Table des matières

1.History of political science...............................................................................................7

1.1 The origin of political science............................................................................................7
1.2 Political science in Europe until 1945................................................................................8
1.3 Political Science in the Usa until 1945...............................................................................9
1.4 Political science after 1945...............................................................................................9
1.4.1 Institutionalisation of political science in Europe and the USA.............................................................9
1.4.2The Behaviouralist ‘’revolution’’.............................................................................................................9
1.5 Today ? What is the scope of political science ?..............................................................10
1.6 A scientific approach to politics......................................................................................11
1.6.1The ambition of systematization...........................................................................................................11
1.6.2Falsifiability............................................................................................................................................11
1.6.3The distance and the ‘’ axiological neutrality’’.....................................................................................11
1.6.4Moving from description to explanation..............................................................................................11
1.6.5 The importance of extreme rigor in the use of words and concepts in political science....................11
1.6.6 Avoiding appearances and common use.............................................................................................11

2.Methods of political science...........................................................................................12

2.1 Statistical / Quantitative approaches....................................................................................12
2.1.1.Descriptive statistics :...........................................................................................................................13
2.1.2Inferential statistics ;.............................................................................................................................13
2.1.3 Independent and dependent variables................................................................................................13
2.1.4 Quantitative vs qualitative ?................................................................................................................14
2.2 The comparative method......................................................................................................14
2.2.1Description ;..........................................................................................................................................14
2.2.2 Control :................................................................................................................................................14
2.2.3 Explain..................................................................................................................................................15
2.2.4 The process :.........................................................................................................................................15
2.3Case study..............................................................................................................................17
2.3.1Case study research...............................................................................................................................17

3.State and state structure...............................................................................................19

3.1 Components of the Nation state.....................................................................................19
3.2 The concept of ‘’ Nation ‘’...............................................................................................19
3.3 Problem Nation and State ‘’Nation’’...............................................................................20
3.4 A more expansive concept of state.................................................................................20
3.4.1The development of a public and state-blinding law replaces religious norms...................................20
3.4.2 Centralized organization :....................................................................................................................20
3.4.3Differentiation between state and society...........................................................................................20
3.4.4 Formation of a public sphere:..............................................................................................................20
3.4.5 Democratic participation:.....................................................................................................................20
3.4.6 Citizenship: threat of conflict and disunion ‘countered’ by:................................................................20
3.5 State development.........................................................................................................21
3.5.1Consolidation of rule (12.TH-17TH century ) :......................................................................................21

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 3.5.2Rationalization of power.......................................................................................................................21
3.5.3 The expansion of rule...........................................................................................................................21
3.6 Globalization..................................................................................................................22
3.7 Globalization or fragmentation.......................................................................................22
4.Federal and local institutions.........................................................................................23
4.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................23
4.2 Modern nation- state governance..................................................................................23
4.3 Territorail governance welfare state...............................................................................24
4.4 Federal vs Unitary...........................................................................................................24
4.5 Federation......................................................................................................................25
4.6 History of federalism......................................................................................................25
4.6.1 Waves of federalism.......................................................................................................................26
First wave , from late 18th to early 20th century , with the creation of new countries through the coming
tpoether of policies.......................................................................................................................................26
4.7 Constituent Units within federations..............................................................................26
4.8 Federations and Diversity...............................................................................................26
4.9 Regionalization/decentralization....................................................................................27
4.10 Conclusions.....................................................................................................................28
5.Political regimes : Democracy........................................................................................28
5.1 Democracy in ancient Greece.........................................................................................28
5.2 Democracy in the modern and contemporary age..........................................................29
5.2.1 The classic view on democracy............................................................................................................29
5.2.2 The Contemporary view on Democracy...............................................................................................30
5.2.3Minimal or procedural definition of democracy...................................................................................30
5.3 Criticism of democracy...................................................................................................31
5.4 Typologie of democacy...................................................................................................31
5.5 Lijphart’s Patterns of democracy ( 1999).........................................................................33
5.6 The majoritarian Mode...................................................................................................35
5.7 The Consensus Model.....................................................................................................36
5.8 Conclusions.....................................................................................................................36
6.Political regimes : Autocracy.........................................................................................37
6.1 Definition :......................................................................................................................37
6.2 Autocracy : typologies (Juan Linz-1975) :........................................................................37
6.3 Autocracy : Typologies ( Barbara Geddes 1999)..............................................................38
6.4 Autocracy : who rules ?..................................................................................................38
6.4.1 Personal rule...................................................................................................................................39
6.4.2 Organizational rule ;.............................................................................................................................39
6.5 Autocracy : why do they rule ?.......................................................................................40

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 6.5.1 Claims of legitemacy :...........................................................................................................................40
6.6 Between democracy and autocracy................................................................................40
6.7 Conclusions.....................................................................................................................41
7.Political regimes : transitions.........................................................................................41
7.1 Democratization : definition...........................................................................................41
7.2 Democratization and autocratization.............................................................................41
7.3 Paths to democracy........................................................................................................42
7.4 Structural approaches : moernization theory .................................................................42
7.4.1Further developments in modernization theory:.................................................................................43
7.5 Structural approaxhes : social classes theory .................................................................43
7.6 Strategic approaches......................................................................................................45
7.6.1 Strategic approaches : modes of transitions........................................................................................45
7.6.2 Structural vs Strategic approaches ......................................................................................................45
7.6.3 Strategic approaches : democratic consolidation................................................................................46
7.7 Autocratization ..............................................................................................................48
7.7.1 Autocratization : definition..................................................................................................................48
7.7.2 What is Autocratization ?.....................................................................................................................48
7.7.3 Models of autocratization....................................................................................................................50

8. Governments............................................................................................................52
8.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................52
8.2 Types of government......................................................................................................52
8.2.1 Presidentialism :...................................................................................................................................53
8.2.2 Parliamentarism..............................................................................................................................53
8.2.3 Semi presidentialism ......................................................................................................................53
8.2.4 Directorial government...................................................................................................................53
8.2.5 Directly elected prime minister......................................................................................................53
8.3 Internal working of governments...................................................................................54
8.3.1 Cabinet government.............................................................................................................................54
8.3.2 Prime ministerial government .......................................................................................................54
8.3.3 Ministerial government..................................................................................................................54
8.4 .Autonomy of government.............................................................................................54
8.5 Political capacity.............................................................................................................55
8.5.1 Unified vs divided government...........................................................................................................55
8.5.2 Majority vs minority governments :...............................................................................................55
8.5.3 Single-party vs coalition governments............................................................................................55
8.6 Bureaucratic capacity.....................................................................................................55
9. Legislatures...............................................................................................................56
9.1 What is a legislature ?.....................................................................................................56
9.1.1 Parliaments...........................................................................................................................................56
9.1.2 Congresses............................................................................................................................................56
9.2 Role of legislatures.........................................................................................................57
9.2.1. Linkage and representation.................................................................................................................57
9.2.2 Oversight and control ....................................................................................................................58

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 9.2.3 Legislature as legislator...................................................................................................................58
9.3 Internal organizational structure....................................................................................58
9.3.1 Number and type of chambers ( continued)..................................................................................59
9.3.2 Number , quality and cosistency of memebers of legislature........................................................59
9.3.3 Committees ( Internal organization of legislatures )......................................................................59
9.3.4 Hierarchical structures and internal decision making....................................................................59
9.4 Assesing power...............................................................................................................59
9.5 Architecture ans politics.................................................................................................60
9.5.1 Semi-cercle......................................................................................................................................60
9.5.2 Opposing benches................................................................................................................................61
9.5.3 Cercle....................................................................................................................................................61
9.5.4 Classroom.............................................................................................................................................61

10. Elections................................................................................................................61
10.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................61
10.2 Elections and electoral systems......................................................................................62
10.3 Electoral systems ans theory of democracy ( Seiler 2000 )..............................................62
10.4 The electoral systems.....................................................................................................63
10.5 Types of electoral syste..................................................................................................63
10.5.1 Plurality/ Majority ; Single-Member Plurality.( SMP)...............................................................64
10.5.2 Plurality : Majority : Two Rounds System ( TRS)........................................................................65
10.5.3 Plurality/ Majority : Block vote ( BV)..........................................................................................65
10.5.4 Plurality/ Majority : Party Block vote ( PVB ).............................................................................65
10.5.5 Plurality Majority : Alternate Vote . (AV)...................................................................................66
10.6 Proportional Representation Systems............................................................................66
10.6.1 List PR.........................................................................................................................................67
10.6.2 Single Transferable Vote ( STV)..................................................................................................68
10.7 Mixed systems................................................................................................................68
Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)............................................................................................................68
Parallel Systems.............................................................................................................................................68
10.7.1 Majotarian systems : pros..........................................................................................................68
10.7.2 Majoritarian systems : cons.......................................................................................................69
10.7.3 PR systems : pros........................................................................................................................69
10.7.4 PR systems : cons.......................................................................................................................70

11. Elections and referenda ........................................................................................70

11.1 The effects of electoral systems......................................................................................70
11.1.1 Impact on election results..........................................................................................................70
11.1.2 The electoral system as a determining factor............................................................................71
11.1.3 Variables determining the degree of proportionality................................................................71
11.1.4 The psychological effect of the electoral system.......................................................................71
11.1.5 Effect of the voting system on the quality of government .......................................................71
11.1.6 Effect of the voting system on the quality of representation....................................................72
11.2 Referenda.......................................................................................................................72
11.2.1 Referendum................................................................................................................................72
11.2.2 Referendum : rationale..............................................................................................................72
11.2.3 Referendum : empirical patterns...............................................................................................72
11.2.4 Elections and referendum : the current debate........................................................................73

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 11.3 Examples........................................................................................................................73
11.3.1 France.........................................................................................................................................73
11.3.2 The Netherlands.........................................................................................................................77

12. Parties...................................................................................................................80
12.1 Origins of parties............................................................................................................80
12.2 The functions of parties..................................................................................................80
12.2.1 Coordination ;.............................................................................................................................80
12.2.2 Contesting elections :.................................................................................................................80
12.2.3 Recruitment and selection :.......................................................................................................80
12.2.4 Representation ;.........................................................................................................................81
12.3 Models of party organization ........................................................................................81
12.3.1 Cadre or elite parties :................................................................................................................81
12.3.2 Maas parties...............................................................................................................................81
12.3.3 Catch all parties..........................................................................................................................81
12.3.4 Anti-cartel parties :.....................................................................................................................82
12.3.5 Light party .................................................................................................................................82
12.3.6 Examples....................................................................................................................................82
12.3.7 Parties in the Us.........................................................................................................................82
12.3.8 Memberships.............................................................................................................................82
12.3.9 Regulation and finance...............................................................................................................83
12.4 The end of polical parties ?.............................................................................................84
12.4.1 Parties face a number of challenges:.........................................................................................84
12.4.2 Alternatives and solutions. :.......................................................................................................84

13. Party systems .......................................................................................................85

13.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................85
13.2 Genealogy of party systems ...........................................................................................85
13.2.1 Four main cleavages...................................................................................................................85
13.3 The morphology of party systems .................................................................................87
13.3.1 Dominant party systems............................................................................................................88
13.3.2 Two party systems.....................................................................................................................88
13.3.3 Multi-party systems...................................................................................................................88
13.3.4 Bipolar system............................................................................................................................88

14. Political participation............................................................................................89

14.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................89
14.2 Participation ..................................................................................................................90
14.3 Modes of political participation......................................................................................90
14.4 Traditional vs new forms of participation.......................................................................91
14.5 Why ? Determinants of politica participation.................................................................91
14.6 When and where ? The macro level................................................................................92
14.7 Who ? The micro level....................................................................................................92
15. Q&A......................................................................................................................93

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 Introduction to political science
Firts deadline : 5 november 2018. ‘’How democracies die.. Steven Levitsky and Daniel
Ziblatt. Summarise the book + Your view.= Description+ criticism. !!!!
Only Paper version.
Minimum 1800 Maximum 2000 (without cover page and bibliography)
All the info -> UV ! + slides.

