Other
Cross-country
Regional comparisons
Issue based comparisons
Presidential
Clear separation of powers
both head of state and head of government
executive elected separately from the legislature
strong executive power with checks from separately elected legislature
(Cyprus/USA)
Baseline Theory on coalitions
Predicts a minimum winning coalition (Least amount of parties required to gain majority)
Assumes parties are office Seeking
How parties are ideologically connected as well
Will include the party of the median legislator
Factors that lead to coalition breakdowns
Internal party conflict (Leadership change or extreme vs moderate in party)
Shifted public opinion during elections
Conservative parties
Conservative:
4 main Social Cleavages
Territorial: center-periphery
Church vs. State
Labor - Capital
Urban vs. Rural
parliamentary
PM is head of government but not head of state
Fusion of power between exec and legislative
Executive needs parliamentary majority and must retain confidence of majority
PM can dissolve parliament
(Germany)
Characteristics minority government?
Governments that do not command a majority seats in parliament
Involves centrally located party (Part of median legislator, most in the middle controls government)
External support by opposition parties
Two Types: (majority in disguise and genuine minority)
Disadvantages/advantages of a minimum winning coalition
Dis: High instability if they do not agree ideologically, leads to high chance of restructuring or government collapse, also less voices in in government outside the coalition parties
advantages:Policy implementation can be quicker and more coherent
Christian Democratic parties
capitalism with a conscience
appeal beyond catholic christianity
Centrality of the family
Negative Vs positive parliamentarism
Positive: Government must win at least a plurality or majority of MP's votes before they're allowed to take office - formal vote needed, must secure majority, less flexible
Negative: Gov not needed to win the vote, just cannot lose the vote- No formal vote of NC needed, only must avoid NC vote, Less stable
Semi-Presidential system
Combination of directly elected president and PM accountable to the legislature
dual executive: President shares power with the PM and cabinet
Potential for cohabitation
(Ex: France)
Minimum winning connected coalitions
Coalitions with the minimum number of parties needed to control a majority while also being ideologically connected on the political spectrum
Surplus majority coalition pros and cons
Dis: compromise so much that policy implementation is much slower, final policies so moderate they can be diluted, harder to outline priorities
Advantages: Very stable due to low level of restructuring in government and more inclusive of views
Liberal parties
Promote the interests of people who earned their living from commerce and professions
Promote the legal, property, political, religious rights of the individual vs arbitrary rule of a traditional, landed interest (Free market, opposition to State interference in economy and moral affairs)
How has the radical right and mainstream parties changed recently?
Radical right increased emphasis on economic issues, decreased emphasis on liberal authoritarianism
Mainstream: increased salience of liberal-authoritarian issues and decreased salience of economic issues
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a parliamentary democracy?
Advantages: Effective decision making, incentivizes actors to work hard and together
Disadvantages: Lack of accountability, informational disabilities, slow decision making, politicians prioritize immediate voter preferences, deteriorating screening mechanisms, redirected accountability
Surplus majority coalition
Contain more parties than necessary to command a majority in parliament, so if one party leaves they still control over half the seats in the legislature
avoids instability and policy broadness
Minority Government advantages vs dis
Dis: Slow, less coherent due to relying on the support of different allies on every issue, less predictable due to this issue
Advantages: More inclusive of others views because of compromise due to lack of majority
Communist parties
Dissatisfaction with the gradualism of social democracy
Belief in the replacement of capitalism by a collectivized, classless society to be achieved by rapid revolutionary means
Electoral setup determines the political parties in both amount and ideology
majoritarian vs proportional systems
Majoritarian-first past the post, one winner
proportional- multi-party systems typically, seats allocated based on number of votes achieved
Grand coalitions (specific type of surplus majority)
Occurs when the two largest political parties, often from opposing sides, join forces to form a government
Usually only happens in times of crisis and does not last long
When are coalition negotiations short vs long
short when parties care most about different issues, have been in government before, and party leaders have been in office longer (More trust)
Long when they want to be very specific about goals and outcomes because there is less trust
Socialist and social democratic parties
Emerged 19th century
Owner-worker cleavage vs conservatives
Allied with increasingly powerful trade union movements
Key concepts: Progressive taxation, full employment, social security, health and education for all