Traditional Political Parties Research Articles

Plebiscites for peace and fundamental rights in Colombia. A historical and comparative approach, 1957-2016

This article analyzes the legal, political and historical nature of the plebiscite and its relationship with fundamental rights. The study has a comparative approach, of theoretical, conceptual and critical reflection on the plebiscite as a mechanism for legitimizing political power and, at the local level, on its connection with the search for peace. And he concludes that the comparison between the plebiscites of 1957 and 2016 is useful to show, on the one hand, that in Colombia the characteristic features of this mechanism in the universal history of the 20th century have also been revealed. That is, despite its foundation in direct democracy, due to the use that can be given to manipulate the popular will, the plebiscite can be useful for Bonapartist or Orléanist and presidential systems, as well as for interests contrary to republicanism and theories of democratic rights like those of Luigi Ferrajoli. On the other hand, in this country, with the lure of the end of violence as a background in both cases, while in 1957 the plebiscite was a complete success for its organizers (traditional political parties and military junta) who achieved overwhelming popular approval (with wide participation) of the exclusive political system called the National Front and one of the decisive factors of the armed conflict in the last century; In 2016, the real leader of the plebiscite was the then senator Álvaro Uribe, former president and head of the opposition to the government of Juan Manuel Santos, promoter of peace. Uribe thus obtained, with a weak victory of the No to the «Havana Agreements» and an abstention rate of more than 60%, a clear victory for his authoritarian and warmongering policy, a key approach to the electoral campaign that would lead his political party to the victory in the 2018 presidential elections and the consequent stagnation of peace objectives.

Video and emotionality in the social network sites during elections: The general election campaign of April 2019 in Spain

This is a study on videos generated or shared on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram by the main political parties’ candidates during the general election campaign for the government of Spain in April 2019. Using a quantitative analysis and a statistical approach, the means of audiovisual persuasion used by the candidates are analysed, addressing their emotional nature. It is shown that the traditional political parties in their campaigns use audiovisual formats that are less emotional than those of the new emerging parties. Secondly, a clear difference can be seen among the leaders in their use of audiovisual formats to convey their messages.

The CIA in Ecuador

The CIA in Ecuador

Political and Civic Identity of Libertarians in Contemporary Russia: Problems and Perspectives

Libertarianism is a new ideological trend, popular among young people. We try to find out whether libertarianism rises as independent political movement or it is the reaction on the fall of popularity of traditional political parties. For that purpose, the author made the comparative analysis of the program documents of the Libertarian Party of Russia with the classical works of the American libertarians and analyzed the published interview both of the party leaders/activists and of the experts. The author used the interview which he took from some activists in order to clarify the political identification of the Russian libertarians. The political identity of libertarians is characterized by the broadest possible interpretation of personal and economic freedom. Libertarians believe that such freedom is compatible with law and legality and is opposite to anarchy. At the same time, they avoid definitions and norms that could constrain freedom by both the state and the adherents of certain, including liberal, values and slogans. This broad approach makes it difficult to politically identify libertarians, but contributes to their attractiveness among young people.

Islamist Political Parties and Parliamentary Representation in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract Over the past century, political Islam has taken the form of political parties and entered the electoral realm to gain institutional power. The Arab Spring sparked an unprecedented electoral advance of Islamists. New elections gave rise to new governments under the control of Islamist in several countries in the region which created a new political scenario unthinkable only a few years earlier. In comparison with the traditional political parties, little is known about Islamist parties as recently empowered political actors. Against this background, this article explores the origin of Islamist political parties in the MENA region, the evolution of their parliamentary representation and the causes that fuel the latter. The first section of the article describes the appearance and evolution of Islamist political parties and the context in which the latter took place. The second part analyses the economic and political factors that explain the evolution presented in part one

Italian Twitter semantic network during the Covid-19 epidemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on the lives of the entire world population, inducing a participated societal debate. As in other contexts, the debate has been the subject of several d/misinformation campaigns; in a quite unprecedented fashion, however, the presence of false information has seriously put at risk the public health. In this sense, detecting the presence of malicious narratives and identifying the kinds of users that are more prone to spread them represent the first step to limit the persistence of the former ones. In the present paper we analyse the semantic network observed on Twitter during the first Italian lockdown (induced by the hashtags contained in approximately 1.5 millions tweets published between the 23rd of March 2020 and the 23rd of April 2020) and study the extent to which various discursive communities are exposed to d/misinformation arguments. As observed in other studies, the recovered discursive communities largely overlap with traditional political parties, even if the debated topics concern different facets of the management of the pandemic. Although the themes directly related to d/misinformation are a minority of those discussed within our semantic networks, their popularity is unevenly distributed among the various discursive communities.

