Archive 2/2018

Pavel Bacovsky
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA
e-mail: Pavel.Bacovsky@colorado.edu

Abstract

Do formal political institutions, namely electoral systems, affect economic growth? Using data on South Korea and Japan, I investigate whether their electoral system reforms produced a significant change in the rate of economic growth. I find that both countries grew faster under SNTV than under other systems. SNTV allows for the formation of close ties between politicians and society. This, in turn, makes it easier for politicians to sell specific policy agendas to the citizens. I conclude that formal political institutions, especially the electoral system, affect economic growth and that SNTV was one of the key catalysts of both Japan’s and South Korea’s economic booms.

Key words

single non-transferable vote (SNTV); electoral systems; institutions; economic growth; Japan; South Korea

Caroline Dalmus
University of Fribourg, Switzerland
e-mail: caroline.dalmus@unifr.ch

Abstract

In addition to other factors, the success of populist parties seems to be influenced by the strategic behavior of their competing opponents. Yet, it has not been clearly determined which form of behavior leads to populist success or failure. In order to gain insight into the effectiveness of strategic engagement with populist issues the present study compares an election campaign resulting in populist success with an election campaign resulting in populist failure. For this purpose, the elections in Great Britain in 2010 (low populist vote result) and 2015 (high populist vote result) were chosen. A content analysis of party statements in press releases (N = 734) and newspaper articles (N = 379) covering eight weeks prior to each Election Day was undertaken. The results suggest that the lack of engagement with a salient issue seems to open up opportunities for a populist party. Additionally, divergence and therefore the presence of conflict turns out to have a positive influence on populist success.

Key words

populism; party behavior; election campaigns; news coverage

Lukáš Hájek
Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
e-mail: hajek.lukas@mail.com

Abstract

This article deals with the dimensions of politics in the Czech Republic since the state’s establishment in 1993 until 2017. It utilizes MPs’ votes by roll call in the Chamber of Deputies, which is the polity’s centre of gravity. The analysis suggests that two principal drivers shape Czech politics – an ideological (socio-economic left vs right) dimension and an institutional (government vs opposition) division. Due to the changing forms of the ruling cabinets, the dimensionality oscillates between unidimensional and two-dimensional (with a specific phase of as many as three relevant dimensions between 1998–2002). Periods of right-oriented majority cabinets result in a unidimensional competition composed of a merged ideological dimension and an institutional division. Stages of left-oriented majority cabinets ideologically split the opposition camp and highlight the unique role of the socio-economic dimension separated from the still dominant institutional division. During the rule of both left- and right-oriented minority cabinets, political competition is mainly driven by the ideological cleavage since the conventional institutional patterns diminish.

Key words

Czech Republic; Chamber of Deputies; parliament; dimensionality; roll call; spatial modelling

Miloš Gregor
Masaryk Univesity, Brno, Czech Republic
e-mail: mgregor@fss.muni.cz

Abstract

There are many studies analysing the ability of parties to enact their election pledges. Most of these focus on established Western democracies and conclude that pledges made by parties that enter the government after elections are more likely to be enacted than those made by parties stuck in opposition. As the ability to keep election promises has important consequences for the quality of democracy, it is important to extend the analyses to the Central and Eastern European countries. We find a lack of such studies, however. This article seeks to make a contribution in this area. In this paper we analyse the case of the Czech Republic from 2002 to the parliamentary elections in 2013. The analysis includes pledges given in electoral manifestos by the two main parties in that period, the Czech Social Democratic Party and the Civic Democratic Party, which alternated in coalition governments. Unlike other studies from this region, we focus on a longer period, not just the last elections, so the results reflect a longer term trend, and not just the current situation. In the total sample of 1800 pledges made by the two parties in three elections we found that there is a larger success rate in keeping promises for the governing party; the ČSSD fulfilled fewer pledges when they were in power than the ODS. Surprisingly, the Social democrats had a greater percentage of enacted pledges while they were in opposition than in government. The analysis shows the shift in the composition of manifestos since the 2006 elections and the thematic composition of pledges and different success ratios among them.

Key words

election pledges; manifesto analysis; mandate theory; program-to-policy linkage; Czech Republic

Abstract

Říchová, Blanka; Jüptner, Petr; Riegl, Martin; Švec, Kamil (2015). Analýza politiky a političtí aktéři - možnosti a limity aplikace teorií na příkladech. Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON), 251 pages.

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Abstract

Jones, Erik; van Genigten Saskia (2016). Europe and Islam. New York: Routledge, 120 pages.

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Brennan, Jason; Jaworski, Peter M. (2016). Markets without Limits: Moral and Virtues and Commercial Interests. New York: Routledge, 252 pages.

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