Wing Parties Research Articles

Economics of voting in post-communist countries

I analyze economic determinants of voting behavior in post-communist elections in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. I argue that election results reflect the voters' experience with economic reforms: those who benefited from the reforms vote for the right wing pro-reform parties, whereas those who have become worse off vote for the left wing parties. This identifies two categories of voters, the winners and the losers of reforms. The winners are the private entrepreneurs, white-collar workers, and university educated voters. On the other hand, the losers are the unemployed, retirees, and blue collar and agricultural workers. Cross-section patterns of political support are determined by the parties' association with the reforms rather than their incumbency status. Incumbency only appears significant in explaining the marginal vote gain or loss between elections.

Political Support for Reforms: Economics of Voting in Transition Countries

I analyze the relationship between economics and politics across eight parliamentary elections in four transition countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, using regional data (election results and socio-economic characteristics at county level). I argue that support for reform reflects the balance between positive and negative effects of the reform. Accordingly, I identify economic groups that support or oppose the reform. The former are private entrepreneurs, white collar workers and university educated voters. The latter are the unemployed, retirees, and blue collar and agricultural workers. This general pattern holds both within countries and across countries, and across tenures of different governments. An intriguing result of my analysis is that the voters in the transition countries are found to be forward looking rather than retrospective. They cast their votes for the party, which they expect to maximize their future utility, based on the perceived stance of that party toward further reforms. Accordingly, the winners of reform vote for the pro-reform, right wing parties, whereas the losers of reform support the left wing parties, regardless of which party is currently in the government. This stands in contrast with the result typically obtained for the developed countries-the so-called responsibility hypothesis-that voters are retrospective and punish the government for bad economic performance.

Lentas mudanças: o voto e a política tradicional

Tomando como referência os estudos que relacionam geografía política, desenvolvimento e poder político, analisam-se as principais áreas de influência das forças partidárias no Brasil, com ênfase no grau de desenvolvimento das regiões e localidades de onde os partidos políticos retiram a sua maior força eleitoral. O estudo lança luz tanto sobre a emergência de novas forças políticas quanto, sobretudo, sobre a persistência das formas tradicionais de exercício da política.

The ecological correlates of right–wing extremism in Western Europe

Abstract This study traces the evolution of right–wing extremism, conceptualized as latent electoral support for extreme right–wing parties (i.e., vote intention), in six Western European countries (i.e., Belgium, France, the Netherlands, West Germany, Denmark, and Italy) between 1984 and 1993. Employing a pooled time–series cross–sectional research design, the author examines the relative strength of three popular explanations of contemporary rightwing extremism: the impact of economic conditions (unemployment and inflation), social developments (immigration), and political trends (public's dissatisfaction with the political regime). Evidence is presented in support of the last two explanations. Rising levels of immigration and public dissatisfaction with the political regime significantly facilitate right–wing extremism. Contrary to the initial hypothesis however, results suggest that a declining national economy (unemployment in particular) diminishes the electoral appeal of extreme right–wing parties.

Nomenklatura democratization: Electoral clientelism in post‐soviet Ukraine

Electoral clientelism could represent a significant threat to democratic consolidation in post‐communist states. Recent elections in Ukraine provide a prime example of the way in which communist‐era elites have been able to use electoral mechanisms to launder their political resources. Evidence suggests that economic disarray has created a situation in which large sectors of the electorate are willing to have their votes bought by political machines, rather than having them won through competition between parties offering different policy packages. Clientelism of this type appears to be engaged in by two types of political actor in Ukraine: left wing parties and individual members of the economic and political elite.

Indicators of Democratization in Romania

The process of democratization of the Romanian society, which started in December 1989, following the removal of the communist regime, has several peculiarities. The new authorities managed to stay in power until the autumn of 1996, after their left wing party (The National Salvation Front – FSN) won the free multi-party elections of 1990 in which several other parties participated too, and the elections of 1992 (this time under the name of Party of Social Democracy). A new Constitution was adopted and the institutions of the state of the right were established. Although marked by tension and conflicts, especially during 1990–1991, the process of democratization progressed, however, steadily, satisfying the formal indicators of democracy. The victory of the center and right-winged opposition in the elections of November 1996, revealed the alternance of parties in power and by this the consolidation of the democratic institutions in Romania.

