7. Where Has (Ethnic) Politics Gone? The Case of the BN Non-Malay Politicians and Political Parties

2017 ◽  
pp. 183-203
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Ethnic Politics

High-stakes ethnic politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 342-355
Author(s):  
Susanne D. Mueller
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Goods ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Patronage Politics ◽  
Targeted Violence ◽  
The One ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Government

Ethnic politics in Kenya matured under colonial restrictions, intensifying after Independence during both the one- and the multi-party period. The result was weak non-programmatic political parties and institutions and an expansion of patronage politics. Once the presidency became competitive, polarization increased, with winning and losing viewed in ethnic terms. This culminated in elite-led ethnically targeted violence to win elections and to citizens voting against non-co-ethnics out of fear. This chapter examines theories of ethnicity and evidence that co-ethnics of presidential winners receive more high-level government appointments and public goods than non-co-ethnics, subsequently losing them when their president loses. The fear of loss and the willingness of ethnic elites to engage in conflict to avert loss reinforces clientelism, weakens political parties, and highlights the inability of politicians to make credible non-ethnic commitments to voters. These factors also heighten the possibility of violence and threaten democracy.

scholarly journals Obstacles to Nigeria Political Development – A Critical Evaluation

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Emma E.O. Chukwuemeka ◽  
Prof. J.C. Okoye ◽  
Prof. E.A. Egboh ◽  
Ngozi Ewuim
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
National Assembly ◽  
Elective Office ◽  
Small Measure ◽  
The Third World ◽  
The Military

Nigeria is one of the fast developing nations of the third world, but has many obstacles to her political development. The military ruled Nigeria between 1966 to 1979 and 1984 to 1999. Military dominance in NigeriaPolitics has in no small measure impacted negatively on the political development of Nigeria. Therefore political development of Nigeria has been going at a snail speed not only due to frequent  military incursion in government but also  due to many other impediments which include ethnicity, incumbency politics, tenure elongation, godfatherism and poor political orientation . The paper which is theoretical and persuasive examined all these factors critically and recommended among other things that National Assembly should pass a law to make elective office a single tenure. The economy of Nigeria should be organized to make it more productive and also to devise a vision of society within which each person can reasonably perceive that equity and social justice are firmly on the national agenda. To eradicate ethnic politics in Nigeria efforts should be made towards equitable distribution of social, political and economic gains of the polity. Finally efforts should be made to enforce the section of the constitution that dwelt on the formation of political parties that are devoid of ethnicity.

Ethnic Politics in the Borderlands

2018 ◽  
pp. 22-42
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Kopstein ◽  
Jason Wittenberg
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
State Ownership ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Building Projects ◽  
Ethnic Tensions ◽  
Interwar Poland ◽  
Political Disputes

This chapter explores how the diffuse ethnic divides of the era of nationalist mobilization during the 19th and 20th centuries re-emerged as specific partisan disputes in independent Poland. These political disputes—over economic redistribution, state ownership, and the proper limits of minority autonomy—colored life in virtually every community and provided the context in which the deadly violence of 1941 would ultimately occur. By translating ethnic demography into political weight, democratic politics in interwar Poland heightened ethnic tensions. Where powerful and articulate Jewish nationalist political parties and movements emerged, Poles and Ukrainians came to understand that the region’s Jews would not and could not be part of their respective nation-building projects.

Conclusion: Whither Dalit Politics?

2019 ◽  
pp. 192-210
Author(s):  
Amit Ahuja
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
The Public ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Electoral Choice ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Voice

This chapter summarizes the key arguments related to the mobilization of the marginalized. It considers how the experience of Dalit mobilization informs a larger research agenda on democratic mobilization of marginalized groups, ethnic politics, social movements, and political parties. Dalit parties, the chapter reiterates, represent the voice of the marginalized; however, the voice comes at a price: electoral choice. The chapter goes on to argue that the presence or absence of Dalit parties in legislatures is increasingly an incomplete indicator of the vibrancy of Dalit politics, because Dalit politics is taking root in new dimensions of the public sphere: organizations in new sectors, an online Dalit public sphere, and a Dalit diaspora.

