Minority Governments in Comparative Perspective

Minority Governments in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Bonnie N Field
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192699547
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Approximately one-third of parliamentary democracies are or are typically ruled by a minority government - a situation where the party or parties represented at cabinet do not between them hold a majority of seats in the national legislature. Minority governments are particularly interesting in parliamentary systems, where the government is politically responsible to parliament, can be removed by it, and needs (majority) support in the parliament to legislate. The chapters in this volume explore and analyse the formation, functioning, and performance of minority governments, what we term the why, how, and how well. The volume begins with overviews of the concept of and puzzles surrounding minority governments in parliamentary systems, and establishes the current terms of the debate. In the thirteen chapters that follow, leading country experts present in-depth case studies that provide rich, contextualized analyses of minority governments in different settings. The final chapter draws broader, comparative-based conclusions from the country studies that push the literature forward and outline directions for future research on minority governments. Comparative Politics is a series for researchers, teachers, and students of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterized by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu . The series is edited by Nicole Bolleyer, Chair of Comparative Political Science, Geschwister Scholl Institut, LMU Munich and Jonathan Slapin, Professor of Political Institutions and European Politics, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich.

Minority Governments in Comparative Perspective

Minority Governments in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Bonnie N Field
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192699547
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Get Book Here

Book Description
Approximately one-third of parliamentary democracies are or are typically ruled by a minority government - a situation where the party or parties represented at cabinet do not between them hold a majority of seats in the national legislature. Minority governments are particularly interesting in parliamentary systems, where the government is politically responsible to parliament, can be removed by it, and needs (majority) support in the parliament to legislate. The chapters in this volume explore and analyse the formation, functioning, and performance of minority governments, what we term the why, how, and how well. The volume begins with overviews of the concept of and puzzles surrounding minority governments in parliamentary systems, and establishes the current terms of the debate. In the thirteen chapters that follow, leading country experts present in-depth case studies that provide rich, contextualized analyses of minority governments in different settings. The final chapter draws broader, comparative-based conclusions from the country studies that push the literature forward and outline directions for future research on minority governments. Comparative Politics is a series for researchers, teachers, and students of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterized by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu . The series is edited by Nicole Bolleyer, Chair of Comparative Political Science, Geschwister Scholl Institut, LMU Munich and Jonathan Slapin, Professor of Political Institutions and European Politics, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich.

Coalitional Presidentialism in Comparative Perspective

Coalitional Presidentialism in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Paul Chaisty
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198817207
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
This book provides the first cross-regional study of an increasingly important form of politics: coalitional presidentialism. Drawing on original research of minority presidents in the democratising and hybrid regimes of Armenia, Benin, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Kenya, Malawi, Russia, and Ukraine, it seeks to understand how presidents who lack single party legislative majorities build and manage cross-party support in legislative assemblies. It develops a framework for analysing this phenomenon, and blends data from MP surveys, detailed case studies, and wider legislative and political contexts, to analyse systematically the tools that presidents deploy to manage their coalitions. The authors focus on five key legislative, cabinet, partisan, budget, and informal (exchange of favours) tools that are utilised by minority presidents. They contend that these constitute the 'toolbox' for coalition management, and argue that minority presidents will act with imperfect or incomplete information to deploy tools that provide the highest return of political support with the lowest expenditure of political capital. In developing this analysis, the book assembles a set of concepts, definitions, indicators, analytical frameworks, and propositions that establish the main parameters of coalitional presidentialism. In this way, Coalitional Presidentialism in Comparative Perspective provides crucial insights into this mode of governance. Oxford Studies in Democratization is a series for scholars and students of comparative politics and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on the comparative study of the democratization process that accompanied the decline and termination of the cold war. The geographical focus of the series is primarily Latin America, the Caribbean, Southern and Eastern Europe, and relevant experiences in Africa and Asia. The series editor is Laurence Whitehead, Senior Research Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

A Different Democracy

A Different Democracy PDF Author: Steven L. Taylor
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300210701
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
Four distinguished scholars in political science analyze American democracy from a comparative point of view, exploring how the U.S. political system differs from that of thirty other democracies and what those differences ultimately mean for democratic performance. This essential text approaches the following institutions from a political engineering point of view: constitutions, electoral systems, and political parties, as well as legislative, executive, and judicial power. The text looks at democracies from around the world over a two-decade time frame. The result is not only a fresh view of the much-discussed theme of American exceptionalism but also an innovative approach to comparative politics that treats the United States as but one case among many. An ideal textbook for both American and comparative politics courses.

Asymmetric Politics

Asymmetric Politics PDF Author: Matthew Grossmann
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190626607
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
The Republican Party is the vehicle of an ideological movement whereas the Democratic Party is a coalition of social groups with concrete policy concerns. Democrats prefer a more moderate party leadership that makes compromises, whereas Republicans favor a more conservative party leadership that sticks to principles. Each party finds popular support for its approach because the American public simultaneously favors liberal positions on specific policy issues and conservative views on the broader role of government.

Redistricting in Comparative Perspective

Redistricting in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Lisa Handley
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191551708
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
The aim of this book is threefold. First to put in one place for the convenience of both scholars and practitioners the basic data on redistricting practices in democracies around the world. Remarkably, this data has never before been collected. Second, to provide a series of short case studies that look in more detail at particular countries with regard to the institutions and practices that have evolved for redistricting and the nature of the debates that have arisen. Third, to begin to look in comparative perspective at the consequences of alternative redistricting mechanisms and at the tradeoffs among competing redistricting criteria. This volume has contributions from some of the leading specialists on redistricting in the world. The chapters reflect a mix of country-specific material, chapters that are broadly comparative, and chapters whose contributions are more methodological in nature. The chapters in this volume provide an indispensable introduction to the institutions, practices, and consequences of boundary delimitation around the world. Comparative Politics is a series for students and teachers of political science that deals with contemporary issues in comparative government and politics. The General Editors are David M. Farrell, Jean Monnet Chair in European Politics and Head of School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester and Alfio Mastropaolo, University of Turin. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research.