Mapping the Nordic Party Space

The left‐right positions of the political parties in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland are compared from the late 1970s to the beginning of the 1990s. To locate the parties, survey data on the voters' self‐placements along the left‐right continuum are used. In order to study changes in the left‐right polarity and the degree of consensus along the left‐right continuum in each of the countries, we use the mean party positions to calculate three different measures of party distances. The wing party distance is that between the party farthest to the left and the party farthest to the right. The rival party distance is that between the Social Democratic Party and the traditional Conservative Party. Finally, the mean party distance is the average distance between all pairs of parties. One of the main conclusions is that in Sweden and Iceland the left‐right continuum seems to contract, whereas in Norway and Denmark the left‐right polarity and the distances between the parties are increasing. In today's Nordic party space, the distance between left and right is longest in Denmark and shortest in Norway. Eventually, 39 Nordic parties are brought together on the same left‐right scale. The analysis reveals that there are some clearly distinguishable clusters of parties or party families in the Nordic countries, such as, for example, the socialist parties, the social democratic parties and the conservative parties. Other party groups differ greatly in left‐right position, like the progressive parties, the liberal parties and the centre parties.

Abortion in France still under attack

A series of contradictory decisions by French law makers has damaged the countrys 20-year-old abortion act. Last Friday a joint legal committee of the Senate and National Assembly ruled that people convicted of antiabortion activities would not be eligible for the traditional amnesty granted after presidential elections. Usually the amnesty is restricted to people who have committed minor offenses such as car drivers who have failed to pay parking and speeding fines but it does include a category for It was this loophole that the Senate tried to exploit earlier this week by proposing that the National Assembly was wrong to exclude antiabortionists from the amnesty. The joint committee of the Senate and National Assembly defeated the proposed amendment by seven votes to four. France has also seen contradictions in the courts responses to antiabortion protestors. A Paris court acquitted protestors on the grounds that they were trying to protect a persons life while a court in Roanne gave a prison sentence to similar activists. The opposition to abortion in France largely comes from right wing parties. Recent polls show that 86% of French men and women are opposed to antiabortion protests in hospitals but that over 60% of them believe that womens rights to abortion are now threatened. (full text)

Party leadership selection in France

Abstract. The methods of selection used by French political parties can be grouped into two categories: election by a party conference with some thousands of delegates for the right wing parties or election by a party committee after the party conference with some hundreds of representatives for the left wing parties. Nevertheless, the existence of a presidential election has completely changed the meaning of these methods of selecting party leaders. Political parties have been transformed into presidential machines carrying out two types of successive duties; as a springboard for a candidate at the presidential elections, then as a relay of the President of the Republic (the ‘president's party’). In these two types of situation the selection of leaders is not completely the same. First, in order to gain access to the presidential election, certain politicians have quickly understood that it was necessary to create new political parties or to transform weak political groups in altering the normal rules of selection of the leaders or in overthrowing the existing leadership. Then the leader of the President's party is directly chosen by the President of the Republic himself. The formal methods of selection only serve to ratify the President's choice.

The Irish election of 1992

The general election in the Republic of Ireland, held on 25 November 1992, resulted in a spectacular success for the Labour Party, the largest of the three left wing parties in the Dáil, the National Assembly. The incumbent government party, Fianna Fáil, lost 9 seats and the main opposition party, Fine Gael, was reduced by 10. The result made a coalition government inevitable and, following extensive negotiations, Fianna Fáil and Labour formed a government on 12 January 1993. The result of the election is summarized in Table 1 (p. 182). The turnout, 68.5 per cent was the same as the previous election. The national swing from Fianna Fáil was 5.0 per cent.

Irish cultural nationalism in the United Kingdom state: Politics and the Gaelic League 1900–18

Abstract The relationship between cultural nationalism and political nationalism in early twentieth century Ireland has been interpreted in various ways. Here it is argued that the role played in politics by the principal cultural nationalist vehicle, the Gaelic League, was primarily that of a pressure group on education questions. The educational orientation of language revivalism made the League's interaction with churches as important as that between it and political parties. How nationalist and left wing parties related to the League during its “non‐political and non‐sectarian” period up to 1915 is analysed, as is the manner in which the League became party politicised during the First World War.

Groen links' first party congress

“Groen Links (Green Left) is Holland's new, radical, green party, which occupies a space to the left of the Social Democrats. It has been formed through the unification of four smaller left wing parties, and as its name makes clear it involves a conscious attempt at a fusion of red and green politics.”

Literature Review: The New Right and the Professions

Traditionally there has been a close relationship between established professionals such as doctors and lawyers and parties on the right of the political spectrum. Many doctors and lawyers vote for and support right wing parties and in turn these political parties have often pursued policies advocated by and favourable to these professionals. In the past decade this 'natural' alliance has begun to show signs of strain. In Britain, the Conservative government is pursuing a range of policies that appear to threaten the privileges and status of the professions. In this literature review we shall examine the development of new right ideology and the impact it is having on the legal, medical and social work professions.

CAN PARTIES TURN HOUSING POLICY AROUND?

This article sets out to explore whether right wing parties have made a difference to the way housing policy was formulated in the UK and Israel. Both countries provide similar examples of national approaches to housing policy. We shall review two policy developments, rent control and improving housing conditions in the inner cities.

