The Normative Value of Partisanship: When and Why Partisanship Matters

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios E Efthymiou

Recent work on partisanship has highlighted the role of political parties in rendering democracy and justice widely accessible to citizens. In these recent works, a distinction is drawn between a contemporary conception of partisanship that focuses on fidelity to political parties and a classic conception that emphasises the importance of a civic ethos of active political engagement. I argue that these two conceptions of partisanship are not so disparate if we focus on the role of political parties in promoting civic commitment and contestation. More specifically, I show how a normative account of partisanship can contribute to a defence of a civic ethos of political commitment. I then argue that commitment leads to contestation among both partisans and non-partisans, and that polities lacking active contestation of political commitments are in one significant respect less well off than those societies where there is such contestation.

2017 ◽  
Vol 112 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOEL E. LANDIS

Recent work by party scholars reveals a widening gap between the normative ideals we set out for political parties and the empirical evidence that reveals their deep and perhaps insurmountable shortcomings in realizing these ideals. This disjunction invites us to consider the perspective of David Hume, who offers a theory of the value and proper function of parties that is resilient to the pessimistic findings of recent empirical scholarship. I analyze Hume's writings to show that the psychological experience of party informs the opinions by which governments can be considered legitimate. Hume thus invites us to consider the essential role parties might play in securing legitimacy as that ideal is practiced or understood by citizens, independent of the ideal understandings of legitimacy currently being articulated by theorists. My analysis contributes to both recent party scholarship and to our understanding of the role of parties in Hume's theory of allegiance.


2017 ◽  
Vol 225 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xenia Chryssochoou ◽  
Martyn Barrett

Abstract. This paper reviews the research that has been conducted into youth civic and political engagement since 2010. We begin by noting the claim that youth are not sufficiently engaged either civically or politically. We argue that this claim is probably incorrect: rather than using conventional forms of political participation, youth today are often engaged through nonconventional and civic means instead. We also indicate at the outset some important cautions about the interpretation of research findings in this field, in particular the need to consider the kinds of political issues with which youth are involved, the moments in time at which they are involved, and the societal contexts in which their involvement occurs. We argue that these specificities mean that it might be difficult or even impossible to construct a unified model or comprehensive understanding of youth civic and political engagement. The review then considers recent research findings on the role of micro-, meso-, and macro-level factors in influencing youth engagement. Micro-level factors include political interest, efficacy, ideologies, values, and identity; meso-level factors include the family, school, peers, and the neighborhood; while macro-level factors include political-cultural, economic, legal, and institutional factors. We also review recent findings on the role of young people’s demographic positioning, the effects that social media might be playing in transforming youth engagement, and how political parties can actively mobilize youth. We conclude that young people are far from being apathetic and uninterested in politics, but that they need to find ways to be involved that are meaningful to them. We also indicate some possible future lines of research that could be profitably pursued.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-294
Author(s):  
Galina F. Voronenkova ◽  
Maria G. Maslina

The article discusses the connection of four daily newspapers of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg - “Luxemburger Wort”, “Tageblatt”, “Lëtzebuerger Journal” and “Zeitung vum Lëtzebuerger Vollek” - with the party system. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the Luxembourg press has never been studied by Russian scientists either in general or from the point of view of political engagement, which the authors study in four aspects: historical, in point of content, economic and audience (in this case it’s about media preferences of politicians - party members). However, there is a positive side to the political commitment of the Luxembourg editions: the connection with political parties contributes to maintaining the diversity of the newspaper landscape of Luxembourg.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fadhli Zul Fauzi ◽  
Bevaola Kusumasari

Purpose This paper aims to compare the implementation of public–private partnership (PPP) in Western and non-Western countries by analyzing several predetermined aspects such as government and political system, PPP’s model of agreement, political commitment and the role of PPP supporting unit. Design/methodology/approach This study uses comparative case studies to compare the implementation of PPP in seven Western and non-Western countries by using various appropriate data such as frequently used agreements, government systems, political commitments and PPP-supporting units to understand the extent of differences in the success of PPP implementation found in each country. Findings The results reveal that the implementation of PPPs in Western and non-Western countries do not significantly differ, except for in the instance of political commitments. Political interventions in PPP implementation still frequently occurred in non-Western countries, which consequently disrupted the implementation of PPP itself. Originality/value Previous comparison of PPP studies only focused on the implementation of PPP without analyzing the political context in each country. One of the contributions that this paper will bring to the conversations around PPP is that the implementation of PPP will be analyzed with regard to political contexts.