1 book for book review + 1 book for Exam .

1.History of political science.

1.1 The origin of political science

Political science is one of the most recent field in Science. It started at the end of the XVII
century and it became an established field only during the XX century.
However the origin of political science can be tracked back in ancient history with such name
as ;

Plato (- 428 -347), The Republic

Aristote (- 384 - 322), Politics
Machiavel (1469-1527), The Prince
Jean Bodin (1529-1596), Les six livres de la République

John Locke (1632-1704), Treatises of government

Montesquieu (1689-1755), De l’esprit des lois
Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Reflections on the Revolution in France

Karl Marx (1818-1883), The Communist Manifesto, The Capital

 They are the founder of the idea that politics could be studied in another way.

e.g  : Plato and Aristote.

There is a very important difference between Plato and Aristote.

Both are philososphers BUT with different methods.

Aristote started by analyzing ; which city has the best constitution ?

Plato , however , was less interested in how politics were in the real word but more about
how politics SHOULD be

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 Same can be said about Machiavel because he just wanted to explain how politics work in the
real world

 Diference between political theory and political science

o Political science = How politics work ? More interested in explanation.
What are the cause of revolution ? How to explain success of a political party ?
Political theory ? To ask

 Industrial revolution
 Huge social and economical changes that had
political changes and new disciplines
 XIX century = era of science and positivism
 Had an impact on producers and consumers = state
needed a new insight on how everythig worked
 Social and economic changes in EU society
needed a new science..
 All of the concept are from Philosophy , interest in
institution , state ,...
Not in a formal perspective but in a newer way , more
practical way .
Especially from history
It took from economics , public law ,history, ...
Ex ; Public law = macro Economics = behaviour of
individual
Political sciences = how institution w / people , people in

A phenomenon of empowerment and fragmentation of disciplines,

which is also linked to the phenomenon of specialization,
particularly in relation to :

1.2 Political science in Europe until 1945.

A discipline that was not yet institutionalized :

Some pioneering authors ...

 Max Weber (1864-1920) Politics as a Vocation, Economy and Society, The Protestant
Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
 §  Moïseï Ostrogorski (1854-1919) Democracy and the Organization of Political
Parties
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  §  Roberto Michels (1876-1936) Political Parties: A Sociological Study of the
Oligarchical
Tendencies of Modern Democracy

And some pioneering institutions :

The École libre de science politique, Paris (Science Po) (1872)

The School of Social Science, Florence (1875)
London School of Economics and Political Science (1895)
The Ecole des sciences politiques et sociales à l’ULB (1898)

But some obstacles too...

 Close link btw study of scientific analysis and political and social commitment.
( Ostrogorski, Siegfried , Michels , Weber )
 A limited number of reseachers and departments .

 Impact of democratic crisis (1914-1945)

Consequence on academic freedom of fascism in Italy, Nazism in Germany , Franco’s regime
in Spain. Salazarism in Portugal , etc.

1.3 Political Science in the Usa until 1945.

 Lots of europeans scholars moved to the US which contributed to the development of

political science in the US.

 An early (Constitution of 1787) and relatively linear (with the exception of the
American Civil War, 1861-1865) democracy
 Same peculiar objects of analysis: federalism / confederalism, constitutionalism, racial
issues, electoral processes, voting behaviour, presidential elections
 The first departments and the first scientific journals:
 1880 : School of Political Science de l’Université de Columbia
 1886 : Political Quarterly
 1903: birth of the American Political Science Association
  A wave of European researchers to the USA

1.4 Political science after 1945.

After 2WW , it spread all over the world , political science started to be interested in the
explanation of how individuals behave in a political prospective.
1.4.1 Institutionalisation of political science in Europe and the USA
 University departments
 Research centers
 National associations of political science ( APSA , AFSP , PSA , SISP ,
ABSP...) ...
 International associations of political science ( IPSA ,ECPR )
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1.4.2The Behaviouralist ‘’revolution’’
 Rejection of the desciption for the benefit of the explantion
 Rejection of abstraction in favor of scrupulous data collection
 Rejection of institutionalist approach in favor of the analysis of political individual
behaviour.
 Rejection of the historical approach in favor of the analysis of contemporary
political phenomena
 Rejection of the normative perspective in favor of axiological neutrality

1.5 Today  ? What is the scope of political science  ?

- Specialization and hyper-specialization within the discipline

- Theoretical pluralism
- Methodologicl pluralism
Some approach are more focused on individuals ,others on internationals actors = pluralism
of methodologies and approaches
<ex ; using data center , ...
Many different fields ; IR , Analysis of politivcal behaviour,..

4 MAIN FIELDS

1) Political theory  ; interested in political concepts how they developped , how can they
be applied

 History of political ideas

 Debates on political concepts

2) Comparative politics ; most important field today , comparison between different

countries , parties , regimes,..

 Institutions , political regimes , political parties , electoral system , social

movements,...

 Within the state

3) International relations

 Peace , war, inter-state relations , international organisation , global

governance , ...

 Between states , peace , war , ..

4) Public Administrations and public policies,..

 Social policies , economical policies,....

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 1.6 A scientific approach to politics

1.6.1The ambition of systematization

 Generalization ( classifying , organising knowledge )

 Finding regularities ( laws)
 ... with prudence and modesty

It is hard to find laws because it’s not really possible to test in a lab
Political science is based on theory , just a way to look at the reality .
Each theory allows you to highlight a part of the problem
You can explain in a convincing way a part of the reality

1.6.2Falsifiability

 Researchers should be able to invalidate your hypothesis

 Critical testing of the knowledge produced

Should be able to start from theory some ideas , hypothesis on how things work
in reality then test it in empirical world then say ; it doesn’t work , that is a scientific
approach.
e.g : Why people choose specific party in the election ? = puzzle
Find theory that can explain problem , test your hypothesis and find out if your theory
works or not .

1.6.3The distance and the ‘’ axiological neutrality’’

 Objectifying its position

 Questioning the relationship t othe object of the research
 Dividing empirical facts from values
Distinction between facts and values
Opinion is different from empirical facts.
You have to question how far you can go in the scientific research of the topic , how
mixed can be your personal beliefs with data.
Try to be distant with the object of your research.

1.6.4Moving from description to explanation

Explaining differences , rise of new political party, decline of other , explan political
phenomena.
In order to explain you have to describe , you should have the ambition to go away
from description. Try to base explanation on facts.

1.6.5 The importance of extreme rigor in the use of words and concepts in political
science.

10
 1.6.6 Avoiding appearances and common use.

2.Methods of political science

Why methods are important  ?

Because it’s a science !

You first start with a research question in the real world, something that is unclear , a puzzle.
There a lot of questions that you can ask. How and why education influence behaviour ? What
is the difference between the attempt to democraty in Russia and Egypt ?
To answer these questions , you must have a theory
It is hard to grasp , you can analyze the same object of analyses with different perspectives
A theory must guide your research.
You must have a knowledge of reality and also of litterature.
To move from theory to the answer to your research you. Need a scientific  approach.

There are different methods in scientific research. :

Statistical ( large N)
Experimental

Scientific methods Comparative

( Medium to Large N)
Non
experimental

Case studies (n=1)

A. Experimental
You have a lab , you can test your theory.
 Political science is social science , it is hard to experiment with it. Thus ,
experiment is not the most used scientific research in political science.
B. Non experimental

1) Statistical ( large N) ; surveys , big date (quantitive)

2) Comparative method ( Medium to Large N) one of the first
methods developped for political science.
3) Case studies ( n=1) ; the analysis of a single case ( cfr how
democracy die )

The 3 methods are quite different the choice of the method depends on your research
question.

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 2.1 Statistical  / Quantitative approaches.

Quantitative approach ; big data( large N) , attempts to explain political phenomena by

collecting and analyzing numerical data using statistical methods

e.g : voting behaviour

Data sources includes :
- Survey where there are a large number of respondents.

- Observations (counts of numbers and/or coding data into numbers)

- Secondary data ( government data ,IOS databases , etc..)

Two different types : Descriptive and inferential statistics.

2.1.1.Descriptive statistics  :
are used to describe the basic features of the data in a study , what the data shows.
 First idea about your data
 Simple summaries about the sample and the measures useful to have a
general
 Mean , median and mode
 Measures of distribution of data

2.1.2Inferential statistics  ;

 -  Inferential statistics = try to reach conclusions that extend beyond the immediate
data alone

 We cannot study everyone from the population of interest. So we select

a sample
 Sampling allows us to make inferences from the sample to the general
population
 Representative, large-scale samples obtained by social surveys
 The key point is that they capture sufficient variability in the
characteristics that we are interested in (variables)

e.g : survey about voting preferences , you want to reach conclusion about the entire country ,
it is not possible to do 11M interviews. You thus need to choose a small representation of
Belgian population like a survey with 5000 people = a sample.

e.g of question ;- Is quality of life higher in democracies or in autoracies ?

- What proportion of the Belgian population is poor ?
- Does investments in education increase GDP growth ?
First and third question ; link betwn something explained 
2.1.3 Independent and dependent variables
12
Dependent variable ( or outcome)  the phenomen you want to explain

Independant variable ( or explanatory variables)the factor(s) explaining the phenomen

under analysis.

Looking for correlation between two or more variables.

2.1.4 Quantitative vs qualitative  ?

vVariable-oriented Case-oriented
Aim at... Generalization Complexity
Logic of Methods of agreement and
Concomitant variation
causation differences
Relying on ... Statistics Comparison, case-study
Focuses on... Knowledge of relations among variables Deep knowledge of cases
Anonymouses, randomly selected
Cases as Complex units
(transformed in variables)
Number of cases High (increase N if possible) Low
Number of Low (avoiding undetermined research Medium to high (case
variables design) knowledge)

2.2 The comparative method

What is comparison  ?

Today there is a methodical pluralism , but in the beginning it was based on comparative
research.

