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Candidate selection: Methods and consequences
... And, moreover, nomination usually takes place out of the knowledge of the electorate. Due to its secrecy, nomination processes have been known as the "secret garden of politics" (Gallagher & Marsh, 1988;Hazan & Rahat, 2006;Ranney, 1965). ...
... However, letting the parties regulate the process of nomination can generate some problems. The biggest one, from my point of view, would be the lack of legal certainty, as it' s likely that the internal regulation of political parties will be too flexible and easily changeable (Hazan & Rahat, 2006). If the rules are not clear, he who apply it or interpret it will decide the rules themselves. ...
... The United States of America were the only country where it has existed a complete regulation of the nomination (Hazan & Rahat, 2006), as a response to bossism and political corruption at the beginning of the 20th Century (Ranney, 1981). The Progressive movement favored the public regulation of political parties and the adoption of primary election (Bott, 1990): "Nominations [were] the focal point of reform efforts because they are the most public and important act performed by a political party" (Epperson, 1986). ...
... A personalização política, ou a sua hipótese, pode ser definida como um processo ao longo do tempo em que o peso individual do ator político aumenta enquanto que o da coletividade (como um partido político) diminui 2 (KARVONEN, 2010;RAHAT;KENIG, 2018). ...
... Indo além, a literatura indica três tipos de personalização (RAHAT; SHEAFER, 2007;KARVONEN, 2010;RAHAT;KENIG, 2018), sendo elas: a institucional, a comportamental e a midiática 3 . Neste trabalho, focaremos apenas no último tipo, a personalização midiática, que é o processo o qual o ator político individual começa a ganhar mais destaque na mídia do que as coletividades. ...
... Apesar de alguns autores indicarem que existe esse movimento de personalização da política como um todo (MCALLISTER, 2007;GARZIA, 2014;GARZIA, 2017), o movimento que tem criado maior sustentação -ou o ponto em comum -na literatura é a da personalização na mídia (KARVONEN, 2010;BALMAS et al., 2014;ADAM;MAIER, 2010;MCGREGOR;LAWRENCE;CARONA, 2016;RAHAT;KENIG, 2018). Ou seja, na mídia, a centralidade de atores individuais vem ganhando maior destaque do que seus partidos. ...
A pesquisa analisa as estratégias organizacionais de PT e PSDB a partir da
perspectiva dos gastos e transferências de recursos financeiros realizados pela
sede nacional destes partidos entre 1996 e 2015. Parte-se do pressuposto
de que o gasto partidário pode refletir as estratégias organizacionais
da distribuição de poder interno uma vez que a atividade política exige
investimento monetário. Objetiva-se identificar se PT e PSDB possuem
comportamentos distintos na centralização ou não dos recursos financeiros;
além de categorizar os gastos realizados pelos dois partidos no período e
identificar se há diferença por tipo de gasto, o que pode indicar estratégias
organizacionais diferentes. Parte-se de três hipóteses. Na primeira o PSDB
terá maior descentralização dos recursos, transferindo a maior proporção
aos diretórios e candidatos estaduais, municipais e possui menos gastos com
organização e formação, mais com serviços técnicos e eleições. Na segunda,
o PT é mais centralizado, concentra os recursos em nível nacional, como um
partido de massas, e possui mais gastos com organização e formação. Por
fim, na terceira hipótese afirma-se que nos anos em que o partido está no
governo federal há aumento de suas despesas. Para testar tais hipóteses,
realiza-se a categorização e análise dos dados das prestações de contas dos
partidos, declarados ao Tribunal Superior Eleitoral do Brasil, de 1996 a 2015,
comparando a estratégia de gastos dos dois partidos em eleições, estrutura,
formação ideológica, gastos técnicos e transferências. Corroboramos com os
resultados de pesquisas anteriores sobre os dois partidos, confirmando, assim,
a importância de observar as finanças dos partidos para a compreensão de
suas dinâmicas organizacionais.
... The share of eligible women candidates strongly depends on party's willingness to endorse gender-balanced policies. Such decision is not completely arbitrary -or otherwise said, it is not dependent solely on party endogenous arrangements -but includes other political factors such as legal, electoral, and party regulations (Hazan and Rahat 2006;Norris 2006). Following on Seligman's footsteps in the analysis of political recruitment [1967,[300][301][302][303][304], one could argue that women representation is ultimately ruled by the interaction between the formal opportunity structures referring to the political environment, institutional and legislative constraints (i.e party system configuration, electoral systems, cultural determinants) and the effective opportunity structures which primarily target intra-party practices (i.e. ...
... Second, the literature focused on the party organisation variable, notably on effective opportunity structures as defined by party practices. Ultimately, the political parties decide, particularly in the PR systems on closed lists, the criteria of selection or, otherwise put, "which of the persons legally eligible to hold an elective office will be designated on the ballot and in election communications as its recommended and supported candidate or list of candidates" (Ranney 1981, 75;Hazan and Rahat 2006). The intra-party arrangements do play a major role in shaping the candidate selection outcomes. ...
... The intra-party arrangements do play a major role in shaping the candidate selection outcomes. The organisational choices meant to adjust and pacify various political idealssuch as participatory objectives (inclusiveness and decentralisation) or representation (party quota systems) -directly contribute to the overall articulation of a national level elite (Hazan and Rahat 2006;Rahat, Hazan, and Katz 2008). Whereas, rhetorically, all parties seek to secure more democratic ideals at the intra-organisational level, their patterns of organisational transformation and their ensuing options oftentimes create new and unintended elitist and exclusionary politics. ...
The article investigates some of the potential factors leading to increased gender balance in post-communist societies. Focusing on Romania, the study shows that, at the party level, the centralisation of the candidate selection processes, the pre-existence of women as party leaders, or the articulation of women organisations within parties did not bring about a long-term change in the recruitment routines. Conversely, the article points to the fact that minor changes in the party finance regulations succeeded to nudge parties towards gender diversity. This research is based on qualitative content analysis of electoral and party legislation and party statutes.
... In order to answer this question, we focus on the selection of candidates for city council in the municipality of Curitiba in 2016. Starting from the literature that points out procedural differences in the selection of candidates to depend on the party's ideological spectrum (Duverger, 1970; Panacebianco 2005;Hazan & Rahat, 2010) we analyze the aspects: form of selection; who selects; requirements of the candidates; and decentralization of the process. Literature findings point to more centralized selections with more informal demands in left-wing parties and focused on fewer leaders and less informal requirements in right-wing parties. ...