Islam, Gender, and Democracy in Comparative Perspective

Islam, Gender, and Democracy in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Jocelyne Cesari
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019878855X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
This collection reframes the debate around Islam and women's rights within a broader comparative literature that examines the complex and contingent historical relationships between religion, secularism, democracy, law, and gender equality.

Electoral Systems in Comparative Perspective

Electoral Systems in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Joseph F. Zimmerman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 031303625X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This comparative study of electoral procedures, trends, and key issues is the first to deal with the representation of women and minorities around the world. Wilma Rule and Joseph Zimmerman have brought together an international team of scholars who show why there is gross underrepresentation of women and minorities internationally and who analyze the cultural, socio-economic, and political barriers to their future electoral successes. The scholars describe the current situation in 20 countries in various regions and point to ways for women and minorities to enhance positions politically. This text is intended for courses in comparative politics, political parties and elections, women in politics, and minority politics.

Party System Closure

Party System Closure PDF Author: Fernando Casal Bértoa
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198823606
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Party System Closure maps trends in interparty relations in Europe from 1848 until 2019. It investigates how the length of democratic experience, the institutionalization of individual parties, the fragmentation of parliaments, and the support for anti-establishment parties, shape the degree of institutionalization of party systems. The analyses presented answer the questions of whether predictability in partisan interactions is necessary for the survival of democratic regimes and whether it improves or undermines the quality of democracy. The developments of party politics at the elite level are contrasted with the dynamics of voting behaviour. The comparisons of distinct historical periods and of macro-regions provide a comprehensive picture of the European history of party competition and cooperation. The empirical overview presented in the book is based on a novel conceptual framework and features party composition data of more than a thousand European governments. Party systems are analysed in terms of poles and blocs, and the degree of closure and of polarization is related to a new party system typology. The book demonstrates that information collected from partisan interactions at the time of government formation can reveal changes that characterise the party system as a whole. The empirical results confirm that the Cold War period (1945-1989) was exceptionally stable, while the post-Berlin-Wall era shows signs of disintegration, although more at the level of voters than at the level of elites. After three decades of democratic politics in Europe (1990-2019), the West and the South are looking increasingly like the East, especially in terms of the level of party de-institutionalization. The West and the South are becoming more polarised than the East, but in terms of parliamentary fragmentation, the party systems of the South and the East are converging, while the West is diverging from the rest with its increasingly high number of parties. As far as our central concept, party system closure, is concerned, thanks to the gradual process of stabilization in the East, and the recent de-institutionalization in the West and South, the regional differences are declining. Comparative Politics is a series for researchers, teachers, and students of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterised by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu. The series is edited by Susan Scarrow, Chair of the Department of Political Science, University of Houston, and Jonathan Slapin, Professor of Political Institutions and European Politics, Department of Political Science, University of Zurich.

African Politics in Comparative Perspective

African Politics in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Goran Hyden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107030471
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 325

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Book Description
This revised and expanded second edition of African Politics in Comparative Perspective reviews fifty years of research on politics in Africa and addresses some issues in a new light, keeping in mind the changes in Africa since the first edition was written in 2004. The book synthesizes insights from different scholarly approaches and offers an original interpretation of the knowledge accumulated in the field. Goran Hyden discusses how research on African politics relates to the study of politics in other regions and mainstream theories in comparative politics. He focuses on such key issues as why politics trumps economics, rule is personal, state is weak and policies are made with a communal rather than an individual lens. The book also discusses why in the light of these conditions agriculture is problematic, gender contested, ethnicity manipulated and relations with Western powers a matter of defiance.

The American Anomaly

The American Anomaly PDF Author: Raymond A. Smith
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135079129
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Seymour Martin Lipset pronounced over a decade ago, "Someone who knows only one country knows no country." It is well established that students learn the intricacies of American politics better when they are presented in a comparative context. In today’s globalized society and workforce, it is all the more important for students to understand that the American political system is in many ways the exception and not the rule. Introductory textbooks on American government, however, rarely emphasize in sufficient depth how the United States compares to other political systems. And introductions to comparative politics infrequently situate the United States in their analysis. The American Anomaly systematically analyzes the U.S. political system by way of comparison with other countries, especially other industrialized democracies. It is organized into four sections, respectively covering the constitutional order, governmental institutions, political participation, and public policy. Extended case studies in each chapter draw on all the major regions of the world. Thoroughly revised throughout, the third edition includes: Updates throughout to reflect recent developments, including battles for control of Congress and the White House in 2010 and 2012, the challenges and successes of the Obama presidency, and political developments including the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street. The addition of a ready-reference glossary defining key terms, along with a key terms list at the end of each chapter. Updates to examples from other countries, such as changes to the European Union in light of the Eurozone crisis, the weakening of the Mexican state due to surges in drug-related crime, and the growth of China’s global role. A substantive update to the domestic policy and foreign policy chapters. A significant update on online/web-based activism, with particular regard to the expanding role of social media. New tables and charts in each chapter. A companion website also offers overview slides, links, and other supporting features.