Ethnic Condominium and Illiberalism in Macedonia

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Crowther
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
National Unity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Democratic Discourse

Over the course of the past ten years the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization–Democratic Party for national Unity (VMRO-DPMNE) has progressively extended its control over Macedonian political, social, and economic life, restricting the space for democratic discourse and limiting completion. Throughout this period it has acted in concert with elites representing the country’s Albanian minority and has included Albanian political parties, currently the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) as minority coalition partners. This article will examine the conditions that gave rise to illiberalism in Macedonia and the interaction between ethnic politics and the retreat from democracy.

The Politics of Ethnocentrism: A Viability Test of Ghana’s Democracy?

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamphilious Faanu ◽  
Emmanuel Graham
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Strategy ◽  
Viability Test ◽  
The Media

The article assesses the use of ethnocentrism as a political strategy in Ghana’s electoral politics and the threat it poses to Ghana’s democracy. It focuses on the strategic ethno-political communication employed by politicians to wield voter support and how voters behave at polls. It reveals that prior to independence Ghana’s political parties were predominantly formed along ethnic and regional dimensions. This transcends into the current dispensation, as the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party are tagged as Ewe-Northerners party and Akans party, respectively. These ethnic affiliations tend to influence voters’ behaviour at the polls. There is, therefore, an increasing incidence of non-evaluative voting because of ethnocentrism in the Ghanaian political domain. As a result, politicking in Ghana tends to rely heavily on ethnic dimensions to solicit votes using the media as the main platform. The incidence of ethno-politics in Ghana has the tendency to reverse the democratic successes chalked because of the unnecessary tensions that are often associated with ethnic politics. This article recommends the need for responsible media practice to minimise this rising phenomenon in Ghana’s electoral politics. Also, it is our suggestion that the Political Parties ACT 574(2000) and the concerned articles of the 1992 constitution be reviewed to place sanctions on ethnocentrism as a political strategy.

In Defense of Intra-Sectarian Divide: Street Mobilization, Coalition Formation, and Rapid Realignments of Sectarian Boundaries in Lebanon

Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rima Majed
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Coalition Formation ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
Street Politics ◽  
Political Unity ◽  
Depth Interview

Abstract This article examines the rapid transformations in the salience of sectarian boundaries despite seemingly deeply entrenched polarization. Lebanon provides an interesting case study where sectarian dichotomies moved relatively quickly from a predominantly “Christian–Muslim” divide to a more recent “Sunni–Shia” split within the context of tumultuous street mobilizations. While this sectarian dichotomy is resonant with the regional intra-Muslim divide, its local dynamics and mechanisms remain unknown. Based on recent literature pointing to street mobilization as an important channel for ethnic politics, this article focuses on co-mobilization—or coalition formation in protests—as a mechanism of sectarianization. It builds on an original and exclusive protest event catalogue (2000–2010), network analysis, and in-depth interview to ask: how does the salience of sectarian dichotomies shift in tandem with transformations in street politics? Through an analysis of momentous street mobilizations and coalition formations, the article traces how sectarian and political fault-lines are (re-)drawn and crystalized. The findings suggest that sectarian polarization emerges when political parties (re-)alignments overlap with the boundaries of sectarian cleavages, thus allowing interchangeability between political and sectarian categories. Contrary to common belief, this finding indicates that intra-sectarian political unity—rather than inter-sectarian divisions—shapes the processes of sectarianization and polarization.

Ethnic Politics and Consociationalism in the 2013 Malaysian Election

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
NORIYUKI SEGAWA
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Political System ◽  
Ethnic Politics ◽  
Political Structure ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
Electoral Strategies ◽  
Election Results

AbstractThis paper examines the prospects of ethnic politics and consociationalism in Malaysia, in terms of their structures and capabilities. Towards this end, the Barisan Nasional's (BN) policies from 2008 to 2013, the BN's and the Pakatan Rakyat's (PR) 2013 electoral strategies, and the results of the 2013 election will be analysed. As political parties in both the BN and the PR have generally represented ethnic interests and identities, an ethnic-based political structure has been maintained. A consociational political system, which is based on an ethnic-based political structure, has been adopted by both political coalitions. An examination of the 2013 election results indicates that the BN's ethnic politicking as a vote-gathering device has become ineffective. The BN's consociationalism has suffered from a legitimacy deficit, particularly within ethnic minority communities. However, it may be premature to claim that the Malaysian political culture is on the cusp of transcending the BN's paradigm of ethnic politics and consociationalism. The shift from ethnic politics will generate stronger momentum when the PR parties are incorporated into one political party.

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