Patterns of Consensus in Developing Countries

In: American behavioral scientist: ABS, Band 4, Heft 8, S. 7-10

Abstract

Consensus is a vague, but widely used concept in the study of political systems. It probably takes different forms in developed and newly-established countries. This study of local party officials in Morocco devises a quantitative index and shows that consensus decreases as the frame of reference becomes more immediate; national unity gets high agreement, party questions low: Do developed nations show less of a decrease on party questions? The author, who is with the Indiana University Department of Government, plans further research in North Africa and Pakistan on consensus, and invites comments aimed at improving this complicated area of comparative government studies. He thanks Karl Schuessler and Melvin De Fleur for their advice.