scholarly journals Populist leaders and political parties

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-140
Author(s):  
N. W. Barber

AbstractPopulism is a particular type of constitutional pathology; a brand of groupthink in which a leader establishes a direct connection with the people and, by virtue of this connection, is able to govern outside the established constitutional processes of the state. This Article reflects on the interaction between populism and political parties. It argues that one of the roles of political parties is to act as a medium between political elites and the people; a medium that can, or should, enable the people to exercise control over this elite through their membership of parties. Populism therefore presents a threat to the proper operation of political parties, and the proper operation of political parties correspondingly threatens populism.This Article begins by reflecting on the nature of populism. It does not pretend to provide a complete account of that phenomenon, but rather aspires to identify one strand of populist rule: A particular type of connection between the leader and her people. Second, the paper reflects on the constitutional role of political parties. Whilst political parties have often been treated critically in British constitutional scholarship, it will be argued that they are essential to the success of the democratic process: Modern representative democracy cannot function in their absence. Finally, these two sections of the paper will be drawn together: One explanation for the rise of populism is the weakness of political parties, and one way of combating, or mitigating, populism is for the state, and the citizenry, to support and facilitate parties. This Article suggests a correlation between the decline of political parties and the rise of populism, but it cautiously avoids making claims of causation. It could be that the decline of political parties leads to the rise of populism, as voters who are faced with a choice of superannuated parties turn, instead, to charismatic individuals. Or it could be that the rise of populism leads to the decline of political parties, as voters develop a direct relationship with leaders and, as a result, cease to engage with each other within the context of parties. Or, perhaps, these interactions might occur together, forming a feedback loop, with the decline of parties leading to the rise of populism which, in turn, hastens party decay.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunal Debnath

Tamil politics in India has an enduring characteristic of a sub-nationalist orientation which,<br>sometimes, bares with the populist mobilization by the political parties of Tamil Nadu. Recently,<br>the working president of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, one of the prominent political parties of<br>Tamil Nadu, recycles the issue of Dravida Nadu, a hypothetical land for the Tamils own based<br>on their ethnonational identity, which had been dropped almost 55 years ago. Dravida Nadu<br>highlights the linguistic, cultural and ethnonational resistance against north-Indian dominated<br>pan-Indian nationalism. Cauvery water dispute, debate over Jallikattu, anti-Hindi stance, and<br>protest against the terms of reference of the Fifteenth Finance Commission are the signs of anticentre<br>campaign in Tamil politics and being used not only for upholding Tamil cultural<br>nationalism but for mobilizing the people in electoral combat zone in Tamil Nadu.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kunal Debnath

Tamil politics in India has an enduring characteristic of a sub-nationalist orientation which,<br>sometimes, bares with the populist mobilization by the political parties of Tamil Nadu. Recently,<br>the working president of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, one of the prominent political parties of<br>Tamil Nadu, recycles the issue of Dravida Nadu, a hypothetical land for the Tamils own based<br>on their ethnonational identity, which had been dropped almost 55 years ago. Dravida Nadu<br>highlights the linguistic, cultural and ethnonational resistance against north-Indian dominated<br>pan-Indian nationalism. Cauvery water dispute, debate over Jallikattu, anti-Hindi stance, and<br>protest against the terms of reference of the Fifteenth Finance Commission are the signs of anticentre<br>campaign in Tamil politics and being used not only for upholding Tamil cultural<br>nationalism but for mobilizing the people in electoral combat zone in Tamil Nadu.


2021 ◽  
pp. 186810342110278
Author(s):  
Inaya Rakhmani ◽  
Muninggar Sri Saraswati

All around the globe, populism has become increasingly prominent in democratic societies in the developed and developing world. Scholars have attributed this rise at a response to the systematic reproduction of social inequalities entwined with processes of neoliberal globalisation, within which all countries are inextricably and dynamically linked. However, to theorise populism properly, we must look at its manifestations in countries other than the West. By taking the case of Indonesia, the third largest democracy and the largest economy in Southeast Asia, this article critically analyses the role of the political campaign industry in mobilising narratives in electoral discourses. We use the Gramscian notion of consent and coercion, in which the shaping of populist narratives relies on mechanisms of persuasion using mass and social media. Such mechanisms allow the transformation of political discourses in conjunction with oligarchic power struggle. Within this struggle, political campaigners narrate the persona of political elites, while cyber armies divide and polarise, to manufacture allegiance and agitation among the majority of young voters as part of a shifting social base. As such, we argue that, together, the narratives – through engineering consent and coercion – construct authoritarian populism that pits two crowds of “the people” against each other, while aligning them with different sections of the “elite.”


