This thesis examines the changing nature of opposition within the British political system through a study of the balance of power between the Conservative Party and its leader in their most recent period in opposition from 1997 to 2010. A literature on the place of the opposition within the British political system was developed as part of post-1945 studies of the Westminster Model. However, despite dramatic changes in the political environment and the increasing rejection of the Westminster Model, more recent discussion has neglected systematic study of opposition. More recent writing on the Conservative Party has not been used to examine claims about the changing form and function of opposition, but has assumed the importance of the decisions of particular actors. In order to study the recent Conservative Party with a view to developing our understanding of opposition and the expectations upon its leader, the thesis identifies the change in the political environment as central. It suggests dealing with this by utilizing a conceptual framework derived from Presidentialisation theory. This offers a conceptualisation of the political system as a whole, identifying the increasing importance of leadership at its heart. Adapting this to the study of opposition suggests examination of three crucial components of leadership activity: the relationship between the party and the leader, the place of the leader within general elections and the place of the leader and opposition within the wider political environment including executive actions. Examination of these areas highlights the substantial ways in which power has moved from the leader to the party alongside the additional resources which the leader can command. It concludes that whilst the changing political environment may have served to make the leader of the opposition appear more powerful and prominent, there are significant structural constraints which prevent the exercise of this power.

Following the decentralisation of governmental processes in many European countries, a number of political decisions are now being made by regional instances of government. As they gain more political autonomy, regions also take on a renewed significance as places in which to convene a number of democratic debates between a number of actors. At the same time, the democratic trends in regions have also been characterised by the introduction of participatory elements which complement the more traditional channels of representative democracy. Modern democracies are often "hybrid democracies" in which citizens and groups delegate power by electing representatives, but simultaneously retain the possibility to raise issues or participating in decision-making between elections. This thesis is specifically concerned with the contribution of the various particularistic groups in regional decision-making processes. Within this broad area of research, my project focuses on the involvement of particularistic groups through "consultative forums". Consultative forums are relatively formal participatory structures which aspire to deepen the ways in which people and groups can effectively participate in and influence the policy-processes prior to legislation being considered. They are purposely designed to help groups get their message across to government by nurturing their voices, organising a level of interaction between the various groups, and channelling the groups' message across to government. The thesis provides an in-depth exploration of the functioning of two such consultative forums: the Scottish Civic Forum and the French Regional Economic and Social Council. Based on observations collected during thirteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, the thesis critically examines the extent to which these two organisations can promote the sort of dialogue and democratic debate which could lead to an effective re-composition of political action in devolved democratic processes. Theoretically, the thesis draws from a number of contemporary debates relative to the participation of particularistic groups in modem liberal democratic processes. These debates address the commonly accepted prevalence of representative democracy, the quality of regional public spheres and the in-house functioning of participatory organisations such as the consultative forums. The thesis concludes that, while the consultative forums might not necessarily be the primary means of democratic expression in the regions, each of them fulfils a very important function. One model seeks primarily to empower smaller, vulnerable groups within policy processes. The second model foments an intensive level of interaction between key regional stakeholders. I argue that both these objectives are eminently worthwhile and that the consultative forums are able to fulfil important functions in regional public spheres.

This thesis highlights the political thought of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a man who made decisive contributions to the history of the twentieth century, and the various reflections of this political thought on the UAE, its people and the international community at large. In this regard, it explores and analyzes a multifaceted political thought that took its form in political practice in the establishment of the Federation, the management of crises and in the building of a prosperous enduring nation. Evaluating the factors that influenced the formation of the doctrinal matrix of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, this thesis traces the background from within which Sheikh Zayed’s leadership skills evolved and developed. From his early years onwards, Sheikh Zayed made a firm commitment to undertake the considerable task of building a fully fledged state out of a divided tribal background, improve the lives of citizens, and carve a place for the UAE in the international arena. This research project illustrates the implications and dimensions of Sheikh Zayed's political thinking process exemplified in his discursive statements and actions. It documents and analyzes the career achievements of Sheikh Zayed, a statesman acknowledged by contemporary and future generations to have had significant impact on the political direction and overall development of the UAE. This impact also demonstrates the potential of his contribution to the field of political thought. One of this study’s primary conclusions is that the accomplishments of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan during his rule have resulted primarily from his development of an integrated doctrine of governance that reflected his humanistic outlook. In this regard, at both the domestic and international levels, Sheikh Zayed’s political decisions and acts were undertaken with reference to this outlook.

