Annual Editions: Comparative Politics 10/11

Preface

Correlation Guide

Topic Guide

Internet References

UNIT 1: Citizen Participation: The Foundation of Political Stability and Impetus for Change

Unit Overview

1. What Democracy Is . . . and Is Not, Philippe C. Schmitter and Terry Lynn Karl, Journal of Democracy, Summer 1991

The term "democracy" is often used normatively to defend political decisions or outcomes. In this article, the authors outline what the term means conceptually, procedurally, and in principle. They also emphasize citizen participation as an integral concept to democracy. This is made clearer in the discussion on procedures, where the authors note that citizen participation underlies the procedures that realize democracy. Finally, the authors explain that no single set of actual institutions, practices, or values embodies democracy.

2. Public Opinion: Is There a Crisis?, The Economist, July 17, 1999

Two trends are notable in the public discourse on democracy: First, much of the discussion is centered on how established democracies in the West can help other countries "catch up." Second, "well-meaning observers" from the West also "descend" on other countries to help them along in their democratic processes. Yet, in the West, election turnouts are low (Figure 3) and surveys show that citizens are losing confidence in political institutions. This shows that: (1) democracy is a process that is not perfected in any country; (2) established democracies have something to learn; (3) the confidence crisis may be a source for creating new democratic processes and institutions.

3. Advanced Democracies and the New Politics, Russell J. Dalton, Susan E. Scarrow, and Bruce E. Cain, Journal of Democracy, January 2004

The authors report that citizens are demanding more access, greater transparency in policymaking, and more accountability in government, and show how procedures other than elections meet these demands. In particular, the authors note three trends in the evolution of democracy. First, changes such as campaign financing and term limits affect representation. Second, initiatives and referenda, where citizens participate directly in policymaking, are increasing. Third, citizens and interest groups are using the courts to pursue policy formation.

4. Referendums: The People’s Voice, The Economist, August 14, 1999

Citizen participation in policymaking is "the most democratic" of procedures; yet, many in the western democracies are concerned with the increasing use of the referendum for making policy decisions, especially on divisive issues in western democracies. The article outlines the main fears regarding the referendum and considers its strengths and weaknesses as a policymaking procedure.

5. Facing the Challenge of Semi-Authoritarian States, Marina Ottaway, Facing the Challenge of Semi-Authoritarian States, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003

Political hybrids, or semi-authoritarian regimes, contain many widely used processes in democracies, such as regular elections, rights of citizens, and an independent press. However, these states are not really aiming to become pluralist democracies. Instead, the ruling groups seem to take advantage of the democratic label without incurring the political risks that a free society entails. The author asks, "How should such regimes be dealt with?" She notes that promoting democracy in such regimes does not begin or end with removing the leaders.

6. People Power: In Africa, Democracy Gains Amid Turmoil, Sarah Childress, The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2008

The news reports of democracy failing in African countries fail to highlight the substantial gains pursued by citizens and groups in securing democratic government in their respective countries. The article highlights that democratic footholds are established in Ghana, Tanzania, Mauritius, Senegal, Mozambique, South Africa, and Botswana, while the number of nations ranked as not free at all has fallen to 14 from 25. In describing the challenges to Mugabe in Zimbabwe, the article highlights, once again, the significant role of citizens and groups in pursuing fairness and accountability, and effecting change in the process.

7. Bin Laden, the Arab "Street," and the Middle East’s Democracy Deficit, Dale F. Eickelman, Current History, January 2002

It is easy to dismiss Osama bin Laden because of his extremism and obvious manipulation of Islamic values and alienated youths. The author points out that it is more important to understand why, how, and when bin Laden is successful than to dismiss or caricaturize him. In particular, he emphasizes that providing platforms in the Middle East to express opinions on matters of public concern mitigates the threat of terrorism. Fundamentally, this means greater, not less, responsiveness of Middle Eastern governments to the people.

UNIT 2: Political Parties and Interest Groups: From Preferences to Policies

Unit Overview

8. What Political Institutions Does Large-Scale Democracy Require?, Robert A. Dahl, On Democracy, Yale University Press, 2000

The veteran scholar reiterates lessons from the first reading in Unit 1: "every actual democracy has always fallen short of democratic criteria." Notwithstanding, he provides six criteria that form the minimum requirements for a democratic country: elected officials; free, fair, and frequent elections; freedom of expression; access to alternative sources of information; associational autonomy; and inclusive citizenship. It is notable that citizen participation underpins all six criteria. While organizations such as interest groups and political parties are sometimes viewed with skepticism and even suspicion, organizing people into interest groups and political parties facilitates citizen influence and is, thus, indispensable toward building a democratic country.

