Party Reform Research Articles

Presidential Campaign Announcements: A Third-Party Variant

In this essay, I argue through analysis of the genre of campaign announcements that third-party presidential candidates have rhetorical norms of their own that address their unique challenges as political outsiders. Specifically, I contend that their announcements are a variant of the announcement genre and are warranted by the recurring situational barriers, perceived strategic constraints, and overall purposes for minor-party presidential campaigns. In addition to offering an alternative theory of third-party announcements based on analysis of over 40 such statements, I provide three case studies—including statements by Progressive Henry Wallace, Independent Eugene McCarthy, and Reform Party nominee Patrick Buchanan—to demonstrate this variant of the genre. Finally, I conclude by discussing the implications of this study for understanding third-party rhetoric.

O DIÁLOGO DO CAPITAL SOCIAL COM A “SOCIEDADE CIVIL”: A REDEFINIÇÃO DESTE CONCEITO APLICADO EM UMA NOVA INSTITUCIONALIDADE

The article debates the social capital concept as an essential analytical variable to understand what happens on the urban and metropolitan social area. In the text, it is done both kinds of analysis, an incidence analysis and a theoretical critic to the concept of social capital. The article approaches an aspect of this operational standard when a city government public relationship office takes some initiatives. Those techniques are viewed in a case study of public relationships applied on mobilizing lower classes that live in popular neighborhoods in Porto Alegre city (capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul). This phenomenon occurs when the worldwide recognized public politic name as Orcamento Participativo (OP, Participative Budget) has took place during the first municipal administrations (1989-1992/1992-1996) commanded by a huge reformist party, the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT, Workers Party), that governed the state capital for sixteen years (1989-2004). This instrument, public relations communication effort, resumed social bows partially, generating a relative upgrade on citizen’s empowerment.

The Changing Value of Seniority in the U.S. House: Conditional Party Government Revised

In this article, we argue that institutional changes to the seniority system have electoral consequences to incumbents. Building on the theory of Conditional Party Government, we argue that the consolidation of power in the hands of party leadership reduces the electoral value of seniority. This reduction occurs because power that was previously in the hands of committee chairs, whose roles are obtained through seniority, is ceded to party leaders. By increasing the party’s brand, this centralization also delivers a dividend received by all members regardless of seniority. We present empirical evidence supporting this argument. Our findings suggest that the “condition” of Conditional Party Government, i.e., preference homogeneity among the majority party, is only a necessary condition; in order for centralization to occur, party reformers must also overcome the opposition of entrenched senior members.

For God, King, and Country: Nineteenth-Century Methodist Interpretations of the War of 1812

The War of 1812 almost ruined Episcopal Methodism in Upper Canada. During the War, the American itinerants were unable to travel in the land and, after the War, their detractors used their connection to America to undermine their influence in the loyal Province. This article offers two examples in order to highlight the ways in which the Methodists themselves used the war to prove their loyalty as well as their role in developing the land that would one day become Canada. The first example looks at how Methodists in the Reform party of the 1828 House of Assembly viewed their denomination’s role during and in the years following the War. The second example looks at the publication of two popular books in 1880 that defended the contribution American Methodists had made to the British war effort. These examples moved the issue of Methodist loyalty into the sphere of politics and public policy and showed how the ongoing interpretation of the War of 1812 continued to affect these Methodists throughout the nineteenth century.

What is to be done for party reform?

What is to be done for party reform?

The Conservative Party and Constitutional Reform: Revisiting the Conservative Dilemma through Cameron's Bill of Rights

In June 2006 the Conservative Party leader, David Cameron made a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies. In it he committed a future Conservative government to repeal the Human Rights Act (HRA) and replace it with a British Bill of Rights (BBoR). The purpose of this article is to subject David Camerons BBoR proposal to closer scrutiny by placing it in the wider context of Conservative thinking about constitutional reform. It does this by revisiting an essay published in 1980 by the late and distinguished political scientist, Nevil Johnson, where he explored some of the core dilemmas for Conservatives that arise when they find themselves in the position of protagonists for constitutional reform in Britain. It is argued in this article that Johnsons original essay offers a useful analytical lens through which to consider further David Camerons proposal to replace the HRA with a BBoR. The central argument of the article is that Camerons approach to addressing Conservative concerns about human rights law in Britain by advocating the repeal of the HRA and replacing it with a BBoR is inconsistent with many of the key themes of a generally orthodox conservative approach to constitutional reform.

