scholarly journals Hijacked Direct Democracy: The Instrumental Use of Referendums in Romania

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 778-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergiu Gherghina
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Electoral Strategies ◽  
The Relationship

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. The relationship between political parties and referendums has been receiving increased attention in the literature. While most research has focused on the challenges faced by political parties, little attention is dedicated to the ways in which they can use referendums to serve their purposes. This article analyzes the seven national-level referendums organized in post-communist Romania between 1991 and 2012 and shows how referendums were not used primarily as a means to reflect citizens’ opinions on policy issues. Instead, they were primarily used as electoral strategies for legitimacy purposes or to augment the popularity of the initiators or main supporters. In isolated instances, they were oriented against other competitors.

Campaigning Outside the Campaign: Political Parties and Referendums in Bulgaria

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 691-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stoycho P. Stoychev ◽  
Gergana Tomova
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
National Level ◽  
Public Image ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
Potential Reason

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. The instrumental use of referendums by political parties has already been acknowledged in earlier studies showing how parties in government used direct democracy tools to promote their policies and to gain legitimacy, while parties in opposition sought to augment their image in the eyes of the public. However, opposition parties may have another potential reason to promote referendums on top of their quest for a better public image: The topic of the referendum could be a legacy of their own government. This article reveals how this mechanism works by focusing on the first referendum at the national level in post-communist Bulgaria in 2013. It shows how the Bulgarian Socialist Party, in opposition at the time of the referendum, pursued a policy initiated when it was in office. We use primary data to investigate the extent to which the rhetoric of the party during the referendum campaign served as the basis for subsequent electoral campaigns.

Discover, Instrumentalize, Monopolize: Fidesz’s Three-Step Blueprint for a Populist Take-over of Referendums

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 705-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pepijn van Eeden
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
The Other ◽  
Economic Disparities ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Apathy ◽  
Risky Option

This article assesses the referendums in Hungary in 2004, 2008, and 2016 diachronically. The review is framed by two competing liberal parliamentary approaches to direct democracy: A useful democratic corrective to the distortions of particracy, or a risky option leading to tyranny of the majority? Rather than choosing sides, this article shows how the conundrum conceals another, more interesting question: Which are the constraints under which the liberal parliamentary viewpoint shifts from the one to the other? Theorizing on post-democracy and populism provides a provisional answer: A consensualized, “post-political” parliament is key, as this, in combination with widening social-economic disparities, incentivizes illiberal populist parties to harness referendums, which prompts liberal parliamentarianists to change their minds. The referendums in 2004, 2008, and 2016 in Hungary substantiate this suspicion. Taken together, they offer a step-by-step blueprint for how, in a thoroughly postpolitical situation, a referendum evolves into a perfect catalyst for populists on their road to power, enabling them with (a) agenda-setting; (b) an explosive emphasis on popular legitimacy; (c) arousing voluntarism, while luring opponents into campaigning for boycott and political apathy; (d) combining social equalitarianism with identarian protectionism, and most importantly; (e) bypassing parliament itself. This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina.

scholarly journals How Political Parties Use Referendums: An Analytical Framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-690
Author(s):  
Sergiu Gherghina
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
European Countries ◽  
East European ◽  
Theoretical Reasoning

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. Extensive research has shown how political parties use referendums to achieve their goals. Most studies use either a policy-oriented or an institution-based approach to explain parties’ actions. In spite of much empirical evidence, to date the analytical dimensions have not been put together to facilitate the study of referendum instrumentalization across countries. This article makes a first step in that direction and proposes a typology that distinguishes between the goals and types of action of political parties. The theoretical reasoning behind such a typology is then backed by empirical evidence from the five East European countries included in the special section of this journal.

Mapping the relationship between religion and social policy

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuele Pavolini ◽  
Daniel Béland ◽  
Rana Jawad
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Individual Behaviour ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Major Aspect ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractReligion is a major aspect of human life that directly intersects with a number of social policy issues. Although much has been written about the religion-social policy nexus, the literature remains overly fragmented. Focusing primarily on Western Europe and North America, this review essay seeks to create a fruitful dialogue among the three main streams of research in the area, which respectively that focus on political parties, faith-based organisations, and individual behaviour. This essay has the goal of formulating a new, integrated agenda for future research on the religion and social policy nexus that also extends beyond Western societies.

