Corporatief verzet tegen het invoeren van de evenredige vertegenwoordiging in België

Res Publica ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-100
Author(s):  
Frans Verriest
Keyword(s):  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Corporatist State

Corporatist opposition against the introduction of a system of proportional representation in Belgium can essentially be reduced to the opposition by Joris Helleputte. The main reason for this anti-proportionalism way that proportional representation would seriously endanger the growth of a catholic corporatist party ("standenpartij") and - in the long run - of a catholic corporatist state. In 1894 though, political corporatism isalready on its way back, and so is socio-economie corporatism from 1899 on.In the "Belgische Volksbond" a large majority has come to accept proportional representation. This is one of the main reasons which lead Joris Helleputte on the 21th of July 1895 to definitely resign as a president of this association. Hid 1894 Helleputte had already founded the antiproportionalist newspaper "L'Union" but this disappeared within that same year. Another newspaper venture of his, "Le XXm Siècle" (from the 5th of June 1895 on) wilt prove more successful, and wilt become an eminent propaganda-tool against proportional representation.On the 4th of July 1899 Helleputte - together with Woeste - presents a proposal in parliament to introduce the uninominal system.A judicious gerrymandering would then ensure a huge catholic majority.Helleputte took it for granted that within the catholic party each "stand" (estate) would get a fair share of the seats. But the Helleputte-Woeste proposal dit not receive sufficient support. And eventually proportional representation for the legislative elections was introduced by law on the 29th of December 1899.

Does candidate nomination in districts increase party votes of small parties? Evidence from the 2016 Taiwan legislative elections

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 461-473
Author(s):  
Ching-Hsing Wang ◽  
Dennis Lu-Chung Weng ◽  
Vincent Wei-Cheng Wang
Keyword(s):  
Spillover Effect ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Contamination Effect ◽  
Positive Spillover ◽  
Strategic Entry ◽  
Mixed Electoral System ◽  
Western Democracies ◽  
Legislative Election

AbstractThis study addresses why small parties nominate candidates to run in the district elections and how nomination of district candidates could influence small parties’ share of party votes in Taiwan. Previous studies on party's strategic entry in the mixed electoral system demonstrate the existence of ‘contamination effect’ in various Western democracies. While ‘contamination effect’ suggests that party would gain more proportional representation (PR) seats by increasing its number of candidate nomination in the single-member-district (SMD) races, we contend that small parties should also take the strength of nominated candidates into consideration. Nominating strong candidates in SMD competitions could generate positive ‘spillover effect’ to party's PR tier. By focusing on the 2016 Taiwan legislative election, our findings suggest that first, small parties need to fulfill the institutional requirements in order to qualify for running in the party-list election; second, the ‘contamination effect’ exists in Taiwan, but it is conditional; and finally, candidates’ strength creates positive ‘spillover effect’ on party's proportional seats.

scholarly journals The impact of using proportional representation system on the fragmentation of the party system in Algeria. Applied to the elections of the National People’s Assembly (1997–2017)

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Mahmoud Mahgoub
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Effective Number ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Representation System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Number Of Parties ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of using proportional representation system on the fragmentation of the party system in the Algerian political system within the period from 1997 to 2017, in which Algeria has experienced five legislative elections regularly every five years by testing a hypothesis about adopting the proportional representation system on the basis of the closed list during the foregoing legislative elections has obviously influenced the exacerbation of the Algerian party system’s fragmentation, compared to other factors. Design/methodology/approach The essence of the theoretical framework of this study is to address the effect of the electoral system as an independent variable on the party system as a dependent variable. The starting point for that framework is to reassess the “Duverger’s law,” which appeared since the early 1950s and has influenced the foregoing relationship, and then to review the literature on a new phase that tried to provide a more accurate mechanism for determining the number of parties and their relative weight, whether in terms of electoral votes or parliamentary seats. This means that researchers began to use a measure called the effective number of parties (ENP) for Laakso and Taagepera since 1979. The study elaborates the general concepts of the electoral system and the party system. It used Laakso, Taagepera index of the “ENP” to measure the phenomenon of fragmentation party during the five legislative elections from 1997 to 2017 in Algeria. Findings The results of the study reveal that the proportional representation electoral system – beside other factors – had clear impacts on the fragmentation of the Algerian party system by all standards, whether on the level of the apparent rise in the number of the parties represented in the Algerian parliament from 10 parties in 1997 election to 36 parties in 2017 election or according to the index of Laakso and Taagepera (ENP). The average number of effective number of electoral parties in the five elections was around 7.66, and the average number of effective number of parliamentary parties in the five elections was around 4.39, which puts Algeria in an advanced degree of the fragmentation of the party system. Originality/value This study about the phenomenon of the fragmentation of the party system, which is one of the new subjects in the field of comparative politics – globally and in the Arab world. Hence, the value of this study aims to shed light on this mysterious area of science, the fragmentation of the party system in the Algerian political system during the period from 1997 to 2017.