• Only after WWII, political science started using statistical/quantitative approach = Describe
+ control + explanation

Comparison is about :

2.2.1Description  ;
 Describle differences and similarities between cases
 Highlight processes , paterns and regularities among cases
 Compare to understand a single case and use other cases as a way to
learn more on it.
What is similar ? What is different ?
To explain something you first have to describe it.
Purpose ; find patterns , regularities between cases.
E.g : Describe the electoral system in Belgium , Germany and the UK
13
Eg : Democracy in America ( Toqueille 1835-1840)

2.2.2 Control  :
 Comparison is used as a way to control for ( eliminate wrong
explanation )
Certain variabes in order to isolate the effects of others.
E.g Comparing Tunisia and Egypt’s paths of transition from authoritarianism to
control for the variables 1) religion 2) colonial past 3) geographical position

2.2.3 Explain

 Use cases as a way to build stronger theoretical explanation and test

hypotheses
 Try to develop or test general propositions or hypotheses that explains
trends , patterns , differences or similarities
E.g : Why is voter turnout lower in the Us than in Canada ?

Why use such a strategy  ?

 Just one scientific method -> not enough cases for quantitive analysis ,
experiment not feasible
 Different logics -> case-oriented vs variable-oriented approach..

2.2.4 The process  :

2.2.4.1 Case selection

What is a case  ?
 Can be an electoral system , a political regim , a state , ...
 ‘’The unit of observation to be compared’’

Can we compare Oranges and Apples  ?

It depends on the purposes of the research. The real question is ; comparing in relation to
what ?
We compare ‘’entitities whose attributes are in part shared ( similar) and in part non-shared
( different)

How to select a case  ?

Second ; Necessity and Sufficiency

14
We are dealing wth necessary and sufficient condition
Example : Riding tram is sufficient to go to Avenue Louise ; it is not necessary cuz I can
walk.

2.2.4.2Necessity and Sufficiency

Cm focuses on finding casual relations in terms of necessity and sufficiency

Necessary condition  is a condition (x) that must be satisfied in order to obtain a given
outcome (y)

Sufficient condition  the presence of the condition (x) always produces the phenomen (y)

2.2.4.3 Similar vs Different cases

A. Most similar system design

 Based on the Lethd of differnece ( John Stuart MI- 1875)

Similar cases , different outcomes.

Basic logic : select the most similar cases , assuming that the factors common to the cases
sampled are irrelevant in explaining differences in the outcome.

Aim : highlighting a potential necessary condition , removing all conditions that are no
sufficient.

E.g : Explaining why lef-wing terrorism spread in the 1970s in Italy and not in France.
Explaining why did Tunisia and Egypt differ in their transition paths.

15
Problem  ?

 X5 may be necessary , but is it sufficient ? ( perhaps X5+ something is the cause ?

 How to control for context ( when is it the same ? )
 Problem of generalization beyond our restricted sample.

B.Most different design.

 Based on the Method of agreement (Joh Stuart Mil – 1875)

Different cases , similar outcomes.

Basic logic: maximize the differences between cases, assuming that the factors different to the
cases sampled are irrelevant in explaining a similar outcome

Aim: highlighting a potential sufficient condition, removing all conditions that are not
necessary
E.g. Explaining the causes of revolution in Russia, France, China (Theda Skocpol)
Explaining the impact of communism on civil society in East Germany and Russia.

Problems  ?
 X5 may be sufficient, but is it necessary ? (No countefactuals)
 What about other potential sufficient causes?

2.3Case study.

2.3.1Case study research

 Analysis of a single case.

 Explaining causality in a single case study .
 Understand how X (the cause) produces Y ( the effect)
16
  At the same time , connecting theory with empirical reality
 Collected datais broen into sets of relevant events

It is more like a detective novel.

E.g Someone has been murdered and you have to discover how is responsible
=> Case study
You have to find the mechanism to connect to murderer and the murder.
It is less powerful than others methods , because you can’t avoid the idea of ‘’ what if ...’’
The idea is to be able to explain your explanation in front of others explanation.
Your explanation is the most likely to be true. It is about finding a mechanism.

What is a causal mechanism  ?

  « a complex system of interactions between different parts that produce a result »

  x → (m1 → m2 → mn) →y

  Each part of the mechanism is essential in order to produce the result. In other words,
m1, m2 ... mn must be present to explain the final result

2  Parts = factors that are individually necessary parts of mechanism, composed of entities
that engage in activities (not intervening variables!)

What is a causal mechanism  ?

 Crucial question: who does what?

3 Who: actors engaging in activities

4 What ? actions

 N.B. A chain of events without causal mechanisms would be narrative history

17
3.State and state structure.
3.1 Components of the Nation state.

This term refers to some large politial units (polities) which first developed in the West and
part of Asia

Which are the main components of a nation state ?

 Territory , you need frontiers , a limited space. There is a geographical condition to

have a state
 People ( population ) ( nation or nations)
 Monopoly on exercise of force.
 Legitimacy as perceived by the governed
 Sovereignty- Control over aterritory – internal and external
 International recognition ( e.g. by the UN )

3.2 The concept of ‘’ Nation ‘’

o Nation  : Belief in territorial control is central to the definition ; shared cultural

characteristics are held by many kinds of groups
 Nations are unified by a culture but above all a sense of purpose – to control the
territory that the members of a group believe to be theirs

o Otherwise => Ethnic group : a group a group of people who share a heritage ,
common language , culture , often including religion and can discuss shared ancestry

An imagined political community ( that s ) imagined as both limited and sovereign.

Imagined because members have mental image of their affinity

Limited as nations have ‘’finite , if elastic boundaries , beyond which lie other
nations’’

Nation does not equal state or country  Nations without State

Eg : Kurshish people

3.3 Problem Nation and State ‘’Nation’’

Which came first , the nation or the nation-state ?

Two hypotheses :

1. The state created the Nations

18
Hobsbawm: ‘the French state preceded the formation of the French people. At the time of the
1789 French Revolution, only half of the French people spoke some French, and 12- 13%
spoke it "correctly”’

2. Nation preceeds the state : : The nation nexisted first

3.4 A more expansive concept of state

In the 19th and 20th century , additional features can be identified :

3.4.1The development of a public and state-blinding law replaces religious norms

3.4.2 Centralized organization  :

 State hierarchy ( state as a pyramid )

 Managerial rationality ( state as a machine )

3.4.3Differentiation between  state and society

 Secularization
 Property rights and freedom of contract
 Modernization  further distinction between state and society!

3.4.4 Formation of a public sphere:

 Representative government
 Legitimate criticism: freedom of speech/press, etc

3.4.5 Democratic participation:

 Elimination of electoral restrictions

3.4.6 Citizenship: threat of conflict and disunion ‘countered’ by:
 Equalizing principles: civil, political, social rights
 Construction and feeding of a sense of nation
 Response to emerging socio-economic and cultural cleavage

3.5 State development

Three phases of European nation state formation

3.5.1Consolidation of rule (12.TH-17TH century )  :

 Decreasing number of political centres with increasing territorial reach

 Decisive role of military resources ( ‘’states make war and war makes states ‘’ )
 Premium on size ( economies of scale )
 Larger , more visible and stable containers of state power
19
3.5.2Rationalization of power

3.5.2.1Centralization:
 Dependency on the privileged powers delimited the rulers ability of
executing his power; implementation of bureaucracies
 The more power the ruler gained, the more it was exercised in an
impersonal and formal manner (raison d’état)
•3.5.2.2 Hierarchy:
 Hierarchical structuring of bureaucratic organizations
 Growing role of knowledge (especially law)
•3.5.2.3Function:
 Differentiation and specialization within centralized systems
 Financing through taxation
 System becomes more compatible with the autonomy of civil society

3.5.3 The expansion of rule.

Initially states focused on :

i) Securing themselves on the international scene and

ii) Maintaining public order and the effectiveness of law

From the 2nd half of the 19th century, states expanded their activities:
ordaining & sanctioning  intervening and managing.
Possible explanations:
 Demands from the market economy (e.g. skilled labour-force)
 Bureaucracies have an inherent tendency to grow
 Dynamics of representative democracies (voters support through
spending)
 Demand for redistribution

3.6 Globalization.

The concept of sovereign nation-states is increasingly being challenged by globalization

Globalization is contested concept. There are three hypotheses in the debate ( see Sorensen
2008)

 Retreat of the state position ; States are loosing power and influence
compared to International Og.

20
  The state-centric position : States have even managed to expand their
capacities for regulation and control.

 Pragmatic position : Process of state transformation . State are

‘’winning’’ and ‘’losing ‘’ at the same time.

Sorensen (2008) listed 4 areas in which Globalization has affected the state :

1. National economy : Removal of local barriers to trade and the building of a

nation-wide infrastructure.( is no more national , lots of relationships btwn
economies)

2. National government :A centralized system of democratic rules and strong

political-administrative capacities within a precisely defined territory

3. Nation : People who build a community of sentiment and a community of

citizens.

4. Sovereighnty : No final political authority outside or above the state

1. (1)  Economy: national economies are more and more inter-dependent

2. (2)  National government : process of decentralization and supranational devolution of
power
3. (3)  Nation: Globalization reinforces collective identities “above” and “below” the
nation. There is evidence of emerging “supra-national identities and sub-national
identities” but also of “resistant identities”.
4. (4)  Sovereignty: political interconnection beyond the state; mutual influence between
countries, IOs, SNOs...

3.7 Globalization or fragmentation.

3.8 3.8 Conclusions

21
   The nation-state is a distinctive “Western story” transposed to the rest of the world
(but with ancient models...Greece, Rome)
 Have become the dominant form of operating polities around the world, but differ
considerably in the manner in which they are interpreted and implemented
 There is no guarantee for a nation-state to be also a democratic state
  The core concept of sovereign nation-states is increasingly being challenged by
globalization

Nation state does not rhyme with democratic state

4.Federal and local institutions.

4.1 Introduction

- Nation states are the dominant form of polical organizations

- Contain distinctive features of territorial organizatio ( unitary vs federal )

- Are under pressure from above and from below

- Tendency towards decentralization.

4.2 Modern nation- state governance

Different kind of modern states emerged from different historical experiences :

 Parliamentary and industrial revoltion in England

 The multi-national union state

 American revolution ( first state )

 The modern federal state
State made up by different sub unites called states

 French revolution
 The modern unitary state

4.3 Territorail governance welfare state.

The post-war welfare state was the final stage of the nation-state-building.

22
In both federal and unitary states, the welfare state implied a certain form of territorial
organization, which emphasized centralization, uniformity and standardization.
= principal agent relation: sub-national level delivered services but regulated by central state

From the 1970s onwards important changes occurred:

Growing asymmetrical diversity (political, administrative, fiscal)

 Political and functional decentralization: Spain, Italy, France, Sweden, UK,

Netherlands

 Administrative decentralization : Belgium, Spain, France § Fiscal decentralization:
Sweden, France

The idea of the “nation-state” and the ideology of nationalism were mainly motivated by the
French example of a unitary state.

 Nations ought to have states and states should fall together with nations

The French example influenced the territorial organization of many new States, unitary and
federal ones (e.g. Italy, Belgium)

Not all nation-states have succeeded in maintaining unity. Some failed in constructing an
overarching national identity (e.g. Yugoslavia).

4.4 Federal vs Unitary

How to classify non-unitary states?

The variety of federal political systems according to Watts (1996):

Unions, Constitutionally decentralized unions, Federations, Confederations, Federacies,
Associated states, Condominiums, Leagues, Hybrids, ...
 Reveals the diversity of systems but from a federal perspective

Lijphart (1999) distinguishes next to dimension unitary-federal also dimension centralization-

decentralization, adding a category of semi-federal/unitary
àAllows for a more clear-cut division of types

23
 4.5 Federation.

