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This book asks what distinguishes peaceful plural democracies from violent ones and what distinguishes violent ethnic groups from peaceful ones within the same democracy. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it suggests that ethnic groups and their political demands are not inherently intransigent and that violence is not a necessary corollary of ethnic politics. The book posits that ethnic identity serves as a stable but flexible information shortcut for political choices, influencing party formation and development in new and maturing democracies. It furthermore argues that political intransigence and violence expressed by some ethnic groups stem from circumstances exogenous to ethnic affiliations. In particular, absolute restrictions on ethnic access to the executive produce conditions under which ethnic group incentive to participate in peaceful electoral politics is eliminated. A number of case studies and statistical analysis of all electoral democracies since 1945 are used to test and support the formal argument.
Not Invited to the Party demonstrates how the dominant political parties--the Democrats and Republicans--have co-opted the system to their advantage. James Bennett examines the history and array of laws, regulations, subsidies and programs that benefit the two major parties and discourage even the possibility of a serious challenge to the Democrat-Republican duopoly. The American Founders, as it has been generally forgotten, distrusted political parties. Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution are parties mentioned, much less given legal protection or privilege. This provocative book traces how by the end of the Civil War the Republicans and Democrats had guaranteed their dominance and subsequently...
In developing democracies, where vote-buying and charismatic politicians are the norm, niche parties have been the greatest hope for advancing the interests of marginalized communities. In Candidate Matters: A Study of Ethnic Parties, Campaigns, and Elections in Latin America, Karleen Jones West uses in-depth fieldwork on political campaigns and statistical analyses of elections and public opinion to show how individual candidates undermine the policy goals of parties that were initially created to advance niche policy interests, like those of indigenous communities.
Consociational theory explains how democratic stability is possible in culturally or ethnically segmented political systems. It is one of the most important theories in Comparative Politics and one of the most contested. This volume brings together the leading proponents and opponents of consociational theory and conflict resolution.
Stifling Political Competition examines the history and array of laws, regulations, subsidies and programs that benefit the two major parties and discourage even the possibility of a serious challenge to the Democrat-Republican duopoly. The analysis synthesizes political science, economics and American history to demonstrate how the two-party system is the artificial creation of a network of laws, restrictions and subsidies that favor the Democrats and Republicans and cripple potential challenges. The American Founders, as it has been generally forgotten, distrusted political parties. Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution are parties mentioned, much less given legal protection or privilege. This ...
Latin American Democratic Transformations explores the manner in which Latin American societies seek to consolidate and deepen their democracies in adverse domestic and international circumstances. The contributors engage recent debates on liberal and illiberal democracy and probe the complex connections between democratic politics and neoliberal, market-oriented reforms.
Wimmer contrasts Switzerland and Belgium to demonstrate how the early development of voluntary organizations enhanced nation building; he examines Botswana and Somalia to illustrate how providing public goods can bring diverse political constituencies together; and he shows that the differences between China and Russia indicate how a shared linguistic space may help build political alliances across ethnic boundaries. Wimmer then reveals, based on the statistical analysis of large-scale datasets, that these mechanisms are at work around the world and explain nation building better than competing arguments such as democratic governance or colonial legacies. He also shows that when political alliances crosscut ethnic divides and when most ethnic communities are represented at the highest levels of government, the general populace will identify with the nation and its symbols, further deepening national political integration.
"Presents the logic and practice of political analysis--including concepts, measurement, and hypothesis testing. Covers basic statistical skills, correlation and least squares regression, and binary logistic regression. Provides examples, key terms, and exercises and is accompanied by a workbook"--Provided by publisher.
In Everyday Identity and Electoral Politics, Adam S. Harris explores how social identities, such as ethnicity and race, influence politics, economic development, and voting behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing upon original survey data, interviews, focus groups, and participant observations, Harris conceptualizes a theory of identity construction that both predicts differences in vote choice and theorizes how the identity construction process shapes differential outcomes in vote choice within ethnic groups. It is one of the first studies that directly links the every-day ethnic identity construction process with voting behavior, and it is the first to do so using a continuous conceptualization of ethnicity (i.e., one capable of shifting over time).