Partisanship and Political Obligation

Politics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Bonotti

Political parties have generally been disregarded in the literature on political obligation. In this article I argue that, regardless of whether ordinary citizens or residents of a polity have any political obligations, partisanship generates its own kind of political obligations. Participating in party politics qua party members, supporters, activists or even mere voters produces benefits that generate corresponding and proportionate political obligations for those who enjoy them. The political obligations of partisans are easier to justify than those of ordinary citizens as the conditions under which the benefits of partisanship can be rendered excludable are easier to obtain.

Author(s):  
Annika Hennl ◽  
Simon Tobias Franzmann

The formulation of policies constitutes a core business of political parties in modern democracies. Using the novel data of the Political Party Database (PPDB) Project and the data of the Manifesto Project (MARPOR), the authors of this chapter aim at a systematic test of the causal link between the intra-party decision mode on the electoral manifestos and the extent of programmatic change. What are the effects of the politics of manifesto formulation on the degree of policy change? Theoretically, the authors distinguish the drafting process from the final enactment of the manifesto. Empirically, they show that a higher autonomy of the party elite in formulating the manifesto leads to a higher degree of programmatic change. If party members constrain party elite’s autonomy, they tend to veto major changes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timofey Rakov

This article analyses practices related to the cult of Lenin in the confines of the Leningrad party organisation of the RCP(b) and its influence on innerparty discussions and political disagreements. The author aims to examine how appeal to the cult and Leninism helped shape the position of the Leningrad Bolsheviks led by G. E. Zinoviev. To achieve this goal, the author refers to a variety of sources, i. e. the works of the leaders of the Leningrad party organisation, such pamphlets by G. I. Safarov and G. E. Evdokimov, minutes of district party conferences, etc. The sources listed above suggest that the terms “testament,” “heritage,” and “task” used in party discourse symbolise a set of actions and principles, following and being faithful to which allowed party members to comply with the correct political line. For representatives of the Leningrad opposition, this meant relying on the poor and middle strata of the village. The category of practice mentioned in the title of this article means that attention was paid not so much to the function of quotations or clichéd phrases but rather to what party groups implied when quoting Lenin’s statements. The term “cult”, which historiography usually employs to describe the veneration of V. I. Lenin as the leader of the party, does not reflect the entirety of this process or take into account its productive component, namely, the fact that, because of its heterogeneity, Leninism allowed members of the Communist Party to pay attention to diverse aspects of Lenin’s heritage. In the course of the polemic surrounding issues facing the party (politics in the countryside, the possibility of building socialism in a single country, etc.), the Leningrad Bolsheviks turned to Leninism as a range of ideas legitimising their political position and as a tool for identifying the Bolsheviks who, in contrast to the Leningraders, “deviated” from the correct political line.


Author(s):  
Graham Walker

This chapter explains the ways that religion has been a significant factor in Scottish politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It examines the decades-long identification with the Labour Party on the part of the Catholic community, and the dramatic shift in Catholic allegiance to the SNP in more recent times. The chapter also considers the ways in which Protestant identity has related to party politics in Scotland. It discusses the political significance of Scottish society’s increasingly multifaith and ‘no faith’ character and argues that religion is tied up, if ambiguously, with contemporary cleavages over the question of Scotland’s constitutional future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 710-120
Author(s):  
Aprista Ristyawati

This study aims to determine the strengthening of political parties as a form of administration and institutionalization of democracy. The formulation of the problem in this study is: what are the main issues of political parties in Indonesia at this time and how are efforts to strengthen political parties as a form of democratic institutionalization. The method of approach used in this study is normative juridical and analytical descriptive that is describing the object that is the main problem, from the depiction taken an analysis that is adapted to existing legal theories and put the law as a norm system building. The results of this study indicate that there are 3 (three) Main Problems of Political Parties in Indonesia that occur at this time, namely the weakening ideology of political parties, the recruitment system and the cadre formation patterns of less qualified political party members, the crisis of fundraising / fundraising of political parties. Efforts must be made to strengthen political parties as a form of institutionalization of democracy, namely using the ideology of political parties that must be strengthened, improve the quality and strengthen the recruitment system and regeneration patterns of political party members and there must also be a strengthening of the political party's fundraising system.Keywords: Political Parties, institutionalization of democracy Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan tuntuk mengetahui penguatan partai politik sebagai salah satu bentuk pelembagaan demokrasi. Metode pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah yuridis normatif dan bersifat deskriptif analitis yaitu menggambarkan objek yang menjadi pokok permasalahan, dari penggambaran tersebut diambil suatu analisa yang disesuaikan dengan teori-teori hukum yang ada dan meletakan hukum sebagai sebuah bangunan sistem norma. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Ada 3 (tiga) Problem Utama Partai Politik di Indonesia yang terjadi pada saat ini, yaitu ideologi partai politik yang semakin melemah, sistem rekrutmen dan pola kaderisasi anggota partai politik yang kurang berkualitas, krisis pengumpulan dana / Fundraising pada partai politik. Upaya yang harus dilakukan untuk memperkuat Partai Politik sebagai salah satu bentuk pelembagaan Demokrasi yaitu dengan cara ideologi Partai Politik harus diperkuat, meningkatkan kualitas dan memperkuat sistem rekrutmen dan pola kaderisasi anggota partai politik dan juga harus ada penguatan sistem pengumpulan dana (Fundraising) Partai Politik. Kata Kunci : Partai Politik, pelembagaan demokrasi