... Esse selectorate é o que Hazan & Rahat (2010) chamam de agência partidária, um nível intermediário de delegados empoderados pela organização, diferente de um pequeno grupo de líderes, que seria o nomination committee, com maior exclusividade, e também não no extremo da inclusividade quando há, por exemplo, primárias abertas a eleitores. Da mesma forma, descentralização colabora com uma maior responsividade dos eleitos por conta da maior proximidade com os eleitores, característica de partidos de direita, e centralização, de esquerda (DUVERGER, 1970). ...
... Quando tratamos das características da seleção, a literatura afirma que partidos de esquerda costumam ser mais restritivos no momento de selecionar os seus candidatos, mais preocupados com a ideologia do partido, enquanto partidos de centro e de direita são mais permeáveis, abertos a candidaturas, além disso, partidos de esquerda costumam privilegiar mais a organização partidária e possuir uma estrutura de incentivos e lealdades mais fortes do que partidos de direita e de centro, já que recrutam mais candidatos com recursos externos ao partido político (PANEBIANCO, 2005;HAZAN & RAHAT, 2010). Além disso, o output do recrutamento e seleção é distinto entre os partidos de diferentes espectros, quando há a constatação da diferença de perfil social e carreira política entre os candidatos e eleitos dos partidos de direita, centro e esquerda (MARENCO, 2013;MARENCO & SERNA, 2007) que possuem diferentes estruturas de recrutamento . ...
Abstract: A prime activity for their survival of political parties is to hold a monopoly over the formation of lists of candidates for elective public office. The question we bring is this: what form and by whom these lists are formulated? In order to answer this question, we focus on the selection of candidates for city council in the municipality of Curitiba in 2016. Starting from the literature that points out procedural differences in the selection of candidates to depend on the party's ideological spectrum (Duverger, 1970; Panacebianco 2005; Hazan & Rahat, 2010) we analyze the aspects: form of selection; who selects; requirements of the candidates; and decentralization of the process. Literature findings point to more centralized selections with more informal demands in left-wing parties and focused on fewer leaders and less informal requirements in right-wing parties. To test the hypothesis we use the survey data Who decides to compete? A study of candidates for councilor (and their parties) in Curitiba in the 2016 elections. The results found are that there are differences in the processes of party selection depending on their ideology, confirming the hypothesis of the work. Leftist parties
... In order to answer this question, we focus on the selection of candidates for city council in the municipality of Curitiba in 2016. Starting from the literature that points out procedural differences in the selection of candidates to depend on the party's ideological spectrum (Duverger, 1970; Panacebianco 2005;Hazan & Rahat, 2010) we analyze the aspects: form of selection; who selects; requirements of the candidates; and decentralization of the process. Literature findings point to more centralized selections with more informal demands in left-wing parties and focused on fewer leaders and less informal requirements in right-wing parties. ...
... Esse selectorate é o que Hazan & Rahat (2010) chamam de agência partidária, um nível intermediário de delegados empoderados pela organização, diferente de um pequeno grupo de líderes, que seria o nomination committee, com maior exclusividade, e também não no extremo da inclusividade quando há, por exemplo, primárias abertas a eleitores. Da mesma forma, descentralização colabora com uma maior responsividade dos eleitos por conta da maior proximidade com os eleitores, característica de partidos de direita, e centralização, de esquerda (DUVERGER, 1970). ...
... Quando tratamos das características da seleção, a literatura afirma que partidos de esquerda costumam ser mais restritivos no momento de selecionar os seus candidatos, mais preocupados com a ideologia do partido, enquanto partidos de centro e de direita são mais permeáveis, abertos a candidaturas, além disso, partidos de esquerda costumam privilegiar mais a organização partidária e possuir uma estrutura de incentivos e lealdades mais fortes do que partidos de direita e de centro, já que recrutam mais candidatos com recursos externos ao partido político (PANEBIANCO, 2005;HAZAN & RAHAT, 2010). Além disso, o output do recrutamento e seleção é distinto entre os partidos de diferentes espectros, quando há a constatação da diferença de perfil social e carreira política entre os candidatos e eleitos dos partidos de direita, centro e esquerda (MARENCO, 2013;MARENCO & SERNA, 2007) que possuem diferentes estruturas de recrutamento . ...
Resumo: Os partidos políticos detêm o monopólio sobre a formação de listas dos candidatos aos cargos eletivos, atividade primordial para a sua sobrevivência. A questão que trazemos é de que forma e por quem são formuladas essas listas. Buscando respondê-la, nos debruçamos sobre a seleção de candidatos a vereador no município de Curitiba em 2016. Partindo da literatura que aponta diferenças procedimentais na seleção de candidatos a depender do espectro ideológico do partido (DUVERGER, 1970; PANEBIANCO, 2005; HAZAN & RAHAT, 2010) analisamos os aspectos: forma de seleção; quem seleciona; requisitos dos candidatos; e descentralização do processo. Os achados da literatura apontam para seleções mais centralizados e com mais exigências informais em partidos de esquerda e focadas em poucos líderes e com menos requisitos informais, em partidos de direita. Para testar a hipótese utilizamos os dados do survey Quem decide concorrer? Um estudo dos candidatos a vereador (e de seus partidos) em Curitiba nas eleições de 2016. Os resultados encontrados são de que há diferenças nos processos de seleção dos partidos a depender da sua ideologia, confirmando a hipótese do trabalho. Partidos de esquerda se apresentam comparativamente mais inclusivos e democráticos no processo seletivo, já os partidos de centro e de direita apresentam comportamentos semelhantes em si e distintos da esquerda, sendo menos inclusivos e mais centralizados.
Abstract: A prime activity for their survival of political parties is to hold a monopoly over the formation of lists of candidates for elective public office. The question we bring is this: what form and by whom these lists are formulated? In order to answer this question, we focus on the selection of candidates for city council in the municipality of Curitiba in 2016. Starting from the literature that points out procedural differences in the selection of candidates to depend on the party's ideological spectrum (Duverger, 1970; Panacebianco 2005; Hazan & Rahat, 2010) we analyze the aspects: form of selection; who selects; requirements of the candidates; and decentralization of the process. Literature findings point to more centralized selections with more informal demands in left-wing parties and focused on fewer leaders and less informal requirements in right-wing parties. To test the hypothesis we use the survey data Who decides to compete? A study of candidates for councilor (and their parties) in Curitiba in the 2016 elections. The results found are that there are differences in the processes of party selection depending on their ideology, confirming the hypothesis of the work. Leftist parties
... Interest in this topic started after several political parties in Israel introduced wide-rang ing reforms to their candidate selection methods in the mid-1990s, which quickly pro duced significant political consequences (Hazan, 1997). The research undertaken by the two coauthors set the stage for a more comprehensive assessment of the emerging phe nomenon of democracy within parties (Hazan & Rahat, 2006;Pennings & Hazan, 2001;Rahat, 2007;Rahat & Hazan, 2001). After over a decade of research, they wrote a com prehensive book on the topic (Hazan & Rahat, 2010). ...
... Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a PDF of a single chapter of a title in Oxford Handbooks Online for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice). and chapter and one of the most cited books on the topic (Hazan & Rahat, 2006, 2010Rahat & Hazan, 2001). Comparing Israel has thus contributed toward producing the stan dard conceptual and theoretical framework for a growing number of publications around the world on the topic of candidate selection (for example, Cordero & Coller, 2018;Cross et al. 2016;Sandri, Seddone, & Venturino, 2015). ...
Few countries receive as much attention as Israel and are at the same time as misunderstood. The Oxford Handbook of Israeli Politics and Society brings together leading Israeli and international figures to offer the most wide-ranging treatment available of an intriguing country. It serves as a comprehensive reference for the growing field of Israel studies and is also a significant resource for students and scholars of comparative politics, recognizing that in many ways Israel is not unique, but rather a test case of democracy in deeply divided societies and states engaged in intense conflict. The handbook presents an overview of the historical development of Israeli democracy through chapters examining the country’s history, contemporary society, political institutions, international relations, and most pressing political issues. It outlines the most relevant developments over time while not shying away from the strife both in and around Israel. It presents opposed narratives in full force, enabling readers to make their own judgments.
... In the Ghanaian multi-party democratic system of the Fourth Republic, the intra-party politics of various political parties has so much affinity with broader national political processes to the extent that one can hardly discern Ghana's democratic consolidation without a firm grasp of electoral politics in the context of intra-party primary elections (Daddieh & Bob-Milliar, 2012;Ichino & Nathan, 2016;Dodsworth et al., 2022;Bukari, 2022). Party primary elections such as the presidential primary elections often set out the choices that voters (also called delegates or selectors) have, and determine the candidate as the party presidential candidate for national presidential elections (Rahat & Hazan, 2001;Hazan & Rahat, 2006;Dodsworth et al., 2022;Bukari, 2022). This paper seeks to assess the formal intra-party rules that govern primary elections for the selection of party presidential candidates, and how this enhances Ghana's democracy. ...
... The intra-party primary elections often set out the choices that voters' (delegates/the selectorates) have, and the outcome of such elections determine the presidential candidate of a party to be voted for as president in the national elections (Rahat & Hazan 2001;Hazan & Rahat, 2006). The intra-party organisation of presidential primary election or delegates' congress to select a presidential candidate by various political parties in Ghana under the Fourth Republican democratic dispensation has always been conducted in line with the Article 55(5) of the 1992 Fourth Republic Constitution of Ghana. ...
This paper analyzes the selection of presidential candidates in primary elections by political parties in Ghana's Fourth Republic. It examines the formal intra-party rules and regulations that govern primary elections for the selection of party presidential candidate, and how this enhances Ghana's democracy. Given that interpretation is central to this paper, exploratory case design is adopted. Drawing from documented material and semi-structured interviews, the results of analysis suggest that the intra-party primary election rules and regulations of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and New Patriotic Party (NPP) find expression in the electoral laws as contained in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana. The results show that there is no much variation in the intra-party rules of the two parties in their selection of presidential candidates. Also, both the NDC and NPP use closed system of primaries (this involved only registered party members who are elected and appointed executives, party appointees and party elders). The only variation is explained in the nomination and filing fees. The results of analysis further explained that the NDC and NPP have both departed from 'National Delegates' Congress System of presidential candidate selection to a 'Nationwide Voting System.' The study also revealed that though, the NDC adopted an open primary system in 2015, it has since reversed to the closed system of primary election in 2019. The study concludes that the ways in which political parties select candidates play a crucial role in shaping political debates and politics in Ghana. The paper therefore recommends that the intra-party politics, primary elections, candidate selection and nomination methods should continue to be conducted within the framework of modern liberal democratic principles anchored in the multi-party democratic framework of Ghana's Fourth Republic.
... Previous scholarship has shown not only that there are differences in women's presence across levels of government, but also that a model that works well in predicting women's representation at the national level does not adequately explain the percentage of female legislators at the European level (Stockemer, 2008). This suggests that the patterns of candidate recruitment by political partieswhich retain the monopoly on candidate selection (Hazan & Rahat, 2006)may vary across levels of government (Eder et al., 2016, p. 371), in particular the informal aspects, i.e. unwritten norms and ways of functioning. Furthermore, the electoral rules depend on context. ...
... The jurisdictional level at which nominations are decided is considered to be another important dimension of research on representation (Fortin-Rittberger & Rittberger, 2015). Party selection is decentralised at the territorial level, where local party selectorates nominate party candidates (Hazan & Rahat, 2006). By comparison, it is centralised when the party leader makes the main decisions. ...
This paper investigates formal and informal patterns of the recruitment process and the features of types of elections to shed light on what affects the share of women across levels of government (European, national, and local). A single country and party – the Portuguese Socialist Party – was analysed to rule out intervening factors, and 19 in-depth interviews were conducted. Our findings highlight the specificities of each type of election, their interactions with the recruitment process, and the relevance of informal factors.
... Typically, the central party implements the rules, which, to varying degrees, restrict local selector and aspirant candidate behaviour. Such central party rules range from slightly to extremely intrusive with most political parties falling somewhere in-between the two poles (Hazan and Rahat, 2006;Norris, 1997a). For example, moving from the least to most intrusive, the central party sets clear eligibility rules for candidacy, such as being a member of the party in good standing for a minimum period of time. ...
... The decision to implement equality rules reflects a party's willingness to address underrepresentation in response to internal and external pressures to present a more diverse candidate pool (Bille, 2001;Russell, 2005). Not surprisingly, such rule changes normally coincide with attempts to democratise a party's selection process by, for example, opening up participation to all party members in the final candidate selection stage vote (Hazan and Rahat, 2006;Rahat, 2007;Rahat and Hazan, 2001). However, this is not always reflected in selection process classifications. ...
https://www.routledge.com/Political-Candidate-Selection-Who-Wins-Who-Loses-and-Under-Representation/Ashe/p/book/9781138039513
... The implementation of mechanisms of direct democracy for the selection of party officials and candidates has been increasingly common among contemporary parties ( Katz and Mair 2002;2009;Detterbeck 2005;Hazan and Rahat 2006; see the authors in van Haute and Gauja 2015 and in Scarrow et al. 2017). For some authors (Whiteley and Seyd, 2002), the adoption of such mechanisms may lead to higher levels of intra-party democracy by increasing the inclusiveness of decisions. ...
... This has led to reports of fraud in all direct elections, regarding practices such as the transportation of members, the collective payment of party fees, or the participation of individuals who do not even know they were party members 8 . Similar practices, used by factions to form local political machines, have been reported in other parties that adopted mechanisms of direct democracy (Hazan and Rahat, 2006: 114-115). ...