After nuclear war: Impacts upon New Zealand Agriculture and Wildlife — A reply

Abstract Extract Madam:— The recent letter on this subject 6 requires comment upon several aspects. These include the pinpointing of the inclusion of this subject in the Wildlife Society Seminar as anti-nuclear agitation, utilising an invalid computer model, inclusion of a subject which is non-scientific, giving consideration to conditions which may be purely hypothetical, and introducing left wing party politics into the N.Z.V.A. The correspondent suggests that we should rely upon the resilience with which New Zealand has successfully overcome previous disasters and that only topics with large volumes of scientific information should be discussed.

Géographie électorale des Bouches-du-Rhône sous la Vème République (1962-1981)

In order to draw a conclusion concerning the political situation in the Bouches-du-Rhône we first have to analyse the major political tendencies. The P.C., which attracts many working class votes is definitely a strength to be reckoned with. The P.S. has been losing grand because the middle of the road voters are slipping gradually away. Notwithstanding this the left wing parties still have the majority of both votes and seats thanks to the political discipline of the electorate. Amongst the center parties, Gaullism has never been a very strong party ; on the other hand Giscardism has achieved a definitive breakthrough.

The Norwegian Communist Party in the Immediate Postwar Period*

The main purpose of this article is to argue the importance of combining several approaches in studies of communist parties: socio‐economic structures, competitive relations to other left wing parties, organizational implantation, and the role of political tradition. The present ecological analysis will particularly emphasize the organizational approach and the importance of political tradition. In keeping with Allardt's and Lipset's theories, socio‐economic structure seemed to a great extent to be a necessary condition for communist strength in this period. Both significant employment in industry and/or forestry and a strong social democratic party turned out to be necessary conditions for communist strength, but only when we analysed the ‘historical’ and organizational dimensions in more detail were we able to determine more accurately the areas of strong electoral support of the Norwegian Communist Party.

The Emilian model: productive decentralisation and social integration

The following essay presents a dynamic analysis of the interaction between the productive structure, the labour market, and the principal political institutions in Emilia-Romagna. There are at least three reasons why, in recent times, many economists have focused their attention on the economy of the region (Bagnasco and Messori, 1975; Bagnasco, 1977; Filuppucci, 1978;Capecchi#a/., 1979). The first is that over the last fifteen years Emilia-Romagna has had an economic performance distinctly better than many other regions in Italy, and has shown itself more resilient to crisis. Secondly, the industrial structure which developed in Emilia-Romagna, and which is the basis for its economic performance, may also be found in other parts of Italy, so that the study of Emilia is of general interest and its results may help to understand the working of industrial districts elsewhere in Italy. Finally, in Emilia-Romagna almost all local authorities, including the regional government, are controlled by the communist party, often in alliance with the socialist party. The region, therefore, represents a kind of test for a coalition of left wing parties in Italy which is of broader European interest.

Politics and medicine: The case of Israeli national health insurance

The paper focuses on the attempts to introduce a national health insurance system in Israel. So far all these attempts advanced through six public committees and various legislative initiatives have been futile. The major actors involved in the process of NHI formulation are (a) the sick funds, the largest of which (KH) nearly monopolizes the health services; (b) political parties which are affiliated with the sick funds; (c) the Israeli medical association. The labor oriented parties and sick funds aimed for the introduction of an NHI system which would strengthen KH and preserve its autonomy. The right wing parties and sick fund advocated nationalization of the NHI. The IMA took a mid-way position not identifying with either of the parties. By allying with a small coalition party it was effective in impeding the legislative process that was initiated by the Labor Party. The vigorous opposition of KH has hindered the adoption of the Likud's version of the NHI. Hence, the issue, torn between conflicting parties, reached a stalemate which is not likely to be resolved in the near future.

Le vocabulaire spécifique des motions Mitterrand, Rocard et CERES au congrès de Metz (1979)

SPECIFIC VOCABULARY OF THE MOTIONS OF MITTERRAND, ROCARD AND THE CERES AT THE METZ CONGRESS (1979) On the basis of a lexicometric analysis of the specific vocabulary of the seven motions tabled at the Metz Congress, S.B. presents the tables of specificities (positive and negative) of motions A (Mitterrand), С (Rocard) and E (CERES). Motion A shows a predilection for electoral and institutional vocabulary in which the lexicon of need and struggles is poorly represented. Motion С is characterized by a rhetoric of preference and evidence in which political vocabulary is under represented at the cost of the social. Motion E differs from the two previous motions in that it shows a marked presence of ideological vocabulary, a clear designation of the social and political protagonists, and priority is given to the national theme in preference to the European theme. To conclude, S.B. proposes three tables which synthesize the differences and oppositions between the three texts in relation to the designation of the left wing parties and the social actors.