Cartelization and party change in social democracies: a comparative perspective on theParti Socialiste(PS),Partido Socialista Obrero Español(PSOE), andPartito Democratico(PD)

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Vittori
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Degree Of Polarization ◽  
Theoretical Assumption ◽  
Party Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Social Democratic Parties

In the last decades, the cartel party theory has been one of the most discussed topics in the academic literature on political parties. Several publications have dealt with the application of the theory at the systemic level, using a country as a unit of analysis. Less attention has been given thus far to the party level. This analysis is aimed at improving the study of the cartel party theory by focussing on the transformations of three social-democratic parties in Europe: theParti Socialistein France, thePartido Socialista Obrero Españolin Spain, and thePartito Democraticoin Italy. The main findings in this work will not confirmin totothe theoretical assumption of the cartel party, in particular as regards membership and, in part, political convergence. Albeit declining, membership has been resilient in the last two decades. Despite a clear-cut convergence in EU-related issues, political manifestos of mainstream parties have shown a certain degree of polarization. Finally, while the three parties under examination rely almost entirely on public subventions, political parties proved to be capable of reforming the public funding laws, increasing the transparency of donations and reducing the total amount of public subvention.

Limited Influence? The Role of the Party of European Socialists in Shaping Social Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe

2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Holmes ◽  
Simon Lightfoot
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
European Norm ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Social Democratic Parties

AbstractThis article looks at the role of the Party of European Socialists (PES) in its attempts to shape social democratic parties in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) towards a West European norm. It discusses how existing views in the academic literature on the role of transnational parties are inadequate. We argue that the PES did not play a key role in encouraging the establishment and development of parties in the CEE states from the 2004 enlargement in the early stages of accession. We contend that the overall influence of party federations has been limited, and that these limitations were as much in evidence before enlargement took place as they were afterwards.

scholarly journals Sociodemografic and psychological characteristics of voters for SNSD and SDP BiH: Two faces of social democracy in Bosnia & Herzegovina

Psihologija ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-175
Author(s):  
Srdjan Puhalo
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Psychological Characteristics ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Republika Srpska ◽  
Social Democratic Parties

There are two social democratic parties in Bosnia Herzegovina: SNSD and SDP BiH. These two parties differ regarding their origin and their political activity in Bosnia Herzegovina. Thus, it was assumed that voters of the two parties differ regarding their national composition, socio-demographic characteristics and political attitudes. In May of 2007 a face to face interview was conducted with 260 voters of SNSD and 147 voters of SDP BiH. SNSD?s voters were found to be less tolerant, less liberal and more prone to nationalism and the feeling of ethical superiority relative to voters of SDP BiH. As a matter of fact, SNSD?s voters were more similar to voters of some nationalistic political parties like SDS then to voters of SDP BiH. The observed differences between political attitudes of SNSD and SDP BiH voters was explained by increasing ethnic tensions in Bosnia Herzegovina in Spring of 2007 and by their essential dissimilarity: SNSD?s primary objective is Republika Srpska and its survival, while SDP BiH insist on unity of Bosnia Herzegovina.

Globalisation, the breaking and re-making of social democratic citizenship

2018 ◽  
pp. 111-138
Author(s):  
Hans Schattle
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
First Century ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Industrial Workers ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Base Of Support ◽  
Social Democratic Parties ◽  
Governing Institutions

Hans Schattle’s chapter explores the breaking of the postwar-era social contract across the ‘Western’ democracies alongside the dominance, since the Reagan-Thatcher era, of neoliberalism and its tenets of deregulation, privatization and unfettered trade. The legions of dislocated industrial workers who comprised an essential base of support for social democratic parties throughout the twentieth century have been relatively neglected by left and centre-left parties at the dawn of the twenty-first century as party leaders have shifted the balance of their strategies and public outreach toward the more affluent professional classes. Schattle also reckons with the sobering reality that exclusionary variants of right-wing populism have tapped the public resentment against the excesses and inequities of economic globalisation far more effectively than a renewed model of social democracy. He argues that empowerment, equity and engagement are three lodestars for the re-making of social democratic citizenship and illustrates how new voices and venues are emerging in pursuit of more auspiciously deployed governing institutions and public policies.