2021 ◽  

Since the dawn of colonialism in Southern Africa, the province of the Eastern Cape emerged as the cradle of African resistance against colonial oppression. A closer look at the province reveals opportunities for progress and ultimate resurgence of economic and social development, yet conflated by a myriad of challenges. This book brings together different perspectives and realities of the post-apartheid Eastern Cape to provide an in-depth exploration of the developmental dilemmas that the province faces. This book provides insightful reflections on development and its sustainability some 25 years since democracy, and specifically focuses on sociological and demographic realities in the areas of migration and its impact on families. The book further grapples with the role of the state in developing culture and heritage in the province, pointing to fundamental and multiple challenges of deprivation, unemployment and subsequent community resilience in a variety of sectors including health and education. While it provides a historical analysis of contextual issues facing the province, the book also highlights the agency of the people of the Eastern Cape in confronting challenges in leadership, accountability, citizen participation and service provision. The book will be useful for development scholars and practitioners who are interested in understanding the state of the province, and similar settings, and the degree to which it has emerged from the shadows of its colonial and apartheid legacies.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Koh

AbstractIn the drama of negotiation of state boundaries, the role of local administrators as mediators is indispensable. They mediate between state demands for more discipline and societal demands for more liberties. Their ability and willingness to enforce determines the extent of state power. They are a particular type of elites chosen by the state to administer; yet often they have an irrational and morally corrupt relationship with their subjects. The questions that arise then are: When do the local administrators decide to or not to enforce the rules? What considerations do they hold in the face of contradicting demands for their loyalties? This paper seeks answers to the above questions by examining state enforcement of its construction rules in Hanoi after 1975, in which the ward, a level of local administrators in the urban administration landscape, plays an important role in holding up (or letting down) the fences. I will examine the irrationality of the housing regime that led to widespread offences against construction rules, and then show why and how local administrators may or may not enforce rules. This paper comprises two parts. The first part outlines the nature and history of the housing regime in Vietnam and the situation of state provision of housing to the people. These provide the context in which illegal construction arises. Part Two looks at illegal construction in Hanoi chronologically, and focuses on important episodes. The theme that runs through this paper is the role of local administrators in the reality of illegal construction.


Author(s):  
Yuriy Kyrychenko ◽  
Hanna Davlyetova

The article examines the role of political parties in modern state-building processes in Ukraine. The place of political parties in the political and legal system of society is determined. The general directions of overcoming problematic situations of activity of political parties in Ukraine are offered. It is noted that political parties play an important role in the organization and exercise of political power, act as a kind of mediator between civil society and public authorities, influence the formation of public opinion and the position of citizens directly involved in elections to public authorities and local governments. It is determined that in a modern democratic society, political parties carry out their activities in the following areas: the work of representatives of political parties in public authorities and local governments; participation in elections of state authorities and local self-government bodies; promoting the formation and expression of political will of citizens, which involves promoting the formation and development of their political legal consciousness. These areas of political parties determine their role and importance in a modern democratic society, which determines the practical need to improve their activities and improve the national legislation of Ukraine in the field of political parties. Political parties are one of the basic institutions of modern society, they actively influence the ac-tivities of public authorities, economic and social processes taking place in the state and so on. It is through political parties that the people participate in the management of public affairs. Expressing the interest of different social communities, they become a link between the state and civil society. The people have the opportunity to delegate their powers to political parties, which achieves the ability of the people to control political power in several ways, which at the same time through competition of state political institutions and political parties contributes to increasing their responsibility to the people. It is noted that the political science literature has more than 200 definitions of political parties. And approaches to the definition of this term significantly depend on the general context in which this issue was studied by the researcher. It was emphasized that today in Ukraine there are important issues related to the activities of political parties. First of all, it is a significant number of registered political parties that are incapable, ie their political activity is conducted formally or not at all. According to official data from the Department of State Registration and Notary of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, 352 political parties are registered, of which 48 political parties do not actually function. The reason for the liquidation of such parties is not to nominate their candidates for the election of the President of Ukraine and People's Deputies of Ukraine for 10 years. According to this indicator, Ukraine ranks first among other European countries. Thus, 73 political parties are officially registered in Latvia, 38 in Lithuania, 45 in Moldova, 124 in Romania, and 56 in Slovakia. However, despite the large number of officially registered political parties in Ukraine, public confidence in their activities is low. It is concluded that political parties occupy a special place in the political and legal system of society and play an important role in the organization and exercise of political power, as well as a kind of mediator between civil society and public authorities. The general directions of overcoming problematic situations of activity of political parties in Ukraine are offered, namely: introduction of effective and impartial control over activity of political parties; creating conditions for reducing the number of political parties, encouraging their unification; establishment of effective and efficient sanctions for violation of the requirements of the current legislation of Ukraine by political parties.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Winda Roselina Effendi