 Six of the ten most populous countries are federations.

 Eight of the ten largest countries by area are federations.

 All democracies with populations much larger than 100 million people are
federations. 28 countries, home to 40% of the world’s population, may be considered
federations.

Source: Anderson, George. 2008. Federalism: An Introduction. Don Mills: Oxford UP.

•Confederation of German states (XIX century)

•USA (1776-1789)
•Commonwealth of Independent States
•European Union?

Countries with. Large pop tend to be organized with a federal state

More common outside EU than in EU

4.6 History of federalism

There are differents ways for federal states to immerge , some through combination of
previous units

On one hand coming together on the other hand devolution powers

Either states are coming together oot they are falling appar

e.g  : USA => States decide together to create a federal state

24
In some cases both developments have occured .

4.6.1 Waves of federalism.

First wave , from late 18th to early 20th century , with the creation of new countries
through the coming tpoether of policies.
e.g : USA , ..
Second , emergence of post-colonial federations , with both successes and failures
e.g. Nigeria
Third , New federations emerging from collapse of Soviet Union and Eastern bloc ,
with successes and failures. During the same time period , some unitary states moved toward
federalism

Fourth , most tenuous has been the use of federalism in post-conflict situations. Alog with
Iraq , the democratic Republic of Congo , Ethiopia and Sudan, federal proposals have been
suggested for Cyprus , Sri Lanka and Nepal.

An additional important development is the increasing federalization of the European

Union , which is soewhere between a confederation and a federation.

4.7 Constituent Units within federations

The terminology applied to constituent units varies :

 states (Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, USA)

 provinces (Argentina, Canada, Pakistan, South Africa),
 länder (Germany and Austria),
 cantons (Switzerland),
 regions and communities (Belgium)
 autonomous communities (Spain)

There are differences , A region in a federal state or a region in an unitary state is very
different.

4.8 Federations and Diversity

Some federations have a largely homogenous culture and common language. They may
have regional differences, but federalism is not structured around major ethnic, linguistic or
religious cleavages.

e.g  :Argentina, Austria, Australia, Brazil, Germany, USA

25
Some federations are comprised of highly distinct cultural, religious, linguistic or national
communities.

Some federations have a linguistic, ethnic or cultural majority but with one large minority
(Canada) or several smaller minorities (Russia).

Some federations have a wider range of languages, religions, and nationalities

e.g  : Ethiopia, India, Nigeria

In some cases ethnic, linguistic and religious cleavages cut across one another which can help
reduce social polarization.

e.g  : Switzerland

We can even have multinations confederal states in different proportion ( e.g. Canada w/
languages ; major English speaking majority and minor French speaking minority)

4.9 Regionalization/decentralization.

Unitary states, like federal states, vary according to their degree of decentralization.
Different types of and processes towards a meso-level

(1) Decentralization:
  Political: transfer of political decision-making (regional bodies with elected regional
assemblies)
  Administrative: transfer of administrative tasks (France: déconcentration)
 Italy, Spain: a number of regions with special status (political), in France initially of
administrative nature

(2) Regionalism:
  Bottom up political ideology which advocates greater control over the region’s affairs
by
its inhabitants
 Can go hand in hand with a regional identity
  Italy, Spain (reaction to strongly centralist state), UK (devolution)
 Also triggered by EU regional policy (structural and cohesion funds): Greece,
Portugal,
Ireland, Slovenia; pol and adm: Scandinavia

(3) Regionalization:
 Top down process in which central government develops a set of policies directed
toward
regions
26
   France (initially: trigger economic development and modernization)

4.10 Conclusions.

General trends of territorial reconfiguration:

 A broader variety of systems of governance are emerging

 The former hierarchical, symmetrical and standardized nation-states are transforming

 Regions and local authorities are becoming important political actors

These trends occur in surroundings of distinctive histories, political and administrative

cultures.

Pluralism in the systems of governments

There was a time where unitary states where the most used
But now the situation is complex because ncreasing number unitary states w/ regionally ...
The trend which is related to globalization process is actually changing the nature of the states
, pushing towards the creation of institutions ( international institutions, organizations ) =>
beyond the states
They are becoming even more important

5.Political regimes : Democracy

To understand what democracy is today , you have to
start from the beginning.

5.1 Democracy in ancient Greece.

The most common type of organisiation in the world
at that time were ;

- Oligarchy
- Monarchy
- Tyranny

Athen = Democracy

First democratics reforms were made in Athens in the V century before Christ. It was the
beginning when Athens was moving from Oligarchy to democracy , it lasted for ...
It was a very short time compare to the history of the world.

27
Citizens were allowed to be part of the policy , to be involved in the political decisions. Vote
by majority in order to make decisions.

Only 20percent of the population could take part in the vote . That is a very small part of the
population.

5.2 Democracy in the modern and contemporary age

The rule of the majority is just the beginning if we want to undersant what democracy is
today.
Represantative democracy is a difficult to understand system.

Rule of the people , decisions should be taken by majority government

Self-government , people in a city or a statecan decide to govern themselves . The risk also an
idea that the power of .. should be limited and controlled = Republicanism.
Liberalism : philosophical
Social protection and equality Contemporary libera land representative democracy.

28
5.2.1 The classic view on democracy

The most common definistion of democrcay in the XIX and XX century.

J.J. Rousseau “a decision-making process in which the people themselves decide for the
common good on political issues by electing representatives who carry out the people’s will”

=> Major issue in this definition : it supposes that the people decide for the common good by
electing, even though there is not one single good way of doing politics

A. Lincoln: «government of the people, by the people, for the people»

 Of the people ; government is made up of people who come from

people
 By the people ; the people chooses who make up the government
 For the people : the government acts for the common good of the
people.

5.2.2 The Contemporary view on Democracy

J. Schumpeter (1942): “"an institutional arrangement for arriving at political decisions in

which individuals acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for the
people’s vote"

 first ‘’realistic’’ definition of democracy’’

=> according to it : the most important feature of democracy is election, HOWEVER it is

surely necessary but not a sufficient condition for a government to be considered as a
democracy

 Political competition
 Majority vs ‘’common good’’
 Clear distinction between non-democratic and democratic regimes.

5.2.3Minimal or procedural definition of democracy

Problems
fallacy of electoralism” (Karl and Schmitter 1991 What about differences between
democracies

 pluralist approach to democracy ( Robert Dahl 1971)

2 major dimensions

29
  contestation – free and fair competition between candidates
 participation – all adult citizens have the right to vote

Several criteria should be fulfilled in order to have these two dimensions:

5.3 Criticism of democracy

1. Elitarian criticism
People should not be able to govern themselves , they are not able to , they are not
educated enough. , first criticized by Plato

2. Egalitarian criticisms : democracy is broken , = democracy is not the best system to

provide equality for everyone
Democracy failed to provide it = it is broken, it therefore has to be replaced

3. Participatory criticisms ; most recent , 60’s and 70’s

- Democracy, in order to be really democratic should be participative

- There is a lack of participation that we have to adjust

- Participation = multiple way of being involved in politics and democracy

4. Deliberative criticism

- In order to have legitimate political decision : full participation is not enough

30
 - The way in which citizens take part in the political process is very important
- They also should be informed about it and educated
- The way in which people take a political decision = important

5.4 Typologie of democacy


- 1970s: less than one third of all independent states were democratic (1974:
27.5%)
 Comparative politics focused on classifying different regime-types
 democracies seen as a (small) homogenous group
 differences between democracies located at subsystem level

- 2005: majority of states are ‘democratic’

= large BUT heterogeneous group

- 2nd wave : After WWII, increase of democratic systems all over the world
- 3rd wave : Eastern Europe, Spain Portugal

Periodof change , democracy is not limited to a specific part of the worl it spreads
everywhere.

31
Second half of the 20th century => increase of democracies all over the world .

 Only few attempts to categorize democracies as whole systems:

 Cf. Almond’s classification of political systems throughout the world:
democracies’ politival culture

 1984/1999: Lijphart: emphasis on institutions

 Majoritarian democracies
 Consensus democracies
 2005:Gerringetal.:
 Decentralist democracies
 Centripetal democracies

5.5 Lijphart’s Patterns of democracy ( 1999)

32
Most important difference is between presidentialism , semi and parlamentarism.

 Presidentalism : a lot of power , elected by the citizens.

 Semi : citizens elect a parliament and at the same time a prime minister

 Parlementarism  ; « system in which the head of government depends on the direct or

indirect support of the parliament, parliamentary system »
 Parlement is elected by the citizens , president / king / queen ceremonia

33
Which states are presidential democracies  ?

Turkey , US , Brazil
France => SEMI PRESIDENTIAL ( there is a prime minister , it is the model of semi
presidential )

Which states are parliamentary democracies  ?

India ? YES
Germany ? NO
Chile ? NO , PRESIDENTIAL
Russia ?NO
Greece ? YES

In the previous , we had only one condition : institution

Here we have two criterias

5.6 The majoritarian Mode

Is a place , a country where a disngle rtu-y for the executie power is in the govermnent

Dimension 1: Executives – Parties

 Executive power distribution parties single party
(few exceptions)

 Executive–legislative relationship
Executive dominates

 Party system Two party system

 Electoral System majoritarian

 Role interest groups pluralism

34
UK is considered as the classic model of the majoritarian model.

Dimension 2: Federal – Unitary

 Organization government
Unitary and centralized

 Legislative power distribution

two houses, but only one matters

 Flexibility constitution
unwritten

 Legislative(in)dependence
(absence of judicial review; but EU...at the moment!)

 (in)dependent central bank dependent on executive

5.7 The Consensus Model

Place where the governement is formed by the coalition ( may change )

There is no ‘’ democratic against republicans’’ ..
Multi-party.

Dimension 1: Executives – Parties

 Executive power distribution Government

all important parties in coalition

 Executive–legislative relationship
Balanced

 Party system
Multi – party (4)

 Electoral system
proportional representation

 Role interest groups

corporatism

Dimension 2: Federal – Unitary

35
  Organization government
federal, decentralized (26 cantons)

 Legislative power distribution

two (equal) houses
 Flexibility of constitution
special majorities (referendum!)

 Legislative(in)dependence
Judicial review = weak!

 (in)dependent central bank independent

5.8 Conclusions.

 Ancient democracy is different from Contemporary democracy they share ideas but
context matters , history matters thus there is an idea of democray that can be
reinvented.

 There is a gap between what democray is and what democray should be.
5. We all agree that in order to have a democravy we need free and fair election
( minimal ) but there is no consensu on substantive dimenson
6. Democracies can be distinguished according to specific criteria.

7. Democracy as an historical object « demo

6.Political regimes : Autocracy

6.1 Definition  :

Comes from greek auto (self ) kratos ( power )

Power in the hand of the few , of a single person , power without any restrictions , without
control.

On one hand , democracy. (an ideal ) the selection of government is inclusive and
pluralistic (participation and competition) and the exercise of political is controlled.

