Showing papers in "European Journal of Political Research in 1973"

Government coalitions in western europe

Abstract: Several simple theories of government coalition formation are described and tested. A statistical method is presented for comparing the theories and evaluating each of them relative to a certain null hypothesis. The statistical tests are based upon the formation of 132 government coalitions in twelve countries of Western Europe during 1945–71.

Patron-client relationships in southern italy*

Abstract: Political clientelism in Southern Italy has shown great persistence and capacity for conditioning the entire Italian political development. Accounting for these characteristics, clientelism is better understood as the product of the incomplete capitalistic rationalization of the Southern economy. Throughout the 19th century in Sicily, the feudo remained the basis of the economic and social structure, while in the continental South the feudal system disintegrated more quickly and widely. The resulting different models of social relationships within the Mezzogiorno, make it meaningful for our purposes to distinguish between two types of clientele, which may be termed clientela mafiosa and Neopolitan clientele. The second part of the article is concerned with the dynamics of the clientelistic system in post-1945 Southern Italy and more generally with the relationship between clientelism and political development. The transition from the clientelism of the notables to political party-directed patronage is studied both at the local level and in the context of the whole South. It is then argued that clientelism is a very poor tool for political development since it has two effects on the social structure and the political process: these effects will be called disorganic integration and exclusivism.

COMPARING PUBLIC POLICY: An Overview*

Abstract: Before undertaking comparative policy analysis, one must first be clear of the justification for the inordinately large amount of work required. A variety of reasons are reviewed. In order to make comparisons, one must have a conceptual framework to identify the different parts of the policy process. Data must be placed in a process, as well as located in geographical space. It is also important to consider to what extent differences between policy areas (defence, health care, housing, economic policy, etc) influence the policy process. The issues discussed concern problems that arise in within-nation studies of policy, as well as between-nation comparisons.

Party coalitions in danish law‐making 1953–1970*

Abstract: Despite assertions about the ubiquity of coalition behavior in politics, theories of coalition formation have not usually been tested on data pertaining to the legislative process. The paper explores advantages and shortcomings of existing coalition theory for studying law-making in a multi-party parliamentary democracy with highly cohesive parties, using Denmark as the test case. All passed government bills 1953–1970 are studied in terms of the size and composition of the winning coalitions and policy area of bills. In all cabinet periods a certain number of bills are passed by minimal majorities, but most are not, indicating that minimal majority behavior is not a principal strategy in law-making. However, the traditional left-right model of the Danish party system is very successful in accounting for the coalitions formed. Classification of bills into policy areas also shows considerable variation with respect to levels of conflict, with taxation as the most conflict-generating area. The findings suggest that if we are ultimately to understand the significance of coalition behavior in politics, it is imperative that we relax strict rationalistic behavior assumptions and concentrate efforts on developing ways for systematic study of the content and perceived consequences of decisions made by winning coalitions.

Political parties, societies and regimes in europe: some reflections on the literature*

Abstract: Many studies of European party systems have not taken into account fully the complexity and richness of party life on the continent. We need more multi-level, multi-dimensional analyses within a cross-national framework in order to obtain a more comprehensive picture of the relationships between parties, social structure and regimes. The discussion of some of the lacunae in the existing literature and of various ways of looking at political parties-emphasizes that because of the large number of alternative approaches available to the political sociologist, there is no single source of data, unit or level of analysis suitable for considering all facets of the subject. By crossing back and forth between levels or units of analysis, we may well gain in precision and detail what might be lost in methodological purity.