In the light of the internal and regional crises in the 1980s, Jordan found itself under pressure, and various ideological and political factors pushed the country towards political reform. As a result, Jordan has undergone several transformations, and a certain degree of political liberalization has made political participation the main objective of the Jordanian political system and its various institutions. This development in turn has required participation of all segments of the society, including political parties, minorities, and women. This participation demonstrates how far the political system has been liberalized. Therefore, nobody can argue that there is no political participation in Jordan. However, important questions remain. What is the form of this participation? What is its scale? What factors influence political participation, and what are its main objectives? Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the issue of political participation in Jordan. In particular, it investigated the impact of party and tribal loyalties on political participation in Jordan since 1989. This is undertaken through examining the basic forms of political participation, particularly participation in parliamentary elections. Accordingly, this study is divided into two main parts. The first part aims to shed light on the historical development of Jordanian parliament, electoral laws and systems, and political parties' participation and in addition to examine these in context of the socio-economic, political, and cultural environment. The second part was carried out through a survey involving the distribution of 400 questionnaires to five groups of political elite in Jordan. It is concluded in this study that despite the fact that political parties in Jordan date back to the establishment of the state in 1921, the social relations of kinship and the tribe are still dominant and constitute the main motives for Jordanians to participate in parliamentary elections. Several factors explain this, but it is argued here that the most important is legislations, particularly the emergency laws which have heavily restricted political freedoms and activities.

The macroscopic picture of China today is highly contradictory: on the one hand there is an explicit scenario of modernisation initiated by the government and developing in unexpected depth and rapidity, and on the other hand an implicit but unrecognised scenario of democratisation nurtured by modernisation and actively involving different social forces. Due to the intensifying social problems – and perhaps even social crisis – that accompany the many transformations, such as the restructuring relationship between Party-state, society and individuals and the changing culture and value system, remarkable contentious activities have been launched by a wide range of social actors striving for their rights and interests. Underneath the dynamic character of contentions in China, this research will try to test the normative and ethical presumption that contentious politics promotes both robust civil society and representative government – the substance of democracy. I examine the contentious actions of the three significant social groups - the labourers, intellectuals and religious groups - and the Party-state responses to their politics, which are largely co-optation, toleration and control-repression. I also examine the important dynamic between centre and province with regard to their responses. My methods of documentation, interviewing and internet content analysis have been adopted in order to study these contentions and Party-state responses. The thesis concludes that the relationships between Party-state, society and individuals are restructured in contentions and interactions driven by modernisation. There are mounting democratic pressures and open demands from people with an increasing political consciousness, which challenge authority to different extents all over the country and will lead to China’s democratisation in both bottom-up and top-down directions.

This thesis explores the energy security and climate change-related responses of the small oil and gas-exporting monarchies of the Persian Gulf at the turn of the 21st century. At a more fundamental level, the study is a detailed examination of the natural resource-related ‘unsustainabilities’ of these political economies. The study centres on a comparison of two structurally similar monarchies, Abu Dhabi and Qatar, which have responded to the issue of climate change with differing intensity and divergent methods. Departing from a regime survival strategy-oriented approach, the thesis aims to determine the drivers and motives of change and divergence behind the energy security and climate change-related perceptions, approaches, and policies of these two monarchies’ governments at both domestic and foreign policy levels. In parallel, the study examines the emerging natural resource-related challenges and vulnerabilities. Positioned in the intersection of Middle East studies and International Relations, the study pursues a multi-level and multi-causal explanation: At the domestic level it applies the concepts of rentierism and neotraditionalism for understanding the dynamics and elaborate strategies of regime survival that influence policy choices. At the foreign policy level (UNFCCC) it draws from the realist school of IR for the purpose of analysing the monarchies’ policies and positions. The study demonstrates how, at the domestic level, government responses are produced by the interactions of rentier structures, individual elite members, regime survival strategies, local institutions, and external opportunities and pressures. Despite the important role of the systemic and international environments, the study finds that the domestic environment has a strong influence at the foreign policy-level, and that the interests and perceptions of the decision-making elite, and the power relationships and dynamics of the decision-making system are an essential determinant of these responses.

