of European thought.     

Political Parties and Women’s Rights in Turkey

Abstract

Political parties are important political actors, but they are seldom studied in relation to human rights. This article examines the human rights discourse of political parties in Turkey by focusing on women’s rights. The content analysis of party programmes issued by major political parties between 1923 and 2007 reveals significant differences and changes in parties’ approach to women, ranging from no mentioning of women to addressing women’s issues from a feminist perspective. Women’s rights and issues, once neglected practically by all political parties, have gained attention during the last few decades, largely due to women’s activism. While conservative, religious, and Turkish nationalist parties started to display a dualist approach that combines traditionalism with gender equality, social democrat, socialist, and pro-Kurdish parties increasingly employ feminist terminology and analysis.     

Slovaks in the Prague Parliament 1918–1938

SUMMARY

Matej Hanula examines the activities of Slovaks in the Prague parliament during the period of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Slovaks in the National Assembly were divided not only between the left and the right of the political spectrum but also according to their attitude towards relations between Slovakia and the Czech lands. One side consisted of parties standing for Czechoslovak national unity—the socialist parties and the Agrarian Party who were dependent on their Prague headquarters. The other side advocated Slovak national independence and regional autonomy within the territory of Czechoslovakia. The two groups were not able to find common ground even on the basic economic needs of Slovakia. But the policy of all Slovaks was based on the territory of the republic. In critical moments they had been its consistent supporters also in parliament.     

Communicating with their voters: The use of direct mailing by the SPD and the CDU

One of the key functions of political parties in modern democracies consists of mobilising the voters and thereby integrating them into the political system. Opinion formation and interest representation by political parties are central to linking people and government. This article concentrates on the way in which political parties perform these tasks. Presenting the main findings of an empirical study into the use of direct mailing by the two major parties in Germany, the SPD and the CDU, the paper discusses its effectiveness as a new means of communication between political parties and their voters. More specifically, it shows how direct mailing is put to use and to what extent its themes reflect the themes of relevant election programmes. The paper concludes that direct mailing has been more widely used only since the change in legislation on party finance but has the potential of developing into an important means of communicating party policies to members and potential supporters.     

From the Rainy Place to the Burnt Palace: How Social Movements Form their Political Strategies. The Case of the Six Federations of the Tropic of Cochabamba

How do social movements form their political strategies? The relevant theory pays considerable attention to structure, and argues that when political opportunities are open, movements are more likely to opt for a systemic political strategy; when they are closed, movements are expected to take a more revolutionary turn. However, political opportunities can make some options appear more ‘realistic’ and others less so, but movements don't always behave ‘realistically’. They might explain when movements are more likely to mobilise and what repertoires they adopt once they do so, but they do not account for what happens earlier on: by what mechanisms the movements form their political strategies. Exploring the case of the cocaleros of the Chapare, this article argues that more emphasis should be placed on mechanisms that are internal to the movements, such as: (a) the resonance of other political experiences at home and abroad, (b) internal struggles for ideological hegemony, and (c) the political formation of their grassroots.     

Opposition Coordination in Singapore’s 2015 General Elections

Abstract

Recent political science scholarship suggests that when opposition political parties are able to coalesce into a united coalition against an authoritarian regime, they will perform better in authoritarian elections, and can more credibly bargain with the regime for liberalising reforms. Yet, most of this literature pays little attention to the variety of ways in which opposition parties cooperate with each other. Drawing on the literature on the bargaining model of war, the author sketches out a theoretical framework to explain how opposition parties coordinate to develop non-competition agreements. Such agreements entail opposition parties bargaining over which political party should contest or withdraw in which constituencies to ensure straight fights against the dominant authoritarian incumbent in each electoral district. The author then applies this framework to explain opposition coordination in Singapore’s 2015 general elections, focusing on the conflict between the Workers’ Party and the National Solidarity Party.     

The Latvian student corps and politics in the inter-war period of the twentieth century

Abstract

To date, Latvia's student corps have remained a neglected topic in the country's political history, notwithstanding the size of these organisations and the fact that they have been in existence for more than a century. Those accounts that do exist have for the most part been written by corps members themselves, and have not included any real analysis of the corps' interaction with society or their role in Latvian political life. A study of these issues opens up new avenues towards a better understanding of the activity and influence of interest groups in Latvian politics during the 1920s and 1930s. Unlike many other social organisations, the student corps (also including the alumni societies) are often seen as linked to the activity of the major parties, to the coup d'état of 1934 and to radical Latvian nationalism.     

