Party Elites in Divided Societies: Political Parties in Consociational Democracy

ISBN-13: 9780415201278 / Angielski / Twarda / 1999 / 312 str.

Kurt Richard Luther

Opis

The stability of divided societies often depends on whether the elites of rival subcultures are willing and able to engage in compromise, as opposed to confrontation. This was demonstrated in 1968 by Arend Lijphart's seminal work on consociational democracies, or societies characterized by both subcultural segmentation and elite accommodation. This volume offers a comparative analysis of such societies 30 years on. Contributors use a combination of Lijphart's model of consociational democracy and late-1990s literature on political parties to examine the pivotal role played by political parties within and between divided socities. A comparative framework is advanced for the analysis of this role, then applied in turn to the cases of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Israel. This is followed by comparative chapters and the editors conclude by underlining the findings of the analysis 30 years on from Lijphart's work. This study highlights the nature and amount of change in consociational democracy and the extent to which it has been promoted or hindered by the behaviour of party.

Spis treści

Part 1 Introduction: The Significance of Party Elites 1. A framework for the comparative analysis of political parties and party systems in consocational democracy Kurt Richard Luther 2. The utility of party and institutional indicators of change in consocational democracies Paul Pennings, Vrije University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Part 2. Comparative Country Studies 3. Must what goes up always come down? Of pillars and arches in Austria's political architecture Kurt Richard Luther 4. From consocation to federation: how the Belgian parties won Kris Deschouwer 5. Parties, pillars and the politics of accommodation: weak or weakening linkages? The case of Dutch consocationalism. Rudy Andeweg, Leiden University, The Netherlands 6. The odd fellow: parties and consocationalalism in Switzerland Pascal Sciarini and Simon Hug both at University of Geneva, Switzerland 7. Israel and the consocational model: religion and class in the Israeli party system, from consocationalism to consensualism to majoritarianism Reuvan Hazan, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel Part 3. Party Dimensions in Comparative Perspective 8. Electoral consequences of depillarisation: the case of Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands (1945-1996) Monica Mendez-Lago, University of Salamanca, Spain 9. The consocational party system Steve Wolinetz, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada 10. 'Prudent leadership' to successful adaptation? Pillar parties and consocational democracy thirty years on Kurt Richard Luther and Kris Deschouwer

O autorze

Kris Deschouwer, Kurt Richard Luther