The Effect of Political Parties on Nationwide Referendums in Poland after 1989

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 733-754
Author(s):  
Maciej Hartliński
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Political System ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

This article is part of the special cluster titled Political Parties and Direct Democracy in Eastern Europe, guest-edited by Sergiu Gherghina. The article is the first attempt to describe and compare five nationwide referendums in Poland after 1989 as tools of direct democracy exploited by political parties. The article makes two primary contributions to the literature. The explanation focuses on the circumstances as well as the two main motives of the referendum initiators, that is, to cause trouble for political opponents and strengthen one’s own position by legitimising one’s own proposals concerning the political system and foreign policy directions. Moreover, the article discusses six methods employed by political parties to use the institution of nationwide referendum for their own political purposes. Interestingly, the Polish example shows that nationwide referendums have twofold effects for their initiators. On the one hand, they allow political parties to effectively realise the aims behind the initiated referendum. On the other hand, both political parties (1996, 1997, 2003) and presidents (1996 and 2015) sustained defeats in the next parliamentary or presidential elections.

Populism and feminist politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 019251212097260
Author(s):  
Johanna Kantola ◽  
Emanuela Lombardo
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
National Level ◽  
Gender Issues ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Feminist Politics ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Europe Today ◽  
The Relationship

Populism is everywhere in Europe today: in politics and in research. Most research on populism has neglected the relationship between gender equality and populism. The aim of this symposium is precisely to scrutinize the relationship between feminist politics and right-wing and left-wing populist parties in Europe. The contribution of the symposium is twofold: to empirically investigate the relationship between feminist politics and both left and right populism, so as to provide a more holistic picture of their impact on feminist politics; and to study populist political parties both at the national level and at the level of the European Parliament. The symposium demonstrates the centrality of gender issues in the politics of populist parties and documents the effects populism has on gender relations, gender equality policies, and feminist politics.

Kämpfe um Bergbau und die Möglichkeiten demokratischer Transformation

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (189) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Social Power ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Political Effects ◽  
Mining Project ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Relationship

The article explores the political effects of popular consultations as a means of direct democracy in struggles over mining. Building on concepts from participatory and materialist democracy theory, it shows the transformative potentials of processes of direct democracy towards democratization and emancipation under, and beyond, capitalist and liberal democratic conditions. Empirically the analysis is based on a case study on the protests against the La Colosa gold mining project in Colombia. The analysis reveals that although processes of direct democracy in conflicts over mining cannot transform existing class inequalities and social power relations fundamentally, they can nevertheless alter elements thereof. These are for example the relationship between local and national governments, changes of the political agenda of mining and the opening of new spaces for political participation, where previously there were none. It is here where it’s emancipatory potential can be found.

Relasi Agama dan Demokrasi; Telaah Kritis Eksistensi Partai Islam Di Indonesia

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-404
Author(s):  
Nur Khasanah ◽  
Achmad Irwan Hamzani
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Cultural Anthropology ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Actual Reality ◽  
Library Research ◽  
Islamic Parties ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Islamic Political Parties ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Religion And Democracy