Identity and political preferences in Ukraine – before and after the Euromaidan

Abstract

Taking advantage of a panel survey in Ukraine before and after the Euromaidan, we analyze the relationship between ethnicity, language practice, and civic identities on the one hand and political attitudes on the other. We find that while ethnic identities and language practices change little on the aggregate level over the period, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of people thinking of Ukraine as their homeland. There has also been a large fall in support for a close political and economic relationship with Russia and some increase in support for joining the European Union. Nevertheless, we find that identities in general, and language practice in particular, remain powerful predictors of political attitudes and that people are more likely to shift attitudes to reflect their identities rather than modify their identities to match their politics.     

Political parties in Ghana: agents of democracy?

Political parties are generally thought of as agents of democracy that fulfil a range of functions, such as policy formulation, interest aggregation and articulation, social integration, and elite recruitment. However, given the weakness of many African parties, are they able to contribute positively to democracy? This article seeks to answer this question by using Ghana – one of Africa's most successful democracies – as a case study. It is found that parties in Ghana are comparatively strong and do indeed mobilise large numbers of voters. They even expose a degree of ideological competition and have successfully adapted their strategies to the local context. On the other hand, they expose serious weaknesses in the field of social integration and interest representation. Against this background it is argued that even in procedurally well-functioning democracies like Ghana, political parties can be instruments of elite competition that contribute to the exclusion of the poor from decision-making.     

Party patronage and merit-based bureaucratic reform in Pakistan

ABSTRACT

How do ruling political parties accommodate their members’ demand for access to state patronage with a push for merit-based bureaucratic reform? I argue that political commitment to reform is contingent on electoral calculations within the party. Therefore, distortions in reform implementation reveal not only dynamics within the party itself, but also the significance of appointing the right bureaucrats to the right posts to regulate access to patronage. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in Punjab, I contextualise political commitment to bureaucratic reform to provide an explanation for their unsustainability and for persistently low state capacity in countries with weak, patronage-reliant parties.     

Application of Ex ante measures in political delegation: The case of Lithuania

Abstract

This article employs the principal-agent model to broaden the understanding of the interrelationship between Lithuanian political parties and the members of parliament (MPs). An analysis of ex ante measures in containing agency losses revealed that Lithuanian political parties (the proximate principals) encounter undisciplined behaviour on the part of their MPs (the agents). Furthermore, the majority of political parties have experienced difficulties in selecting the ‘right’ candidates and the ‘right’ MPs. This outcome challenges the principles of delegation and accountability and, most likely, diminishes the representative functions of the Lithuanian political parties at the initial stage of the political delegation chain.     

Fission and fusion of parties in Estonia, 1987–1999

Abstract

We provide a schematic history of contemporary Estonian political parties, 1987–99, in which we specify dates of party origin and subsequent fissions and fusions of some fifty movements and parties, and we briefly discuss some important factors and features in party formation. Our analysis begins with the seminal 1987–94 period that marked the rebirth of Estonian democracy, with an extension to two subsequent parliamentary elections (1995 and 1999). We argue that the early phase of Estonian party competition generally exemplifies what we call “kaleidoscopic parties”: parties that form around leaders rather than durable issues and lack any organizational permanency or any real voter attachment. However, the rate of formation of new groups has decreased, and the major parties may be becoming more stable than in the past. While there is some evidence of a left-right patterning now emerging in the political debate in Estonia, the parties have not aligned themselves along such a left-right continuum.     