Insulated eruptions of discontent: Palestinian protests in the absence of trusted organisations

ABSTRACT In this article, I argue that the so-called ‘intifada of knives’ in 2015–2016 was not a new phenomenon in the Palestinian resistance. Instead, it paralleled the situation in Gaza in the mid-1980s when Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) members engaged in similar attacks. What both periods share is the absence of efficient organisational vehicles facilitating a more durable form of collective resistance. This was the case in the mid-1980s because PIJ was yet to develop the effective organisational structures required to facilitate the resistance its members desired, and this was also the case in 2015–2016 because Palestinian youth are largely disillusioned with Palestinian political factions and traditional party politics as arenas to implement change. As these and similar outbursts of violence offer few, or no, principles for political organising for those who follow, what marked the wave of stabbings in the mid-2010s was not the fury with which they were carried out, but rather the rapidity of their collapse. I thus argue that certain organisational principles are required to sustain and prolong any popular protests for a sufficient period.

The rise of far-right in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil and Chile in comparative perspective

Even though in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, after a left ́s predominance in the executive, right-wing politicians were elected in the most recent elections, in Brazil this turn brought to power Jair Bolsonaro, a politician close to the far- right. What explains this result in the Brazilian case? The authors conclude that, although in all three cases there is evidence of a crisis of democratic values, in Brazil there is also a deep decline in support for the political system and a rejection of traditional political parties. In this sense, Bolsonaro does not represent an ideological change among the population. It is, rather, a response against the system, not a transit in the value system.

Making a Constituent Assembly Possible in Chile: The Shifting Costs of Opposing Change

On 25 October 2020, Chile voted in favour of a Constitutional Convention (or Constituent Assembly) to replace the 1980 constitution. This kind of constituent mechanism had previously been resisted by the traditional political parties, most of whom now support the mechanism. This article identifies the political groups who opposed a Constituent Assembly and argues that the shift in approach was due to three factors. First, there had been a cumulative process of social pressure and political reactions since 2006. Second, the social unrest of October 2019 raised costs for the political elite – right and left – of denying a Constituent Assembly. Third, the establishment was able to reduce the uncertainty of the constitution‐making process.

Left-wing populism in Spain

The paper examines formation, evolution and political perspectives of the Spanish radical left-wing populist party ‘We Can!’ (Podemos) in the face of growing support for populism in the the Southern European countries as well as in the European Union in general. The author identifies the origins and country-specific characteristics of the left-wing populism in Spain and provides the general overview of trends in the country’s party system since the middle of the 2000s, including the growing axiological, generational, political and ideological cleavages in the Spanish divided society. Special attention is paid to the political portrait of the Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias and the prospects for development of political situation in the country after his resignation and subsequent electoral defeat in the Autonomous Community of Madrid in May 2021. As such, this case study can provide some useful insights on the nature of populism in the EU member-states in general. In particular, the paper shows that the fragmentation of traditional political systems and the impacts of the sovereign debt crisis per se do not provide a sufficient explanation for the growing demand for populist rhetoric and charismatic leaders, but rather they have exposed certain structural economic and social imbalances. It is exactly these imbalances which traditional political parties are unable to address that create a breeding ground for various left- and right-wing parties and movements. As a result, the author concludes that populism will remain an essential element of political landscape in Spain despite all scandals that accompany populist politicians as the case of Pablo Iglesias has clearly demonstrated. At the same time the author emphasizes that it is this clear and imminent threat posed by the populist movements that may eventually serve as an impetus for a renewal of traditional parties and of the country’s political system in general.

Populism in the 21st century: Today, tomorrow, always?