Paper prepared to the General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), Hamburg, August 2018.
Section 22: Democratic Innovations: Meeting Great Expectations? Panel 108: Democratic Innovation within Political Parties. This is a very preliminary version. The most recent version can be provided under request.
... Le persone aspiranti alla carica parlamentare sono, in un primo tempo, sottoposte a un processo di selezione che costituisce la prima fase del reclutamento parlamentare. La selezione dei candidati è un aspetto relativamente ancora poco conosciuto nella letteratura scientifica (si veda comunque, Hazan & Rahat 2006; Barnea & Rahat 2007;Plata et al. 2012). Esiste infatti una difficoltà riconducibile al fatto che il suo svolgimento avviene nel "giardino segreto" ( Gallagher & Marsh 1988;Hazan & Rahat 2006: 110) dei partiti politici. ...
... A questo proposito, la domanda che ci poniamo in questa prospettiva è la seguente: come vengono selezionati i candidati? A questo interrogativo, alcuni studi hanno già cercato di rispondere, ponendo l'accento sui metodi di selezione dei partiti, come anche sulle conseguenze delle pratiche di selezione (Pennings & Hazan 2001;Lundell 2004;Hazan & Rahat 2006; Barnea & Rahat 2007). Questi contributi sottolineano l'importanza dei partiti nel processo elettorale e l'eventuale problema di trasparenza e democraticità che pone la selezione dei candidati. ...
This study puts the focus on parliamentary recruitment in the context of a Swiss cantonal election of pivotal importance. The analysis refers to the legislative elections in the canton of Ticino in 2015. Based on a quantitative approach, it comprises different dimensions: 1) the relationship between aspiring candidates and political parties; 2) different types of campaigns used by candidates, in particular web-based ones; 3) sociographic characteristics of candidates and elects, as well as the convergence of the opinion of candidates and elects on the one hand, and of the constituency on the other. Paired with an analysis of the citizens’ vote (Mazzoleni et al. 2017), this study on parliamentary recruitment confirms that these elections constitute a turning point in the politics of the Canton of Ticino.
Keywords: Elections, Parliament, Candidates, Political parties, Election Campaigns
... Al analizar dichos mecanismos existe consenso en la literatura en que su nivel de inclusión, entendido como el nivel en el que se incluye la participación de los ciudadanos y los militantes en la selección de los candidatos representantes de los partidos políticos. Algunos autores como Hazan y Rahat (2006), Freidenberg (2003) o Langston (2006), han descrito los diferentes tipos de mecanismos de selección de candidatos y coinciden en ha- cerlo por su nivel de inclusión. En la tabla 1 se da cuenta de los principales mecanismos teóricos de selección de candidatos. ...
En junio de 2021, en México, se llevó a cabo la jornada electoral en la que estuvieron en juego la mayor cantidad de cargos de elección popular en la historia democrática del país (poco más de 21 000) (Padilla, 2020). Según información del Instituto Nacional Electoral (ine) se renovaron por completo la Cámara de Diputados (500 escaños), 15 estados elegirán nuevos gobernadores además de 30 Congresos Locales, 16 alcaldías en la Ciudad de México y 1 900 ayuntamientos y juntas municipales (INE, s.f.). Esto significa que, entre otras cosas, los partidos políticos seleccionaron a las personas que fueron sus candidatos para contender por alguna de las diferentes posiciones que estuvieron en juego.
... As in any other profession, such an implicit interview is based on a selection criterion: previous experience. Institutionalized political parties prefer qualified politicians with full-time dedication and those who are socialized in the party's culture and practices (Hazan and Rahat 2001), all the more so when citizens vote for parties rather than independent candidates who are unlikely to be selected. In consequence, and in a bid to persuade ambitious politicians to be involved in politics and in the organization, political parties look for what incentivizes politicians and will encourage them to deploy the effort and time they need to spend on the political party (Schlesinger 1984). ...
This article examines the effect of country size on the professionalization of politicians in six European micro-states and a large-scale democracy – Germany – since 1980. The article revisits an ongoing debate about the extent to which either country size or government size are causal factors in the individual professionalization process. Using an original dataset consisting of 6,940 parliamentary mandates – 2,809 individuals – in national parliaments, the article shows that country size is a determinant of the degree of politicians' professionalization. The article further demonstrates that political parties' gatekeeper role is the key causal mechanism explaining the influence of population size on politicians' professionalization.
... The primary level is important in this study for the following reasons. In the first place, it is during primaries that party members or voters choose the party's candidate who will represent then at the general elections (Hazan & Rahat 2006). Besides, it is at this stage that the appraisive attitudes of candidates are brought to bear but not on the basis of being affiliated to the party (Nwanganga, Nwachukwu & Mirian 2017;Debra, 2015). ...
This study examines the effect of appraisive attitudes on citizens’ participation behaviour at the sub-national electoral levels in the Cape Coast Metropolis, Ghana. The study was quantitative with cross-sectional explanatory design. The study population was 1145 with a sample size of 291. The SPSS was employed for descriptive analysis and the Smart PLS was employed for structural equation modelling. It was found that all the three dimensions of appraisive attitudes (policy responsiveness, performance and integrity) used in this study have positive effects on citizen participation behaviour in the study area of the Cape Coast Metropolis in Ghana. This means Africans have come of age and the days of choosing Africa policy makers based on socio-cultural and ethnic reasoning appear to be over. Policy makers must, therefore, take into consideration the interests of the citizens and work to improve on their living conditions in order to sustain their political career.
... Il processo di selezione delle candidature in occasione delle elezioni di un legislativo rappresenta la prima fase del reclutamento parlamentare. Nonostante il fatto che il suddetto processo avvenga in quello che è stato definito il "giardino segreto" dei partiti politici (Gallagher & Marsh 1988), rileviamo che nella letteratura politologica l'interesse sul tema del reclutamento del personale politico nei governi e nei parlamenti è crescente, dopo un periodo nel quale gli studi non sembravano abbondare (Katz 2001;Pennings & Hazan 2001;Hazan & Rahat 2006Barnea & Rahat 2007;Spies & Kaiser 2014;Coller et al. 2018;Verge & Astudillo 2019;Sandri & Seddone 2021). Come già ricordato da Plata (2012), pur rimanendo una fase poco visibile e conosciuta, il processo di selezione dei candidati e delle candidate rimane una tappa cruciale e imprescindibile dell'intero processo politico democratico. ...
This study focuses on parliamentary recruitment in the elections to the cantonal parliament of Ticino in 2019, in comparison with previous elections. The analysis explores several aspects: the characteristics of the candidates and elected representatives; the way in which their electoral campaign was conducted; the peculiarities of female recruitment, given the growing importance of women both as candidates and as a presence in the Ticino parliament. The analyses are based on an opinion survey among a representative sample of candidates and elected representatives carried out every four years on the Ticino cantonal elections.