36
On the other hand , autocracy , the selection of government is exclusive( citizens are
excluded from the selection of the governement ) , monistic ( there is no competition fotr the
power ) and the exercise of political power is arbitrary and repressive.

Authoritarian regimes ...

= all non-democratic political systems...
...but they show huge diversity of characteristics

6.2 Autocracy  : typologies (Juan Linz-1975)  :

He defined 4 different types of democratic regimes based on 4 criterias.

In sultanism , no limits , no rules for the ruler.

6.3 Autocracy  : Typologies ( Barbara Geddes 1999)

37
 6.4 Autocracy  : who rules  ?

6.4.1 Personal rule

6.4.1.1 Ruling or dictatorial monarchies

e.g : Louis XIV, Saudi Arabia

 Inborn and highly ceremonial

 A ruling monarch ≠
constitutional monarch

 How can the survival of ruling monarchies be explained?

-Dynastic monarchies

-Oil and other wealth resources

6.4.1.2Personal or monarchial autocrats

e.g : Idi Amin, Uganda; Kim dynasty; Gaddafi, Alberto

Fujimori

 leaders of a military or party organization

 Successful reversal of principal-agent
relationship between ruler and organization –
quid the people?
  Elected president becomes dictator

6.4.2 Organizational rule  ;

38
6.4.2.1 Military rule

 dominant form in Third World

during 1970

 Seem strong but in practice

unstable

6.4.2.2 One-party rule  :

 Often long-lasting dictatorships, open or disguised

Subtypes of one-party rule:

 Communist,Fascist,etc.

 Organizational rule (military or one-party) often transformed into personal rule by the
organization's leader

6.5 Autocracy  : why do they rule  ?

6.5.1 Claims of legitemacy  :

6.5.1.1 Religious claims to legitimacy:

 Ancient (Holy Roman Empire, Byzantine empire,

Russia’s Czar, etc. etc.)

 Contemporary (Islamic Republic of Iran)

6.5.1.2 Ideological claims to legitimacy  :

 Replaced religious claims in the 20th century

e.g. Nationalism and fascism
e.g. Egalitarian ideology (e.g. Marxism),
 organizational
e.g. Leninism
 personal forms of ideological claims. E.g : Stalinis

6.5.1.3 Economic , stability or efficiency claims to legitimacy  :

39
  Focused on economic or administrative legitimation

e.g : Singapour; some military dictatorship (Thailand,)

6.5.1.4 Democratic claims to legitimacy  :

 Most dictatorships claim a form of democratic

legitimacy:
 By preparing the country for democracy
 By employing democratic institutions

BUT elections are:

 Non-competitive
 -Semi-competitive

6.6 Between democracy and autocracy

“The distinction between non-democracy and democracy could be conceptualized in terms of

gradiations, rather than as dichotomy” (Magen 2008)

–> subtypes

 Defective Democracies” or“Partial regimes” (Merkel; Croissant)

 “Illiberal democracy” (Zakaria)
 “Delegative democracy” (O’Donnell)
 “Hybrid regimes” (Diamond; Morlino)
 “Competitive authoritarianism” (Levitsky)

Illiberal democracies = still a democracy. Popular elections, but some limits on individual
rights and freedom and weak horizontal accountability

Competitive authoritarianism = still an autocracy, but with (limited) electoral politics

6.7 Conclusions

Recent developments in authoritarian studies:

• Authoritarian regimes have shown a great ability to evolve

• e.g. “Competitive authoritarianism”
• Eras of authoritarian “comebacks”
• New claims of legitimacy: efficiency, economic development • Era of “autocratization
processes”? See next week!
40
7.Political regimes : transitions

7.1 Democratization  : definition

 A “movement towards an outcome” (democracy) (Whitehead 2002)

 A «transition to a democratic regime»

 A «political changes moving in a democratic direction»

 Democratization is both
a «movement towards democracy» (i.e. quantitative approach) and...

 a transition «from autocracy to democracy» (i.e. qualitative approach)

7.2 Democratization and autocratization.

Waves of democratization (and autocratization)

Samuel Huntington (The Third Wave: Democratization in the late twentieth century, 1990)
«a group of transitions from nondemocratic to democratic. regimes that occurs within a
specified period of time and in which those transitions significantly outnumber transitions in
the opposite direction»

7.3 Paths to democracy

41
  Liberalization (Contestation) precedes inclusiveness (Participation)
e.g. UK, US

 Inclusiveness (Participation) precedes liberalization (Contestation):

e.g. Germany from the Empire to Weimar

7.4 Structural approaches  : moernization theory .

Symour M. Lipset (1959, 1960) “Some Social Requisites of Democracy”; “Political Man:
The Social Bases of Politics”

Democracies are the results of economic developmentàEconomic development precedes

democracy.

“The more well-to-do a nation, the greater the chances that it will sustain democracy” (Lipset
1959 )

7.4.1Further developments in modernization theory:

Adam Przeworski et al. (2000) “Democracy and Development. Political Institutions and
Well- Being in the World 1950-1990”

42
The hypotheses:
H1: Modernization leads to democratization
H2: Modernization leads to democratic stability

Criticisms
 Often there is no causal connection between development and democracy: Singapore:,
resource- rich countries. Three explanations:

 ‘Dutch disease’ : revenues from a natural resource in high demand in

the global market undermine the competitiveness of other export
industries

 price volatility that can have a negative effect on investments

 clientelism: little interest in providing public goods, low dependence on

taxation, tax rates and low investments

 Theory of dependency: importance of international economic context

Eg : crisis of Latin American democracies in the 60s and 70s)

7.5 Structural approaxhes  : social classes theory .

Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the
Making of the Modern World, 1966.

 no single causal factor, democratization depends from the interaction among social
classes.
 Three key actors: peasantry / bourgeoisie / land aristocracy

Interactions produce three outcomes :

  Bourgeois Revolutions : Clash between old aristocracy and new

bourgeoisie that leads to liberal democracy (England Glorious
Revolution, French revolution, American Independence war)

  Revolution from above: Alliance between landed aristocracy and

bourgeois middle class that leads to Fascism au fascism (Italy, Japan,
Germany)

  Revolution from below : Weak bourgeois middle class and dominant

landed aristocracy that leads to communist regimes (Russia, China)

”No bourgeois, no democracy ”

Two main criticisms :

43
  Too much importance given to structures, as in the theory of modernization
 Can not explain the Third Wave: The bourgeoisie plays a decisive role in the first
process of democratization (18th and 19th century), but....

Therborn, G. (1977) The rule of capital and the rise of democracy

Role of the bourgeoisie  minimal democracy

(XVII and XIX centuries, civil liberties and political rights)

Role of working class contemporary democracy

(XIX and XX centuries, universal suffrage, economic and social rights)

Acemoglu & Robinson (The Economic Origins of Dictatorships, 2005).

 Transition to Democracy in Times of Threat of Revolution and Economic

Recession in
Unequal Land-based Societies
 Transition to more gradual democracy in richer and more egalitarian societies

Carles Boix (Democracy and Redistribution, 2003)

Democracy more likely when income distribution is more egalitarian

7.6 Strategic approaches.

Dankwart Rustow (1970) Transition to Democracy: Toward a Dynamic Model

No structural preconditions for democracy

Three phases: Preparation, Decision, Habituation

O’Donnell & Schmitter (Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about
Uncertain Democracies, 1986)
 Democracy as the result of the strategic interactions
 No preconditions
 Three phases: Liberalization, Transition, Consolidation
  Democratic transition are characterized by their uncertainty and
indeterminacy. It is a non- linear, open-ended process.
  Division between hardliners et soft-liners

7.6.1 Strategic approaches  : modes of transitions.

44
7.6.2 Structural vs Strategic approaches .

7.6.3 Strategic approaches  : democratic consolidation.

Linz and Stepan: Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, 1996.

“A political situation in which, in a phrase, democracy has become ‘the only game in town”

 In terms of behavior: no group is engaged in a process of secession

 In terms of attitudes, most people accept democracy as the best form of government
 In constitutional terms, all major institutions of the state act in accordance with
democratic norms

Five arenas in interaction for an effective consolidation:

45
 1. The existence of a functional state

2. An autonomous and competitive political society

3. Rule of law that guarantees the freedom and rights of citizens

4. functioning state bureaucracy

5. An institutionalized economic society

Three actors involved in these arenas

1. Civil society

2. Ordinary citizens

3. Political society. This is distinctive AND complementary to civil society

Morlino, Leonardo (« Consolidation démocratique : La théorie de l’ancrage », RIPC, 2001),

p.265

«The consolidation process is characterized by a bottom-up process - legitimization - and a

top- down process - the anchoring of civil society

 Legitimation: development of positive attitudes towards democratic institutions,

 Anchors: actors involved in the top-down movement in the consolidation: partisan

organizations; Civil society ; employers 'and trade unions' organizations, religious
organizations, etc. ; interest groups; private companies, intellectuals .

46
Morlino, Leonardo (« Consolidation démocratique : La théorie de l’ancrage », RIPC, 2001),

Theory an hypothesis:
 When the legitimacy of democracy is limited (exclusive), the "anchors" become
crucial to explain why a regime is consolidated

 If democracy is widely accepted from the outset (inclusive legitimation), or if a

process of legitimizing democracy is able to develop rapidly, "anchors" play a less
important role
E.g : Italy : consolidation through political parties
Spain : consolidation through the elites

O’Donnell’s criticism on consolidation (1996)

 A non-linear process
 An open process
 A consolidated democracy ≠ A quality democracy

7.7 Autocratization .

 Several studies on the ‘first and second waves’ of

autocratization
Linz 1978, Stephens 1989, Luebbert 1991, Ertmann 1998, Capoccia 2001, Berg- Schlosser
and Mitchell 2002, Bermeo 2003)

 Few studies on autocratization in the contemporary

period
(Brooker 2000, Fish 2001, Erdmann and Kneuer 2007, Bunce et al. 2010, Mainwaring and
Pérez-Liñán 2014)

7.7.1 Autocratization  : definition.

 Autocratization is any movement away from democracy (Lindberg 2009)

47
  Autocratization is as a process of regime change towards autocracy that makes the
exercise of political power more arbitrary and repressive and that restricts the space
for public contestation and political participation in the process of government
selection (Cassani and Tomini 2018)

7.7.2 What is Autocratization  ?

48
49
7.7.3 Models of autocratization
7.7.3.1 Incumbent entrechment.

7.7.3.2 Opposition takeover.

7.7.3.3 Democratic coup

50
7.7.3.4 Stabilizing coup

`7.7.4 Autocratization  : global trends

8. Governments.
8.1 Introduction.

Ther term governement has several meanings

- Mostly used for the country’s central political executive

- Government = rylling the country , not only executing !

