Electoral Alliances Research Articles

Some Preliminary Conclusions on the Causes and Consequences of Political Party Alliances and Coalitions in Africa

The papers brought together in this issue of the Journal of African Elections were presented at EISA's Eighth Symposium, held in Johannesburg in September 2013. At this event academic specialists joined politicians and electoral officials from a wide range of settings within and outside Africa to reflect on the experiences of forming political party alliances and coalitions and governing through them. Their contributions to the symposium addressed five key questions: How do we define electoral alliances or coalitions? Which circumstances favour their formation? Why do parties form coalitions? What have been their effects? And, finally, which are the key issues that future researchers should address? This concluding essay brings together the main insights that were generated by the presentations and the discussions they prompted.

Alliances, Coalitions and the Weakening of the Party System in Malawi

In nascent democracies, like that in Malawi, with presidential regimes and plurality electoral systems, the emergence of fragmented political party systems is inevitable, characterised by ethnically polarised political behaviour, fragile institutions and minority governments. This ultimately leads to volatile and contentious legislative-executive relations, weak political party cohesion and the stagnation of democratic consolidation. Malawi's system inherently offers neither incentives for coalition formation nor mutual interdependence between the executive and the legislature. Hence, the latent conflicts, persistent governance crises, inertia and grinding executive-legislative confrontations. Among political actors and across minority regimes in Malawi recourse to coalition politics has not been embraced as an optimal democratic instrument and formal strategy for state governability since 1994. The Mutharika minority government (2004-2009), which was persistently frustrated by parliamentary paralysis, survived on the floorcrossing inducements of opposition legislators, extended judicial injunctions and the presidential prorogation of Parliament. In addition, the brief 'experiments' with government coalitions, 'collusions' and electoral alliances weakened cohesion within partner parties and hardly increased national cohesion, but promoted state governability and yielded marginal gains in democratic consolidation. This article argues that political institutions that are designed to encourage formal political coalitions and discourage floorcrossing (parliamentary systems and proportional electoral laws) serve to mitigate against state instability and enhance democratic consolidation.

Orígenes de la reforma social en Costa Rica: Iglesia católica y comunistas en la década de 1940

This paper studies why the Archbishop Victor Manuel Sanabria supported the electoral alliance between the Republicano Nacional and Comunist parties in 1943. In addition, it examines to what extend this endorsement generated a division within the Costa Rican Catholic Church.

La construcción de oposición en la opinión pública: El caso de las elecciones locales en México, 2010

<p>En el año 2010, las elecciones locales en México vieron surgir alianzas electorales que no se habían presentado en su historia reciente. Estas alianzas tenían como cabeza al Partido Acción Nacional, de orientación conservadora de derecha, y al Partido de la Revolución Democrática, de orientación progresista de izquierda. Las alianzas no eran inéditas, pero en ese año se integraban cuando el Partido Acción Nacional era (y en 2012 es) titular en el gobierno de la república, lo cual hacía extraordinarias esas alianzas en México. <span style="font-size: 10px;">En tres entidades triunfaron en la elección de gobernador y en gran cantidad de presidencias municipales y diputaciones. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px;">Este trabajo analiza, de manera general, los antecedentes y características de algunas de las alianzas y se centra, principalmente, en el caso de la alianza establecida en el estado de Puebla. El objetivo central es analizar la forma en que se plantearon y presentaron ante la opinión pública como oposición.</span></p>

Patrones de competencia electoral en la disputa por la cámara de diputados en Brasil (1994-2002)

El presente artículo hace un análisis sobre los patrones de competencia electoral en las elecciones a la Cámara de Diputados de Brasil. Las reglas electorales tienen un impacto significativo en la competencia política y, por consiguiente, en la configuración y el funcionamiento del sistema político de un modo general. Para este estudio se considera no sólo el impacto de las reglas de un sistema de representación proporcional con lista abierta, sino también la combinación de este método con la permisión de que los partidos formen alianzas electorales.

Coaliciones sin partidos. La ciudad de Buenos Aires luego de la crisis de 2001

La crisis argentina de fines de 2001 llevó al colapso del sistema de partidos dentro de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, dejando un espacio político fragmentado y volátil que se prolongó hasta bien entrado el ciclo político posterior. Los partidos principales del distrito se habían disuelto o fracturado y el número de alianzas electorales aumentó, convirtiéndose en la principal herramienta para la reconstrucción de los partidos. El artículo examina las características de estas coaliciones y se pregunta cuáles fueron las consecuencias para la institucionalización del sistema de partidos y para la reconstrucción de los vínculos de representación, del mismo modo se comparan las estrategias de coalición de las principales fuerzas políticas en las elecciones de 2003 y 2007.

Coaliciones sin partidos. La ciudad de Buenos Aires luego de la crisis de 2001

The Argentine crisis in late 2001 led to the collapse the party system within the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, leaving a fragmented and volatile political arena which lasted well into the succeeding political cycle, while the district's main parties either dissolved or fractured, the number of electoral alliances increased, becoming the principal tool for party construction. The paper examines the characteristics of these coalitions and asks what were the consequences for the institutionalization of the party system and for the reconstruction of representative links; the article compares coalitional strategies of the main political forces in the 2003 and 2007 elections in the City of Buenos Aires.