... Assim como a distribuição dos recursos públicos pode indicar a alocação de poder intrapartidário(BOTASSIO, 2017;SCHAEFER, 2019), os critérios definidos pelos partidos para a distribuição desses recursos também podem nos indicar quem da organização decide pela distribuição de poder. Neste artigo tratamos sobre o Fundo Especial de Financiamento de Campanha (FEFC), destinado ao financiamento de campanhas eleitorais 4 .Considerando as pesquisas sobre seleção de candidatos e a quantidade de critérios(BOLOGNESI, 2013;HAZAN; RAHAT, 2010;ROEDER et al., 2018) que resultam em um continuum totalizante, propomos um índice de centralização decisória a partir da quantidade de atores/instâncias partidárias envolvidas na definição da alocação do FEFC.Realizamos a pesquisa em três fases distintas. Na primeira, coletamos os critérios divulgados pelos partidos políticos e enviados à Justiça Eleitoral, disponíveis no site do Tribunal Superior Eleitoral 5 . ...
... The PAP's case supports the prevailing finding that the centralised control of candidate selection by a small group of elites is a key element in disciplining MP behaviour and in ensuring party cohesion (Gallagher and Marsh, 1988;Hazan and Rahat, 2006). The PAP's exclusive cadre recruitment and highly centralised candidate selection enhance elite cohesion as they ensure like-minded elites into the inner circle of power. ...
Singapore’s People’s Action Party (PAP) is one of the longest ruling parties in the world. The PAP’s ability to avoid overt factionalism over the years is exceptional, especially compared to the region’s personalistic or cadre parties. In recent years, the defection of former PAP cadre Dr. Tan Cheng Bock and the formation of the Progress Singapore Party (PSP) and PM Lee Hsien Loong’s family rivalry, which involved PAP elites, have challenged the cohesion of the PAP. This study examines a set of incentives and constraints institutionalised at the party and national levels to foster elite cohesion. It is argued that the critical junctures in the PAP’s early years led to the adoption of a cadre party model and a centralised candidate selection process that co-opts like-minded elites into a core that promotes elite unity. Nationally, party switching and factional alignments based on ethnicity or ideology have been systematically banned. Given the lack of credible alternatives that seriously challenge the incumbent PAP, ambitious party cadres would do better toeing the party line and staying loyal.
... Within parties, we also frequently witness changes as candidate selection procedures are typically less stable than national political institutions such as electoral systems. 35 Parties' candidate selection procedures are typically categorized along four dimensions. 36 First, who can be selected? ...
... electoral franchise, electoral system). Secondly, we review political parties' candidate selection strategies across all levels (national, regional, local) using Hazan and Rahat's (2006) framing of selection methods and exploring how inclusive candidacy rules are, who the selectorate is, the level of decentralisation with the party and the specific gender strategies used to select candidates. Thirdly, we compare political parties' records, first, in putting forward women candidates in elections, as well as in producing women-elected representatives at various levels of government. ...
Gender represents a very important, yet often neglected, element of political and constitutional change. The UK is an example of a state in relative constitutional flux where gender and constitutional reform have been closely intertwined. Alongside, the constitutional change has developed a ‘new’ politics, derived from democratic renewal (especially devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland post-1997). This has created conditions for a renewed debate on women representation in UK’s political and public life and has also stimulated some innovations (and in some cases, transformations) of internal candidate selection strategies within parties. This has resulted in a degree of better representation for women elected to the various UK legislatures. Nevertheless, twenty years on from devolution, progress for women is stagnating at subnational level (and desperately slow at UK Parliament and local government level). This chapter explores changes in the electoral opportunity structures for women in post-devolution UK, using Wales and its National Assembly as a case study. It will focus specifically on how internal candidate selection processes within the main political parties in Wales—Labour, Conservative and Plaid Cymru—have changed against a backdrop of constitutional reform, whilst also unpacking gender from the recent electoral success of UKIP. We explore the impact the changes in candidate selection processes have had on women’s electoral fortunes and the descriptive representation of women in UK legislatures. We draw on empirical work on UK’s constitutional transformation undertaken by the authors since the beginning of devolution. Our findings highlight the importance of endogenous and exogenous factors, both structural and cultural, in diversifying pathways into politics for women through innovative approaches to candidate selection strategies within parties, and through addressing structural barriers outside political parties. We argue that whilst the ‘new’ politics has brought some changes to electoral opportunity structures for women at subnational level, there has been no real cascading effect of positive changes at other levels, a culture of bias still stifling the internal party processes of selecting candidates.
... Within parties, we also frequently witness changes as candidate selection procedures are typically less stable than national political institutions such as electoral systems. 35 Parties' candidate selection procedures are typically categorized along four dimensions. 36 First, who can be selected? ...
This article introduces a special issue on candidate nomination, intra-party democracy, and election violence in Africa. Although a burgeoning literature on African democratization has focused on the topic of electoral violence, little attention has been given to violence during party nominations. When local-level or national-level competition between parties is low, as in much of Africa, electoral politics become a matter of intra-party rather than inter-party competition. Nominations are a part of the electoral process often left to the discretion of poorly institutionalized parties, free of the involvement of electoral management bodies and external monitors, and violence often results. Rather than developing an elaborate theoretical framework on the causes of nomination violence, our ambition in this introduction is to introduce the concept of nomination violence and situate it in the literatures on intra-party democracy and election violence. We also offer new descriptive data on nomination rules and nomination violence across parties on the African continent. The data show that nomination violence is a prevalent problem across both democracies and electoral autocracies. However, the level of nomination violence varies significantly between parties in the same party system and we recommend further research into the effect of parties' selection procedures on nomination violence.
The chapter focuses on the implications for leadership and political representation arising from the processes of personalisation and disintermediation in contemporary democracies. It considers the societal changes that have led to the crisis of traditional political intermediaries, such as parties, and the rise of leader-centred democracy. The chapter examines how the personalisation of politics has reshaped the relationship between leaders and their constituencies, resulting in a more direct and plebiscitary form of democracy. It identifies the tension between individualisation and collective identity, investigating how these processes contribute to the redefinition of political leadership in modern societies. Moreover, the chapter considers the implications of these changes for the future of democratic governance, suggesting that the personalisation of leadership may undermine traditional forms of political representation.