The Place of Competition in American Election Law, in the Marketplace of Democracy

This forthcoming book chapter defines the problem of diminished political competition, describes the relevant legal analogies concerning regulation of economic competition, and explains how the law shapes the competitive environment for elections. It also details how Supreme Court justices have sometimes tried to incorporate competitiveness concerns into their election law decisions in cases concerning ballot access, redistricting, campaign finance, party reform, and term limits. For the most part, constitutional law proves to be both a blunt and a coarse instrument for addressing excesses of partisan greed or self-interest, but justices of varying ideological leanings have invoked such concerns (usually in dissent) to highlight why one or another election law violates the Constitution.

E-voting: Lessons from Estonia

Estonia has used e-voting since 2005, and because e-voting is more accessible, more flexible and saves time, the result has been an increase in voter turnout. Compared with traditional voting in which a person must go to the polling station, a process that takes about 44 minutes, e-voting requires only 6 minutes. So far, supporters of right-wing parties and the Reform Party (Liberals) are more likely to use e-voting, with the result that Isamaa and ResPublica Liit (Conservatives) gained the majority of e-votes during the last parliamentary elections in 2011.

Hamas as a Political Party: Democratization in the Palestinian Territories

Why do violent movements participate in elections? To answer this question, we examine Hamas's formation of the Reform and Change Party and its iconic victory in the 2006 elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council. We argue that Hamas's formation of this party was a logical step, following nearly two decades of participation in local and municipal elections. Hamas's need to attract resources from external donors, who make funding decisions based on civilian support for the movement, best explains why Hamas decided to participate in local elections in the early 1990s, taking Hamas on a path that eventually led to its 2006 legislative victory. Hamas's foray into elections was consistent with its dual strategy of directing violence against Israel and building Palestinian support through welfare services. We demonstrate that changes in political opportunities (Fatah's decline and the increase in Hamas's popularity), institutional incentives (lax electoral laws and the holding of municipal elections), and the rise of moderate voices within Hamas explain the timing of its entry into legislative elections. Finally, we discuss Hamas's electoral victory, the need for cooperation between Fatah and Hamas, and the role played by international actors as significant factors influencing prospects for peace and democratization in the region.

Sereno Bishop, Robert Louis Stevenson and ‘Americanism’ in Hawai‘i

The Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson visited the Hawaiian Islands from January–June 1889, in the middle of one of the most turbulent periods in its history. While staying on the islands he became associated with King Kalakaua's royalist faction, which was then involved in a struggle for power against the Reform Party, whose members were responsible for leading Hawai‘i first to republican rule (1893) and then to American takeover in 1898. This article examines Stevenson's encounter with the Reverend Sereno Bishop, author of a pamphlet enquiring into the causes of indigenous depopulation, within the context of significant social and political change on the islands. While evidencing the growing politicisation of Stevenson's later years, his experience also bears witness to the development of Americanism in the Reform Party, who prepared the way for annexation by aligning themselves ideologically with sympathetic elements in the United States.

Party cartels beyond Western Europe

The article applies and develops Katz and Mair’s ‘cartel party’ thesis to the Russian case. Challenging the accepted characterization of the Russian party system as ‘hegemonic’, the article contends that this underplays the systemic importance of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and its collusion with pro-Kremlin parties in the fields of electoral and party reform. By applying the concepts of cartelization to the Russian case, it appears that the intersection of state and party goes beyond simply the ‘top-down’ establishment of political parties towards a party system in which there is inter-party collusion around a strong state-based regime.

Flaying Freire? The Workers’ Party and education policy in Brazil, 1980–2007

This article analyses the progression of education policy by the Workers’ Party (PT) in Brazil from its experience of municipal administration to national government. The first section presents this development, noting its progression from a participatory, social(ist) project to a more reformist, elite-directed model. The second section accounts for the domestic influences that led to a more reformist PT education policy by the 2000s. These include: (1) increasing electoral success, (2) changing membership composition, (3) policy innovations supported by its members and (4) a growing asymmetry in resources (and influence) towards the party leadership and its members. The third section presents the global changes in education thinking that coincided with the PT’s entry into national government. It distinguishes between a neo-liberal and neo-conservative “first generation” and a state-oriented “second generation” Washington Consensus, associated with the New Right and the centre-left that emerged across the region after 2000 respectively.

Immigration and National Identity in Obama's America: The Expansion of Culture-War Politics

Abstract: The culture-war issues salient in US politics in the 1990s and early 2000s were typified by debates over the legality and morality of abortion and same-sex marriage. Immigration, in contrast, has been an intermittent issue, not as polarized as many others. That changed with the candidacy and then election of Barack Obama to the presidency. While anti-abortion and “pro-family” activism has continued, there is a new public focus on a vision of “America” that depends upon a conflation of race, religion, and national identity. This has helped transform immigration into a highly charged, highly polarized culture-war-style issue and has facilitated the lasting resonance of the construction of Obama as Muslim, as born in Kenya, as not a citizen, and as both a socialist and a fascist simultaneously. Drawing on popular media discourse and material from Tea Party and immigration reform web sites, I explore the construction of American national identity in terms of its ethno-cultural articulations.