Cambodia and the United Nations - Legal Documents

ABSTRACT

This study examines the evolution of political party finance in Thailand, which has been crucial for party development. The nature of party finance cannot be examined separately from the country's democratization given that the military early on dominated political parties. At the same time, such financing traditionally depended upon either regional factions (for larger parties) or party leaders (for micro-parties), while state funding for parties was nonexistent. The 1998 and 2007 Organic Acts on Political Parties contained finance reforms to strengthen parties, making them more transparent and accountable. Yet these reforms have only been partly successful. Today party leaders, faction leaders, and the military continue to influence party finance. This study addresses the issue of party finance in Thailand by scrutinizing its historical evolution from the dawn of Thai parties and party laws in the 1950s to the present. The authors conclude, first, that the limited nature of party finance laws in the pre-1998 period legitimized military-backed parties while facilitating intra-party factionalism. Second, they contend that despite reforms in party finance laws in Thailand major flaws remain to be corrected.     

Protectionism versus Reformism: The Battle for Taukei Ascendancy in Fiji’s 2014 General Election

Abstract

Discussion of intra-communal discourse in Fiji has often been overshadowed by the focus on inter-communal tension. Although the two are linked in dynamic ways, it is important to have an insight into some of the fundamental ideological schisms that have shaped inter-communal politics because they do shape the form and trajectory of national politics in a significant way. This was so during the 2014 election when the two leading political parties, FijiFirst and the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), put in significant resources and effort into mobilising Taukei (indigenous Fijian) votes. The differences between the two parties represented the two sides of the Taukei political divide. FijiFirst pushed for fundamental reform and transformation of the Taukei society whereas SODELPA was protective of neo-traditional institutions and values, and the collision between these divergent ideological stances was a central political battle ground in the election.     

The Impact of Mixed‐member Districts on Legislators' Behavior: The Case of Bolivia

Many studies suggest that mixed‐member electoral systems produce different attitudes and behaviors among representatives. This article assesses how this type of electoral system shapes Bolivian legislators' perceptions of their roles as representatives, their district activities, and their relationships with their political parties. It examines these dimensions using elite survey data and interviews with legislators and their personal assistants. The results show that the electoral system does not produce a uniform impact. It shapes how legislators perceive their role as representatives and the nature of the relationship they build with their political parties, but it does not produce differences in the kinds of activities that both types of legislators carry out in their districts.     

Stammwähler und die opportunistische Wahl parteipolitischer Programme

This article explains political radicalism by the number of voters who are biased towards a party. With little voters biased in favor of a party, this party has to rely more heavily on its programmatic distance to other parties. Because large parties – i.e.: parties with a high number of biased voters – gain votes when they move to the center of the political spectrum, parties with a lower number of voters that are biased in their favor are forced to the edges of the policy space. We draw on a computational model of political competition between four parties in a two‐dimensional policy space to investigate this relationship. We use panel corrected OLS estimates to analyze the data generated by the computer simulation. Our results substantiate the hypothesis of a negative relationship between the number of biased voters and the inclination of a party to adopt a more extreme policy stance.     

“Land Grabbing” in an Autocracy and a Multi-Party Democracy: China and India Compared

ABSTRACT

Both China and India have witnessed extensive land expropriation by the state from farmers for use in industrialisation and urbanisation projects. Land conflicts have ensued from these developments. This article poses two questions: (i) Why do we see a similar escalation of land dispossession in both countries, despite their distinctively dissimilar political systems, one being a one-party authoritarian regime, the other being a multi-party democracy?; and (ii) How does the different regime type affect the politics of dispossession? Despite their diverse political institutions, government officials have been given similar incentives to chase growth by developing land, but the institutions create diverging environments for aggrieved citizens to mobilise for collective action. While it is unsurprising that the interests of the poor and weak are not protected in an autocracy, democracy provides no automatic safety valve in defending marginalised citizens either.     

General Election 2015 in Singapore: What Social Media Did and Did not Do

Abstract

The online buzz leading up to the 2015 Singapore general election (GE2015) favoured opposition parties and personalities, encouraging perceptions that the opposition would garner more votes than in 2011. Instead, the ruling People’s Action Party won and saw an increase in their vote share from 60.1% in 2011 to 69.9%. What role, then, did social media play in this election? This study shows that, against prevailing assumptions, GE2015 was not a social media election. Through an online survey of 2,000 respondents conducted after polling day, it was found that mainstream media and their online counterparts were used most frequently and were trusted more as sources of information about the election. Online and offline political participation was also low. However, social media users were more interested in election issues, were more likely to discuss politics with others and participated more in offline political activities than non-users.