El artículo tiene como objetivo analizar la literatura sobre la accesibilidad a servicios públicos desde un punto de vista de representación territorial. Durante mucho tiempo la representación política se estudiaba desde el punto de vista de la elaboración de políticas públicas. En este estudio se parte de una concepción multidimensional, tomando también en cuenta la distribución de recursos y servicio al distrito. Además, previamente se había estudiado el caso estadounidense, sin embargo, en América Latina existe evidencia de que es un fenómeno importante, por lo que resulta fundamental revisar los estudios para la región. Se identifican condiciones institucionales, partidarias, individuales y características del distrito que influencian la responsividad hacia el distrito electoral
The exploration of the internal relationships within parties is one of the most difficult and extensive fields of party research. In particular, internal power and influence relationships are hardly penetrable and transparent. The resource equipment of parties is much better, with party financing on the one hand and the recruitment and participation of voluntary members on the other hand, being the main interest of research. How the party apparatus was modernized and professionalized for the requirements of media election campaigns has also met with broad research interest. The way in which processes of political course-determination and elite recruitment as well as candidate nomination are handled in parties is dealt with under the keyword of intra-party democracy. It raises the question of intra-party power relations. There is controversy over the extent to which the classic oligarchy theory of Robert Michels can be countered and whether it is more appropriate to assume elite competition and a broadly stratified intra-party power structure. The examination of the intra-party participation of members focuses on the extent to which the party base can participate in personnel and political decisions. This also includes program work, coupled with the question of what role programs play for parties as political tendency operations.
Kap. 3 gibt auf einer breiten empirischen Basis (N = 2783) einen Überblick über Ausmaß und einige Bestimmungsfaktoren der personellen Unterrepräsentation der Ostdeutschen und von Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund in den bundesdeutschen Positionseliten. Es zeigt, dass diese beiden Formen personeller Unterrepräsentation rund dreißig Jahre nach der Wiedervereinigung bzw. mehr als ein Jahrhundert nach den ersten umfänglichen Zuzügen von Gast- bzw. Vertragsarbeiterinnen und -arbeitern fortbestehen. Zwar sind sektorale Unterschiede zu beobachten, aber es gibt keine Anhaltspunkte für einen Rückgang im Zeitverlauf. Der Widerspruch dieser Befunde zu der Vermutung, dass die personelle Unterrepräsentation der Ostdeutschen ein temporäres Ergebnis der historischen Umstände der Wiedervereinigung ist und sich im Zeitverlauf abmildert („These des nachholenden Aufstiegs“), wird detailliert mit mehreren Trendanalysemethoden diskutiert.
A autonomia é assegurada aos partidos políticos nas democracias contemporâneas para que as siglas possam desempenhar as funções que lhes são atribuídas em cada ordenamento jurídico e manejar os recursos que lhes são disponíveis de acordo com os valores consagrados nos estatutos e programas partidários, como também em conformidade com as estratégias eleitorais adotadas para alcançar as suas metas políticas. Nesta perpectiva, a autonomia partidária volta-se para a promoção do pluralismo político no contexto político delineado no século XXI. A temática da autonomia partidária, embora seja uma matéria bastante relevante, recebe pouca atenção da doutrina jurídica brasileira, o que gera um déficit do acervo bibliográfico especializado no assunto e, quando é analisada, a autonomia partidária é definida à luz da legislação e da jurisprudência brasileira. Frente a isso, questiona-se como a autonomia partidária é conceituada pelos especialistas estrangeiros? Para responder à pergunta, o presente artigo apresenta os conceitos estipulados por Giovanni Sartori, Ângelo Panebianco e Karl-Heinz Nassmacher sobre a autonomia partidária. Ainda, define-se o que são os partidos políticos nas democracias contemporânes com vistas a delinear o contexto político no qual a autonomia partidária se insere. Por fim, expõe-se quais são as funções partidárias com o propósito de ilustrar o leque de escolhas que autonomia viabiliza às agremiações. A metodologia utilizada é bibliogrática e dialética. Como resultado, há a introdução de novos conceitos doutrinários sobre a autonomia partidária no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro.
Cet article défend l’idée que la professionnalisation individuelle des parlementaires les désincite à adopter un comportement réactif et accroît la connivence qui existe entre eux. Ces mécanismes sont supposés affecter la convergence des points de vue entre les parlementaires et les citoyens en ce qui concerne leurs préférences en matière de politique et de processus. Nous testons ces hypothèses à partir du cas allemand en effectuant une analyse de correspondance exploratoire et des régressions sur des données issues d’une enquête conduite simultanément – et avec un questionnaire identique – auprès des parlementaires et des citoyens. L’analyse empirique contredit notre hypothèse pour la dimension gauche-droite, mais elle la corrobore partiellement pour la seconde dimension qui oppose le degré d’autonomie et d’hétéronomie des parlementaires dans les démocraties représentatives. L’effet de la professionnalisation individuelle est donc influencé par le degré de concurrence partisane. Si les partis sont en concurrence, la marge de manoeuvre pour des changements d’attitude et une convergence entre parlementaires est contrainte par les positions collectives de leurs propres partis.
Si bien la democracia representativa no es posible sin partidos políticos (Schattschneider, 1942), esto no significa que al interior de los partidos exista democracia. En algunos partidos, las cúpulas son las que adoptan decisiones respecto de la selección de candidatos y de la definición de políticas (policies) del partido. La representación tanto de género como de grupos minoritarios es baja, al igual que la renovación y alternancia. Un partido de esta forma configurado carece de democracia interna. En el presente artículo, se realiza un análisis descriptivo respecto de variables de democracia al interior de los principales partidos chilenos, de acuerdo a lo que señalan sus estatutos y documentos oficiales, así como también el marco que entrega a este respecto la Constitución de la República de Chile y la Ley Orgánica Constitucional de Partidos Políticos. Finalmente se concluye que en Chile existen partidos menos democráticos que otros, que todos los partidos podrían aumentar sus niveles de democracia, y que las leyes marco proveen exigencias mínimas de democracia, dando amplia autonomía a los partidos para actuar a su discreción.
This paper analyses the organisation of two Australian far-right political parties: Fraser Anning’s Conservative National Party (FACNP) and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation (PHON). Based on semi-structured interviews with election candidates and office bearers and an analysis of official party documents, I examine how these parties manage their internal organisation and cope with problems of collective choice. I argue that their organisational practices are characterised by disorganisation. Namely, a lack of meaningful organisational structures and procedures, a core of socialised activists, andcoherent decision-making processes. By focusing on campaign mobilisation at the expense of party building, I argue that their disorganisation is inseparable from their muted electoral performance at the 2019 Australian federal election.
While the number of elected Indigenous representatives has increased over the past two decades, we know little about their pathways to candidature, which parties they stand for, the winnability of seats they stand in, and whether they are successful. Using election data from 2001 to 2021, and interviews with 50 (or 80%) of all Indigenous candidates between 2010 and 2019, this study provides answers to these questions. It finds, first, that Indigenous candidates are usually winners, as 53.2% of candidatures have resulted in an election victory. Second, most candidates are from the ALP and Indigenous women tend to do better than men. Third, despite some high-profile ‘parachutes’, most Indigenous candidates are ‘partisans’ (i.e. party members for at least a year before standing).
