A review essay on books by (1) R. Dalton & M. Wattenberg (Eds), Parties without Partisans. Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2000); (2) R. Gunther, J. Linz, & J. R. Montero (Eds), Political Parties. Old Concepts, New Challenges (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2002); (3) L. Diamond & R. Gunther, Parties and Democracy (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U Press, 2001); (4) P. Mair, W. Muller, & F. Plasser (Eds), Political Parties and Electoral Change (Oxford: Oxford U Presss, 2004); & (5) R. Dalton, Democratic Challenges. Democratic Choices (Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2004).
The article discusses recent challenges and opportunities for democracy. Stressing that the scientific discourse on this topic has to critically consider the various meanings of the concept of democracy, some main narratives on the status of democracy are reviewed, looking at the elements of crisis of representative democracies, but also at the growing importance of democratic qualities promoted in participatory and deliberative conceptions of democracy. Original empirical research on conceptions and practices of democracy in social movements as pre-figurative arenas provides illustrations of the tensions and potentials within the, variously understood, conceptions of democracy. Moreover, some explanations of the different conceptions of democracy are discussed. The author concludes that, if the historical evolution of democracy privileged some specific qualities (related in particular to electoral accountability), the recent difficulties of representative institutions require a reflection on different qualities that, as participation and deliberation, are acquiring new relevance. Adapted from the source document.
Downs is unusual in having been active in economic & political research during the 1950s & 1960s, & then turning to real estate & urban planning for the rest of his career. Focus here is on his first book, An Economic Theory of Democracy (1957), which presents not one, but many theories of democracy even if they are all generally couched in economic terms. This paper expounds the argument of the Economic Theory systematically & sequentially covering (a) the general non-spatial model of party competition; (b) the effects of information shortage; (c) party reliability & responsibility; (d) the two-party spatial model; (e) the multiparty spatial model; (f) further consequences of information shortage; & (g) problems of voting turnout. Evidence from quantified election programs is used to show that the models leading to limited party policy movement & non-convergence are the more realistic ones. Despite its defects, the book laid down the agenda for mathematical political theory & empirical research over the last 50 years & has a fair claim to being the most influential single book written on politics in that period. 1 Table, 6 Figures, 1 Appendix, 38 References. Adapted from the source document.
According to Russell Hardin, the rational choice approach to politics offers "devastating theoretical claims for any conception of democracy that implies a minimum degree of coherence of collective choice, information & participation." This essay argues that such conclusion is misplaced. The author discusses two classes of results, derived respectively from social choice theory & game theory, both of them pointing to a gap between individual & collective rationality. These theoretical results are better understood as benchmarks against which comparing alternative explanations of political outcomes. For instance, disequilibrium results from social choice theory imply that political outcomes cannot be explained only on the basis of individual preferences, but also on the basis of the rules aggregating them. The downsian paradoxes -- complete convergence of candidates/parties, voters' rational abstention & rational ignorance -- are a starting point for more complete explanations of electoral competition & electoral participation. Finally, the game theoretical analysis of collective action problems can provide useful insights in order to understand classic problems in democratic theory, such as transition to democracy & democratic stability. In short, while many results of the rational approach to politics are better interpreted as limitative theorems, ignoring them would make analysis of democracy much poorer. References. Adapted from the source document.
Issues related to "post-national democracy" are most clearly delineated in the context of a politically & economically integrating Europe. Post-national democracy in Europe should be conceptualized as an ongoing evolutionary process of democratization, with institutional arrangements being the contested focal point of that process. The absence of a demos will not stop the demands for greater citizen involvement in the governance of the European Union, an involvement which would increase the EU's legitimacy. The EU's lack of a common political community, however, will prevent it from developing a traditional government. The EU therefore will be characterized by governance without the kind of government found in national democracies. Nonetheless, an original executive institution will be constructed. The executive of the future will carry out many (but not all) of the key functions of an executive without, however, benefiting from the kind of legitimacy that national government executives enjoy. In institutional terms, the character of the executive will render European post-national democracy distinctive, & the electoral link between the citizenry & that executive will be the most contested issue as democratization proceeds. Institutional originality & innovation are likely, therefore, to continue to characterize the process of European integration. 106 References. Adapted from the source document.