9. Interest Groups: Ex Uno, Plures, The Economist, August 21, 1999

The article examines academic writings and the empirical evidence on the benefits and damages of interest groups. Interest groups are not equal; as a result, the hope that their influence on policymakers and policymaking will mutually cancel out is dim. In the worst case, governments may make decisions that are in favor of interest groups, but go against the interest of the wider public. However, interest groups also have positive effects, including encouraging participation between elections, monitoring government action, providing expert advice toward regulation, and minimizing conflict. What is important is this: interest groups and political parties provide outlets that, if repressed or ignored, may lead people to find "less democratic ways" to be heard.

10. Political Parties: Empty Vessels?, The Economist, July 24, 1999

Is the party over for political parties? The article discusses evidence suggesting that parties are on the decline. The evidence includes a move to claim the "ideological center," which leaves parties indistinct from one another; their erosion as information centers, which is now taken over by the mass media; the growth of interest groups that act as an alternative venue for expressing views; and the decline in party membership. However, the article also points out that parties continue to control nominations for office and that independent candidates are rarely successful. And, while membership is falling, groups continue to ally with political parties. Money also remains available for use by parties. There is evidence, then, to show that parties continue to exercise "reach."

11. Asia’s Democracy Backlash, Joshua Kurlantzick, Current History, November 2008

Is zeal and protest enough to secure democracy? This article on Asia’s democratization movements points out that while protest and revolution are likely to draw significant attention, success rests on regularized or even institutionalized organizations to ensure against backlash. In particular, even though many governments in Asia responded to the democratization movements by adopting democratic procedures, many have also since slowed down or even reversed political accountability and transparency. Importantly, there is hope for democratization: the author notes that where political parties have taken over the democratization banner—including development of grassroot political parties—democratization appears to be more robust. The grassroots movements are noteworthy in that they appear to promote inter-ethnic cooperation, thereby eliminating a significant barrier—ethnic conflict—to democratization.

12. Civil Society, Youth and Societal Mobilization in Democratic Revolutions, Taras Kuzio, Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 39 (2006)

In this article, the author describes youth movements in Serbia, Georgia, and Ukraine, to show how their involvement galvanized the opposition in these countries to overturn the previous, less-democratic regime. Importantly, the author points out that the zeal of the youths had to be coached in order to viably challenge the former regime. Through organization to confront electoral fraud, training to mobilize and unify, and contemporizing politics—incorporating modern communications like cellphones and texting, and using music and ridicule—to connect and raise awareness, the youth movements presented challenges that the authorities could not overcome with their traditional methods of portraying the groups as extremist, terrorist, or pro-Western anti-nationalists.

UNIT 3: The Executive: Instituting Accountability and Responsiveness

Unit Overview

13. Angela Merkel’s Germany, Jackson Janes and Stephen Szabo, Current History, March 2007

It is noteworthy that the authors identify Angela Merkel and other leaders of her generation—such as Nicolas Sarkozy in France and Gordon Brown in Britain—as pragmatists. The pragmatic executive is distinguished by several traits, many of which set Angela Merkel apart from previous leaders in Germany. They include a policymaking and leadership approach that is not strongly ideological, incremental problem solving as opposed to unifying grand visions, and a preference for interest based policymaking rather than personalization of politics. This pragmatism has helped sustain the grand coalition between her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and the other major party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), needed to govern and produce the economic and social reforms demanded by the citizenry. However, unpopular decisions remain to be made, and how she pursues and achieves these reforms will be the measure of her success.

14. Russia’s Transition to Autocracy, Pierre Hassner, Journal of Democracy, April 2008

Putin’s policies have stopped, if not turned back, Russia in its democratic evolution. Yet, the former president and current premier enjoys a majority of popular support. This is all the more surprising, considering that polls show that a plurality of the people (42 percent) favors a liberal-democratic system of government. The author points out that while Putin appears successful in galvanizing popular support, there is evidence that he is already suffering setbacks from the system that he has established and is primed to experience, "an impotence of omnipotence."