No description available.

This thesis examines the political marketing of the Conservative Party in three opposition periods: 1966 to 1970, under Edward Heath, 1975 to 1979 with Thatcher as leader, and 1997 to 2001 under William Hague. The temporal comparisons made in this research contrasts with the accounts that discuss marketing issues in the context of one particular government, opposition period, or election campaign. The thesis uses two marketing frameworks from Negrine and Lilleker and Brassington and Pettitt to test the hypothesis that the Conservatives were competent practitioners of proactive and innovative political marketing. The research questions consider the key issues that frustrated the Conservatives’ marketing development, whether the Conservatives were undertaking political marketing before the terminology became commonplace within academic literature, how important was the promotion of the personal ideological beliefs of senior Tory politicians to the Conservative marketing strategy, and why some Conservative marketing initiatives were unsuccessful? In contrast to the many accounts that focus on the market orientation of the Tories in power, this thesis provides a key contribution to the political marketing debate by specifically examining the marketing strategy of three Tory oppositions. The analysis highlights a series of complex issues that can be faced by an opposition party when devising and implementing a marketing strategy, including intra party divisions regarding the previous election defeat, proposals for new policies and ideology, and new marketing initiatives. The thesis also highlights how many innovative marketing techniques were implemented during the Heath opposition, which compromises the innovativeness of the market orientation during the Thatcher era, as well as demonstrating that the Tories were implementing marketing before the terminology was extensively used in academic discourse. The research additionally examines the unsuccessful Tory marketing initiatives, including the extensive amount of negative campaigning during the three periods, which further compromises a positive perspective of Tory marketing.

No description available.

The consolidation of political authority over Southern Sudan has never been achieved, nor has the region ever experienced a comprehensive, uniform system of governance. No one political group, external or internal, has ever been able to present itself as the legitimate representative of the populace of Southern Sudan. These, however, were the objectives which the Sudan People‘s Liberation Movement (SPLM) sought to achieve from 2005 to 2010. The main contention of this thesis is that the success or failures of the SPLM at post-conflict state-building can be measured through the conceptual framework of legitimacy. As a rebel movement, the SPLM fought a war of liberation against the government of Sudan from 1983 to 2004. Yet, the SPLM was not fighting for the secession of the South, as its predecessor had, but for the liberation of the country and for the creation of a ‗New Sudan‘ where all the politically marginalised groups of Sudan would be political equals. The movement based its rationale on a ‗revolutionary ideology‘, but this form of ideological legitimation was insufficient to gain Southern-wide support for its cause. The movement failed to establish rebel governance structures, was accused of abuses against the local population, and generally looked to external actors for support. Yet, through a peace agreement largely propelled forward by the United States, the SPLM ‗won‘ the war and was tasked with constructing a semi-autonomous state in Southern Sudan. The successes or failures of the SPLM in developing the Government of Southern Sudan were largely dependent on its ability to create effective institutions and consolidate legitimacy. In order to accomplish this, the SPLM would have to shed its militaristic ethos and revolutionary ideology and thereby enable it to govern not as a rebel movement but as a political party. This, however, did not take place. The new Southern Government, which was supposed to be developed along the lines of a decentralised system of governance, remained centralised. The state and county governance institutions did not undergo the necessary capacity-building and were, subsequently, not able to provide for the security, development or welfare of the Southern populace. Thus, the government failed to consolidate eudaemonic legitimacy. In light of this shortcoming, government officials and the SPLM leadership promoted civic and revolutionary 3 ideology as means to consolidate support. While ideological legitimation was successful to a certain extent, the majority of the Southern populace was illiterate and living in poverty; concepts such as democracy, civic responsibility or SPLM successes during in the peace process were not as appealing as the provision of basic services and development. Thus, the inability of the government to provide for the needs of the citizens jeopardised the attempts at ideological legitimation. As long as the government remained centralised and paralysed in providing for the welfare of the Southerners, it was unable to be considered as the true representative of the populace.