Suchergebnisse

Switzerland is examined as a model for the successful accommodation of cleavage groups. An overview of the history of conflicts between groups with linguistic & religious differences is followed by a look at the impact of political institutions, especially federalism, on the management of territorially based cleavages. An examination of Swiss cleavage management from both constructivist & historical institutionalism perspectives focuses on the discourse surrounding the multicultural political order & the process of identity building. Consideration is also given to the effect of historical patterns of institution building & such non-institutional factors as socioeconomic differences. It is concluded that successful accommodation has been the result of both federal institutions that allow cleavage groups a broad range of autonomous policy-making powers & the promotion by political actors of a political discourse centered on Switzerland's multicultural character. The Swiss example illustrates that the successful management of territorial cleavages depends on strong nonmajoritarian devices, development of multicultural identities, & the willingness of elites to contain growing divisions. 93 References. J. Lindroth

Our research project addressed two questions: (1) are there favorable contexts for deliberation in legislatures? & (2) does deliberation also matter for outcomes? We found that consensus institutions, presidentialism, second chambers, non-publicity, & low-issue polarization further deliberation, particularly by enhancing respectful exchanges among participants. We also found that unanimous or nearly unanimous decisions were typically associated with high-quality deliberation in the preceding debates, while deliberation was almost without any effect on the substantive outcome dimension (conceptualized as more & less egalitarian decisions). 33 References. Adapted from the source document.