15. How Did We Get Here?: Mexican Democracy after the 2006 Elections, Chappell Lawson, PS: Political Science and Politics, January 2007

The author asks how Mexico came to have a presidential election in 2006 that was bitterly contested. He reviews the recent political developments in that country, including the loss of hegemony by the PRI in 2000. He concludes that the main problem does not lie in faulty institutions but in the sharp polarization of Mexico’s political elites. The author points out that future reforms need to consider how parties and party leaders interact in order to succeed.

16. Behind the Honduran Mutiny, Jose De Cordoba, Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2009

Often, strong executives appear to monopolize the instruments of coercion that facilitate their dominance. In reality, however, strong executives cannot rely on coercion alone but need to cultivate support. The situation in Honduras speaks to the problems that arise if they fail to do so. On June 28, 2009, Honduras president Manuel Zelaya was exiled out of the country by the military with a gun literally held to his head. The move was internationally decried as a military coup; yet, Mr. Zelaya himself was no advocate of "rule of law." In fact, Mr. Zelaya had led a drive to rewrite the constitution to abolish term limits, which is constitutionally prohibited, and was planning a referendum to call a constitutional assembly, even though the vote had been declared illegal by the country’s Supreme Court. Although the coup itself is a subject of much international criticism, it is also clear that Mr. Zelaya’s presidential ambitions will not go unchallenged.

17. Thailand in 2008: Crises Continued, Kitti Prasirtsuk, Asian Survey, vol. 49, issue 1

The author traces the origins of the 2008 mass protests and demonstrations in Thailand to political tensions that simmered under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2005 and led to a military coup in 2006. The popularity of Prime Minister Thaksin among the rural poor led to the election of his supporters for government; yet, the new government has not been able to put an end to the political stalemate that originated under Thaksin. Instead, the situation has degenerated into one of "the people versus the people," where different segments of the population rise in protest against the political choices of the other segments. The governing parties have not been able to command the broad support necessary to end this impasse; until they do, the country remains ungovernable.

18. Iranian Infighting Leaves Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Isolated, Damien McElroy and Ahmed Vahdat, The Telegraph (UK), July 28, 2009

The article recounts Ahmadinejad’s political fortunes since the disputed Iranian elections on June 12, 2009. The large-scale protests that followed official announcement that President Ahmadinejad had won re-election decisively led to official clampdowns and detention of opposition supporters. Yet, these actions were not backed by all the leadership elites and open dissent in these ranks against the government’s actions is now threatening government rule. The Ayatollah Khamenei’s support of Ahmadinejad, which was essential to the latter’s assumption of the presidency, appears to be eroding. The Ayatollah himself appears to be weathering challenges of his own. The article makes clear that even political autocrats need to build broad support based on accountability and responsiveness to achieve governability.

UNIT 4: The Legislature: Representation and the Effects of Electoral Systems

Unit Overview

19. Discipline, Accountability, and Legislative Voting in Latin America, John M. Carey, Comparative Politics, vol. 35, no. 2, January 2003

The article shows how political reforms have edged legislators toward greater accountability to their constituencies. This is no mean feat: legislators are conflicted between the divided loyalties of accountability to the party versus to their constituencies. However, the influence of parties has been eroded over time, in part by new technological advancements such as electronic vote-keeping in the legislature and in part by new demands, such as the executive’s ability to provide patronage to legislators for their support. The trajectory is toward greater accountability to constituency, or "principles."

20. The Case for a Multi-Party U.S. Parliament?: American Politics in Comparative Perspective, Christopher S. Allen, Original Work, 2007

The author considers how American political institutions have suffered under divided government. He suggests that America may benefit from the study of comparative politics, and presents a brief mental experiment in institutional transplantation, where the presidential system is replaced by parliamentary institutions. It underscores the basic insight that institutions matter a great deal. They are not neutral, but have consequences for the political process itself.

