The Political Origins of Judicial Empowerment through Constitutionalization: Lessons from Four Constitutional Revolutions

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (01) ◽  
pp. 91-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Hirschl
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Pressure ◽  
High Courts ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
Political Origins

Drawing upon an analysis of the political vectors behind constitutional reform in Israel (1992), Canada (1982) New Zealand (1990), and South Africa (1993), the article suggests that the trend toward constitutionalization in culturally divided polities has not been adequately delineated by extant theories of constitutional transformation. An examination of the political origins of these four constitutional revolutions suggests that judicial empowerment is in many cases the consequence of a conscious strategy undertaken by threatened political and economic elites seeking to preserve their hegemony vis-a-vis the growing influence of “peripheral” groups in crucial majoritarian policymaking arenas. In response to perceived threats by peripheral groups, elites who possess disproportionate access to and influence upon the legal arena often initiate a constitutional entrenchment of rights in order to insulate policymaking from popular political pressure. Power is transferred from majoritarian decision-making arenas to national high courts, where they assume their policy preferences will find greater support. This process of conscious judicial empowerment is likely to occur (a) when the judiciary's public reputation for political impartiality and rectitude is relatively high and (b) when the courts are likely to rule, by and large, in accordance with the cultural propensities and policy preferences of the traditionally hegemonic elites.

scholarly journals ‘Community’: A Q study exploring perspectives in community governance settings in Taranaki, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Te Aroha Hohaia
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Practice ◽  
Community Governance ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
Space Factor ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Highly Correlated

<p>Attend any public meeting in Taranaki and, more often than not, one will hear the word ‘community’ used to bolster a policy proposal, or oppose it. But when that happens, what exactly is meant by ‘community’? Taking advantage of her position as an embedded participant, the author of this thesis set out to understand what ‘community’ means to those who occupy roles of influence in decision-making settings in Taranaki, Aotearoa- New Zealand. To the study’s informants and participants, a deceptively simple question was put: ‘what do you understand by ‘community’?’  The set of techniques used to elicit responses to this question was William Stephenson’s Q Methodology. Data collection began with 29 informant interviews from which 45 statements representative of what is understood by ‘community’ were extracted. Those statements were rank-ordered by 35 participants generating 47 Q sorts (the mechanism by which each viewpoint was captured). Using PQMethod 2.35, a three-factor solution generated through principal components analysis and subjected to a varimax rotation was selected for further analysis.  The interpretation of the results substantiated three somewhat highly correlated, yet nuanced perspectives where ‘community’ is:  ▪ ‘Everyone and we’re all in this together’ (Factor 1), ▪ ‘Well... it depends’ given the multiplicity of interests (Factor 2), and ▪ ‘It’s everything’ (Factor 3).  The primacy of relationships and expectations to contribute to where one lives provide the basis for consensus. The nuance is in the scope and reach in terms of who counts, what matters and why it is important at a given point in time. The subsequent discussion noted there is still no agreement on a definition of ‘community’ and its malleability in meaning makes ‘community’ useful for furthering political interests. Its use in the community governance settings of this study reflects the pragmatism of everyday life. ‘Community’ is affirmed as a concept that frames policy discourse.  This study also identifies ‘community’ as a practice and as a way of governing that frames policy responses where the basis for ‘community’ is as:  ▪ A preference for face-to-face interaction and usually over a cup of tea (Factor 1), ▪ A strategy of enabling that is realistic and pragmatic (Factor 2), and ▪ An account of the integrated connections to places, with people and to events across time and space (Factor 3).  The study opens up new ground as the collection, analysis and interpretation of first- person, vested responses from those ‘doing’ ‘community’ in community governance settings is missing from the scholarly and practitioner literature. This study forms a bridge in an identified gap between those who theorise in the political philosophy of ‘community’ and those who advocate in the political practice of ‘community’.  Furthermore, the three perspectives identified and discussed in this study also lead to a proposition that the phrase ‘governing communities’ would be a more apt and authentic alternative to ‘community governance’. Such a development is positioned as the next step in the evolution of the theory surrounding local decision-making and local government in New Zealand and as a normative model for political practice.</p>

Divining Disposition: The Role of Elite Beliefs and Gender Narratives in Women’s Suffrage

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariel J. Barnes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Process Tracing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Process ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Primary Documents ◽  
And Gender

Most accounts of franchise extension hold that elites extend electoral rights when they believe expansions will consolidate their political power. Yet, how do elites come to believe this? And how do elites make inferences about the political preferences of the disenfranchised? I argue that elites utilize the cue of “disposition” to determine the consequences of enfranchisement. Disposition refers to the innate characteristics of an individual (or group) that are believed to shape behavior and decision-making. Importantly, because disposition is perceived to be intrinsic, elites assume it is more stable and permanent than party identification or policy preferences. Using historical process-tracing and discourse analysis of primary documents, I determine that disposition was frequently and repeatedly used to either support or oppose women’s enfranchisement in New Zealand.

scholarly journals Provincial–regional ANC politics in the Northern Cape: corruption or everyday informal practices?