AbstractThis study discusses the relation between religion and democracy; critical examination of the existence of Islamic parties in Indonesia. This study is a qualitative study based on library (library research). The approach used is descriptive qualitative which aims to illustrate or describe the reality that exists or what is happening or the actual reality of the object under study. Then interpreted in the form of a report. The approach used is the cultural anthropology approach. The results of this study indicate that Muslims interpret the relationship of religion and democracy to occur in three models, namely the negative, neutral and positive models. In the context of Islamic political parties in Indonesia, the basic problem is the inability of parties to package democratic issues, starting from the emergence of religious sentiment, politicization of religion, political pragmatism in PKS parties. Furthermore, the PPP party has problems with party regeneration, leadership dualism, and political attitudes. Whereas the UN party is seen in the absence of a leader figure and political culture.Keywords: Religion, Democracy, Islamic Party AbstrakStudi ini membahas tentang relasi agama dan demokrasi; telaah kritis eksistensi Partai-Partai Islam di Indonesia. Kajian ini merupakan studi kualitatif berbasis kepustakaan (library research). Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah deskriptif kualitatif yang bertujuan untuk memberi gambaran atau mendeskripsikan kenyataan yang ada atau apa yang terjadi atau kenyataan sebenarnya pada obyek yang diteliti. Kemudian diinterprestasikan dalam bentuk laporan. Pendekatan yang digunakan adalah pendekatan antropologi budaya. Hasil penelitian ini memperlihatkan bahwa kaum muslim memaknai bahwa relasi agama dan demokrasi terjadi dalam tiga model, yakni model negatif, netral, dan positif. Dalam konteks partai-partai politik Islam di Indonesia, problem mendasar adalah ketidakmampuan partai dalam mengemas isu-isu demokrasi, mulai dari muncul sentimen keagamaan, politisasi agama, pragmatisme politik pada partai PKS. Selanjutnya pada partai PPP terdapat masalah pada kaderisasi partai, dualisme kepemimpinan, dan sikap politik. Sedangkan pada partai PBB terlihat pada ketiadaan figur pemimpin  dan kultur politik.Kata Kunci: Agama, Demokrasi, Partai Islam

Forging the Franchise

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Langan Teele
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Strategic Alliances ◽  
National Level ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Competitive Environments ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Massive Change ◽  
Political Emancipation ◽  
Women’S Preferences ◽  
Do So

In the 1880s, women were barred from voting in all national-level elections, but by 1920 they were going to the polls in nearly thirty countries. What caused this massive change? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it was not because of progressive ideas about women or suffragists' pluck. In most countries, elected politicians fiercely resisted enfranchising women, preferring to extend such rights only when it seemed electorally prudent and necessary to do so. This book demonstrates that the formation of a broad movement across social divides, and strategic alliances with political parties in competitive electoral conditions, provided the leverage that ultimately transformed women into voters. As the book shows, in competitive environments, politicians had incentives to seek out new sources of electoral influence. A broad-based suffrage movement could reinforce those incentives by providing information about women's preferences, and an infrastructure with which to mobilize future female voters. At the same time that politicians wanted to enfranchise women who were likely to support their party, suffragists also wanted to enfranchise women whose political preferences were similar to theirs. In contexts where political rifts were too deep, suffragists who were in favor of the vote in principle mobilized against their own political emancipation. Exploring tensions between elected leaders and suffragists and the uncertainty surrounding women as an electoral group, the book sheds new light on the strategic reasons behind women's enfranchisement.

Research and approaches to the integration processes in the European Union

2017 ◽  
pp. 126-133
Author(s):  
Alexander Motsyk
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Fourth Level ◽  
Methodological Principles ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Integration Levels

The article is devoted to the study of modern trends of integration processes. We studied the methodological principles and approaches to the study of the integration of subjects. Specifically analyzed integration levels: individual, regional, domestic, interstate, global. Also, isolated and characterized various forms of integration: political, economic, informational, cultural and others. We analyzed the integration process as a result of the relationship, cooperation, convergence and integration into a single unit of any parts, components countries, their economies, social and political structures, cultural, social and political groups, ethnic groups, political parties, movements and organizations. It is proved that integration has several levels of development. Interaction at the level of enterprises and organizations (first level) – directly to producers of goods and services. The integration of the economies of the main links of different countries is complemented by the interaction at the country level (the second level). The third level of development of integration processes – interaction at the level of parties and organizations, social groups and individuals from different countries – can be defined as a social and political one. Fourth level – is the level of the actual integration group as an economic community, with its characteristics and peculiarities. It was noted that today is used by political science approaches to the study of integration. It is important to the following principles: federalism, functionalism, communicative approach, and others. Keywords: Integration, levels, approaches, studies, European integration, politics, economics, features

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