En el artículo se analizan diferentes formas de candidaturas identificadas en las elecciones municipales de la Provincia del Chaco en 1995, que surgieron como respuestas a los cambios en los sistemas electorales. Se identificó la utilización de dos estrategias electorales singulares. En una los candidatos se presentan como cabeza para el ejecutivo y a la vez como candidatos a un cargo legislativo; y en la otra, encabezan varias listas partidarias para el ejecutivo con distinta composición para el legislativo. De los resultados se deduce que estas estrategias solo pueden ser utilizadas en localidades pequeñas o en partidos con bajo caudal de afiliados.
Le renouvellement des élites et la négociation de nouveaux critères d’accès au pouvoir représentent des facteurs décisifs pour la transformation des systèmes politiques. Or, dans les pays postcommunistes, les principes de recrutement demeurent contestés bien après la rupture de 1989. Il est difficile de saisir dans quelle mesure les changements observés au sein des élites dévoilent une logique de professionnalisation ou, au contraire, d’oligarchisation. En partant du cas des élites ministérielles roumaines, l’article souligne les tensions entre les indicateurs classiques d’analyse des carrières politiques (suggérant des processus graduels de professionnalisation) et la continuité d’une logique de fonctionnement du politique en réseaux semi-privés .
The topic of ideological coherence within parties has attracted less attention compared to the ideological congruence between parties and voters. In addition, party-related variables have not been addressed sufficiently when explaining variation in the degree of ideological heterogeneity. This chapter contributes to filling these gaps by considering the impact of the candidate selection process and political experience on ideological coherence at the elite level. Based on surveys of MPs conducted in Portugal in 2016 and in Spain in 2018, this study analyses the impact of these variables on ideological coherence. The study has the potential to contribute to a broader comparative literature by examining not only variation across parties and over time but also the importance of informal dynamics. The findings suggest that parties display a higher level of intra-party ideological coherence in Portugal compared to Spain, although party-related variables are not significantly associated to ideological coherence.
In this paper, there will be an analysis of the 2015 closed parliamentary primaries of the Republican People's Party of Turkey in Istanbul. It will be argued that the voting rules of RPP's primaries in the context of Istanbul boosted the importance of public recognition as compared with the importance of experience in party offices, which is expected to be one of the most rewarding characteristics for candidates in closed primaries.
This chapter places candidate selection within the broader legislative recruitment process and highlights its importance in achieving a representative social composition of legislative bodies. It serves as a starting point for the development of heuristic models to analyze the party selection behavior for candidates of immigrant origin. A thorough review of the legislative recruitment literature helps to determine which factors are the most important in coming through candidate selection, ranging from the length of party membership until first candidacy to the electoral prospects of nomination.
This paper investigates party use of seniority systems to allocate nominations for elected and appointed offices. Such systems, which can regulate party members’ access to offices at multiple levels of their careers, are defined by two main rules or norms: an incumbent re-nomination norm and a seniority progression norm. Using comprehensive electoral and candidate data from Norwegian local and national elections from 1945 to 2019, we find systematic patterns consistent with these two norms. Our work illuminates an institutional aspect of candidate selection that the current literature has ignored while noting some of the important consequences of seniority-based nominations for party cohesion and stability.
The nature of the electoral system by which legislative representatives are chosen is one of the more controversial issues in Israel, as it is in many democracies. The type of electoral system employed in a democratic state is generally considered to have a major impact on the filling of elective office; the conduct of both the voters and their elected representatives (and the connection between them); the public agenda; and the character of democracy. As such, it is not incidental that the debate over the reform of the system of electing Knesset members has been on Israel’s political agenda since the founding of the State. In ordinary times, and especially in times of crisis, critics of the present system hasten to stress its drawbacks, downplay its advantages, and call for the reform of Israel’s electoral system...
The gender gap in national and local politics is an important problem in numerous countries. Two explanations for the deficit experienced by female politicians relate to demand for women’s representation by political parties and by voters. We argue that the gender gap stems from party-based limitations in local politics. Women do not compete in local politics because relevant parties do not nominate them. We present original data on mayoral candidates who ran in the 2009 and 2014 Turkish local elections. Our findings show that women are less likely to be nominated for office and reasons for this gap originate from party choices rather than lack of electoral support for women.
The ‘best of both worlds’ thesis contends that mixed-member electoral systems should provide individual legislator accountability via single-member district (SMD) elections, as well as collective party accountability via a multi-member district (MMD) tier. This study evaluates the mandate divide and electoral connection under the Welsh mixed-member proportional system of representation during the 3rd (2007–11) and 4th (2011–16) Assemblies. Consistent with the best of both worlds thesis, electorally vulnerable SMD legislators are found to make more member bill attempts, and those whose member bills are randomly selected for introduction enjoy a significant boost in their electoral margin of victory. There is some evidence that MMD legislators are rewarded by their party selectorates for member bill efforts with a move up the party list, although this result is less robust. An additional check confirms the absence of contamination across electoral tiers.
The chapter explores a recent trend in primary elections: the use of online platforms by new parties. In particular, it considers three cases in a comparative perspective: the Italian Five Star Movement (M5S), the Spanish Podemos and the European Green Party (EPG). As a way to emphasise its participatory purpose, in December 2012, the M5S organized for the first time an online primary to select parliamentary candidates. Since 2012, the M5S continues to promote the using of web platform among party members with a lot of consequences. In 2014, in the run-up to the European Elections, the EPG organized the first European-wide online primary proposed by a transnational party. More recently, in 2015, the Spanish Podemos employed an online platform called “participa.podemos.info” to select national candidates. So the main aim of this chapter is to analyse procedures and rules employed in online primaries by M5S, EPG and Podemos, in order to underline analogies and differences between these main cases. In general, the three cases underline a low participation level combined with a risk of manipulation by party central office. However, the EGP online primaries are, in all, the most inclusive, followed by those of Podemos and, finally, the case of the M5S.
New parties with a discourse on democratic regeneration and direct democracy have entered the parliaments of consolidated democracies since the onset of the Great Recession. Podemos is the most relevant of these new parties within the recently transformed Spanish Party System. To what extent does Podemos reflect these ideals of direct democracy in its procedures to select electoral candidates? Looking at Podemos’ primary elections for the general elections of December 2015, we find that its candidate selection process deviates from these ideals in different ways. First, although reliance on e-voting allows a high degree of inclusiveness, its combination with rules that incentive block voting lead to very uncompetitive primaries. Second, when compared to candidate selection processes followed by other Spanish parties, Podemos stands out for the high centralization of the process and the irrelevant role played by the regional tier of the party. From the combination of these two dimensions, the result of the party primaries closely resembled, in fact, what could have been expected from a system of direct appointment by the leader.