The concept of populism has been known since Antiquity. However, in recent decades it gained new prominence amongst politicians and political experts. The present paper attempts to reconstruct the image of populism of the 21st century and to assess the viability of populist parties and movements involved in the context of current social and political processes within Western societies. The first section of the paper examines various definitions of populism elaborated by both Russian and foreign political scholars. On that basis the author attempts to identify the core meaning of this phenomenon, its historic roots and psychological underpinnings, as well as a social-political profile today. The author highlights such constituent elements of the populist discourse that crystallized throughout its development, as direct appeal to the public sentiments, oversimplification of reality and the use of manipulative techniques. The second section of the paper examines the origins and characteristic features of the populist wave that spanned across both developed and developing countries in the early 21st century. For that matter, the effects of globalization are considered particularly problematic, as they have uncertain implications for international relations and exacerbate social and economic tensions even within developed societies creating both ‘winners’ and ‘losers’. They also allowed various populist movements to take advantage of the growing social instability in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. Additionally, the author links the recent rise in the populist sentiments to the deepening crisis of traditional political party systems, the erosion of principles of parliamentarianism and the development of new information and communication technologies. The author stresses that in these circumstances different charismatic leaders gain new opportunities for mobilizing public support. The research concludes that the prospects for the ongoing populist wave are best described by a formula, proposed by a German political scientist Klaus von Beyme: ‘Populism never lasts very long — but it is somehow always around’.

The Role of Social Media as a Public Sphere in the Algerian Protests: An Analytical Study

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of social media as a public sphere during the Algerian protests. A survey method was used on a randomly selected sample of social media users in Algeria. Findings showed that social media outlets were an alternative to traditional media, civil societies and opposition political parties. Furthermore, social media played an effective role in pulling people out of the spiral of silence and got them into the spiral of expression by a new perspective of explaining the mechanisms of social media influence in forming public opinion in exceptional circumstances when fear of isolation and conformity were no longer factors. Results also showed that social media expanded political participation and promoted democracy and freedom of expression in Algeria.

The Silent Electoral Earthquake in Cyprus: A Crisis of Political Representation

ABSTRACT The 2021 legislative elections exacerbated the crisis of political representation in the Republic of Cyprus, with important changes in voter behaviour yet to materialise in party systemic change. Corruption and, to a lesser extent, the pandemic dominated the political campaign and added to voter disaffection with traditional political parties, including the opposition. The growing appetite for political protest was largely scattered among various new parties and platforms, which failed to win electoral representation. Traditional parties scored their worst results ever and the far-right ELAM nearly doubled its electorate, while abstention stabilised at record high levels.

STABILITY AND CHANGES IN PARTY IDENTIFICATION IN TAIWAN: AN EXAMINATION OF LIFE CYCLE, COHORT, AND PERIOD EFFECTS

AbstractThis article builds on the theoretical debate over age, period, and cohort effects (APC) and explores how these factors might affect Taiwan's partisan stability. We conducted a two-level multinomial logit random effects model using survey data from 1991 to 2020 to disentangle the APC effects. Our findings challenge Converse's core assumption that partisanship strengthens with age. As a new democracy, Taiwan's party affiliations remain fluid, and we do find evidence of period effects, particularly associated with cross-Strait crises that favor the DPP. However, generational replacement is the most significant factor driving party identity changes in Taiwan. With generational replacement, the Kuomintang is burdened by the image of a century-old party. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had previously fared better among young cohorts but has recently lost its support from millennials. The youngest generation increasingly refuses to associate with the traditional political parties. It seems reasonable to expect that the new generational forces will restructure the Blue–Green cleavage and expand the ideological diversity of Taiwan's party system.

Polarization: What Do We Know and What Can We Do About It?

Polarization is not new in Europe. Looking at electoral support for radical political forces after the Second World War, one can observe how polarization has been on the rise since the 1960s. Still, it is in the 1990s, with the thaw of European party systems and the subsequent emergence of (populist) radical parties, that the percentage of votes for anti-political establishment parties reached unprecedented levels. In this article, we not only show the general (country-level) picture but also highlight both the consequences and causes of polarization, proposing at the same time some potential remedies to combat it. Using an aggregate, longitudinal unique dataset, containing 47 European countries across more than 170 years from 1848 to 2020 (Casal Bértoa, 2021;Casal Bértoa and Enyedi, 2021), we try to shed light here on the perils of polarization for the quality of democracy, how traditional political parties are to be blamed, and how we can tackle the problem.

LA RENOVACIÓN DEL CONSERVADURISMO TRADICIONAL A TRAVÉS DE NUEVOS PARTIDOS.EL CASO DEL CENTRO DEMOCRÁTICO EN COLOMBIA, 2014-2018*

Since the early 1990s, a significant percentage of traditional political parties in Latin America have declined in political and electoral power (Wills-Otero, 2016). Conservative parties in different countries suffered a process of disaffection on the part of their electorate, following neoliberal reforms that, in many cases, worsened the living conditions of citizens. Voters and parties became disconnected. Colombia was no stranger to this problem. Traditional parties have declined electorally since the enactment of the 1991 constitution that opened the political arena. In recent years, a new right-wing party, the Centro Democrático (cd), under the leadership of former President Álvaro Uribe, has managed to win over important sectors of the electorate. What have been the determinants in this recent electoral success? Our analysis of municipal-level data from the last two national elections suggests that the cd has been able to appeal in a distinctive way to voters in the nation's municipalities where the traditional Conservative Party held sway for much of the twentieth century.

