The Poverty of Democracy in Turkey: The Refah Party Episode

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 35-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haldun Gülalp

The rise of Islamist political movements through open electoral competition has constituted a challenge to the political systems of numerous Middle Eastern countries in recent years and has led to a rethinking of the question of compatibility between Islam and democracy. Esposito and Voll (1996, pp. 193-94) have pointed out that while many unquestioningly believe that Islam and democracy are fundamentally opposed, “many Muslims have made advocacy of democracy the litmus test for the credibility and legitimacy of regimes and for political parties and opposition.”

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Herman G.B. Teule

In the Middle Eastern societies, Christians traditionally define themselves as religious communities or churches. This is a continuation of the Ottoman millet system, where religion determined the place one had in society and the patriarch was responsible for the insertion of his community into the state. It not only preserves the traditional ecclesiastical divisions based on dogmatic divergences and church politics but also transposes them to the political field.For a few decades, many lay politicians in Syria considered this system as detrimental to Christian interests. They developed the idea of a common ethnic identity for all churches using Syriac. New political circumstances in Iraq made it possible to give a political translation of this idea by the creation of Christian political parties, defending common ethnic minority rights. Despite some positive results, attempts at creating unity failed, not only because a lack of unanimity about certain political choices but also about the idea of ethnic identity itself.


Author(s):  
Anne Wren ◽  
Kenneth M. McElwain

This article studies voters and parties, beginning with realignment or dealignment in the party-voter nexus. It discusses changes in the policy preferences of voters and even organizational changes to the party-voter linkage. Electoral competition, performance of traditional parties, and organizational change are discussed as well. This article determines that there are two parallel trends in the linkage between parties and voters. The first is that voters are showing weaker partisan identification with political parties, and a widening gap between the policy preferences of voters and the electoral manifestos of parties is apparent. The second trend is that improvements in educational attainment and innovations in media technology are strengthening the political capability of both parties and voters.


2002 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Daniel Hough

In the years since unification, Germany’s political parties have faceda number of formidable challenges. They range from incorporatingthe citizens of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) into the FederalRepublic’s political processes, reassessing Germany’s role in thewider world, overcoming gridlock on many pressing policy questionsat home (perhaps best understood as the overcoming of the Reformstau),to finding a way out of Germany’s much maligned economicmalaise.1 Such challenges have had a not inconsiderable effect on theGerman party system, the end product of which has been that thissystem, once a bastion of cast-iron stability, has become characterizedby diversity and genuine electoral competition in a way that it hasnot been since the late 1950s. Therefore, the electoral position of themuch-vaunted Volksparteien, if perhaps not their control of the politicalprocess, has slipped considerably.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 434-443
Author(s):  
Myriam Aït-Aoudia

The literature on democratic transitions considers the participation of new parties in the first pluralist election in a post-authoritarian context (founding election) as something to be taken for granted. As such, it is never questioned. Specialists in democratic transitions ignore the research on “new parties,” which is, nonetheless, essential to the understanding of the particular characteristics of a post-authoritarian situation. Using an original qualitative study on Algeria, this article proposes to bring to light the political, organizational, and legal conditions of new political parties’ participation or nonparticipation in a founding election. In particular, this research allows us to grasp the dilemmas and difficulties faced by leaders of new parties and the types of support on which they rely to engage for the first time in an electoral competition. The analytical framework stemming from this “case study” is applicable to other national case studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loris Caruso

In the Italian national elections in 2013, the Movimento Cinque Stelle (Five Star Movement, M5S), founded just four years earlier, gained 25 percent of votes, more than any other party. Analyses and interpretations are divided between those who consider M5S a member of the family of European populism and those who see M5S’s propositions as akin to the values of the left and social movements. The debate on M5S fits into the context of important ongoing trends in European politics: the growth of populist political movements; the emergence of outsider parties able to challenge stable political systems; changing relationships between parties and social movements; changes in the forms of political organizing. This article investigates the political and cultural nature of this party by (1) analyzing its discourse on democracy, its organizational choices and its main issues; (2) comparing these elements with populism and the left; and (3) linking its fundamental characteristics to contemporary economic processes usually termed “digital capitalism.”