8.2 Types of government

Today’s governments emerged through splitting-off judicial and legislative functions

( originating in 12th century England )

 Limit government’s power

51
Notwithstanding the separation of power doctrine , state functions are not fully separated.

- Most governments have important legislative powers

- Increased with growing importance of parties

The normative foundation of democratic governments rest on :

1. Connection to electoral process
2. Constitutional constraints

 Governments can be organized as :

- Presidentialism
- Parliamentarism
- Semi-presidentialism
- Directorial government
- Directly elected prime minister
8.2.1 Presidentialism  :

- Head of government = head of state

- (Quasi-) direct popular election head of government ( president)
- Politically not accountable to legislative
- Appoints members of government

8.2.2 Parliamentarism

- Head of government not head of state

- Head of government appointed ( by head of state or speaker parliament ),
elected ( by parliament) etc
- Politically accountable to legislative
- Does not appoint members of government
- Dissolution decided by HoS

8.2.3 Semi presidentialism .

- Direct election president

- Appoints members of goverment
- Cabinet accountable to legislative
- President can dissolve legislative
- Head of governement not head of state

 Mixture of the two former systems.

8.2.4 Directorial government.

- Members government individually elected by parliament.

52
 - Head of government = head of state but annual rotation of position
- Politically not accountable to legislative

8.2.5 Directly elected prime minister

- Popular election prime minister

- Politically accountable to legislative
- Appoints members of government , but parliamentary vote of confidence is
required

8.3 Internal working of governments

Constitutions are typically silent about the internal working of government, leaving a
remarkable degree of flexibility to political actors developing conventions:

8.3.1 Cabinet government.

- Prime minister is ‘’primus inter pares’’

- Cabinet discusses / decides collectivily
8.3.2 Prime ministerial government .

- Closer to presidentialism
- More monocratic decision-making by prime-minister

8.3.3 Ministerial government.

- Otherwise fragmented government

- Dispersing power among individual members
- Tacit rule of mutual non-intervention
- Ministers as policy dictators.

8.4 .Autonomy of government.

Government brought to power by parties and relies on bureaucracy for work load
 how much autonomy is there?

With respect to PARTIES there are three models:

Three ideal types of party-government relations:

-Dominance: One of the two dominates
-Autonomy: Coexistence without influencing each other
-Fusion: Party and government become politically indistinguishable

The following factors explain the political party’s influence on government:

- Party-programs
- Selection of cabinet members
53
 - Duration of party’s control over the cabinet

Governments are further influenced by the BUREAUCRACY:

- Can set the agenda (by defining what is identified as the problem)
- Can present a choice of political solutions according to their own ideas and
convictions

8.5 Political capacity

8.5.1 Unified vs divided government

Divided government mainly in (semi-)presidential regimes: political capacity

depends on president’s institutional empowerment:

Government capacities constrained in divided governments  Risk of “gridlock” due to

institutional “rigidity”.

8.5.2 Majority vs minority governments  :

 Theory expects unstable minority governments

 Empirically minority governments are frequent and often stable

Rationale of minority governments?

 Occupying the ideological centre and dividing the opposition

 Policy-oriented rather than office-seeking politicians

8.5.3 Single-party vs coalition governments.

• Single-party government: Homogeneous, quick decisions, avoidance of compromise,

internal rivalry becomes a problem when exposed to the public

• Coalition governments: Time consuming internal decision-making process

8.6 Bureaucratic capacity

The key characteristics of bureaucratic organization according to Max Weber:

• Personnel, formal lifelong employment
• Organization, functional division and specialisation
• Procedure, impersonal general rules

Since they are based on merit recruitment, they are considered to be politically neutral.

54
And the system to function effectively and efficiently.

Problems of bureaucracy:

Public choice theories of bureaucracies:

- Parkinson’s law: Bureaucracies tend to grow constantly
- Bureaucrats have a private interest to increase their budget

Why is it difficult to stop the growth of bureaucracies?

- The measuring of “output”
- Lack/absence of competitive pressure

Politicians responses to bureaucracy’s power:

A. Spoil systems: The victorious party appoints large layers of the

administration (Developed in the 19th century US)

+) Administration is committed to government goals

-) Lack of organizational knowledge
 Open spoil systems are rare, covert ones more frequent.

B. New public management:

• Personnel: Top positions are open to outside candidates and attributed on the basis of real
competition
• Organization: Introducing competition among sub-units
• Procedure: Introducing managerialism and entrepreneurship

9. Legislatures
9.1 What is a legislature  ?

A matter of definitions:

The term legislature has to be distinguished from assembly:

 Assembly: The “coming together of a group of people for some purpose”

 Legislature: An assembly with political purpose and legislative tasks

Within legislatures, parliaments and congresses can be distinguished: differ with the type of
relationship between executive and legislative.
9.1.1 Parliaments.

Legislature within parliamentary ( or fused-power) systems are called parliaments.

55
Parliamentary systems are charchterized by
- An executive branch selected from within and by the legislature
- An executive branch which can be removed from office at any time.
- A high degree of mutual dependence between executive and legislature

Parliament comes from the french word ‘’ parler ‘’ so the very word parliament means that
the most important role of this institution is debate. Gathering people together to debate over
political issues.

9.1.2 Congresses

On the other hand we have the word congress , has a more hostile conotation in its meaning ,
in original form means ‘’ meeting between hostile …’’ , it is a place where an agreement can
be found between opposites

Legislatures within presidential (or separation-of-power) systems are called congresses.

Presidential systems are characterized by:

- An independent selection of executive branch and legislature
- The absence of the ability to dissolve or remove the other from office (with the
exception of incapacity or serious legal issues)

9.2 Role of legislatures

The activities of legislatures can be put into the following categories :

- Linkage and represenatation
- Oversight and control
- Policy-making

Not the categories, but their importance differs between legislatures.

9.2.1. Linkage and representation

Acting a a channel between citizens and the government , whic is a very important role .

9.2.1.1Linkage of citizen to government  :

The legislature as an intermediary between constituency and central government.
Linkage is more effective in single-member constituencies.
It is more important when the executive is indirectly elected (i.e. in parliamentary
systems).

9.2.1.2The representation

Different interpretations of the legislature's representative responsibility:

 Delegates: Legislators as mechanistic agents of their voters interests

56
  Trustees: More active interpretation of representation, legislators as agents of
the whole society

Parliament is there to represent people can be seen as delegates

Core of every of political regimes , is a channel for legitimacy of political systems.

9.2.1.3Debating.

Legislatures are also important as public forums of debate.

9.2.1.4Provide legitimacy for the political system.

9.2.2 Oversight and control .

9.2.2.1 Control of the executive branch  :

Beside voters , legislature is second principal monitoring the executive branch.

More extensive in parliaments than in congresses:

 Explicit task for parliaments, feasible because of:

 no substantial difference in ideological constellation executive legislature
 election of executive by parliament and thus responsible to parliament

9.2.2.2Oversight over

 Budgetary implications of policies

 Timely and accurate implementation
 Oversight instruments: Question-time, Hearings / special inquiries,
Investigative committees, Reports on special issues.
9.2.2.3Budgetcontrol:

“The legislative control over the power of the purse”is the earliest historical function
of legislatures (Magna Charta 1215)
Most ancient role in history …
More than representation , legislative activity , basic idea that the there is an institution that
can check the spendings of a queen is the idea in the UK .
Even before idea of popular representation

9.2.3 Legislature as legislator.

Legislatures involved in policy-making process in a number of ways: Consultation, Delay,

Veto, Amendment, Initiation
Measuring power of legislatures: their relative ability to directly impact the policy process:
 Arena type of legislatures: Little direct policy-making influence
57
  Transformative legislatures: High degree of direct policy-making influence.

9.3 Internal organizational structure.

Analysis of internal structures and ressources of a legislature is a better measure of influence

than just the formal power

1. Number and type of chambers :

 One or two chamber systems

 Representative function:
- Lower house: representing the population
- Upper house: representing a socially or territorially defined group

9.3.1 Number and type of chambers ( continued)

Relationship between the two chambers:
 Symmetric bicameral systems :
 Equally shared powers
 Equally divided powers
 Same mode of selection
 Asymmetric bicameral systems:
 Unequally distributed powers
 Different mode of selection

SEARCH DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SYMMETRICAL BICAMERAL SYSTEM ANS

ASYMMETRIC BICAMERAL SYSTEM

9.3.2 Number , quality and cosistency of memebers of legislature

 Size of legislature
 Professionalization
 Members turnover from one election.

9.3.3 Committees ( Internal organization of legislatures )

Indicators of their influence

 Permanency
 Specialization
 Role within legislatures
 Policy preparing work mates comittees influential as compared to
plenary
 Resources
9.3.4 Hierarchical structures and internal decision making.

58
  Proportional vs. “winner takes it all” distribution of internal positions
 Slow but compromise oriented vs polarizing but efficient (unless low
party cohesion)

9.4 Assesing power.

Active/passive role of legislature is tied to its degree of autonomy: two aspects of autonomy:

1. Institutional independence of legislature:

 Parliament: limited legislative prospects; power to elect/dismiss executive reduces the

legislature’s independence vis-à-vis the executive, has to support it

 Congress: has more autonomy but no guarantee to succeed.

2. Member independence with respect to their party, depends on:

 Party-organization: Higher degree of party centralisation and party’s role in selection
of candidates reduces its members’ independence.
 Party system characteristics:
 The electoral system: Parties are more important in PR-systems (party-
centred systems)
 State funding: Increases member’s autonomy

 Autonomy triggering active/passive role of legislature depends thus on:

 Institutional independence: structures of political system, more particularly type of

legislature and regime
 Partisan independence: party-specific characteristics and party- system features

9.5 Architecture ans politics

59
 9.5.1 Semi-cercle

9.5.2 Opposing benches

9.5.3 Cercle
60
9.5.4 Classroom.

10. Elections.
10.1 Introduction

Core of every democracy, necessary condition but not sufficient.

Translate votes into seats, seems easy but it is not.
Election provides legitimacy, the government is accountable towards the voters.
Elections are important for representation, representing people, society.
Election is the form of vertical accountability.

 Elections are held, because not all people can directly participate in the process of
decision making, the steering of society.
= a link between people and their representatives.
Elections provide for legitimacy by achieving representation and accountability.

10.2 Elections and electoral systems.

Why do we focus on electoral systems and rules in political science?

Electoral systems impact upon party system, government formation, intraparty dynamics,
degree of representativity, etc

Electoral regulation are the rules on the following dimensions.

 Extent of franchise
- Only smal differences in moern democracies ( mainly age limit )

 Voluntary or compulsary voting

- Almost universally voluntary (exceptions , Belgium , Australia.)

 Access-requirements to ballots :
- More demanding in candidate-oriented systems than in party-oriented systems.

 Terms :
- President : Always a fixed term
- Parliaments : Constitutionally determined maximum period.

There is a strong link between the type of electoral system and model of democracy.
( consensual , majoritarian , … )

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 10.3 Electoral systems ans theory of democracy ( Seiler 2000 )

There is always a trade-of between ‘’ governing ‘’ and ‘’ representative’’

If you want more representation thqt means maube less stability
If you want a stable government , there maybe would be less represnetative.

Stable effective – Representative. Consensual .

These are ideal s models.

10.4 The electoral systems.

A set of rules about the conversion of votes into seats. At the most basic level, electoral
systems translate the votes cast in a general election into seats won by parties and candidates.