Walfare State concept born in the era of the 20th century as a correction of the development of the concept of the country as night watchman, the phenomenon of economic capitalism that gradually leads to lameness in the distribution of sources of prosperity. In the Walfare State concept, the state is required to extend its responsibility to the socio-economic problems facing the people. The functions of the state also include activities that were previously beyond the scope of state functions, such as extending the provision of social services to individuals and families in specific matters, such as social security. The role of the state can not be separated with Welfare State because the state that plays a role in managing the economy which includes the responsibility of the state to ensure the availability of basic welfare services in certain levels. Welfare State does not reject the existence of a capitalist market economy system but believes that there are elements in the public order that are more important than market objectives and can only be achieved by controlling and limiting the operation of such market mechanisms.Keywords: walfare state, country, economic systemKonsep Walfare State yang lahir di era abad ke-20 sebagai koreksi berkembangnya konsep negara sebagai penjaga malam, gejala kapitalisme perekonomian yang secara perlahan-lahan menyebabkan terjadinya kepincangan dalam pembagian sumber-sumber kemakmuran bersarma. Dalam konsep Walfare State, negara dituntut untuk memperluas tanggung jawabnya kepada masalah-masalah sosial ekonomi yang dihadapi rakyat. Fungsi negara juga meliputi kegiatan-kegiatan yang sebelumnya berada diluar jangkauan fungsi negara, seperti memperluas ketentuan pelayanan sosial kepada individu dan keluarga dalam hal-hal khusus, seperti social security, kesehatan.  Peran negara tidak bisa dipisahkan dengan Welfare State karena negara yang berperan dalam mengelola perekonomian yang yang di dalamnya mencakup tanggung jawab negara untuk menjamin ketersediaan pelayanan kesejahteraan dasar dalam tingkat tertentu. Welfare State tidak menolak keberadaan sistem ekonomi pasar kapitalis tetapi meyakini bahwa ada elemen-elemen dalam tatanan masyarakat yang lebih penting dari tujuan-tujuan pasar dan hanya dapat dicapai dengan mengendalikan dan membatasi bekerjanya mekanisme pasar tersebut. Kata Kunci: walfare state, negara,sistem ekonomi 


2019 ◽  
pp. 46-73
Author(s):  
Amy Austin Holmes

This chapter analyzes the first wave of the revolution against Hosni Mubarak. Refuting arguments that focus on the role of the social media, or divisions among the elite, and the alleged neutrality of the Egyptian military, the chapter illustrates that it was a revolutionary coalition of the middle and lower classes that created a breaking point for the regime. Key features of this mass mobilization included the refusal of protesters to be cowed by state violence, the creation of “liberated zones” occupied by the people, “popular security” organizations that replaced the repressive security apparatus of the state, and strikes that crippled the economy in the final days of the Mubarak era. Key moments during the 18 days are described with ethnographic detail, including the unfiltered reactions of protesters to the deployment of soldiers on January 28. The revolutionary nature of the uprising is that people demanded more than just the ouster of Mubarak—they wanted to topple “the regime” by naming the names of a slew of Mubarak’s cronies to remove them from power.


2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renske Doorenspleet

This article aims to bring the people to the heart of democracy measurement. Existing measurements have reinforced the idea that democracy is the domain of the state with its procedures, institutions and political elites. But where are the people in those measurements? So far, when we measure democracy we rely on experts who determine what democracy is, while people’s views have been ignored. This happens not only during the phase of conceptualization, but also during operationalization. The specific way we measure democracy feeds elitism and is emblematic of how our discipline has developed, namely an ivory tower in which political scientists define and measure democracy without taking people’s views seriously. The article proposes new people-centred measures of democracy and discusses their effect on the rankings of countries and their strengths and weaknesses. The future of the study of democracy lies in developing new measures that challenge our current understanding of democracy and assist us in developing new perspectives, thus reinvigorating democracy studies.


2020 ◽  
pp. 82-89
Author(s):  
T. I. Kononchuk

The article deals with the work of Panteleimon Kulish (1819–1897) as a literary critic. Here is analyzed his article about Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovianenko, which was published in 1858 in St. Petersburg in a separate brochure. It has been found out that consideration of the writer’s creativity in the historical and world context, conclusion of generalizations, clarification of the most characteristic aesthetic features of the analyzed works, view on creativity through the author’s biography, journalism, emotionality, argumentation are characteristic for style of Kulish as a literary critic. At the beginning of the article, Kulish talks about the place and role of literature in society. He draws attention to the development and level of literature in the context of the historical development of the state. He gives examples from different literatures and concludes that the development of culture does not always go hand in hand with the development of the state. The author says that the opposite is the case: the decline of a state or kingdom is observed, and at the same time, literature, culture is developing. P. Kulish gives examples from Czech, Polish literature. These facts are important to him because he sees the same in Ukrainian literature. Kulish speaks about literature as a national spirit living in the artistic word. He emphasizes that literature is the key to being a nation. Analyzing the work of H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, P. Kulish draws attention to the language of works as the main factor of the text, because of which language appears as a representation of the national spirit, as a guarantee of prosperity of the people. He emphasizes that through literature the people manifest their mission of philanthropy. The works of H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko, writes P. Kulish, have appeared during difficult years, and show national spirit, they are organic with time requirements. The author briefly describes the biography of H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko. The journalistic style is characteristic of him. P. Kulish explains where H. Kvitka got his knowledge of the Ukrainian language, why he was so respectful to religion, which later became one of the central themes in his work. In analyzing H. Kvitka-Osnovyanenko’s stories, P. Kulish emphasizes moral and ethical aspects. According to one article by Panteleimon Kulish, we see that he is an interesting critic. His text contains a lot of information, generalizations, reveals typical in the history of peoples and cultures.


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