European taxation during the crisis: does politics matter?

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Lierse
Keyword(s):  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Tax Reforms ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Public Money ◽  
Bail Out

AbstractWith the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008, European governments extensively intervened to avert a severe economic recession. Taxation is a crucial instrument to achieve such economic objectives, but it also represents a redistributive tool in democratic societies. Generally, left-wing parties are more supportive of progressive taxes and redistribution than right-wing governments. As a crisis response, one could assume that European governments, especially social-democratic ones, reinforced a redistributive stance to compensate for the substantial amounts of public money used to bail out financial institutions. Based on the tax reforms introduced between 2008 and 2010, the paper explores the tax strategies adopted by European governments. The findings do not reveal a direct effect of party politics on taxation but rather show that pressures from the capital markets significantly restrained governments’ policy capacities to act.

scholarly journals After the Cartel Party: ‘Extra-Party’ and ‘Intra-Party’ Techno-Populism

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-544
Author(s):  
Jose Piquer ◽  
Anton M. M. Jäger
Keyword(s):  
Party Systems ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Institutional Conditions ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Five Star Movement

This article reads the restructuring of European party systems in the 2010s as a transition from cartel to techno-populist parties, with a specific focus on left-populist challengers. Adopting a historical-institutionalist perspective, it demonstrates how a long-term cartelization and particular mode of crisis management after 2008 drove the gradual replacement of the party cartel with a cohabitation of populism and technocratic politics: techno-populism. Although this techno-populist template has been deployed for parties such as Five Star Movement and some right-wing populist outfits, it has usually been left aside for left-wing variants. This article investigates two techno-populist subtypes from the left: Corbynism in the United Kingdom and Podemos in Spain. The former took place within a cartel party (‘intra-party’), while the latter occurred from outside the party cartel (‘extra-party’). Although such party cartelization cuts across cases, the rise of Corbynism and Podemos took place under different institutional conditions: different electoral systems, different European Union membership and different dynamics of party competition on the left. The article concludes with the observation that rather than an anomaly, the presence of techno-populist tropes in and outside of parties and across institutional settings indicates the pervasiveness of these logics in contemporary European party politics.

Party Competition and the Resilience of Corporatism

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Anthonsen ◽  
Johannes Lindvall
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Social Democratic Parties

AbstractThis article argues that after the Golden Age of capitalism, corporatist methods of policy-making have come to depend on specific modes of party competition. In contrast to previous studies of corporatism, which have argued that corporatism depends on strong social democratic parties, this article suggests that the competition between well-defined left-wing and right-wing ‘blocs’ has become detrimental to corporatism. In countries with mixed governments or traditions of power-sharing, on the other hand, corporatism thrives. These conclusions are based on a comparison of four traditionally corporatist countries – Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland – from the early 1970s to the late 1990s.

scholarly journals Redistribution Under the Right in Latin America: Electoral Competition and Organized Actors in Policymaking

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (14) ◽  
pp. 1871-1906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tasha Fairfield ◽  
Candelaria Garay
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Electoral Competition ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Tax Reforms ◽  
Business Power ◽  
The Right

Unexpected social policy expansion and progressive tax reforms initiated by right-wing governments in Latin America highlight the need for further theory development on the politics of redistribution. We focus on electoral competition for low-income voters in conjunction with the power of organized actors—both business and social movements. We argue that electoral competition motivates redistribution under left-wing and right-wing incumbents alike although such initiatives are more modest when conservatives dominate and business is well organized. Social mobilization drives more substantial redistribution by counterbalancing business power and focusing incumbents on securing social peace and surviving in office. By characterizing distinctive features of social-policy politics and tax-policy politics and theorizing linkages between the two realms, we contribute to broader debates on the relative influence of voters versus organized interests in policymaking. We apply our theory to explain “least-likely” cases of redistributive policies under conservative governments in Mexico (2000-2012) and Chile (2010-2014).

Social democracy and the populist challenge

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
René Cuperus
Keyword(s):  
Social Democracy ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Right Wing Populism ◽  
People First ◽  
Democratic Parties ◽  
Social Democratic Parties

This chapter explores how European social democracy is threatened to be undermined and overrun by radical left-wing competitors and right-wing populist opponents. The pan-European rise of right-wing populism has had far-reaching consequences. First of all, the political and public agenda has shifted from a socioeconomic perspective to a cultural perspective. Right-wing populism is ‘culturalising’ all political issues, and is characterised by a nativist focus on putting its ‘own people first’. Second, right-wing populism portrays and demonises social democracy as forming the elite ‘which betrays ordinary people’. It also depicts social democratic parties as being simply parties for migrants. By doing so, right-wing populists deliberately seek to distance traditional social democratic voters from social democratic parties. Third, the rise of right-wing populism is increasing opportunities for right-wing or Conservative governments.

scholarly journals Olof Palme: One Life, Many Readings

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Quirico
Keyword(s):  
Social Democracy ◽  
Violent Death ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Success Story ◽  
National History ◽  
Democratic Movement ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The Social

The analysis of Olof Palme’s politics and of his legacy in Swedish Social Democracy has been somewhat “frozen” due to two uncommon circumstances. Firstly, there has been his violent death, which makes it uneasy for commentators to express any detached judgement. Secondly, there has been a kind of sin of omission; that is to say, in looking at his figure, right-wing as well as left-wing politicians and intellectuals have recalled the man – whose biography is undoubtedly a success story – rather than discussing his contribution to national history and to the Social Democratic movement.