Party Politics in Jamaica and the Extradition of Christopher “Dudus” Coke

In the last twenty years attention has been placed on issues of governance and the role of civil society, but the underbelly of governance is politics, and its conduct has serious implications for democratic practice and for “states of freedom as well as freedom of states.” This paper emphasizes the importance of the subjective dimensions of political life and the changing socio-racial constitution of political parties in Jamaica. It explores the politics around the extradition request by the United States of Christopher Coke, an alleged drug don and leading figure in the West Kingston constituency represented by Prime Minister Bruce Golding. This essay takes a critical look at Jamaican politics, and, specifically, the part played by political parties and the growth of power brokers connected to gangs, some of whose leaders combine legal business activities arising from state contracts with drug-trafficking and gun-running activities. It examines recent scholarly work on Jamaican politics, arguing for greater empirical research on the activities of political parties and the need for a project of party reform.

STRATEGI REKRUTMEN PARTAI KEADILAN SEJAHTERA YOGYAKARTA

Nowadays, recruitment becomes a serious problem for political party reform in Indonesia. We have witnessed many instant cadres who lacked competence but easily obtained a position. Apparently, this issue has become a trend among parties causing the party function to change into broker such as Out Sourching Company. Before the cadres were engaged in political activities, they were already known in the public space such as celebrities, rich men, and elite families. By this context, we need to pay attention toward this phenomenon because from this point the policy makers are made. This paper will highlight the recruitment process of Prosperous and Justice Patry (PKS) in Yogyakarta. The time setting is after 2009 Election. There are two research questions that will be discussed here: First, what kind of strategies do PKS use in recruiting their cadres? Second, how do they select their cadre to be placed in strategic positions (party, executive, legislative)? Furthermore, this paper will adopt some theories of recruitment to examine the PKS's political party typology.
 Keywords: Islamic party, Prosperous and Justice Party (PKS), Yogyakarta

Behind the 'Spring': Egyptian Labor Law Reform and the Industrial Workers' Movement, 2003-2010

The eruption of Arab uprisings has certainly transformed the socio-political scene of contemporary Middle Eastern society. While the uprisings have created the space for political and legal contestation, through for example political party reform, constitutional amendments, and the institution of free and fair elections, they have, to a certain degree, left many of the socio-economic predicaments to a ‘post-transitional’ phase. The role of labor in fueling many of the uprisings seems to be an interesting site that does not only probe questions of ‘civics’ but also questions relating to social status and income disparities. This is reflected in initiatives on labor law reform, labor organizing, independent trade union movements, and the campaign for the institution of a fair minimum wage and its effective legal enforcement. Certainly, the significant contribution of labor movements in the uprisings are embedded within an historical and socio-economic context that created the necessary impetus for a wider movement that culminated in the main squares of Arab capitals. This paper will investigate the role of the Egyptian labor movement in resisting intolerable socio-economic conditions that were effectuated by existing labor legislation, which although problematic in and of itself, provided minimal protections to workers that were never effectively enforced. This was largely the result of a fundamental bias that geared the entire economic system towards privatization, austerity measures, and a more robust investment climate. The paper will specifically examine the most recent labor legislation and the corresponding dynamic in the Egyptian labor movement from 2003, when the Unified Labor Law was finally adopted by parliament after a decade of stalling, followed by the appointment of a neoliberal cabinet in 2004, until January 2011. I will first map out the central arguments on labor legislation, including its theoretical basis, and practical enforcement, proposed by the different actors and observers. Second, I will focus on the Unified Labor Law, adopted in 2003 and its implications combined with the repercussions of Ahmed Nazif’s 2004 neoliberal cabinet, which embarked upon an unrelenting program of privatization, austerity, and curtailment of workers’ rights. Third, I will argue that the extremity of neoliberal policies has reignited the workers’ movement after decades of low-profile activism. In doing that, I bring out the main legal problems facing Egyptian workers including minimum wage enforcement, the law on collective bargaining and trade unions, dismissals, fixed-term contracts, among other issues. Finally, I conclude with the prospects of re-imagining the Unified Labor Law, a step that requires a systemic approach to capital-labor relations, further increasing the role of government regulation and embedding the social component of labor economics and labor law within the macroeconomic national agenda as opposed to a mere philanthropic disposition to labor matters, or as part of corporate governance policy and corporate social responsibility propaganda. While the labor movement was to a great extent behind the eruption of the Egyptian “Spring”, it is pertinent to recognize that it should not be left behind in the post-uprising public agenda.