21. India’s Election: Singh When You’re Winning, Delhi, Nandigram, and Wardha, The Economist, May 21, 2009

India’s large landmass and geography contributes to the remoteness of its many villages so that regional concerns appear to trump the national ones during elections. This makes the electoral results from the May 13, 2009 elections, particularly noteworthy: The national party, the Congress Party, landed a majority in parliament without having to go into a coalition with many of these regional parties. The article notes that this victory may augur that " Indians are growing impatient with parties that appeal to them only on the basis of caste, region, or religion, neglecting their welfare." The election results are also important for the lack of personal appeal: The three Congress leaders each received less support in polls than the leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. Advani. This suggests that it is not individualism that led to the Congress Party’s success but, rather, the credibility of the party to deliver.

22. Fragile Signs of Hope Emerging in the Gloom of Mugabe’s Rule, Celia W. Dugger, The New York Times, March 19, 2009

Zimbabwe’s political and economic crises are infamous and few consider President Robert Mugabe to be sincere in his power-sharing deal with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the semi-presidential system. This article shows why the doubt persists: On the education minister’s first day at work, he is offered a bribe of a Mercedes Benz from President Mugabe. The article reports that many ministers have accepted such patronage, so that there is a question of whether the opposition can legitimately claim to challenge Mugabe. Yet, even amid corruption, waste, and patronage, those who have devoted years to political activism make ongoing efforts to "stand up to Mr. Mugabe" in order to rehabilitate the country ravaged by a 2,000,000 percent inflation. There is, then, hope that the legislative component of the presidential-parliamentary system will counter Mugabe’s power.

23. Equity in Representation for Women and Minorities, from Electoral Systems in Comparative Perspective: Their Impact on Women and Minorities, Wilma Rule and Joseph Zimmerman, eds. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994

This article points out that minority representation across all countries is well short of their proportional numbers in the population. There are several reasons for minority underrepresentation. Chief among them are the majority’s attitudes toward minorities, which affects how minorities are classified and the ease or difficulty of obtaining citizenship that vests them with rights for political participation and involvement. Having "reserved" seats for their representation helps, as does using proportional system or single transferable vote rather than plurality elections. Does this matter? The author points out that promoting minority representation in legislatures is likely to reduce political alienation among minorities and, consequently, reduce tensions and conflicts that can splinter a country. 

24. Rwanda: Women Hold up Half the Parliament, Elizabeth Powley, in Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers, Revised Edition (2005), Julie Ballington and Azza Karam, eds., Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

The article talks about one of the few successes of ensuring minority representation: women legislators in Rwanda. The success of women in the Rwandan legislature is particularly impressive, given that women were targeted in the 1994 genocide. The author points out that the success is due to several factors working in combination, beginning with a constitution that explicitly outlines the country’s commitment to gender equality, innovative electoral structures that ensure the election of women candidates, an ongoing women’s movement that is tied to a larger mobilization of civil society, socialization to accept women’s equal roles, and the commitment of the governing party to include women in government. The author notes that quotas are only the first step toward ensuring minority representation and that innovative electoral structures are needed to fulfill such plans.

UNIT 5: The Bureaucracy and Judiciary: Unelected Policy Thugs or Expert Policymakers?

Unit Overview

25. Judicial Review: The Gavel and the Robe, The Economist, August 7, 1999

Why do democracies give judges, who are usually not elected, the power to influence, oversee, evaluate, and even revise how policies are made and executed? The article explains why two such powers—the power of judicial review or constitutional review, where judges adjudicate over the constitutionality of laws, and the power of administrative review, where judges rule on the legality of government actions—do not hinder democratic evolution.

26. Political Influence on the Bureaucracy: The Bureaucracy Speaks, Scott R. Furlong, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, vol. 8, no. 1, January 1998

The article considers the influence of politics on bureaucracy and vice versa. While some scholars suggest that the bureaucracy, like the judiciary, enjoys so much power as unelected officials, this article proposes an alternative perspective. It states that the bureaucracy serves many masters, including the president, interest groups, the courts, and the legislature—all of whom have some influence on policymaking. And it suggests that one of the most effective methods for influencing the bureaucracy is the budget.

27. Reclaiming Democracy: The Strategic Uses of Foreign and International Law by National Courts, Eyal Benvenisti, The American Journal of International Law, vol. 102, no. 2, April 2008

The author notes that courts in several democracies have begun to apply international law and the jurisprudence of other national courts to their domestic laws. The article cites three areas where this judicial convergence is most notable: judicial review of global counterterrorism measures, the protection of the environment in developing countries, and the status of asylum seekers in destination countries. The author points out that in each of these areas, the judiciary does not actually aim to displace executive priorities or legislative policymaking with their judicial decisions. Rather, the aim is to push these branches of government to clarify policymaking. In doing so, the author points out that judiciaries are providing "expanded policy space" for domestic deliberation, which facilitates democratic development.

