The centre parties of Norway and Sweden both have their background as traditional farmer parties. They have faced the unavoidable challenge of a shrinking agrarian electorate. This article focuses on how they have responded to this challenge and argues that both agricultural identity and contextual variations are important in explaining differences in their electoral adaptation. The article shows how strong loyalties towards the farmers' union may strengthen traditional party loyalties.
Der Beitrag beschreibt detailliert die Vereinigungsbestrebungen zwischen den beiden großen Bauernparteien in Bulgarien seit Beginn des Jahres 1990 und analysiert die Ursachen für das Scheitern der bisherigen Verhandlungen. Vor allem die politischen Konflikte aus der Zeit der kommunistischen Herrschaft und die persönlichen Ambitionen einiger Führer der Bauernparteien haben eine Einigung bislang verhindert. Die politischen Perspektiven der Bauernparteien stellen sich eher ungünstig dar, da es bisher nicht gelang, junge Wähler für deren Politik zu gewinnen. (BIOst-Srt)
Agrarian parties played a key role in many European countries during the interwar period, particularly in Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe. Though quite heterogenous in almost every respect, they had enough in common to jointly found the Prague-based Green International or International Agrarian Bureau (IAB) (1921- 1938). Although their ideological foundations lacked the depth and coherence of other political families such as liberalism or socialism, circumstances obliged agrarian parties to elaborate lengthy discourses on nationalism and nation-building. The writings of leaders and thinkers in the vein of Milan Hodža, Antonín Švehla or Alexandr Stamboliski, as well as the Bulletin of the IAB, provide enough material for a discussion of their views on these matters. These debates were not merely theoretical because agrarian parties were constantly confronted with the national question, either as minority-based parties within multi-ethnic countries (for example the HSS in Croatia), or as mainstream parties bent on redefining the national identity of their countries in accordance with their (rural) values (for example the Bulgarian Agrarian Union or the Parti Agraire et Paysan Français). Another source of contradiction was their vision of countryfolk as the purest expression of national identity, which often made them hard to distinguish from strictly nationalist parties, together with their support of regional federations aiming at a European confederation.
"How successful have the Nordic Agrarian-Centre Parties been in transforming themselves from class parties to catchall parties drawing significant support from voters engaged in the non-primary sectors of the economy? Using case studies from five comparable countries, David Arter provides an insightful account of an historic group of parties who still wield distinctive strength in the Nordic region." "This detailed profile, the first ever in English, makes a unique contribution to the topical issues of party adaptation and institutional modernization."--Jacket.
Abstract. The central argument in this article is that Europeanisation of party politics – the translation of issues related to European integration into domestic party politics – is driven by the dynamics of long‐ and short‐term party strategy. Variations in the patterns of Euroscepticism found in agrarian parties across Europe is therefore explained in terms of three central variables: the agrarian parties' long‐term policy goals linked to identity and interest; their position in the party systems and the mainstream left‐ and right‐wing parties' stance on European integration; and their long‐ and short‐term electoral strategies and office‐related incentives.
At the turn of the century agrarian parties emerged in large parts of Europe. The parties had one thing in common: they stood up for the social, economic, cultural, and political interests of the agrarian society. The Swedish agrarian parties - 1 Bondeförbundet ' and 'Jordbrukarnas Riksförbund1 - were formed between 1913 and 1915.In this study the agrarian parties are not considered to be class parties. Instead, they are described as traditional parties, defending the old agrarian community against expansive industrialization. Their potential voters belonged to various social strata in the agrarian community, and their political programme, often characterized by a markedly negative view of modern society and by cultural protectionism, is summarized here under the term agrarianism. Agrarianism seen as a political theory and an applicable ideology had features in common with Conservatism as well as with Fascism and Socialism. Liberal values, however, were kept in the background.A modernization perspective is adopted in order to demonstrate that the agrarian parties were in fact traditional parties. It is assumed that regional variation in the electoral support of the agrarian parties reflects the modernization process, and, consequently, that the parties were weaker in industrial areas and stronger in socially and economically backward areas.The empirical studies show that the Agrarian parties stand out as traditional parties rather than class parties. Their voter support was stronger in areas where the historical and economic development was characterized by stagnation and conservatism, as well as in areas where social mobilization advanced slowly. In more industrialized and modernized areas conditions were quite the opposite. A study of Swedish interwar agrarianism with special regard to regional variations in party strength proves the agrarian parties to be the inheritors of a way of life formed by centuries of agrarian traditions. ; digitalisering@umu
Politiskās partijas demokrātiskā sabiedrībā parāda sabiedrības sadalījumu pēc interesēm, nacionālās piederības u.c. pazīmēm. Liberālais vēlēšanu likumu 20.-30.gadu Latvijā pavēra ceļu dažādām partijām un sīkpartijām, tajā skaitā arī Latvijas Jaunzemnieku savienībai (1922-1929), Latvijas Jaunsaimnieku un sīkgruntnieku partijai (1925-1934), Jaunajai zemnieku apvienībai (1929-1934), Progresīvo jaunsaimnieku, mazzemnieku un darba tautas partijai Progresīvajai apvienībai (1930-1934). Saeimā pieņemtie lēmumi būtiski ietekmēja sabiedrības attīstību un politiskās kultūras nostiprināšanos Latvijā. Par lielākajām partijām ir veikti plaši pētījumi, piemēram, Latvijas Zemnieku savienību un sociāldemokrātiem, tomēr par mazākām partijām līdz šim plašu pētījumu nav. Pētījuma mērķis ir analizēt un izvērtēt ar Latvijas Zemnieku savienību konkurējošo agrāro partiju darbību Saeimā laika posmā no 1922. līdz 1934.gadam. ; Political parties in a democratic society show the distribution of the public interest, national origin, etc. signs. Latvian liberal election law paved the way for different parties and small parties, including the Latvian New Farmers Union (1922-1929), Latvian New Farmers and Small Landowners party (1925-1934), the New Farmers' Association (1929-1934), and Progressive New Farmers, Small Farmers and working people party Progressive Union (1930-1934). Parliament decisions made significant impact on the development of the community and strengthening of the Latvian political culture. There are extensive studies about major parties, such as the Latvian Farmers' Union and the Socialdemocrats, however, smaller parties are less studied. The goal of this research is to analyze and evaluate the activities of the Latvian Farmers Union rival agrarian parties in the Saeima during the period from1922 to 1934.