Yeni Bir Siyasi Parti Türü Olarak Elektronik Siyasi Partiler

With the social and economic transformation of the 19th century, the concept of the political party emerged as a result of the expansion of the right to vote and the people’s desire to government/governance. The concept of the political party can be considered as one of the achievements of representative democracy. Today, technology and especially the internet, are causing the evolution and creating a digitalized understanding of democracy. This change created by technology not only affects the idea of democracy, but also affects political parties. On the one hand, traditional political parties use the internet in their internal and external operations. Digital political parties on the other hand, are established directly within the internet. The aim of this study is to reveal the transformation of political parties that have found their basis in the transformation from autocracy to constitutional monarchy and play a key role in public participation in administration through technology and the internet. In addition its purpose is to discuss the concept of the digital political party, which was born as a new genre, with different examples of their legislation from all over the world.

Max Weber and the Modern Plebiscitary Democracy

The paper offers an interpretation of one of the most controversial concepts of Max Weber: the plebiscitary leader democracy (Führerdemokratie). In particular, it considers Weber’s views on the role of parliament and his assessment of democracy. The question of why the types of legitimate domination do not include democratic legitimacy is discussed, and the author also shows the connection between the conception of plebiscitary democracy and Weber’s theory of bureaucracy. The presentation is not limited to the historical and philosophical analysis of Weber’s views. The main goal of the article is to show how the scientist’s ideas have again become relevant in modern politics. Weber’s concept of plebiscitary democracy is applicable both to analyzing the distortion caused by the crisis of traditional party politics in established democracies and to describing modern personalistic regimes, the legitimacy of which popular elections of a national leader confirm.

A dual lens approach to exploring informal communication's influence on learning in a political party

PurposeThe study aims to explore and discuss the extent of influence of informal communication on learning in a European social democracy political party through a dual lens approach combining information behaviour and organisational learning perspectives.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents results from an in depth qualitative study, whereby data were collected through semi-structured and episodic narrative interviews. Template analysis was used.FindingsInformal conversations were identified as intrinsic to the work of the political party. They did influence learning at individual and group levels, and there was a degree of diffusion within the organisation, although the latter was found to depend on opportunity, individual self-efficacy, level of involvement in the party and perceptions of who has influence. The dual lens approach facilitated greater levels of granularity of analysis at individual and group levels of learning.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights the benefits of using a dual lens approach to add depth to the interpretation of the research findings. Due to the small number of participants further research is needed to verify and extend the results and support a greater degree of transferability.Originality/valueThe information behaviour and organisational research theory that underpin the research have not been used together in this way before, and the context for the phenomenon being researched, a traditional political party struggling against the rise of populism in the 21st century, is both contemporary and understudied in each of the theory areas.

О трансформации института политических партий в эпоху глобализации на примере Европы

Received 30.10.2020. The article examines the processes of formation and institutionalization of pan-European parties (Europarties) as a new institution in the party-political system of the European Union. This institution emerged relatively recently in the mid‑1970s, on the eve of the first European elections in 1979. The main stages of institutionalization of European parties and their factions in the European Parliament are presented. The article shows the key differences between this type of a party and traditional political parties as well as the way relations between the European parties and national parties from the EU member states are developing. It analyzes the current state of these parties and the impact of the most important challenges that the European Union has faced in the last decade: the global financial and economic crisis, the migration crisis in Europe, Brexit, and the coronavirus pandemic. The article considers the legal basis for ensuring the functioning of these parties, which is contained in the Lisbon Treaty, and a number of other fundamental acts of the European Union regulating the activities of its political system. The results of the 2014 and 2019 pan-European parliamentary elections are analyzed; it is shown how positions of the leading European parties represented in the European Parliament have changed. The reasons for the change in the electoral results of these parties, including the growing popularity of Eurosceptic parties, are indicated. It is noted to which EU member states the most popular European parties belong, and what the reason for this distribution is. The article presents new trends in the development of the Institute of European parties associated with an active use of new communication technologies in party building, as well as the emergence of a new type of European parties that advocate the federalization of the European Union.