Documents political leadership 28 results

"Democracy is in decline, and the share of world's population living in freedom under democratic government has decreased considerably as authoritarian practices proliferate. Surprisingly, most of the analyses that study these developments give little attention to the role of political parties in the decline of democracy, although there is a broad consensus about the relevance of political parties for the functioning of democracy. How parties can contribute to democracy is best understood by looking at a very diverse range of cases in different parts of the world. Instead of taking a regional approach, which dominates the literature on political parties, this book takes a global perspective. It brings together experts from four continents, which opens up fresh comparative perspectives on the role of political parties in the democratic process. It asks how parties contribute to the consolidation of democracy, why they fail today, why new parties emerge and displace old parties, and also what parties need to do in order to survive cut-throat competition, above all with new (and sometimes not so new) variants of populist parties. The book takes a unique global focus, covering old and new democracies in different regions of the world. It covers Western and Central Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa, Turkey, and Israel. This includes presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary democracies, and also some countries where democracy is seriously threatened or eroding. It offers unique comparative perspectives combined with a detailed analysis of individual countries and their party systems. The book shows that parties are central actors for the consolidation of democracy, but that organisational reforms are necessary to cope with social change such as individualisation, the decline in party membership, and the impact of new media and modern communication, thus counteracting the fragmentation of party systems and the decay of democracy."

This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

"Most studies of political rhetoric examine only political leadership or treat parties as unified actors. However, what happens where electoral systems incentivise candidates to diverge from stated party messaging during campaigns? This article uses novel data on political experience and candidate backgrounds from the 2022 French parliamentary elections to explore the individual drivers of campaigning behaviour. The choice of France, with its multiple and prominent radical right-wing parties, allows for the consideration of both within- and between-party differences in individual campaigning. Using the salient example of toxic rhetoric, findings demonstrate that even when party leaders publicly urge moderation, individual candidates do not necessarily follow along. This implies the need for additional focus on the individual-level drivers of political semantics, especially where candidates are apt to campaign independently, using social media platforms to communicate directly with citizens."

"Across many policy spheres, researchers have noted the increasingly scientific governance of global affairs. One common explanation is that science has become a kind of modern secular religion. Drawing on interviews with members of the US food policy network, I offer a more conflict-driven view; the USA is engaged in a self-consciously hegemonic project to institutionalize its preferred model of science-based regulation in international food safety law and standards, and to marginalize the European ‘precautionary' approach. I demonstrate the ideological labor policy actors must perform to purify science from interest and error, reframing the American project as a kind of global leadership toward technical progress."

"Rising support for populist parties has disrupted the politics of many Western societies. What explains this phenomenon? Two theories are examined here. Perhaps the most widely-held view of mass support for populism -- the economic insecurity perspective -- emphasizes the consequences of profound changes transforming the workforce and society in post-industrial economies. Alternatively, the cultural backlash thesis suggests that support can be explained as a retro reaction by once-predominant sectors of the population to progressive value change. To consider these arguments, Part I develops the conceptual and theoretical framework. Part II of the study uses the 2014 Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) to identify the ideological location of 268 political parties in 31 European countries. Part III compares the pattern of European party competition at national-level. Part IV uses the pooled European Social Survey 1-6 (2002-2014) to examine the cross-national evidence at individual level for the impact of the economic insecurity and cultural values as predictors of voting for populist parties. Part V summarizes the key findings and considers their implications. Overall, we find the most consistent evidence supporting the cultural backlash thesis."

"The paper examines the perceived crisis in Western liberal democracies, arguing that the true causes extend beyond the commonly cited symptoms of political party representation decline, partisan hostility, and the rise of charismatic leaders. It suggests that the roots lie in a deep-seated belief in traditional economic solutions such as promoting international trade, reducing state intervention, and encouraging competition. This belief unites diverse ideological movements and has led to a policy environment where evidence-based policymaking prioritizes practical effectiveness over political and ethical considerations, resulting in the marginalization of alternative viewpoints and the narrowing of democratic discourse. The dominance of economic liberalism and ordo-liberalism has shaped policy evaluation methodologies, favoring short-term effectiveness and quantitative measures while often neglecting broader impacts like income distribution. Additionally, the increasing use of AI in legislative processes may further entrench this “what works” paradigm, rendering traditional policy development obsolete. The paper concludes by emphasizing the importance of embracing diverse perspectives and fostering debate to ensure the vitality of liberal democracy."

"Depuis 2002, la Turquie est dirigée par l'AKP (Parti de la justice et du développement) et par son leader charismatique, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ce pouvoir " musulman-démocrate " a profondément modifié le pays : urbanisation, forte croissance de l'économie, négociations avec l'Union européenne, rôle majeur au Moyen-Orient, etc. Pour autant, le bilan de ce long règne est ambivalent. Les avancées sur le front de la démocratisation ont progressivement laissé place à un autoritarisme rampant et à une politique de réislamisation de la société. L'armée turque a perdu son rôle de tutelle du régime, au prix de procès politiques fortement entachés d'irrégularités. Depuis 2008, les négociations avec l'UE piétinent. Des pas courageux pour résoudre le problème kurde ont été suivis par des mesures répressives, qui se sont étendues à l'ensemble des revendications démocratiques. Les protestations de Gezi, en 2013, ont révélé le visage autoritaire du pouvoir et les mutations en cours de la société. Dans cet essai documenté, Ahmet Insel nous éclaire sur les facteurs d'ascension de l'AKP, la stratégie politique et la persistance des succès électoraux d'Erdogan malgré les affaires de corruption et la lutte ouverte avec la communauté Gülen. Il montre ainsi que la société turque est constamment tiraillée entre culpabilités refoulées et désir de libération, entre peur de perdre son identité socio-historique et volonté d'être pleinement dans le monde moderne."

"Nos démocraties contemporaines et libérales ont progressivement laissé la place à une gouvernante adémocratique, chaotique, et illégale. En exploitant les failles de notre système à leur avantage, la classe des dirigeants s'assure un pouvoir suprême, tandis que les citoyens se sacrifient toujours plus. Quelle est l'étendue du pouvoir illégal des élites ? Et que faire pour changer les choses ? Dans cet ouvrage, Thierry Brugvin apporte une matière précieuse pour tout citoyen soucieux de ta préservation de l'état de droit. Il mène une enquête accablante sur nos démocraties contemporaines afin d'en dénoncer les rouages, tout en proposant des pistes de modernisation dans le sens d'une meilleure répartition des richesse."

"Woefully little systematic knowledge is available about leaders who shape and sustain globalization. On the Cutting Edge of Globalization is the first systematic study to investigate elite attitudes toward the emergent structures of world affairs. Surveys of more than 1,700 American leaders before and after 9/11 yield compelling and provocative findings that depict the attitudes and activities of an important group of people who, even as they collectively influence the course of events, are not linked and coordinated in their efforts. Chock-full of original data, the book's unique contribution is enhanced by a narrative explanation that casts a Cutting Edger, an Other Leader, and a Researcher in a good-natured argument about the meaning of social science inquiry and the validity of survey data. From an author group as powerful as the targets of their inquiry comes this one-of-a-kind, thorough analysis."