Two decades of turnover data were collected for the national legislature of twenty-five industrialized countries. After a discussion of turnover's significance, we compare turnover rates across countries. A set of variables expected to influence turnover rates is described and multiple regression is used to test the hypotheses developed. Results show that frequency of elections, opportunity for double listings, electoral volatility and legislative institutionalization have statistically significant effects on turnover. In addition the type of electoral system (majoritarian versus proportional representation) is shown to have a statistically and substantively significant effect, with turnover much greater in the latter. Possible explanations for this effect are explored.
Primary elections and membership ballots are becoming more common as a means of selecting candidates in European parties. This article assesses the likely implications of these changes for party cohesion by examining the American experience of primaries and contrasting US candidate selection with the membership ballots and primaries recently adopted by parties in the UK and Spain. It is argued that, in the absence of state regulation of candidate selection in European parties, these changes are unlikely to undermine party organizations as primaries have in the US. Instead, the European experience suggests that party leaders have been able to retain ultimate control over candidate selection, and that the democratization of the process has been more formal than real.
Despite a sophisticated understanding of the impact of electoral institutions on macrolevel political behavior, little is known about the relationship between these institutions and microlevel legislative behavior. This article reviews existing claims about this relationship and develops a model for predicting how electoral institutions affect the relationship between parliamentarians and their party principals in the context of the European Parliament. The European Parliament is an ideal laboratory for investigating these effects, because in each European Union member state, different institutions are used to elect Members of European Parliament (MEPs). The results of this model, tested on four hundred thousand individual MEP vote decisions, show that candidate-centered electoral systems (such as open-list proportional representation or single-transferable-vote systems) and decentralized candidate-selection rules produce parliamentarians independent from their party principals. By contrast, party-centered electoral systems (such as closed-list proportional representation systems) and centralized candidate-selection rules produce parliamentarians beholden to the parties that fight elections and choose candidates: in the case of the European Parliament, the national parties.
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This article examines recent developments in a literature referred to as `the new institutionalism'. After reviewing some of the consequences for the study of institutions of the behavioral revolution and the elaboration of Arrovian theories of social choice, the author develops the theory of structure-induced equilibrium and explores the two sides of the institutional coin - an examination of the consequences of institutional structure and an explanation of the development of institutional structure.
The framework presented in this article supplies tools for delineating candidate selection methods, defines what is meant by their democratization and offers an analytical framework for cross-national comparison. The first section of this article raises the problems of classifying candidate selection methods and suggests solutions for them. Each of the next four sections offers a dimension for the classification of candidate selection methods: candidacy; party selectorates; decentralization; and voting/appointment systems. The sixth section defines the process of democratizing candidate selection, and demonstrates its implementation in the three largest political parties in Israel prior to the 1996 elections, via the dimensions of the analytical framework. The subsequent section assesses the repercussions of this democratizing phenomenon in general and provides empirical evidence drawn from the Israeli experience in the 1990s. The article concludes by examining the ability of political parties to comprehend and to overcome the consequences of democratizing candidate selection.
The aim of the article is to analyse whether democratization of the candidate selection process has occurred in Western European parties in general and in Denmark in particular in the period from 1960 to 1990. The analysis is based on the party rules in force around 1960 and 1990 of 57 and 71 Western European parties, respectively. The general assumption is that the greater the role of the individual party member, the more democratically the parties conduct their internal affairs and, furthermore, the more decentralized the procedure, the greater the possibilities for individual party members to play a role. The analysis indicates that the candidate selection process was more decentralized and the role of the individual party member in the process were greater at the beginning of the 1990s than they were around 1960.
Parliamentary roles, the behavioural patterns or routines that legislators adopt, can be viewed as strategies for the employment of scarce resources toward specific goals. This article argues that parliamentary behaviour can be understood against the background of four typical and largely hierarchically ordered objectives that parliamentarians have: reselection, re‐election, party office, and legislative office. Legislative roles describe the ways in which parliamentarians harness their scarce resources in order to reach their goals. These strategies are in turn affected by the institutional rules under which parliamentarians operate. The article examines the specific legislator objectives under parliamentary government and discusses the roles that describe the various ways in which they pursue these goals.
This article focuses on women’s representation in the Swedish Riksdag. The theory of the politics of presence serves as a point of departure. The aim is to underpin empirically – or to test empirically – the assertion that female politicians, to a greater extent than male politicians, represent the interests of women. The concept of women’s interests divides, on a theoretical level, into three components: the recognition of women as a social category; acknowledgement of the unequal balance of power between the sexes; and the occurrence of policies to increase the autonomy of female citizens. On the empirical level this corresponds to measurements indicating female versus male MPs’ attitudes and behaviour in areas such as gender equality and social welfare policy. The data used are parliamentary survey studies from 1985, 1988, and 1994. The analysis controls for effects of politicians’ gender when other factors – e.g. party affiliation, age, education, and parliamentary experience – are taken into account. The main result is that the theory of the politics of presence gains strong empirical support. What this study contributes is a significant measure of stability for the feminist critique of more established theories of representative democracy.
This study analyzes party group cohesion and patterns of defections of national party delegations from party group lines in the European Parliament (EP), using a total of 2,582 roll call votes. The study confirms previous findings according to which party groups in the EP show (surprisingly) high levels of cohesion. Nevertheless, it reveals the circumstances under which Members of the EP (MEPs) and their national delegations are more likely to defect, using the candidate selection process, the electoral system and relationships between MEPs and their home parties as explanatory variables. Assuming that MEPs have three different goals (re-election, office and policy), and want above all to secure re-election, one can expect that those MEPs whose chances of re-election are more dependent on national parties than others are more willing to vote against the party group line if a conflict between party group and national party emerges. Empirically, this is confirmed.
In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in the personalization of politics. Unfortunately, the findings of studies carried out in different countries have led to inconsistent conclusions. This article argues that one of the reasons for this inconsistency is the lack of uniform conceptualization and operational definitions. The authors contend that it is helpful to make a distinction between institutional, media, and behavioral types of political personalization, and they provide specific measures of all three types. These clear distinctions should bring us closer to answering two questions: First, has there been a rise in the different types of political personalization? Second, what is the relationship between these various types of political personalization? This study shows, through a historical comparative analysis of the Israeli case (1949-2003), that political personalization can be better understood by employing Wolfsfeld's politics-media-politics (PMP) model: Institutional personalization leads to personalization in the media, which in turn leads to personalization in the behavior of politicians.
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