Legislative Voting in the Canadian Parliament

Abstract.We analyze legislative voting in the 35th (1994–1997), 38th (2004–2005), and 39th (2006–2008) Canadian Parliaments. Using Poole's (2005) optimal classification algorithm, we locate MPs and their parties in a two-dimensional geometric model. The first dimension represents the division between governing and opposition parties that has been found in similar parliamentary systems. The second dimension captures the opposition between the Bloc Québécois and the rest of the legislature. We find a clear separation between the Reform party (and later the Conservative party) and the Bloc Québécois in the 35th and 38th Parliaments, with the Liberal and the New Democratic parties occupying the centre. However, in the 39th Parliament, the ordering changes with the Conservatives and the New Democrats near the centre, and Liberal and Bloc MPs occupying the extremes. We explain this change by the capacity of the governing party to control the legislative agenda and the recent minority governments in the House of Commons.Résumé.Nous analysons le vote législatif au trente-cinquième (1994–1997), au trente-huitième (2004–2005) et au trente-neuvième (2006–2008) Parlement canadien. En utilisant la méthode de classification optimale développée par Poole (2005), nous situons les députés de la Chambre des communes et leurs partis dans un modèle géométrique comprenant deux dimensions. La première dimension représente le conflit entre le gouvernement et les partis d'opposition que l'on retrouve également dans d'autres systèmes parlementaires, alors que la seconde dimension correspond à l'opposition régionale qui existe entre le Bloc Québécois et les partis fédéraux. Nous constatons une nette polarité entre le Parti réformiste (et plus tard le Parti conservateur) et le Bloc Québécois au trente-cinquième et au trente-huitième Parlement, alors que le Parti libéral et le Nouveau Parti démocratique se trouvent au centre. Cependant, au trente-neuvième Parlement, nous observons un changement dans la polarité régionale, puisque ce sont maintenant les Libéraux et les Bloquistes qui occupent les deux extrémités, alors que les Conservateurs et les Néodémocrates se situent au centre. Nous expliquons ces mouvements par la capacité du gouvernement de contrôler l'agenda législatif et par les récents gouvernements minoritaires à la Chambre des communes.

EU Conditionality and Ethnic Coexistence in the Balkans: Macedonia and Bosnia in a Comparative Perspective

In this article, the practice and theory of conditionality as it has applied to Bosnia and Macedonia is explored. The goals are twofold: first, to analyse how the EU uses conditionality to bring about favourable changes in the relationship between ethnic groups; second, to shed light on why the effectiveness of conditionality has been so variable between each context. The author argues that whereas the EU's main focus in previous eastward enlargements was on the production of normative policy outcomes, its primary focus in Bosnia and Macedonia has been to generate normative procedures. In addition, attention is drawn to the transformation of ethnic preferences that has occurred in Macedonia and the hardening of ethnic preferences that has occurred in Bosnia in the course of accession politics. These divergent outcomes are explained on the basis of several factors: power-shifts, framing strategies, reform parties and external agents.

The reforms: a political safe haven or political suicide – is the Labour bubble bursting?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the political influence on the reforms proffered for the banking sector.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is divided into three main parts. First, the paper will examine the background of the financial crisis. The second and main part of the paper is the examination and critique of the White Paper reform proposals. The paper concludes by critically examining the opposition party's reform paper and contrasts the proposals.FindingsThe paper concludes that although the bank regulation needs to be reformed, it is debateable whether it is the time or the place or indeed the party that is right to achieve a successful result at the present time.Research limitations/implicationsThe implications for the research is that during the next year banking reforms will undergo further changes, therefore, there will be a requirement to revisit and revise the findings in light of the political agenda of the new government.Originality/valueThis paper offers an original insight into the political influences on banking regulation within the UK.

Governing Capacity and Institutional Change in China in the Reform Era

The Chinese reform process of 1978-2008 has primarily taken place within the economic sphere, involving fundamental changes of the centrally planned economic system. As a result, a hybrid economic system has evolved based on a combination of resource mobilization and allocation by market forces and Party and state domination of the commanding heights of the economy. In the political sphere, reform has been much more limited. During the 1980s there were several periods of substantial political reform, but since the early 1990s reform has largely been synonymous with improvement of the governance system in terms of capacity of institutions and competencies of officials. Thus administrative reform and institutional changes have been placed high on the agenda, emphasizing administrative restructuring and downsizing of government organs as well as Party reform. Party reform and leadership renewal have created an institutionalized political order characterized by incremental change within the framework of authoritarian resilience. Currently, major reform discussion in China primarily takes place within the Party organization and focuses on perfecting the existing political system rather than on introducing Western models and experiences.