2017 ◽  
pp. 96-118
Author(s):  
Thina Nzo
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Patronage Politics ◽  
Northern Cape

Research over the last decade on local government in South Africa has highlighted that some municipal councils under the political leadership of the Africa National Congress (ANC) have shown weak political leadership, coupled with strong patronage systems, rent-seeking and corruption which have had an impact on the institutional functionality of municipalities in South Africa. Although patronage politics have been predominantly used to analyse the dynamics of post-apartheid local government ANC politics and councillor representation, this prevents us from understanding the representational focus of ANC councillors in decision-making processes. This paper offers an ethnographic insight into experiences of ANC councillors and the political complexities involved in council decision-making. Using ethnographic research, this paper will analyse how a political decision by the ANC provincial party, which was supported by the ANC regional party at local level – to erect a statue of Nelson Mandela in one of the municipalities in the Northern Cape – generated tensions amongst ANC councillors who strongly viewed their primary role as promoters of better ‘service delivery’ rather than approving the allocation of scarce municipal resources for erecting a statue. The paper reveals how the dominant presence of ANC sub-regional structures at local level contribute to the complex interaction of both ANC party political and municipal organisational rules and norms that influence and shape councillors’ choices in decision-making.  

Shaping Taxation: Economic Elites and Fiscal Decision-Making in Argentina, 1920–1945

2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSÉ ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ ROMÁN
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Income Tax ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The Political ◽  
Period Analysis ◽  
Juan Domingo Peron ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Economic Elites

AbstractThis article deals with the process of decision-making in the sphere of taxation in Argentina between 1920 and 1945, focusing on the possible influence of the economic elites in that process. Given the central role of decisions over taxation in any fiscal policy and the momentous transformations that occurred in the Argentine system during this period, analysis of this subject can provide a better understanding of the political role that economic elites in Argentina played between the first presidency of Hipólito Yrigoyen (1916–22) and the ascent of Juan Domingo Perón to the presidency in 1946. Drawing on three key episodes in Argentina policy-making – the attempt to introduce an income tax in 1923, the response to the Depression in 1931–32, and the crisis of 1942–43, this article suggests that parliamentary institutions had stronger resilience in Argentina than is usually believed, and corporatist arrangements became rooted in Argentina only with difficulties.

Blocks of Voters and the Cube ‘Law’

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Upton
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Africa ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Electoral Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political

The so-called cube ‘law’ has become ‘part of the political folklore of Great Britain’. Indeed it seems also to have passed into the general folklore of political science, having been applied to electoral systems having single-member constituencies contested by two major parties in the United States, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and South Africa.

scholarly journals “Wolves Have A Constitution:” Continuities in Indigenous Self-Government

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Cornell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Indigenous Nations ◽  
Human Material ◽  
Political Idea ◽  
Key Aspects

This article is about constitutionalism as an Indigenous tradition. The political idea of constitutionalism is the idea that the process of governing is itself governed by a set of foundational laws or rules. There is ample evidence that Indigenous nations in North America—and in Australia and New Zealand as well—were in this sense constitutionalists. Customary law, cultural norms, and shared protocols provided well understood guidelines for key aspects of governance by shaping both personal and collective action, the behavior of leaders, decision-making, dispute resolution, and relationships with the human, material, and spirit worlds. Today, many of these nations have governing systems imposed by outsiders. As they move to change these systems, they also are reclaiming their own constitutional traditions.

Engendering Political Decision-Making

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hatchard
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
World Wide ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The World ◽  
Women In Decision Making ◽  
Political Decision Making

In November, 1996, the Fifth Meeting of the Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs recommended that member countries be encouraged to achieve a target of not less than 30 per cent of women in decision-making in the political, public and private sectors by the year 2005. This is an ambitious target for, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the proportion of women involved in politics world-wide declined from 12.1 per cent in 1985 to 11 per cent in 1995. The situation throughout Africa is especially bleak for, as the following table indicates, with the notable exceptions of Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Eritrea and Uganda, most African countries fall well below the world average.

scholarly journals Economic Journalism and the Elitist Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 764-791
Author(s):  
Raul Rios-Rodríguez ◽  
Ángel Arrese
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
Over Time

