Policy analysis and advocacy in the Canadian labour movement: when the force of argument is not enough

2018 ◽  
pp. 331-350
Author(s):  
Bryan Evans ◽  
Stephanie Ross
Keyword(s):  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Creative Process ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Advocacy ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
The Public ◽  
Internal Architecture

As states in the early twentieth century established labour ministries to manage and mitigate class conflict, the question of whether and under what conditions the public policy perspectives of the working class and their trade unions could find a hearing within the state became significant. As the labour-capital compromises that characterized the political economy of post-1945 liberal democracies unravelled and the internal architecture of states transformed with the rise of neoliberalism, the labour movement’s policy influence has declined, even within institutions of social dialogue. While it remains strategically important for trade unions to engage in state-oriented policy analysis and advocacy, the force of argument, of good rational analysis, is insufficient in the current era. This exploration of trade unions’ resulting reorientation of their policy advocacy tactics and strategies suggests a creative process of engaging members and the public is underway.

The Oxford Handbook of Political Representation in Liberal Democracies

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Interest ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
International Level ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Mass Publics

How can democracies effectively represent citizens? The goal of this Handbook is to evaluate comprehensively how well the interests and preferences of mass publics become represented by institutions in liberal democracies. It first explores how the idea and institutions of liberal democracies were formed over centuries and became enshrined in Western political systems. The contributors to this Handbook, made up of the world’s leading scholars on the various aspects of political representation, examine how well the political elites and parties who are charged with the representation of the public interest meet their duties. Clearly, institutions often fail to live up to their own representation goals. With this in mind, the contributors explore several challenges to the way that the system of representation is organized in modern democracies. For example, actors such as parties and established elites face rising distrust among electorates. Also, the rise of international problems such as migration and environmentalism suggests that the focus of democracies on nation states may have to shift to a more international level. All told, this Handbook illuminates the normative and functional challenges faced by representative institutions in liberal democracies.

Multiculturalism in the Age of Terror: Confronting the Challenges

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gurpreet Mahajan
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Political Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Question Mark ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Clout ◽  
Cultural Legacies ◽  
Europe Today

Multiculturalism appears to be under siege in Western liberal democracies. The encounter with organised terrorism has placed a question mark against the multicultural wisdom of recognising and accommodating cultural differences in the public arena. As concerns of national security dominate the post-9/11 world, distinctions between ‘us’ and ‘them’ are surfacing in a way that has prompted some to say that the present war on terror is actually a war on Islam. Will the multicultural ethic survive in this environment? Will states be willing to accommodate cultural diversity and live with the presence of visible differences? The article explores these questions through the lens of India. India has been battling with terrorism for more than a decade now. While this has severely strained the capacity of the political community to nurture multiculturalism, it has successfully resisted the challenges posed by an assertive cultural/religious majoritarianism that surfaced in the shadow of terrorism. India has dealt with the schisms produced by terrorism by drawing upon the collective imaginary and past cultural legacies that ensued from its understanding of a ‘situated self’. This was supplemented by a functioning democracy in which significant minorities were able to shape the electoral fate of political parties and reduce the political clout of those who were insensitive to their concerns. The multicultural ethic is far from secure in India, yet it does not, and has not, faced the problems that confront multiculturalism in Western Europe today. The issues before European democracies may have been accentuated by terrorism but they are linked closely to the liberal notion of tolerance. Does a notion of the ‘situated self’ that informs tolerance in India offer a viable alternative? We cannot expect any political community to erase its historically defined identity, yet a reflection on other ways of thinking and living may assuage some of our anxieties and open us to the possibility of redefining our understanding of differences.

scholarly journals Digital campaigning as a policy of democracy promotion: Applying deliberative theories of democracy to political parties

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Odzuck ◽  
Sophie Günther
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Democracy Promotion ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Campaigning ◽  
The Individual

AbstractToday’s election campaigns are heavily data-driven. Despite the numerous skeptical voices questioning the compatibility of specific campaigning practices with fundamental principles of liberal democracies, there has to date been little comprehensive work in this area from the perspective of normative democratic theory. Our article addresses this gap by drawing on recent research on the normative theory of political parties in the field of deliberative democratic theory. The deliberative theories of democracy proposed by Habermas and Rawls contain structural elements of a normative theory of the political party: the special status of political parties as mediators between background culture and the political forum, between the political system and the public sphere, and between the individual and the state, confers on them a central position as actors in in the public use of reason and deliberation.We argue in this article for a view of digital campaigning as a policy of democracy promotion and for the proposition that, alongside other actors, political parties have a special responsibility in this regard. We point to the implications for the evaluation and design of digital political microtargeting that arise from the application of deliberative principles to political parties and consider the need they reveal for the ongoing development of detailed, nuanced normative theories of democracy.

Het lidmaatschap van sociale organisaties en trouw stemgedrag

Res Publica ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-29
Author(s):  
Jaak Billiet
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Substantial Effect ◽  
The Political ◽  
Voting Behaviour ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
The Social ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Age Category

The relationships between the political parties (Christian Democrats, Socialists and Liberals) and the social movements that emerged in the last part of the previous century has been described as a pillarized form of intermediation. The political parties were built on the major cleavages that divided the Belgium society and the links between each organisational network (pillar) and the political party were exclusive, stable, and formal (or structural) . In the so-called new social movements, the links with the political parties are specific, unstable, and informal. A vast and stable support for each network party by the majority of the members of the social organisations that belang to each network (or 'world') is one of the conditions for an adequate functioning of the model of pillarized intermediation. Is that condition still met in Flanders after the General Elections ofNovember 24, 1991 ?This study, based on a sample of 2,691 Flemish voters, shows strong differences in 'faithful' and stable voting behaviour according to the generation and the kind of involvement in the social organisations (trade unions, health insurance organisations, and Christian Labour Movement).  Among the generations that were born after 1945, the proportion of electoral 'movers' is larger than the proportion ofvoters that remain faithful to their network party. In the generations born before 1945, stable and faithful voting behaviour is still dominant in the three traditional political families. The more involvement in the Christian Labour Movement, the higher the degree of stable voting behaviour in favour of the Christian Democratie Party. A logistic regression analysis with church involvement, age category, urban environment, and several organizational variabels shows thatmembership of social organisations still has a substantial effect on stable voting behaviour. The future of the pillarized model of intermediation is discussed in view of these results.