Public funding of political parties in Italy

Modern Italy ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Chiara Pacini
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
The State ◽  
Reimbursement System ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Problematic Issue ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Politically Active ◽  
Different Levels

Public funding of political parties in Italy has developed along quite clear-cut lines: increasingly generous reimbursements; non-selective criteria for the allocation of funds; and an increase in the number of beneficiaries. The current reimbursement system costs the State more than 250 million euros a year. The payment of such reimbursements in annual instalments means that in many cases they continue to receive funds even though they are no longer politically active. However, the most problematic issue concerns party fragmentation. Reimbursements are paid out at different levels of electoral competition (European, general and regional), effectively providing parties with different channels of funding. This is a big opportunity, above all for small parties that often find it difficult to reach the thresholds for representation and funding in some spheres of the electoral competition. This is even more evident if one considers that public funding is the main source of revenue for the Italian political parties.

The dual challenge and the reform of the Hungarian socialist party

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attila Ágh
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Third Way ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Public ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Radical Reduction ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Social Democratic Parties ◽  
The Eu

This paper deals with the new contradictions facing the social-democratic parties in ECE due to the ‘Dual Challenge’. The EU candidate countries have to perform a structural accommodation at the same time as the globalization and Europeanization when they have entered the period of early consolidation with its enhanced tensions due to the polarizing party system. Overcoming the economic deficit through drastic economic crisis management, they have created in fact a huge social deficit by the radical reduction of the public sector services in education and health care. While the West European social-democratic parties have experimented with various versions of the ‘Third Way’, their ECE counterparts have had to cope with the contradiction between the winners and the losers that has appeared very markedly in the case of HSP.

scholarly journals Application of natural language processing to the electoral manifestos of social democratic parties in Central Eastern European countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-282
Author(s):  
Ivan Bielik
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Social Democratic Parties ◽  
Visegrád Countries

AbstractThe paper examines electoral manifestos of social democratic parties in Visegrad countries through a computer-driven method of content analysis. The analysis focuses on a sentence sentiment (how parties talk about their priorities) and a keyword examination (what parties mostly talk about). Such analysis is not widespread in the academic literature related to Visegrad countries, where a human-based approach to content analysis of electoral manifestos prevails. The paper, however, does not aim to nullify the findings of the previous research, but aims to improve the understanding of the content of manifestos through a different research method. The paper’s findings have confirmed the pro-European support of social democratic parties as well as the focus on predominantly socio-economic issues in manifestos. Additionally, the paper explores the effect of incumbency on the manifesto’s content. The incumbency seems to have an impact on the manifesto sentiment, but not on keywords.

State Intervention in Party Politics: The Public Funding and Regulation of Political Parties

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Van Biezen
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Utilities ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
State Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Way

This article is concerned with a closer investigation of the growing tendency for the state to intervene in contemporary party politics. It examines two trends. First, it looks more closely at the increased levels of regulation of party activity and behaviour in European democracies, discussing the empirical practice as well as the underlying normative paradigms of party regulation. Second, it examines the increased availability of public funding to political parties from a comparative perspective, while also exploring the motivations for its introduction in light of particular understandings of party democracy. It is argued that both dimensions constitute part of the way in which parties have strengthened their linkages with the state in recent years, and that parties, as a result of the increased involvement of the state in their internal affairs and external behaviour, have become increasingly defined as public utilities or semi-state agencies.

scholarly journals Economic Performance or Electoral Necessity? Evaluating the System of Voluntary Income to Political Parties

2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
General Election ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Position ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Limited Degree ◽  
Western Democracies

Whilst the public funding of political parties is the norm in western democracies, its comprehensive introduction has been resisted in Britain. Political and electoral arrangements in Britain require parties to function and campaign on a regular basis, whilst their income follows cycles largely related to general elections. This article shows that the best predictor of party income is the necessity of a well-funded general election campaign rather than party performance. As a result, income can only be controlled by parties to a limited degree, which jeopardises their ability to determine their own financial position and fulfil their functions as political parties.

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