Eco-ethica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 93-107
Author(s):  
Jacob Dahl Rendtorff ◽  

This article presents Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of the tension between existence and politics and the role of political commitment in existentialist philosophy. Based on Sartre’s concept of engagement, the article analyzes the transition from the personal to the political perceived as a movement from personal moral consciousness to the awareness of the importance of the individual as a social actor and citizen in society. Sartre’s concept of political engagement can be characterized as critical intellectual commitment and “Socratic Citizenship.” Accordingly, this article is also an acknowledgment of the two important philosophers of ecoethica, Tomonbu Imamichi and Peter Kemp, both committed public intellectuals who said that the role of the philosopher is to contribute to the public affair of cosmopolitan society. Thus, the article presents the political engagement in four major parts: (1) From the existential to political engagement, (2) Political commitment as a struggle for human freedom, (3) The Socratic Citizenship, and (4). Conditions of authentic political action. Political engagement represents an effort to realize the respect owed to each individual as a universal singular, as well as that owed to freedom and democracy in the Kingdom of Ends.


2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 498-516
Author(s):  
Neil O'Sullivan

Of the hundreds of Greek common nouns and adjectives preserved in our MSS of Cicero, about three dozen are found written in the Latin alphabet as well as in the Greek. So we find, alongside συμπάθεια, also sympathia, and ἱστορικός as well as historicus. This sort of variation has been termed alphabet-switching; it has received little attention in connection with Cicero, even though it is relevant to subjects of current interest such as his bilingualism and the role of code-switching and loanwords in his works. Rather than addressing these issues directly, this discussion sets out information about the way in which the words are written in our surviving MSS of Cicero and takes further some recent work on the presentation of Greek words in Latin texts. It argues that, for the most part, coherent patterns and explanations can be found in the alphabetic choices exhibited by them, or at least by the earliest of them when there is conflict in the paradosis, and that this coherence is evidence for a generally reliable transmission of Cicero's original choices. While a lack of coherence might indicate unreliable transmission, or even an indifference on Cicero's part, a consistent pattern can only really be explained as an accurate record of coherent alphabet choice made by Cicero when writing Greek words.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
А. И. Кольба ◽  
Н. В. Кольба

The article describes the structural characteristics of the urban communities of the city of Krasnodar and the related features that impact their participation in urban conflicts. This issue is considered in a number of scientific publications, but there is a need to expand the empirical base of such studies. On the base of expert interviews conducted with both city activists, their counterparty (representatives of the municipal government) and external observers (journalists), the parameters of urban communities functioning in the process of their interaction with other conflict actors are revealed. The communities characteristics such as the predominantly territorial principle of formation, the overlap of online and offline communications in their activities, the presence of a “core” with a relatively low number of permanent participants and others are determined. Their activities are dominated by neighborly and civilian models of participation in conflicts. The possibilities of realizing one’s own interests through political interactions (participation in elections, the activities of representative bodies of power, political parties) are not yet sufficiently understood. Urban communities, as a rule, operate within the framework of conventional forms of participation in solving urgent problems, although in some cases it is possible to use confrontational methods, in particular, protest ones. In this regard, the most often used compromise, with the desire for cooperation, a strategy of behavior in interaction with opponents. The limited activating role of conflicts in the activities of communities has been established. The weak manifestation of the civil and especially political component in their activities determines the preservation of a low level of political subjectivity. This factor restrains the growth of urban communities resources and the possibility of applying competitive strategies in interaction with city government and business.


Author(s):  
András Sajó ◽  
Renáta Uitz

This chapter examines the relationship between parliamentarism and the legislative branch. It explores the evolution of the legislative branch, leading to disillusionment with the rationalized law-making factory, a venture run by political parties beyond the reach of constitutional rules. The rise of democratically bred party rule is positioned between the forces favouring free debate versus effective decision-making in the legislature. The chapter analyses the institutional make-up and internal operations of the legislature, the role of the opposition in the legislative assembly, and explores the benefits of bicameralism for boosting the powers of the legislative branch. Finally, it looks at the law-making process and its outsourcing via delegating legislative powers to the executive.


Author(s):  
Piero Ignazi

Chapter 3 investigates the process of party formation in France, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy, and demonstrates the important role of cultural and societal premises for the development of political parties in the nineteenth century. Particular attention is paid in this context to the conditions in which the two mass parties, socialists and Christian democrats, were established. A larger set of Western European countries included in this analysis is thoroughly scrutinized. Despite discontent among traditional liberal-conservative elites, full endorsement of the political party was achieved at the beginning of the twentieth century. Particular attention is paid to the emergence of the interwar totalitarian party, especially under the guise of Italian and German fascism, when ‘the party’ attained its most dominant influence as the sole source and locus of power. The chapter concludes by suggesting hidden and unaccounted heritages of that experience in post-war politics.


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