Coaliciones sin partidos. La ciudad de Buenos Aires luego de la crisis de 2001

The Argentine crisis in late 2001 led to the collapse the party system within the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, leaving a fragmented and volatile political arena which lasted well into the succeeding political cycle, while the district's main parties either dissolved or fractured, the number of electoral alliances increased, becoming the principal tool for party construction. The paper examines the characteristics of these coalitions and asks what were the consequences for the institutionalization of the party system and for the reconstruction of representative links; the article compares coalitional strategies of the main political forces in the 2003 and 2007 elections in the City of Buenos Aires.

Rawls, Adam Smith, and an Argument From Complexity To Property-Owning Democracy

Rawls, Adam Smith, and an Argument <i>From</i> Complexity <i>To</i> Property-Owning Democracy

Nixon's Court: his challenge to judicial liberalism and its political consequences

Most analysts have deemed Richard challenge to the judicial liberalism of the Warren Supreme failure, a counterrevolution that wasn't. Nixon's Court offers an alternative assessment. Kevin J. McMahon reveals Nixon whose public rhetoric was more conservative than his administration's actions and whose policy toward the was more subtle than previously recognized. Viewing judicial strategy as part political and part legal, McMahon argues that Nixon succeeded substantially on both counts. Many of the issues dear to social conservatives, such as abortion and school prayer, were not nearly as important to Nixon. Consequently, his nominations for the Supreme were chosen primarily to advance his and order and school desegregation agendas - agendas the eventually endorsed. But there were also political motivations to approach: he wanted his judicial policy to be conservative enough to attract white southerners and northern white ethnics disgruntled with the Democratic Party but not so conservative as to drive away moderates in his own party. In essence, then, he used his criticisms of the to speak to members of his Silent Majority in hopes of disrupting the long-dominant New Deal Democratic coalition. For McMahon, judicial strategy succeeded not only in shaping the course of constitutional law in the areas he most desired but also in laying the foundation of an electoral alliance that would dominate presidential politics for generation.

Who Makes the (New) Metropolis? Cross-Border Coalition and Urban Development in Paris

In fragmented agglomerations, urban development in peripheral areas tends to express the hegemony of the core city over its suburbs. However, this paper demonstrates that, despite deep-rooted political conflicts, intermunicipal cooperation can still take place in the context of cross-border development. I argue that cross-border development has a political and economic logic that is driven by a different power configuration in the metropolis: cross-border coalitions. These coalitions emerge when the redevelopment of areas around municipal borders provides an opportunity for political interests to strengthen their electoral alliances and for business interests to exploit possibilities of growth. This paper investigates urban development in Paris North East, an area on the periphery of Paris that crosses municipal boundaries. It examines how a coalition of public and private actors is cooperating based on the shared benefits they can derive from developments in this area. The case study captures the complex political and economic dynamics driving intermunicipal cooperation by examining the role of local political coalitions, their link with planning agencies, and the behavior of emergent metropolitan entrepreneurs.

The Joint Meeting Parties and the Politics of Opposition in Yemen

The Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) is an alliance of opposition political parties in Yemen. It was established in 2002 and has survived, despite the divergent ideologies of its component parties, to present an apparently substantial challenge to the longstanding rule of President Ali Abdullah al-Salih and his General People's Congress party (GPC). This contribution explores the impact of the JMP on Yemeni political life. The present study locates the alliance within the literature on electoral alliances in the Middle East. It then examines the origins and ideologies of the major political parties in Yemen, with a particular focus on those forming part of the JMP. The study concludes with a critical appraisal of the JMP, arguing that despite its unexpected survival, the alliance is characterised by internal division and caution, best exemplified in its relationship with the Yemeni protest movement of early 2011, which bypassed the JMP even as the alliance sought to capitalise on its achievements.

The Union of the Left in France, 1971–1981: a threat to NATO? The view from Washington

Both the Ford and the Carter administrations regarded the rise of the Union of the Left in the 1970s with suspicion, albeit to a different extent. Ideology and events exacerbated the Ford administration's perception of danger and hostility towards an electoral alliance that was about to bring the Communists into the government of a NATO country. Comparatively, the Carter administration seemed less worried. Although it had no sympathy for the Communist Party, the Carter team viewed the rise of a French social democracy favourably.

The French Socialist Party and its Radical Ambiguity

The French Socialist Party has maintained a deeply ambivalent relationship with political radicalism. Throughout its long history, political radicalism has been experienced both as an internal political contest (hence as a form of intra-party struggle for influence) and as a relationship within (and beyond) the broader party system. This article identifies three levels of analysis as heuristics to facilitate a study of the French Socialist Party over the long term. From the perspective of the party as a whole, the party evolves according to its own eco-system, and is shaped by deeply embedded cultural and political traits. A different level of analysis frames the question of political radicalism organizationally, in terms of relations within and beyond the party. Finally, one can also understand the party's relationship with political radicalism instrumentally and strategically, in terms of electoral alliances. Though there is a tension between these three approaches, each contributes to understanding why the French Socialist Party is sometimes considered a European exception.