2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndikho Mtshiselwa ◽  
Simphiwe S. Mthembu

The debate on church and party politics is far from being exhausted in South Africa. Although the Methodist Church of Southern Africa discourages the participation of clergy persons in political parties, it is becoming critical that the church offers a prophetic voice in the political sphere. Issues of morality and spirituality within the political parties necessitate a careful involvement of the Church in politics. This article therefore sets out to offer a theological reflection on the (possible) ministry of Methodist clergy persons to political parties in South Africa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wiktor Marzec

The 1905 Revolution was often considered by workers writing memoirs as the most important event in their lives. This paper examines biographical reminiscences of the political participation of working-class militants in the 1905 Revolution. I scrutinize four tropes used by working-class writers to describe their life stories narrated around their political identity. These are: (1) overcoming misery and destitution, (2) autodidacticism, (3) political initiation, and (4) feeling of belonging to the community of equals. All four demonstrate that the militant self cannot be understood in separation from the life context of the mobilized workers. Participation in party politics was an important factor modifying the life course of workers in the direction resonating with their aspirations and longings. The argument is informed by analysis of over a hundred of biographical testimonies written by militants from various political parties in different political circumstances.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-185
Author(s):  
Christopher Simeon Awinia

Tanzania has witnessed an increased use of social media in political party campaigning over the last decade. Use of social media was nonetheless curtailed by a changing techno-political framework regulated by acts relating to cybersecurity and statistics. This study was guided by two hypotheses: firstly, that despite restrictive cybersecurity laws, social media in recent years has been effectively institutionalised as a new civic cyberspace for political party campaigns during elections. Secondly, increasing use of social media in elections has had a transformative effect on the way party structure was organised to conduct political mobilisation, promote party ideology and both inter- and intra-party interaction, and for fundraising. The study interviewed party members and leaders from five political parties which participated in the 2015 and 2020 general elections and concluded that social media had a transformative effect on core political party campaign activities.


Author(s):  
Matteo Bonotti

This chapter argues that under certain conditions participation in politics through political parties can contribute to significantly reducing the tension between conflicting obligations experienced by many citizens in contemporary societies, both from a normative and from an empirical point of view. More specifically, the chapter claims that when party politics is a fair scheme of cooperation, the participation of these citizens (and citizens in general) in politics through political parties produces two desirable outcomes for liberal democracies. First, it relaxes the tension between these citizens’ political and non-political obligations, by allowing them to have a greater influence upon political decision-making, and therefore to shape laws and policies in a way that is more responsive to their interests and values. Second, it provides them with a motivation to comply with the laws of their political community, thus enhancing the stability of the polity in which they operate.


Author(s):  
Paul Wetherly

This chapter examines the legacy of the ‘classical’ ideologies in terms of their European origins, expansion, and dominance. Classical ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, and socialism can be understood as contrasting responses to the intellectual, social, and economic transformations known as the Enlightenment and modernization, especially industrialization and the rise of capitalism in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The chapter first considers the idea that liberalism constitutes a dominant ideology before discussing the relationship between ideological principles, party politics, and statecraft. It then analyses the relationship between the classical ideologies in terms of the Enlightenment and the left–right conception of ideological debate. It also introduces the notion of ‘new’ ideologies and the extent to which the dominance of the classical ideologies can be seen in the character of the political parties that have dominated Western democracies.


This book tells the story of the unexpected 2017 British general election and its equally unexpected outcome: the Conservatives’ loss of their parliamentary majority and Theresa May’s return at the head of a minority government. As with previous volumes in the Britain at the polls series, it provides readers with a series of interpretations of the election and expert accounts of the major political parties, including their responses to the 2016 Brexit referendum. Again in keeping with previous volumes, the book does not seek to provide a blow-by-blow account of the 2017 election campaign, nor does it seek to provide a detailed survey-based account of voting behaviour. Instead, it offers readers a broad analysis of recent political, economic and social developments and assesses their impact on the election outcome. It also addresses questions about the state of the political parties and the party system in the wake of the election, and reflects on the future of British electoral and party politics.


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