Neotraditional authority contested: the corporatization of tradition and the quest for democracy in the Topnaar Traditional Authority, Namibia

Africa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 318-338
Author(s):  
Mario Krämer
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
The State ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Local Power ◽  
Traditional Authority ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Community Activists ◽  
Per Se

AbstractThis article examines two closely related themes: the triangle of tradition, capital and the state; and resistance to neotraditional leadership and local activism for democracy. I investigate an uprising in the Topnaar Traditional Authority in the Erongo region of Namibia by young community activists who aimed to promote democracy in their community in a context of manifold accusations of self-enrichment and corruption against the neotraditional leadership. The article demonstrates that the corporatization of tradition is a double-edged sword: neotraditional leaders expand their local power towards their subjects in the short term, but it often produces severe conflict that may result in the delegitimization of neotraditional authority in the long run. However, the Topnaar youth uprising and quest for democracy was less about challenging neotraditional authority per se and more about replacing the incumbents as well as obtaining a fair share of political power. It resulted from the perception that the neotraditional-cum-corporate ventures no longer served the cause of a common good; this, in turn, contradicted the general ideal of equality among the Topnaar. The corporatization of tradition thus generated local grievances and stimulated demands for democratic participation. Since the uprising gained at least some of its momentum from my research on neotraditional authority, I also reflect on my role.

scholarly journals Private Savings in the Arab Countries: Empirical Analysis and Policy Implications

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Samih Antoine Azar ◽  
Ali Bolbol ◽  
Alexandre Mouradian
Keyword(s):  
North Africa ◽  
Arab Countries ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Budget Deficits ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
The Past ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Robust Least Squares ◽  
Private Savings ◽  
Econometric Approach

In the past two decades, Arab countries have had their fair share of political instability and economic dislocations. They have also experienced relatively low national savings – at close to 24%, more than 10% less than the Asian economies. This paper looks at how private savings can be invigorated so as to finance more investment and growth, especially in the presence of persistent budget deficits. It develops a simple macroeconomic equation for the determinants of private savings, and uses a novel econometric approach – Robust Least Squares – to estimate that equation for a sample of ten Arab countries across the three sub-regions of the Gulf, West Asia, and North Africa, for the annual 1994-2015 period. The paper finds that Arab private savings compensate for government dis-savings and help ameliorate pressures on the current account and exchange rates. It also finds that Arab private savings are closely related to long-run Arab GDP growth ala the life cycle hypothesis, and proposes policies to enhance the mutual growth of Arab private savings and GDP.

Gender bias in candidate turnover: A longitudinal analysis of legislative elections in Flanders/Belgium (1987–2019)

2021 ◽  
pp. 135406882110382
Author(s):  
Gertjan Muyters ◽  
Gert-Jan Put ◽  
Bart Maddens
Keyword(s):  
Gender Bias ◽  
Longitudinal Analysis ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
High Turnover ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Women Candidates ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Electoral Performance

A higher candidate turnover among women may be one of the reasons why quota rules seldom succeed in attaining full legislative parity. This proposition is tested on the basis of a longitudinal analysis of 11,678 candidates for legislative elections during the period 1987–2019 in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is shown that male candidates have shorter careers than women, contrary to expectations. The duration of the career as a candidate depends on the electoral performance, but only for men. In the long run, the introduction of a strict quota rule prolongs the candidate careers of both men and women, but the effect for women is much stronger. This finding contradicts the allegation that quota lead to an influx of unmotivated women candidates with a high turnover.

Suffrage Extensions and Voting Patterns in Latin America: Is Mobilization a Source of Decay?

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (04) ◽  
pp. 23-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa Kellam
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Party System ◽  
Electoral Behavior ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Term Change ◽  
Term Change ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Voting Requirements

Abstract This article examines whether changes in electoral participation contributed to electoral volatility in Latin America between 1945 and 2000. As a result of literacy voting requirements and authoritarian interludes that disenfranchised large portions of the population, new voters in Latin America probably had different political interests from the previous electorate and were not socialized to electoral politics. The article considers the hypothesis that the inclusion of new voters with different interests produces an immediate, short-term change in aggregate voting patterns, and a lack of socialization of new voters generates lingering instability in electoral behavior. Accounting for confounding factors, the analysis of legislative elections in 12 countries indicates that the expansion of the electorate temporarily disrupted voting patterns in Latin America but did not lead to long-run party system decay.

scholarly journals Autocratic Elections

2016 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Henrik Knutsen ◽  
Håvard Mokleiv Nygård ◽  
Tore Wig
Keyword(s):  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Focal Points ◽  
Legislative Elections ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Autocratic Regime ◽  
Perceived Effects ◽  
Regime Survival

Do elections reduce or increase the risk of autocratic regime breakdown? This article addresses this contested question by distinguishing between election events and the institution of elections. The authors propose that elections stabilize autocracies in the long term but at the price of short-term instability. Elections are conducive to regime survival in the long run because they improve capacities for co-optation and repression but produce short-term instability because they serve as focal points for regime opposition. Drawing on data from 259 autocracies from 1946 to 2008, the authors show that elections increase the short-term probability of regime failure. The estimated effect is retained when accounting for the endogeneity of autocratic elections; this finding is critical, since some autocrats may or may not hold elections because of perceived effects on regime survival. The authors also find that this destabilizing effect does not operate in the long term. They find some, although not as strong, evidence that elections stabilize autocratic regimes in the medium to long term, despite their destabilizing immediate effects. These temporal effect patterns are present for both executive and legislative elections, and they are robust to using different measures, control variable strategies, and estimation techniques. In line with expectations, both effect patterns are much clearer for multiparty autocratic elections than for completely uncontested elections.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document