Partisanship or Politics of Austerity?

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
LINDA A. WHITE
Keyword(s):  
Child Care ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
Care Policies ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
The Welfare State

This article explores the extent to which party politics influences the nature and provision of child care policies in Canada, specifically in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta. The article argues that whereas the primary impetus for the expansion and reduction of child care programs over the last 15 years in these two provinces has been economic, party philosophy has been an important intervening variable. In particular, it matters whether the party has as its goal the retrenchment of the welfare state or simply the reduction of spending. Although right-wing governments may attempt retrenchment as well as spending reductions, left-wing governments are unlikely to attempt wide-scale retrenchment. Thus, partisan politics do matter, but within fiscal constraints.

Suffrage Reform as Coup d’État

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Retallack
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
National Level ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Class Voting

In the period 1894 to 1902 Saxons demonstrated that the expansion of voting rights could be slowed and actually reversed. This chapter shows how right-wing politicians, statesmen, municipal councilors, and others used a perceived crisis following political assassinations in mid-1894 to refocus middle-class fears on the “threat” of socialism. At the national level, calls for a coup d’état against the Reichstag dovetailed with less dramatic calls to action against Social Democracy. When these appeals yielded meager results, Saxons responded by passing a reform of their Landtag’s suffrage in 1896: it replaced a relatively equitable system with unequal three-class voting. Socialists disappeared from the Landtag, and the Reichstag elections of 1898 were unexciting. In the period 1898–1902 Saxon Conservatism reached the zenith of its power. But Social Democratic outrage over “suffrage robbery” had already planted the seeds of a political reversal.

Political Orientations and Morality Judgments in the Turkish Context: Considering the Roles of the Needs for Cognition and Recognition

2020 ◽  
pp. 003329411989990
Author(s):  
Burcu Tekeş ◽  
E. Olcay Imamoğlu ◽  
Fatih Özdemir ◽  
Bengi Öner-Özkan
Keyword(s):  
Need For Cognition ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Group Loyalty ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Collectivistic Culture

The aims of this study were to test: (a) the association of political orientations with morality orientations, specified by moral foundations theory, on a sample of young adults from Turkey, representing a collectivistic culture; and (b) the statistically mediating roles of needs for cognition and recognition in the links between political orientation and morality endorsements. According to the results (a) right-wing orientation and need for recognition were associated with all the three binding foundations (i.e., in-group/loyalty, authority/respect, and purity/sanctity); (b) right-wing orientation was associated with binding foundations also indirectly via the role of need for recognition; (c) regarding individualizing foundations, left-wing orientation and need for cognition were associated with fairness/reciprocity, whereas only gender was associated with harm/care; and (d) left-wing orientation was associated with fairness dimension also indirectly via the role of need for cognition. The cultural relevance of moral foundations theory as well as the roles of needs for cognition and recognition are discussed.

Housing Prices and Government Approval: The Impact of Housing Booms on Left- and Right-Wing Governments in 16 Advanced Industrialized Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-185
Author(s):  
Sung Min Han ◽  
Mi Jeong Shin
Keyword(s):  
Housing Prices ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Industrialized Countries ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this article, we argue that rising housing prices increase voter approval of incumbent governments because such a rise increases personal wealth, which leads to greater voter satisfaction. This effect is strongest under right-wing governments because those who benefit from rising prices—homeowners—are more likely to be right-leaning. Non-homeowners, who are more likely to vote for left-leaning parties, will view rising housing prices as a disadvantage and therefore feel the government does not serve them well, which will mitigate the advantage to left-wing governments. We find support for our arguments using both macro-level data (housing prices and government approval ratings in 16 industrialized countries between 1960 and 2017) and micro-level data (housing prices and individuals’ vote choices in the United Kingdom using the British Household Panel Survey). The findings imply that housing booms benefit incumbent governments generally and right-wing ones in particular.

scholarly journals Modern Forms of Populism and Social Policies: Personal Values, Populist Attitudes, and Ingroup Definitions in Support of Left-Wing and Right-Wing Welfare Policies in Italy

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Anna Miglietta ◽  
Barbara Loera
Keyword(s):  
Political Ideology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Political Ideologies ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cognitive Sophistication

We analyzed the relationship between modern forms of populism and citizen support for exclusive welfare policies and proposals, and we focused on support for left-wing- and right-wing-oriented welfare policies enacted or proposed during the Lega Nord (LN)–Five Star Movement (FSM) government in Italy (2018–2019). In light of the theoretical perspective of political ideology as motivated by social cognition, we examined citizens’ support for the two policies considering adherence to populist attitudes, agreement on the criteria useful to define ingroup membership, and personal values. We also took into account the role of cognitive sophistication in populism avoidance. A total of 785 Italian adults (F = 56.6; mean age = 35.8) completed an online survey in the summer of 2019 based on the following: support for populist policies and proposals, political ideologies and positioning, personal values, and ingroup boundaries. We used correlation and regression analyses. The results highlight the relationships between populism and political conservatism. Populism was related to the vertical and horizontal borders defining the “people”; cognitive sophistication was not a relevant driver. We identified some facilitating factors that could promote adherence to and support for public policies inspired by the values of the right or of the left, without a true ideological connotation.

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