Rethinking Party Reform

Author(s):  
Fabio Wolkenstein

The functioning of representative democracy crucially depends on political parties that mediate between citizens and the state. It is widely doubted, however, that contemporary parties can still perform this connective role. Taking seriously the ensuing challenges for representative democracy, this book advances a normative account of party reform, drawing on both democratic theory and political science scholarship on parties. Moving beyond purely descriptive or causal-analytical perspectives on party reform, the book clarifies on theoretical grounds why party reform is centrally important for the sustainability of established democracies, and what effective party reforms could look like in an age where most citizens look to parties with scepticism and distrust. In doing so, the book underlines in distinctive fashion why scholars and citizens should care about re-inventing and transforming political parties, resisting widespread tendencies of either declaring parties unreformable or theorizing them out of the picture.

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Fabio Wolkenstein

In addition to summarizing the book’s main themes as described, this Introduction places special emphasis on connecting the problem animating the book—the apparent incapacity of contemporary parties to mediate between citizens and the state—to current political developments in established Western democracies, showing that the issues the book addresses are not only of academic interest but also directly relevant to ongoing public debates about the state and health of representative democracy. Chief amongst the themes foregrounded here is the rise of so-called ‘populist’ parties on the left and right of the political spectrum, as well as the re-branding of established political actors as ‘movements’ (think, e.g. of Emmanuel Macron’s La République en Marche). These phenomena are interpreted as part of a larger ‘revolt against intermediary bodies’—meaning first and foremost a rebellion against political parties. The Introduction suggests that this ‘revolt’ brings with it only a temporary shift in how representative politics looks, without actually reversing the disconnect between parties and voters or compelling established political parties to give up their privileges and de-colonize the institutions of the state. This argument sets the stage for the book’s core contention that more thought has to be put into finding ways to reconnect political parties with society.


Politik ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Palle Svensson

Democracy and political participation are closely related, but both the understanding of them and their relationship is disputed. Two conceptions of democracy – in this article labeled ‘democratic revisionism’ and ‘participatory democracy’ – compete for attention. In the article it is shown how the rst conception of de- mocracy as elite competition developed after World War II. It is further explained how participatory democ- racy developed as a critique of the rst conception. It is also shown how the desirability and the functions of political participation are perceived di erently according to the two conceptions of democracy. Various forms of political participation are discussed, and it is shown how the concept of participation in political science and sociology has been developed to include an increasing number of activities. On this basis, the extent and social distribution of various forms of political participation in Denmark is examined. Finally, it is discussed whether the idea of participatory democracy forms the basis of Danish democracy today. It is concluded that the leaders of the main political parties are reluctant to give up power and that the self-perception of Danish democracy is mainly based on the idea of representative democracy that focuses on elite competition. 


Author(s):  
Mary Luz Sandoval Robayo

ResumenDesde la perspectiva del institucionalismo histórico la obra de Collier y Collier representa un paradigma de estudio comparativo en el campo de la ciencia política y de la propia historia. Los autores estudian el surgimiento de las distintas formas de control y movilización de la clase obrera a través del Estado y de los partidos y buscan explicar las distintas trayectorias y los cambios de la arena política en cada uno de los países seleccionados. El presente artículo busca dar a conocer los rasgos más sobresalientes de esta teoría, la aplicación al caso de Colombia, las imprecisiones históricas y problemas del método.  Palabras clave: Incorporación de la clase obrera, Colombia, Collier and Collier.***************************************************“Shaping the political arena” by Collier and Collier (1991). A compared perspective about colombian historyAbstractFrom the perspective of historical institutionalism the work of Collier and Collier represents a paradigm of comparative study in the field of political science and in the field of history itself. The authors discuss the emergence of various forms of control and mobilization of the working class through the state and political parties and seek to explain different trajectories and changes in the political arena in each of the selected countries. This article seeks to present the most salient of this theory, the way it was applied to the case of Colombia, its historical inaccuracies and its methodological problems.Key words: Incorporation of the Working Class, Colombia, Collier and Collier.***************************************************“Shaping the political arena” de Collier and Collier (1991). Uma perspectiva comparada sobre a história colombianaResumoDesde a perspectiva da institucionalidade histórica, a obra de Collier e Collier representa um paradigma de estudo comparativo no campo da ciência politica e da própria história. Os autores estudam o surgimento das distintas formas de controle e mobilização da classe operária através do Estado e dos partidos e buscam explicar as distintas trajetórias e as mudanças na área política em cada um dos países selecionados. O presente artigo busca apresentar os traços mais destacados de esta teoria, a forma como foi aplicada no caso de Colômbia e as imprecisões históricas sobre este caso, dada a preocupação dos autores por gerar um modelo “elegante” em termos históricos. Além disso, se expõe uma interpretação alterna sobre este período da história nacional a traves da introdução dos eventos fundamentais que tiveram lugar nas fases propostas pelo modelo.Palavras chave: Incorporação da classe operária Colômbia, Collier and Collier.