In the organization of the recent presidential elections in Somaliland, the implementation of specific political techniques (namely the registration of voters by means of digital fingerprint and facial recordings) took on very distinctive meanings, guaranteeing the international community involved in the process and local political actors of the "free and fair" character of the electoral competition and assuring a complete transition from a political system based on the "government of the community" to one based on western style democratic institutions (a multi-party presidential system). The reality however proved to be not that simple: the registration of voters actually caused conflicts or ignited those already existing, contributing to extend the long and hazardous period of preparation to the polls. In the process, the relationships between "technique" and "politics" appeared far more complex than expected: political techniques determine a space of interaction which eventually produces the assimilation of local political practices to the dominant forms of political organization, specific cultures of voting and a specific electoral body. Technique here operates as a form of self-legitimization which promises neutrality in order to have conformity. The article situates itself in contemporary debates on political development in post-conflict societies but it also reminds how artificial is the opposition between clan or tribal politics and western style democratic politics, generally seen as one of the most specific features of politics in Africa, in particular in Somali history. In reality, a continuous negotiation between corporate and collective forms of participation and activism on the one side and individual expression of vote on the other represents a typical feature shared by the two systems. Adapted from the source document.
The debate on citizen images of political parties is long standing, but recently it has taken on added importance as the evidence of party dealignment has spread across Western democracies. This article assembles an unprecedented cross-national array of public opinion data that describe current images of political parties. Sentiments are broadly negative, & this pessimism has deepened over the past generation. Then, we demonstrate how distrust of parties decreases voting turnout, contributes to the fragmentation of contemporary party systems & the electoral base of new protest parties, & stimulates broader cynicism of government. Although political parties are the foundation of the system of representative democracy, fewer citizens today trust political parties, & this is reshaping the nature of democratic politics. 7 Tables, 2 Figures, 48 References. Adapted from the source document.
Lipset is one of the most productive & innovative social scientists in the 20th century. Some of his many books & articles have become classic texts, in particular, his seminal book, Political Man (1960). Despite the broad scope of his work, Lipset's writings have one single focus -- the study of democracy. He has studied the social & political factors conducive to democratization & the stability of democracy, taking into account social structural conditions, the role of intermediary organizations, political culture, electoral behavior, & political leadership. His work is theoretical as well as empirical, & his perspective has always been a comparative one, referring to practically all major world regions. Lipset was the first to put forward the idea that socioeconomic development is an important precondition for democratic development & that economic success may in turn contribute to legitimize newly democratized regimes. He has also emphasized the central importance of a competitive party system for sustaining (intra-organizational) democracy. As an American, Lipset has finally always been intrigued by the exceptional character of American democracy, which he traces back to a historically unique combination of favorable circumstances at the time of its foundation, ie, social structural conditions (high levels of social mobility), a specific value system (individualism, equality of opportunities, religiosity), & the availability of political leaders intent on creating a republic based on popular sovereignty that was without precedent at the time. 2 Tables, 31 References. Adapted from the source document.
A review essay on books by (1) Jennifer Lees-Marshment, Political Marketing and British Political Parties (Manchester: Manchester U Press, 2001); (2) Bruce I. Newman (Ed), Handbook of Political Marketing (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999); & (3) Fritz Plasser & Gunda Plasser, Global Political Campaigning. A Worldwide Analysis of Campaign Professionals and Their Practices (Westport: Praeger, 2002). The reviewer aims to delineate a general overview about political marketing, a subject located somewhere among political science, communication, psychology, & marketing. This subject is not well known in the Italian academic & professional panorama, but is quite developed in the Anglo-Saxon countries, especially after Downs's book on the "economic democracy." This contribution distinguishes between two different approaches to political marketing: The "reductionist" approach confines political marketing to the use of sophisticated technologies of communication & polling for the electoral campaign. The "holistic" approach considers instead the political marketing as a completely new paradigm, through which one can "read" & understand the entire complex of political phenomena. The article ends with an analysis of chances & risks regarding the application of marketing principles in the political arena. 20 References. Adapted from the source document.