 Majoritarian systems: voters select from two or more candidates running for a single
seat constituency, and the candidate receiving the majority of votes is the winner

 PR systems: voters choose from among party lists and parties receiving a sufficient
proportion of votes are awarded seats based on their share of the votes

10.5 Types of electoral syste

62
Plurality/ Majority ; France , Brazil , Uk , US , Canada

Proportional ; Belguim , Spain ; Germany ( most continental european countries )

Mixed

10.5.1 Plurality/ Majority  ; Single-Member Plurality.( SMP)

Just one memebr elected per district, the candidates with the most votes , wins.
You have a couple of candidates in the district and you just have to selecto one. It is very
simple

 Often called First Past the Post (FPTP)

 One member elected per district.

The candidate with the most votes wins.

 Voters select one candidate on the ballot.

 FPTP is very simple and is applied in single member districts and is largely candidate
centred voting.

 Primarily found in the UK and countries that have been historically linked with Great
Britain.

 It is the most votes that wins an election not the majority of the votes. E.g. The Labour
Party of the UK won 35.3% of the vote in 2005, with a majority of over 150 seats,
while the Conservatives managed 32.3% of the vote.

 USA, UK, India, Canada, Bangladesh, Botswana, Ghana, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria,
among others.

It is the most votes that wins, not the majority of votes.

Advantage :
 Simple
 Clear choices between candidates
 Encourages links between constituents and MPs
Criticisms :
 Excludes smaller parties
 Can lead to exclusion of ethnic minorities
 Dependent on electoral boundaries ( gerrymandering)

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 10.5.1.1 Gerrymandering

10.5.2 Plurality  : Majority  : Two Rounds System ( TRS)

 Similar to FPTP ; Candidates require absolute majority

 First round of FPTP voting . If someaone gets majority s/he wins
 If not , some candidates may be eliminated and a second vote takes place.

Advantage  :
 Give voter a second chance
 Encourages bargains and tradeoffs
 Minimizes vote-splitting

Criticisms  :
 Expensive
 Similar disadvantages to FPTP
 Can trigger conflict , bad for deeply divided societies.

10.5.3 Plurality/ Majority  : Block vote ( BV)

 Multi-member districts

 Voters get as many votes as there are candidates—can use all, some or none

 “X” number of candidates with highest vote totals elected

Advantage  :
 Voter scan pick individuals
64
  Parties can have a more active role than in FPTP
 Rewards organized parties
Criticisms  :
 Can fragment parties
 Candidate selection must produce strategic number of candidates with
broad appeal

10.5.4 Plurality/ Majority  : Party Block vote ( PVB )

You don’t choose a candidate , you choose a party.

 Multi-member districts
 Parties build lists of candidates
 Voters choose party list not an individual
 Party list gets elected

Advantage  :
 Simple
 Encourages strong parties
 Can facilitate minority represenatation
Criticism
 Suffers from problems of FPTP , particularly disproportionality.

10.5.5 Plurality Majority  : Alternate Vote . (AV)

 Single-member districts
 Voters rank candidate preferences
 If candidate secures an absolute majority of first choice votes, s/he is elected
 If not, candidate with the lowest votes is eliminated, and votes reallocated

Advantage  :
 Candidates must seek “first” and “second” votes of voters
 Can encourage compromise
 Avoids “tactical voting” in FPTP

Criticisms  :
 Complex/ requires higher level of literacy
 Doesn’t work well with larger, multi-member districts

65
 10.6 Proportional Representation Systems.
 Proportionality = translation of votes into seats
 Perfect proportionnality : X% votes : % seats.

Advantages  :
 Proportionality
 Encourage formation of parties
 Facilitate diverse representation

Disadvantages  :
 Coalition governments, which can be unstable
 Small parties have disproportionate power
 Accountability

10.6.1 List PR

- Competing lists of candidates.

- Representation in the legislature per party approximates the percentage of the

vote each party receives.

 Multi-member districts

 Parties create candidate lists

 Voters select a party

 Parties are allocated seats based on percentage of vote received §“Open” or

“closed” lists

 Thresholds very important

66
Advantages  :

 Reflects proportionality

 Allows smaller parties to compete

 Minority and women’s quotas are easier to implement

 Encourages developed parties

Criticisms  :

 Need more developed parties

 Requires greater coordination by parties, concentrates power in hands

of central party. Organization

 Weakens link between parties and constituents

10.6.2 Single Transferable Vote ( STV)

- Voters use a preferential ballot to rank candidates in multi-member

constituencies.
- Candidates that surpass the necessary threshold are elected. “Surplus votes” are
then transferred to other candidates to elect the required number of candidates.

 Multi-member districts

 Results through series of vote counts

 If no one gets quota, candidate with lowest total votes is eliminated and votes
redistributed

 Continues until all seats are filled

Advantages  :

 Voters choose individuals and parties

 Fairly proportional results

 Strengthens party-constituent connection

Criticisms  :
67
  Complex/requires higher literacy

 Party members compete against each other

10.7 Mixed systems

Mixed Member Proportional (MMP)

Combines the geographical representation of single-member districts with additional

adjustment or compensatory seats allocated in terms of proportional representation.

Parallel Systems

Similarly combines single-member districts with PR, but there is no direct relations between
the two votes.

10.7.1 Majotarian systems  : pros

 Its simplicity and tendency to produce winners that are representatives obliged to
defined geographic areas.

 It is a very simple ballot count.

 It provides two clear cut choices for the voter.

 Single Party governments mean that cabinets are not usually restrained by weaker
coalition minority party.

 FPTP gives rise to respectable opposition to legislature to act as a ‘critical checking

role’ and presents itself as an alternative.

 Single Party governments mean that political parties have to be broad in their appeal.

 Excludes anti-systemic or extremist parties from representation in the legislature

because of geographical spread of voters.

 Promotes a link between constituents and their representatives in parliament as cities,

towns and councils have their own parliamentary representatives.

10.7.2 Majoritarian systems  : cons

 Excludes parties and minorities from ‘fair’ representation-could it be that it is

democracy failing?

68
  Can exclude women. Evidence suggests that women are less likely to be elected to the
legislature under plurality/majority systems than under PR ones.

 Can encourage the development of political parties based on clan, ethnicity or region.

 There are a large number of wasted votes which do not go towards the elected party.

 FPTP can be insensitive to swings in public opinion.

 It is dependant on drawing constituency boundaries and thus gerrymandering can

occur.

 There is a ‘winning/seat bonus’ with FPTP which can be a disproportionate votes to

seats ratio.

10.7.3 PR systems  : pros

 Translating of votes to seats can avoid the ‘unfair’ results that can arise in FPTP
systems.

 Avoids the ‘winning bonus’ as votes are directly translated into seats

 It encourages or requires parties to formulate policy lists which can be voted upon
thus clarifying ideology and policy.

 PR does not allow votes to be wasted so is it democracy in a purer form than FPTP?

 Low thresholds mean that almost every vote is counted and will be represented.

 PR can facilitate minority parties’ access to representation, thus more democratic.

 Encourages parties to campaign beyond their districts as every vote counts.

 It can provide a stability to Policy and makes power sharing more visible.

10.7.4 PR systems  : cons

 Gives rise to coalition governments thus fragmented executive can cloud policy
making and provide obstacles.

 Factional splits can arise which, again, cause instability in the legislature.

69
  PR can be a platform for extremist parties and potentially anti-systemic parties.

 Governing coalitions will undoubtedly share too little common ground to make strong
policies.

 PR can give a disproportionate amount of power to minority parties.

 Accountability could be lost with a coalition government as voters lose the power to
throw a party out because of the coalition.

 It can be difficult for voters and the electoral administration to implement complex
rules of the system.

11. Elections and referenda .

11.1 The effects of electoral systems.

11.1.1 Impact on election results

E.g. France pre and post 1957

 PRvsTworoundsmajoritarian
 22 PMs between 1947 and 1959 (average: 6 months
 22 PMs between 1959 and 2018 ( average : 2 years 9 months)

  Elections 1951 : ”Republican front ” , a coalition of 7 parties between 95 and 22 seats

  Elections 1968: UDR (Gaullists): single party government with 293 seats out of 487

11.1.2 The electoral system as a determining factor

1. Mechanical effect
Mathematical impact of the electoral rules on
 Degree of proportionality
 Number of parties
2. Psychological effect
 Changing the behaviour of parties / candidates and voters according to
electoral rules
3. Effect on the quality of democracy and representation

11.1.3 Variables determining the degree of proportionality.

 Electoral Formula
- PR > Maj > Plur
 Magnitude of constituencies/district
- For PR, the higher the magnitude, the higher the proportionality

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  Thresholds

11.1.4 The psychological effect of the electoral system.

On parties and candidates :

 Fewer competitors

 More alliances

 More catch-all parties when maj and more ideological parties (niche parties) when RP

 Lower partisan cohesion when proportional with several candidates of the same party
(open lists)

On voters

 Maj: strategic vs. Sincere vote

 PR

 Strategic vote when thresholds are present (ex: Turquie = 10%)

 Influence on government formation

11.1.5 Effect of the voting system on the quality of government .

Quick government formation

More stable government

- 32.9 months for Maj vs. 21.2 months for PR
More effective government
- PR brings to a more egalitarian income distribution
- Comparable growth rate
- PR brings to lower inflation rate (5.3% vs. 7.5%)
- PR brings to lower unemployment (4.4% vs. 6.1%)

11.1.6 Effect of the voting system on the quality of representation.

- Higher participation rates: PR 82.12% vs. Maj 77.6% vs. Plur 73.6%
- Greater representation of women (Rule 1982)

11.2 Referenda

11.2.1 Referendum

 Referendums = “direct democracy”?

71
  Referendums = part of representative democracy

Types of referendum (Uleri 1996)

 Mandatory or optional

 Promoted by voters or some other agent

 Decision-promoting (ratification) or decision controlling (veto) –

 Binding or advisory impact

11.2.2 Referendum  : rationale

1. Process-related arguments

- Referendums increase the legitimacy of policies

- Referendums increase politica participation

2. Outcome-related arguments
- Referendums lead to black/white decisions
- Referendums work against the interest of those who do not usually vote
- Infringement of the rights of minorities but :
 Access to referendums is restricted
 Veto role of constitutional courts
 Qualified majorities ( e.g double majorities )

- Referendums = Lower quality of decisions

11.2.3 Referendum  : empirical patterns

Empirical patterns:
- Widespread but uneven distribution of referendums.

- Huge variation in the frequency of referendums.

- Some empirical evidence of an increasing number of

referendums.

- Referendums are often held on sovereignty-related

questions such as secession, independence or EU.
For example 14 of 19 countries that joined EU
between 1973 and 2004 held a referendum to decide
whether to join. In Norway, joining the EU was
rejected in two referenda.

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 - Secessions of Norway from Sweden (1905), Iceland from Denmark (1944)
East Timor from Indonesia (1999) and Montenegro from Serbia (2006) all
involved referenda.

11.2.4 Elections and referendum  : the current debate

1. The fact that elections are deemed extremely important is

“overrated”

2. The voting age of 18 should be lower – higher

3. Suffrage should not be connected to citizenship

4. Once elected MPs should follow their own ideas (trustees) – do

what the people/their voters want (delegates) because otherwise
they are not responsive

5. We should introduce more direct democracy (referendums) in

order to complete representative democracy

11.3 Examples

11.3.1 France

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 11.3.2

11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
11.3.2
The Netherlands
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 12. Parties

What is a political party  ?