Dimensions of political cleavage in multi-party systems

Abstract: Recent research on political dimensions in the Scandinavian party systems at five non-electorate “levels” of dimensional analysis (content analysis of party programs, content analysis of expressions of party stances on current issues, positions taken by the parliamentary parties as behaving units, roll call analysis and interviews of individual legislators, and interviews with leaders and members of party organizations) justify the rejection of the unidimensional spatial model of party competition. Data on the social structure, attitudes and opinions, and voting behavior of the supporters of different parties provide indirect information about the dimensions of political cleavage. More directly, the “perceived party dimensions” can be concluded from aggregates of individual assessments for which the parties as such are the stimuli Averaged rank orderings of the parties provide ordinal measures that have been used as inputs for multidimensional scaling techniques. An experiment of measuring the mutual distances of political parties in Finland used percentages of the second and the two last party choices as measures of party distance. A qualitative analysis of the exceptions to regular orderings along the basic left/right dimension suggested the presence of six additional political dimensions: the producers and agriculture/the consumers and urban industries; the established parties/the temporary small parties; recognized and noted centers/the “forgotten people” (populist dimension); Finnish/Swedish; communism/non-communism; and victorious/losing. Three developments can be envisaged in future dimensional analysis of multiparty systems: comparisons across countries, comparisons between different levels in the political system, and predictions of emerging political changes.

CRISIS, CHANGE, AND PUBLIC POLICY Considerations for a Comparative Analysis of Environmental Policies

Abstract: The environmental “crisis” is now a top priority in many industrialized countries. Perceived of as a threat to a society's resources, the environmental problem raises important questions regarding competing system goals. The problem cuts across traditional political and administrative structures and thus carries several implications for political change. Since the environmental issue has gained political recognition at the same time in many political systems, the auspices for comparative research are good. This paper contains an analysis of the Swedish response to the environmental problem. The most spectacular changes seem to have appeared in policy content, and in the performance levels of the actors, while the structures of the system remain almost unchanged. A general framework for comparative environmental analysis is developed, followed by a discussion of certain aspects of environmental policy and political change. Drawing from Swedish, American and Canadian data, the complex adaptation processes between innovative agents, public opinion and institutionalized power mechanisms are discussed. Some propositions are offered for further comparative research.

The visible hand of the multinational corporation a review

Abstract: This article is a taxonomy of a new field of interest to political scientists, namely the study of multinational corporations as political actors on the local, national and international level. It describes the interests and activities of the four major actors involved: parent companies, subsidiaries, investor countries, and host countries. The article bases itself in part on seven books which represent these various actors'perspectives, and suggests what kind of further research is needed to describe the cooperative and conflictual relations among them. The theoretical challenges presented by the multinationals are related in part to their dual character as economic and political actors, and in part to the fact that they integrate activities among various levels of political organization, thus cutting across traditional divisions of scholarly disciplines such as local, comparative and international politics, as well as economics, international business, and industrial relations.

On power, its intensity and distribution

Abstract: The inadequate results and the lack of progress of all attempts at measuring power are primarily due to two factors: 1) the tendency to focus on a single dimension of the measurement problem, that is, either on the intensity of power in interpersonal relations, or on the distribution of power within a given social system, failing to link these two aspects; and 2) the inadequacy of community power studies to provide comprehensive models, and the continuing stubborn tendency to conceive measurement in strict, quantitative terms, failing to recognize the value of other less exact forms of measurement. The two problems of the intensity of power in interpersonal relations and of its systemic distribution may be tackled simultaneously by representing the actual impact and behaviour of power in a given system rather than measuring it quantitatively. This is done by means of a graphic, curvilinear representation of the power process, which allows the identification of different “phases”, where power has a substantially different nature (authority, influence, force), elicits different responses (obedience, passive resistance, submission), and results in different power relations (anarchy, legitimacy, bargaining, coercion). The curve bears considerable resemblance to the heuristic instruments of classical economics, and – though it is not without limitations – it offers substantial advantages, particulary its capacity to provide an instrument for comparing the power process in different political systems.

Political orientations and participation in demonstrations among swedish students

Abstract: The attitudinal antecedents of participation in political demonstrations are analyzed on the basis of a survey of 1.723 students in Goteborg, Sweden, in 1969. Highest participation rate is found in the strong left group, lowest in the strong right category (using a self-placement indicator). It is found that sudden change in basic value preference produces increased propensity to engage in political demonstrations. Students most likely to take part in demonstrations are those combining strong leftist views with high system distrust. The association between distrust and participation, however, turns out to be rather complex because of a curvilinear relationship between distrust and left–right placement. Furthermore, the strength of the link between propensity to engage in demonstrations and actual participation is a function of left–right position as well as system distrust.