Washington face à l'Union de la gauche en France, 1971-1981

Both the Ford and the Carter administrations regarded the rise of the Union of the Left in the 1970s with suspicion, albeit to a different extent. Ideology, international events and domestic political issues exacerbated the Ford administration’s hostility towards an electoral alliance that was about to bring the Communists into the government of France. Comparatively, the Carter administration expressed less concern. Although it had no sympathy for the Communist Party, the Carter team viewed the rise of a French social-democracy favorably.

Electoral rules, voter mobilization and the Islamist landslide in the Saudi municipal elections of 2005

This paper examines the Saudi voting system and its effects on the first nationwide municipal elections held in the Kingdom in 2005. It argues that by encouraging electoral mobilization across districts, the voting system impacted on both the dynamics of the election campaign and its outcome. Drawing on original research conducted in the country, it is demonstrated that, as designed, the rules of the electoral game (1) made possible the formation of electoral alliances, whose presence on the ground gave the entire campaign a distinctly ideological flavour; and (2) facilitated the remarkable victories of Islamist candidates in municipalities across the Kingdom.

Des transferts aux apprentissages : réflexions à partir des nouveaux modes de gestion du développement économique local en Bulgarie

What relations exist between processes for transferring public action solutions&#160;&#8211;&#160;between countries, between territories within the same national space and between different sectors and levels of government&#160;&#8211; and the learning to which these transfers give rise in the context of reception&#160;? At the theoretical level, the discussion here draws upon a comparison between the literature devoted to policy transfer studies and work on policy learning and organizational learning. It is also supported by a field study concerning the manner in which, over the course of the&#160;1990&#8217;s and the first decade of this century, local actors in Bulgaria did or did not appropriate exogenous solutions imported by means of various types of transfer in the domain of local economic development policies (DEL). As it happens, the classic forms of international cooperation (top-down, bureaucratic, programmatic) have had less impact in terms of learning than have horizontal modes for diffusing administrative innovations&#160;: lessons drawn from the experiences of common neighbors, the creation of regional and national forums dedicated to DEL policies, electoral alliances between traditional political elites and activist movements with links to international expert and professional networks and professionalization dynamics among municipal personnel working in this domain. &#9632;

Party Coalitions and Interest Group Networks

We analyze affiliation networks of interest groups that endorse the same candidates in primary elections, donate to the same candidates in general elections, and voice support for the same legislative proposals. Patterns of interest group ties resemble two competing party coalitions in elections but not in legislative debate. Campaign endorsement and financial contribution ties among interest groups are consistently correlated but legislative ties do not follow directly from electoral alliances. The results challenge the consensus in the emerging literature on the expanded party organization; interest groups have distinct incentives to join together in a party coalition in elections but also to build bipartisan grand coalitions to pursue legislative goals. We also modify conventional views on party differences. The Democratic coalition is not fractured into many small constituencies. The Democratic campaign and legislative networks are denser than equivalent Republican networks, with a core of labor organizations occupying central positions.

A influência da dinâmica eleitoral sobre o comportamento dos partidos na Câmara dos Deputados e no Senado Federal

This article discusses the impact of electoral dynamics on partisan political behavior in the Brazilian Congressional arena. Based on an analysis of voting and electoral alliances, the author shows that Presidential elections became efficient and influenced the parties' performance and alignments in Congressional disputes. She then proceeds to argue that repeat contestants in Presidential races behave more coherently and in a more disciplined way in the Congressional arena in order to maximize their party's electoral value, which is not expected of one-time Presidential contestants. The findings show that the partisan approach underlying the behavior of party leadership and delegations in the Brazilian Congress is explained by the electoral and organizational dynamics, and not only by centralization of the decision-making process.

Minimum Winning Electoral Coalitions Under Presidentialism: Reality or Fiction? The Case of Brazil

Abstract This article studies the motivations of party leaders to form “minimum winning” electoral coalitions—alliances that cease to be winning if one member is subtracted. In Brazil, concurrent elections stimulate political actors' coordination, and electoral alliances are allowed. In 2002 and 2006, moreover, the Electoral Supreme Court obliged those parties with presidential candidates to replicate this electoral arrangement in the district. Under “verticalization,” parties with presidential candidates could not form alliances with rival parties in the concurrent legislative and gubernatorial elections. Verticalization arguably pushed party leaders to form minimum winning electoral coalitions. This new rule forced them to reconsider the contributions of each possible ally in the elections for president, federal deputy, and governor. Examining the elections from 1998 to 2006, this study finds that under verticalization, while parties did form more electoral coalitions with those partners they considered crucial to win, they did so at the expense of policy.