scholarly journals Organising as a strategy to reach precarious and marginalised workers. A review of debates on the role of the political dimension and the dilemmas of representation and solidarity

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Martínez Lucio ◽  
Stefania Marino ◽  
Heather Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
The Past ◽  
Highly Sensitive ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Vulnerable Workers

Organising as a trade union strategy has caught the imagination of the labour movement over the past 20 years or so. The vast possibilities of new forms of organising go hand in hand with concern about its highly constrained and sometimes hierarchical use. This article looks at key aspects of the debate, focusing on the question of how new forms of organising reach out to more vulnerable and precarious workers. Similar to other colleagues in the field, we conclude that there are political and organisational gaps in organising strategies and that new forms of organising can in some instances be bureaucratic and apolitical. Furthermore, it is important to extend our understanding of the role of trade unions in relation to the state, organised working class constituencies, and social rights, especially as, with regard to vulnerable workers and their organisations, questions of regulation are highly sensitive and challenging.

scholarly journals Alberta’s 2002 Teacher Strike: The Political Economy of Labor Relations in Education

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Bob Barnetson
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Labor Relations ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Canadian Province ◽  
The Public ◽  
Worker Resistance

In 2002, approximately two thirds of school teachers in the Canadian province of Alberta went on strike. Drawing on media, government and union documents, this case study reveals some contours of the political economy of labor relations in education that are normally hidden from view. Among these features are that the state can react to worker resistance by legally pressuring trade unions and justifying this action as in the public interest. This justification seeks to divide the working class and pit segments of it against each other. The state may also seek to limit discussion and settlements to monetary matters to avoid constraining its ability to manage the workplace or the educational system. This analysis provides a basis for developing a broader theory of the political economy of labor relations in education. It also provides trade unionists in education with information useful in formulating a strike strategy.

scholarly journals The South African labour movement

Tempo Social ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-136
Author(s):  
Bridget Kenny
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
The South ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Union Renewal

This paper reviews the state of the South African labour movement. It discusses trade unions within the context of national political dynamics, including the Tripartite Alliance and neoliberalism, as well as growing precarianization of work within South Africa. It examines splits within the major federation and explores debates around union renewal and new worker organizations. It argues that the political terrain is fragmented and shifting, but workers’ collective labour politics abides.

The end of revisionism?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Pierson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Social Democracy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
The Public ◽  
Trade Unionism

This chapter argues that the starkest of the institutional problems facing social democracy now is a growing inability to win elections. Added to this was the challenge of a long-term decline in the industrial wing of social democracy. Historically, social democracy has been the politics of the labour movement, and a key component of this movement has always been trade unions and their members. While that relationship was not always as close as it was in the British or Swedish cases, trade unionism was almost always the ‘other half’ of social democracy. However, the 1980s were a time of loss for this ‘other side’ of social democracy. Trade unions were becoming increasingly feminised, more focused in the public sector and drawing in increasing numbers of middle-class public service members.

Regulated and controlled liberalisation: a means to reconcile market efficiency and social cohesion?

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otto Jacobi ◽  
Wolfgang Kowalsky
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
The Public ◽  
Interest Representation ◽  
Liberalisation Policy ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
The Eu

The opening up of the public sector by a strategy of regulated liberalisation is a controversial policy area for the EU. The article provides an introduction to the political, economic and social considerations on which European liberalisation is based, namely the need for a balance between economic efficiency and ensuring the provision of public goods. The most important elements in the practical implementation of EU liberalisation policy, with their weaknesses and deficiencies, are explained. In conclusion the changes implied for trade unions are discussed: while liberalisation undoubtedly confronts unions with new challenges and dangers, it also offers them opportunities, provided they Europeanise their interest representation structures.

scholarly journals Leading the White-Collar Union: Clive Jenkins, the Management of Trade-Union Officers, and the Politics of the British Labour Movement, c.1968–1979

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Melling
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
White Collar ◽  
The Political ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
British Trade ◽  
British Labour ◽  
History Of ◽  
Career Structure ◽  
Union Governance ◽  
Specific Interests

The growth of white-collar unionism and its impact on British trade unions in the postwar period has received little attention from social historians. Radical critics have noted the failure of Clive Jenkins to provide a clear lead in defending workers' conditions, while mainstream, institutionalist commentators more often stress the diversity of specific interests served by such unions. Recent research has called into question earlier models of union governance, though there remain few studies of the history of officer relations within trade unions. This article examines the leadership of ASTMS in the decade after its formation. It is argued that the strategies pursued by Jenkins, including the recruitment, training, and deployment of fieldworkers, were guided by accumulated knowledge and culture (as well as brilliant opportunism) rather than by the structure of the union or the composition of the membership. In offering educated officers a career structure, ASTMS increased its capacity for expertise and effective communication without descending into the political sectarianism of the postwar years. The charismatic, capricious style adopted by Jenkins, as well as the difficulties of absorbing a diverse membership in this period of rapid growth, contributed to the tensions which culminated in a series of struggles between the union and its bargainers during the 1970s.

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