ABSTRACT – Is economic journalism always dependent on elitist news sources or are there particular situations that can mitigate this pattern? The economic crisis of 2008 has specific characteristics that distinguish it from the issues usually covered by economic journalism, so a different pattern in the use of sources could be expected, especially if we consider the changing economic and political circumstances throughout the crisis. To explore this question, we conducted a content analysis of the crisis coverage of representative Spanish newspapers between 2008 and 2015. The results show that the political and economic elites were the dominant sources, meanwhile, other non-elite agents had little presence. This imbalance is not modified by the ideological and geographical profiles of the newspapers, or by the different phases of the crisis. However, we found intra-elite alterations over time: the actors with more decision-making power at each period had more presence as sources. RESUMO – Será o jornalismo econômico sempre dependente das fontes de elite ou existem determinadas situações que podem mitigar este padrão? A crise econômica de 2008 tem caraterísticas específicas que a distinguem dos assuntos habitualmente tratados pelo jornalismo econômico, pelo que poderia ser esperado um padrão diferente no uso de fontes de notícias, especialmente se considerarmos as diferentes circunstâncias econômicas e políticas ao longo da crise. Para explorar esta questão, realizamos uma análise de conteúdo da cobertura da crise de jornais representativos do caso espanhol entre 2008 e 2015. Os resultados mostram que as elites políticas e econômicas foram as fontes dominantes, enquanto outros agentes não elitistas tiveram escassa presença. Este desequilíbrio não é alterado pelos diferentes perfis ideológicos e geográficos dos jornais, nem pelas diferentes etapas da crise. No entanto, encontramos alterações intra-elite ao longo do tempo: os atores com maior poder de tomada de decisões em cada período, tiveram mais presença como fontes. RESUMEN – ¿Es el periodismo económico siempre dependiente de las fuentes elitistas o existen determinadas situaciones que pueden mitigar este patrón? La crisis económica de 2008 tiene características específicas que la distinguen de los asuntos habitualmente tratados por el periodismo económico, lo que permitiría esperar un patrón diferente en el uso de fuentes, especialmente si consideramos las diferentes circunstancias económicas y políticas durante la crisis. Para explorar esta cuestión, realizamos un análisis de contenido de la cobertura de la crisis de periódicos españoles representativos entre 2008 y 2015. Los resultados muestran que las élites políticas y económicas fueron las fuentes dominantes, mientras otros agentes no elitistas tuvieron escasa presencia. Este desequilibrio no es alterado por los diferentes perfiles ideológicos y geográficos de los periódicos, ni por las diferentes etapas de la crisis. Sin embargo, encontramos alteraciones intra-élite a lo largo del tiempo: aquellos actores con mayor poder de decisión en cada período tuvieron más presencia como fuentes.

scholarly journals ‘Community’: A Q study exploring perspectives in community governance settings in Taranaki, New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Te Aroha Hohaia
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Practice ◽  
Community Governance ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
Space Factor ◽  
Local Decision ◽  
Highly Correlated

<p>Attend any public meeting in Taranaki and, more often than not, one will hear the word ‘community’ used to bolster a policy proposal, or oppose it. But when that happens, what exactly is meant by ‘community’? Taking advantage of her position as an embedded participant, the author of this thesis set out to understand what ‘community’ means to those who occupy roles of influence in decision-making settings in Taranaki, Aotearoa- New Zealand. To the study’s informants and participants, a deceptively simple question was put: ‘what do you understand by ‘community’?’  The set of techniques used to elicit responses to this question was William Stephenson’s Q Methodology. Data collection began with 29 informant interviews from which 45 statements representative of what is understood by ‘community’ were extracted. Those statements were rank-ordered by 35 participants generating 47 Q sorts (the mechanism by which each viewpoint was captured). Using PQMethod 2.35, a three-factor solution generated through principal components analysis and subjected to a varimax rotation was selected for further analysis.  The interpretation of the results substantiated three somewhat highly correlated, yet nuanced perspectives where ‘community’ is:  ▪ ‘Everyone and we’re all in this together’ (Factor 1), ▪ ‘Well... it depends’ given the multiplicity of interests (Factor 2), and ▪ ‘It’s everything’ (Factor 3).  The primacy of relationships and expectations to contribute to where one lives provide the basis for consensus. The nuance is in the scope and reach in terms of who counts, what matters and why it is important at a given point in time. The subsequent discussion noted there is still no agreement on a definition of ‘community’ and its malleability in meaning makes ‘community’ useful for furthering political interests. Its use in the community governance settings of this study reflects the pragmatism of everyday life. ‘Community’ is affirmed as a concept that frames policy discourse.  This study also identifies ‘community’ as a practice and as a way of governing that frames policy responses where the basis for ‘community’ is as:  ▪ A preference for face-to-face interaction and usually over a cup of tea (Factor 1), ▪ A strategy of enabling that is realistic and pragmatic (Factor 2), and ▪ An account of the integrated connections to places, with people and to events across time and space (Factor 3).  The study opens up new ground as the collection, analysis and interpretation of first- person, vested responses from those ‘doing’ ‘community’ in community governance settings is missing from the scholarly and practitioner literature. This study forms a bridge in an identified gap between those who theorise in the political philosophy of ‘community’ and those who advocate in the political practice of ‘community’.  Furthermore, the three perspectives identified and discussed in this study also lead to a proposition that the phrase ‘governing communities’ would be a more apt and authentic alternative to ‘community governance’. Such a development is positioned as the next step in the evolution of the theory surrounding local decision-making and local government in New Zealand and as a normative model for political practice.</p>

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