2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 635-650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Ebeling ◽  
Fabio Wolkenstein

At the heart of the ideal of deliberative democracy lies an emphasis on the political autonomy of citizens participating in procedures of public justification aimed at the promotion of the common good. The recent systemic turn in deliberative democracy has moved so far away from this ideal that it relegates the deliberations of citizens to a secondary matter, legitimising forms of rule that may even undermine the normative impulses central to the project of deliberative democracy. We critically discuss this theoretical development and show how deliberative agency can effectively be exercised in complex political systems. We argue, in particular, that political parties play a central role in facilitating the exercise of deliberative agency, fostering deliberation among citizens and linking their deliberations to decisions. Instead of giving up on the possibility that citizens participate in procedures of public justification, deliberative democrats should look to parties’ unique ability to enable deliberation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-191
Author(s):  
Wojciech Sokół

The aim of the study is to compare selected elements of the political systems of the Republic of Poland and Ukraine in both structural and functional terms. The subject of the study is the genesis and direction of systemic changes, the specifi city of governmental systems, mechanisms of political rivalry and its main actors, i.e. political parties. The analysis shows that systemic solutions in Poland were characterised by greater stability, attachment to the principles of the rule of law and democratic values. In the political system of Ukraine there was quite a large dynamic of change in this area. These changes were instrumental to a greater degree than in Poland and subordinated to preferences that were dominant in particular periods.


Author(s):  
Konstantine Shubitidze ◽  
Tornike Tevdoradze

Caucasus is one of the most popular region for the world in the political view. Three countries – Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan – are part of that region. Despite of the close ties between them and the neighborhood, they have political system similarities and differences as well.  In the paper, we will discuss and compare those three countries from different points of view: political regimes, types of government, number of ministries, economics, political culture, political parties in the parliament and demography. We will find out which country is much forward in these spares, what are their problems and perspectives, what their main political course is and how they interact to each other. In addition to that, we will also discuss and prove our statements by the statistical data of democracy level or political transparency. In addition, it will show some actual problems in the region to the reader and finally it will draw clear picture of the political environment in the region. Keywords: Political Regimes, Democracy, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ministries, Government, Political Parties, Demography, Economy, Political Culture


2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1822) ◽  
pp. 20200136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Lau

Affiliating with political parties, voting and building coalitions all contribute to the functioning of our political systems. One core component of this is social categorization—being able to recognize others as fellow in-group members or members of the out-group. Without this capacity, we would be unable to coordinate with in-group members or avoid out-group members. Past research in social psychology and cognitive neuroscience examining social categorization has suggested that one way to identify in-group members may be to directly compute the similarity between oneself and the target (dyadic similarity). This model, however, does not account for the fact that the group membership brought to bear is context-dependent. This review argues that a more comprehensive understanding of how we build representations of social categories (and the subsequent impact on our behaviours) must first expand our conceptualization of social categorization beyond simple dyadic similarity. Furthermore, a generalizable account of social categorization must also provide domain-general, quantitative predictions for us to test hypotheses about social categorization. Here, we introduce an alternative model—one in which we infer latent groups of people through latent structure learning. We examine experimental evidence for this account and discuss potential implications for understanding the political mind. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.


Author(s):  
Vitaly Melnik

This scientific work was written because the theme of political parties is interesting to me. The reason for my interest in political parties is the relevance of this legal institution. As stated at the outset, it is the political parties that determine the political life of the state, and hence the economic and social life of the country. The purpose of my research is to study the degree of influence of political parties on the economy and social life, in the study of the essence of the influence of political parties on the life of the state. The scientific work examines the history of the emergence and development of political parties in Russia. In scientific work political parties of the Russian Federation, political parties of Latvia are considered, compared and correlated. Political systems of two different countries are compared and correlated. The purpose of this analysis is to identify the General rules and principles of development and existence of political parties.


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