Suchergebnisse

In this book the author proposes that parties are indispensable to modern politics and that the absence of parties suggests that a system is governed by a traditional elite which has yet to come to terms with the modern world. Without them it would be impossible to legitimize modern systems, to engage the loyalty and support of the citizens. The alternative to party rule is either aristocracy or violent repression. In all systems the party widens the area from which political leaders are recruited and is thus a 'democratising' if not necessarily a 'liberalising' force.

Political Parties, William Cross, The Canadian Democratic
Audit series; Vancouver, UBC Press, 2004, pp. 218.Political Parties is part of the Canadian Democratic
Audit series. The expressed aim of the series is to "examine
the way Canadian democracy functions" using three benchmarks,
"public participation, inclusiveness and responsiveness," with
the principle output being not so much a report card but the desire to
"encourage ongoing discussion of how best to fashion Canada's
democratic institutions and practices well into the new century"
(http://www.mta.ca/faculty/arts-letters/canadian_studies/cda/pdf/demaudit_overview_15aug.pdf).
Cross's short, readable volume achieves these objectives.