Author(s):  
Magnus Rom Jensen ◽  
Jonathon W. Moses
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Piero Ignazi

The book integrates philosophical, historical, and empirical analyses in order to highlight the profound roots of the limited legitimation of parties in contemporary society. Political parties’ long attempts to gain legitimacy are analysed from a philosophical–historical perspective pinpointing crucial passages in their theoretical and empirical acceptance. The book illustrates the process through which parties first emerged and then achieved full legitimacy in the early twentieth century. It shows how, paradoxically, their role became absolute in the totalitarian regimes of the interwar period when the party became hyper-powerful. In the post-war period, parties shifted from a golden age of positive reception and organizational development towards a more difficult relationship with society as it moved into post-industrialism. Parties were unable to master societal change and favoured the state to recover resources they were no longer able to extract from their constituencies. Parties have become richer and more powerful, but they have ‘paid’ for their pervasive presence in society and the state with a declining legitimacy. The party today is caught in a dramatic contradiction. It has become a sort of Leviathan with clay feet: very powerful thanks to the resources it gets from the state and to its control of societal and state spheres due to an extension of clientelistic and patronage practices; but very weak in terms of legitimacy and confidence in the eyes of the mass public. However, it is argued that there is still no alternative to the party, and some hypotheses to enhance party democracy are advanced.


Author(s):  
Jacques Thomassen ◽  
Carolien van Ham

This chapter presents the research questions and outline of the book, providing a brief review of the state of the art of legitimacy research in established democracies, and discusses the recurring theme of crisis throughout this literature since the 1960s. It includes a discussion of the conceptualization and measurement of legitimacy, seeking to relate legitimacy to political support, and reflecting on how to evaluate empirical indicators: what symptoms indicate crisis? This chapter further explains the structure of the three main parts of the book. Part I evaluates in a systematic fashion the empirical evidence for legitimacy decline in established democracies; Part II reappraises the validity of theories of legitimacy decline; and Part II investigates what (new) explanations can account for differences in legitimacy between established democracies. The chapter concludes with a short description of the chapters included in the volume.


Author(s):  
Elisabeth Ivarsflaten ◽  
Scott Blinder ◽  
Lise Bjånesøy

The “populist radical right” is a contested concept in scholarly work for good reason. This chapter begins by explaining that the political parties usually grouped together under this label are not a party family in a conventional sense and do not self-identify with this category. It goes on to show how political science scholarship has established that in Europe during the past thirty or so years we have seen the rise of a set of parties that share a common ideological feature—nativism. The nativist political parties experiencing most electoral support have combined their nativist agenda with some other legitimate ideological companion, which provides deniability—a shield against charges that the nativist agenda makes the parties and their supporters right-wing extremist and undemocratic. The chapter goes on to explain that in order to make progress on our understanding of how and why the populist radical right persuades citizens, we need to recognize: first, that nativism is the only necessary ingredient without which the populist radical right loses its force; and second, that nativism in contemporary established democracies has tended not to persuade a large share of voters without an ideological companion.


1981 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 19-20
Author(s):  
Mary H. Waite

Because many political science instructors come from another region or state; they feel insufficiently informed in teaching about the state and local government wherein they presently reside. Consequently, instructors generalize about these governments. Yet in many public universities and community colleges, students find the politics in their area pertinent and care less for comparative analysis. In truth, the students probably have a valid point, since the majority will reside in the state where they are attending college.


2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (03) ◽  
pp. 585-587
Author(s):  
Bradley C. Canon

Malcolm “Mac” Jewell was a mainstay of the Political Science Department at the University of Kentucky (UK) for 36 years. For that same period and even longer, he was one of the profession's leading researchers in explaining legislative behavior (particularly in the states) and how state political parties worked. Mac retired from UK in 1994 but continued being active in our profession. Around 2004, he began suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He died on February 24, 2010, in Fairfield, Connecticut.


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