Nordic Countries: Rational Algorithm to Overcome the Crisis

Author(s):  
K. Voronov

A group of socially and economically prosperous North-European countries (Iceland is to be considered separately) has successfully got over the crucial phase of the 2008–2010 crisis. However, it is untimely to speak about its total overcoming. The system consequences of the crisis strike the next blow to the “Scandinavian/Swedish” model, aggravated the search for ways of sustainable development. The prospects to upgrade the northern economies and societies are not associated here with the change of actual viable models of participation in European and global division of labor. The current challenges are linked with such problems as the further accumulation of riches, increase of consumption, aging of population, growth of immigration etc. The bipolar political party system is being diluted, the struggle is aggravating between traditional parties and radical right-wing, populist parties of the “new type”, which expand their mission.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Decker ◽  
Philipp Adorf

The 2017 federal election illustrated the transformation of Germany’s political party system with six parties managing to enter the Bundestag. With the Christian and Social Democrats finally coming to an agreement almost half a year after the election, a grand coalition is set to govern for two consecutive terms for the very first time. The Alternative for Germany’s success also signaled the definite parliamentary establishment of right-wing populism in Germany. Multiparty coalitions that bridge ideological gulfs as the political fringe has grown in size are a new reality that must be accommodated. The 2017 election and subsequent arduous negotiations point towards a period of uncertainty and further upheaval for Germany’s party system.


2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huib Pellikaan ◽  
Sarah L. de Lange ◽  
Tom W.G. van der Meer

Like many party systems across Western Europe, the Dutch party system has been in flux since 2002 as a result of a series of related developments, including the decline of mainstream parties which coincided with the emergence of radical right-wing populist parties and the concurrent dimensional transformation of the political space. This article analyses how these challenges to mainstream parties fundamentally affected the structure of party competition. On the basis of content analysis of party programmes, we examine the changing configuration of the Dutch party space since 2002 and investigate the impact of these changes on coalition-formation patterns. We conclude that the Dutch party system has become increasingly unstable. It has gradually lost its core through electoral fragmentation and mainstream parties’ positional shifts. The disappearance of a core party that dominates the coalition-formation process initially transformed the direction of party competition from centripetal to centrifugal. However, since 2012 a theoretically novel configuration has emerged in which no party or coherent group of parties dominates competition.


2002 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 1010-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lau Siu-kai ◽  
Kuan Hsin-chi

Hong Kong's political parties are now in decline after the return of the former British colony to China. The decline of political parties stands out in stark relief in a context featuring “Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong” and gradual democratization. A major reason for the decline is the stunted political party system of Hong Kong. Prominent in that stunted system is the absence of a ruling party. The stunted party system is primarily the result of Beijing's antipathy towards party politics in Hong Kong, which in turn discourages party formation by the Hong Kong government and the conservative elites. The lack of incentives for the business elites to organize political parties to protect their interests is another major reason. The stunted party system has produced serious adverse consequences for the governance of Hong Kong, representation of interests, public attitudes towards the political class and the further democratization of the territory.


Author(s):  
Amílcar Antonio Barreto

Puerto Ricans, US subjects since 1898, were naturalized en masse in 1917. Congress did so to eliminate the possibility of independence from the US. That citizenship is the cornerstone of island-mainland relations for those advocating a continued relationship with the United States—either in the form of the 1952 Commonwealth constitution or statehood. The epicenter of Puerto Rican partisan life remains the status question. This remarkably stable political party system featured two strong parties of near-equal strength—the pro-Commonwealth PPD and its statehood challenger, the PNP— and a small independence party, the PIP. A core feature of the PNP’s platform has been estadidad jíbara—"creole statehood.” In theory, a future State of Puerto Rico would be allowed to retain its cultural and linguistic autonomy while attaining full membership as the 51st state of the Union.


Author(s):  
Brendan O’Leary

The return of direct rule to Northern Ireland in 1972 and its mechanisms and conduct are outlined in this chapter. Their impact upon the local political party system is treated at length, as are the first consociational initiatives pursued under Conservative and Labour governments in the UK. The failure of the first peace process is considered, as well as Britain’s counterinsurgency policies and their limits. Criminalization, Ulsterization, and Normalization were the policies begun under Callaghan’s government and continued by the Conservatives until they were broken by the republican hunger strikes. The new consociational initiatives after the hunger strikes are examined.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document