Organisation , ideology , policy elections , ideologica line. ?

12.1 Origins of parties

Relatively new.

Earlier parties were of intra-parmentary origin

 Succes in gaining control over the executive
 Rise of parliamentary government.

Parties of extra-parliamentary origin

 To organize ‘ excuded’ from political participation
 Pressed established parties to broaden suffrage
 Recently : entrepreneurs creating parties.
 Parties of internal/ external origin differ with respect to
Timing , organization , social basis ( except for ‘’new’’ externally set up parties )

12.2 The functions of parties.

Parties perform a number of central functions :

12.2.1 Coordination  ;

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  With government and parliament
 With society (organising political activity )
 Between government and societu ( anchoring democracy )

12.2.2 Contesting elections  :

 Providing candidates
 Suppporting candidates
 Formulating policy positions.

12.2.3 Recruitment and selection  :

 Recruiting = Looking for candidates , experts , ..

 Selection = ‘’ the right person on the right place ‘’
 Integrating new citizens
e.g party youth movements

12.2.4 Representation  ;

 Spoke’s person of electorate

 Social groupings ( class , religion, .. )
 Ideological positions

12.3 Models of party organization .

Type of parties  ;

12.3.1 Cadre or elite parties  :

 The earliest of ‘’modern’’ parties ( parliamentary origin)

 No need for a party on the ground due to highly restricted suffrage
 Party central office subordinate to party i public office ; there is adiff
between party in office and party on the ground. Here w contexte ,
office party = weak. Thus party in office = more important.
 Mobilizing of personal clientele.

12.3.2 Maas parties

 2nd half of 19th century ( extra-parliamentary origin)

 Representing a particular group or socia class
 Power = number ( mobilizing )
 Often buit on pre-existing organizations ( e.g : trade-unions)
 Extensive organization , dominated by the party’s elite .

12.3.3 Catch all parties

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  Developed from transformation of mass parties, characterized by :
 Increasing role of professionals (compared to members)
 Weaker ideological orientation
 Strategy to appeal across group boundaries
 Loosening connection between party and “its” interest organization

Pressure on the catch-all model led to four major changes:

 Agencies of the state rather than of society
 Disempowering party activists
 Further privileging professional expertise
 Parties form a cartel to protect themselves

 Cartel party

12.3.4 Anti-cartel parties :

 Frustration with mainstream parties

 Organized around an idea rather than a social grouping
 Left-libertarian , green , newright or nex-left , movement parties.

12.3.5 Light party .

 Created by a fortuned ( business) person , purpose-built ( PVV-En

Manche )

12.3.6 Examples

- Social democratic Party of Germany : one of the oldest in the world was at
the begining clearly a mass party. Today it’s more of Catch-all party.

- Liberal party in The UK , XIX century ; Elite party – Catch all party

- La république en Marche : Light party event though they try to

consolidate .. , A catch all party.

- Podemos spain XXI century : Catch all-party.

- Five star mouvement ( Italy XXI century ) : Anti-cartel party , light-aprty ,
Catch-all party .

- Democratic party (USA XIX,XX,XXI, century ) :

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 12.3.7 Parties in the Us

 Share features of cadre parties ( weak central organisation , focus on

individual , no formal mebership organisation ) , but :
 Candidate selection os run by state regulated primary elections ( with
registrants in stead of members and party leadership having little
control over it )
 Money in hands of candidates.

12.3.8 Memberships
 Modern parties claim to have memberships organizations
 Individual or affiliated memebrships (trade-unions)
 Measures of membership
1. Number of members
2. Ratio of party memebrship to size electorate
3. Organizational density ( ratio members to voters )
Regardless of how party party membership is measured , it has been declining. BUT there is a
huge difference in memebrship rates accross countries.

Membership: Parties without members?

YES

“...Membership has now reached such a low ebb that it may no longer constitute a relevant
indicator of party organisational capacity.” (Van Biezen, Mair, Poguntke, 2012).

NO

Some parties remain committed to high levels of party membership

12.3.9 Regulation and finance.

 Parties increasingly subject of legal regulation, defining their position in society/role

in democracy, rights but also constraints

 Regulations regarding finances:

 (Campaign) spending (targets, limits, disclosure)

 Fundraising (sources, limits)
 Public subventions (staff, broadcasting time, billboard space, use of
public buildings, money, etc)

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 12.4 The end of polical parties  ?

Do parties need some form of democracy to function  ?

What are the indicators that parties are in crisis  ?

Which parties are in crisis  ? Why  ?

12.4.1 Parties face a number of challenges:

 Declining party membership, declining identification, ...

 Low trust

 More dependent from contributions of state

 Increasing role of competing interest organizations, other types of

participation/communication
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  New type of ‘light’ parties, movements, ...

12.4.2 Alternatives and solutions.  :

Alternatives?
 Experts and Technocrats?
 Direct democracy?
 ...

Solutions?

 Rebranding of parties; new personnel

 Lowering/changing expectations
 Try to reconnect with people
 ...

13. Party systems .

13.1 Introduction.

Party systems are the result of :

- Type and size of each party

- Competitive interactions between parties but also of ...
- Cooperative interactions between parties

Three elements should be considered in the assessment of a party system :

 Which parties exist  ?

 How many parties exist  ?

 How do parties behave  ?

13.2 Genealogy of party systems .

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Why some specific type of parties exist in Belguim but not in the UK ? What are the reasosn
behind the fact that there is no social democratic party in the US ? Why , in some countries ,
there are regional parties ?

These are the basic questions , we have a theory , there is avery influential work made by ...
That worked a lot on parties and so on .. The basic idea is : ‘’political parties originated from
society because of some divisison in it , what they call cleavages ‘’

Two factors induced the formation of modern parties and party families :

- National Revolution ( early 19th century : restricted electorates )

- Industrial Revolution ( late 19th century ; suffrage extension )

Industrial and National Revolution created socio-economic and cultural conflicts , or

cleavages.

Modern party families = political translations of those cleavages.

Those 2 factors created new divisisons.

13.2.1 Four main cleavages.

Lipset and Rokkan distinguish four main cleavages :

National revolution induced two cleavages :

1) Centre-periphery cleavage :
Administrative centralization ( e.g fiscal integration )
Cultural standardization ( e.g compulsory schooling , official
language )

 Regionalist parties (e.g : Scottish National Party , Swedish Party in Finland

)

2) State- church cleavage

Liberal ideology National Revolution asked for seular

institutions

Conflict state / church , abolition of church’s priviliges

 Conservative and religious parties ; liberal parties ( e.g. Christian

Democratic Union )

These 2 clivages produced different parties .

Industrial revolution induced two other cleavages :

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 3) Rural-urban cleavage

More linked to the period of industrial revolution , people

moved from rural areas to big cities.

Conflict mainly about trade policies

Agrarians favour trade barriers , industrialist free markets

Reinforced by cultural differences.

 Agrarian and peasat parties ( e.g Australian County Party )

Example : Polish peasant’s party

4) Workers-Employers cleavage

Conflict between ‘’capital’’ and ‘’labour’’

Workers promoted sociale rights , welfare positions.

 Workers and social-democratic parties ( e.g British Labour party )

 Most importanr cleavage : left-right alignment
 Soviet Revolution ( 1917) produced cleavage in worer’s movement : socialist
and communist fractions.

5) Post materialism cleavage ( 1960s-1970s)

Conflict mainly between generations , younger geeration favour ‘’post-
materialis-values ‘’
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  A number of social movements emerged ; minor impact on party systems
except for : Green Parties .
The only party family that emerged in this period.

6) Globalization cleavage
Winners and losers of globalization

 Neo-populist protest parties , often right-wing and xenophobic ; left-wing in

Latin America ; new pro-european parties.

N.B Not all cleavages exist in all countries  different constellations and party-systems.

Generally two types of cleavage-constellations are distinguished.

- Homogenous constellations : Predominant cleavage , namely left-right ( e.g

Usa )

- Heterogeneous constellations : Various overlapping cleavages exist ( e.g

Canada , Switzerland , Belgium , Netherlands )

13.3 The morphology of party systems .

Two main elements defining format of party system :

 The number of competing parties

 Their size.

13.3.1 Dominant party systems

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 - One party holds the majority of seats , or votes for several decades, no
alternation of power ?????
- There is no other national power , event thoufh competition is possible.

e.g  : Japan , Sweden

13.3.2 Two party systems

Two Parties are sharing about 80% of votes , alternaton of power , highlt competitive , one-
party government.

e.g : US

13.3.3 Multi-party systems

 Moderate : Small ideological distance, several centre-parties, small

parties allowing for different coalitions, coalition government,
centripetal dynamic

e.g  : Germany , The Netherlands , Belguim

 Polarized : Ideological distance, anti-system parties, radicalism; centre

occupied by unavoidable system-party, lacking need of accountability;
centrifugal competition

13.3.4 Bipolar system

Two large coalitions of several parties, alternation of power, coalition government

What determines the number and the size of parties?

Two sets of causes have been identified

 The electoral system
 The number of cleavages in a society

14. Political participation.

14.1 Introduction.

Political participation = link between the mass public and the political elites.
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Political participation occurs in a variety of
forms:
 Voting
 Donating
 Running for office
 Petitions
 Boycotting, sit-ins
 Organizing unions
 ...

14.2 Participation .

Two types of Political Participation

 Conventional Participation
• Voting
• Letter writing
• Contact with Representatives
• Working on Campaigns
• Campaign Contributions
• Joining Groups (social capital)
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• Running for Office

 Unconventional Participation
• Boycotts
• Sit-ins
• Marches
• Demonstrations
• Online

14.3 Modes of political participation.

Typologies of political participation have been developed along three dimensions:

 Where it takes place

Public places
Communication with policy makers
Involvement in electoral process

 Intensity of involvement

 The riskiness of political participation, shaped by

Type of political involvement (conventional – unconventional)
Political regime (shapes the riskiness of different participatory acts)

14.4 Traditional vs new forms of participation.

Traditional political participation

Voting
Protest
Campaign contributions
Contact elected officials
etc.
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Online participation
Diversity of sources and voices
Lowers entry barriers
Accidental mobilization
Citizen journalism: blogs, video, social media
But... Digital divide
Fake News, disinformation, online propaganda

14.5 Why  ? Determinants of politica participation.

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 14.6 When and where  ? The macro level

 Democracies > others, but moderately authoritarian countries often high degree of
(‘low risk’) participation
 Huge diversity within democracies: the political opportunity structures:
 How do existing political actors (re)act?
 How can one enter the system?

Voter turnout: influenced by :

Compulsory voting
Electoral rules (PR)
Registration requirements
Timing of elections

Labour union membership: influenced by

Economic performance
Regime type
Protective trade policies

Nature of political stake shapes organisation of political participation :

- Single issues aiming at one-off discrete decisiona => social movement

- Narrow range of issues persisting over time => interest group
- Complex interdependent issues => parties

14.7 Who  ? The micro level.

Individual traits that facilitate participation

1. Resources

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 Time
Education § Income
2. Recruitment
Associational involvement
Family socialisation, age, gender

3. Orientations
Political interest and ideology

15. Q&A

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