28. The Making of a Neo-KGB State, The Economist, August 25, 2007

Agencies such as the KGB typify a bureaucracy gone bad—all-powerful, unchecked, corrupted by power. The article describes the Federal Security Service (FSB), the successor to the KGB, in Russia and its role in forcing owners, specifically of oil businesses, to give up their businesses and return them to state ownership. Critics, such as Anna Politkovskaya, a renowned journalist, and Litvinenko, a former KGB officer, have died under suspicious circumstances. Yet, few expect that the businesses seized will be run successfully, and that the power of such an agency will likely turn out to be its undoing.

29. Beijing Censors Taken to Task in Party Circles, Joseph Kahn, The New York Times, February 15, 2006

The case of the Propaganda Department in China showcases how public challenge posed as a constraint on a "runaway" bureaucracy. The case of the "Freezing Point" reports that the highly powerful agency faces increasing public challenges to its authority, which, in turn, has led the government to rein in the Department and revise media controls. The biggest constraint on bureaucracies is budget. As the case shows, even state-run media outlets now rely on circulation and advertising to survive. As a result, they are driven to publish materials and stories people want to read, even if it means stepping on bureaucrats’ toes.

UNIT 6: Public Policy: Defining Public, Effects and Trade-Offs

Unit Overview

30. The Formation of State Actor-Social Movement Coalitions and Favorable Policy Outcomes, Linda Brewster Stearns and Paul D. Almeida, Social Problems, vol. 51, no. 4, November 2004

How are policies successful? The authors track the environmental policy reform in Japan in the 1970s to show that success is through state actor-social movement coalitions. The reform in Japan is noteworthy for two reasons: first, it was advocated by weak actors-social movements against very strong, established, and well-funded adversaries; and second, it turned the most polluted industrialized country into a successful model of environmental reforms for industrialized countries. The authors suggest that a necessary factor for state actor-social movement coalitions is a national level state actor to provide organizational resources, recognition, and authority to push for the reform.

31. What Drives Health Policy Formulation: Insights from the Nepal Maternity Incentive Scheme?, Tim Ensor, Susan Clapham, and Devi Prasad Prasai, Health Policy 90 (2009)

This article showcases another successful policy: a maternal-care policy implemented in Nepal. Although the maternal mortality rate in Nepal fell by half in a decade, the number remains staggering: at 281 deaths per 100,000, it represents an estimated six women a day dying from pregnancy related causes. The authors show several factors that were important in the success of transforming the country’s policy on maternal care. First, independent research was conducted, used, and communicated widely in a way to respond to both technical and political policymaking concerns; second, a convergence of political interests meant that the policy became an ideal vehicle for improving the flagging fortunes of the government; third, the importance of political champions within or close to government advocated a strong policy line. The article ties in with the previous one to show that the factors leading to successful policy-adoption are consistent across policy areas.

32. An Economist’s Invisible Hand, John Cassidy, The Wall Street Journal, November 28, 2009

What is the economic basis for developing a health care system? In this article, the author points out that market failures occur frequently, as evidenced by the recent global recession. Markets fail when there are social costs that are not reflected in the private economic benefits; in these cases, the costs are transferred onto the rest of society. The market, then, is not the most reliable mechanism for distributing benefits in these cases. Economist Cecil Pigou advocated for the concept of social economics in the 1930s. An idea that has been around for as long as the Keynesian idea of government fiscal stimulation, Pigou’s concept that government is needed to "promote economic welfare" has regained traction. Pigou’s social economics underlies the rationale for government involvement in health care, where the social costs of uninsured patients have grown steadily and where the social benefits of a healthy work-force are often overlooked.

33. New Hopes on Health Care for American Indians, Pam Belluck, December 1, 2009

This article follows up on the previous article on the social costs of medicine that are often overlooked. In the United States, one of the richest countries in the world, the state of health care for American-Indians is often described as "third world conditions." It is astonishing that access to health care remains one of the biggest impediments to proper diagnosis and treatment. While health care reform may not end the significant problems of health care for American Indians, it increases the options and availability for expanding the quality