Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 61-65)

The study, focuses on shadow cabinet organization, the practice; of appointing members to shadow the activities of cabinet ministers by Opposition parties. This practice is analyzed in Canada between 1963 and 1978, a period of continual Progressive Conservative Opposition. The underlying question is whether shadow cabinet organization has become more or less institutionalized during the period. In the introduction Samuel Huntington's four tests of institutionalization are outlined. They were used in assessing Canadian shadow cabinet institutionalization. To operationalize the tests for this study it proved useful to analyze the institution of the Canadian cabinet system along these dimensions. A comparative study of the British and Australian parliamentary systems in which the appointment of shadow cabinets is an accepted convention also helped isolate the variables to study in the Canadian context. Although the analysis centers on the period from 1963 to 1978, a brief history of Opposition organization is included. It provides the background for the period and an understanding of the roots of the present organization. The results of the study reveal that a shadow cabinet organization existed in Canada throughout the period 1963-78. For most of the 15 years its structure and practices were constantly changing. The change was in the direction of increased institutionalization on at least three of Huntington's four dimensions. On the basis of this study, therefore it is argued that shadow cabinet organization has become an established practice of at least Progressive Conservative Opposition in Canada. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

Includes bibliography. / South Africa's negotiated parliamentary system is a hybrid of political institutions based upon different models of democracy. Theoretically, there are two broad models from which South Africa's system draws its characteristics: consociational democracy, and majoritarian democracy. Both models of democracy bestow certain characteristics on the South African system which affect how opposition politics operate within the system. Concern has been raised about the ability of opposition politics to function in, and contribute to, the operation of the South African Parliament. The many consociational characteristics of the South African system may have created opposition structures which are emaciated of their duties, rights and responsibilities. This concern prompted an investigation into the operation of the opposition structures of the South African Parliament. The basis of the neo-Institutional analysis is the premise that the behaviour of actors within a system (in this case, Members of Parliament within Parliament) is shaped by the rules and structure of that system. As such, the opposition behaviour of parties and individuals in the South African Parliament is shaped by the rules and structure of Parliament. This paper first presents the theoretical considerations of a neo-Institutionalist examination. The theory is explored by examining the literature of rational choice theorists as well as Historical Institutionalists. Secondly, an examination is conducted of the different models of democracy-and the attributes which each contribute to the South African system. Within this section, the concept of opposition is developed. The analysis of the South African Parliamentary institutions of opposition is conducted by examining the two basic documents which proscribe the rules of procedure for the institutions of Parliament: the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and the Standing Rules of the National Assembly. The theoretical expectations of behaviour are checked against the empirical reality of Parliamentary behaviour. This study examines data collected from the Debates of the National Assembly (Hansard) regarding individual and party participation in debate, questions and interpellations, committees, and Cabinet. The data support the contention of the analysis that whether it is by virtue of the consociational nature of Cabinet, or the over-representation of smaller parties in National Assembly debate, opposition politics are an important part of the Parliamentary process in South Africa.

This thesis examines the relationship between the political opposition and populism. The goal is to identify when, how, and under what circumstances an opposition to a populist leader affects change to the political system. A comparative historical analysis is employed as five case studies from South America are examined. The evidence presented in these case studies demonstrates that the political oppositions in each country were unsuccessful in affecting change to their respective political systems. They were unable to demobilize the support base that the populist leaders had created. Change came to the political systems in four out of the five case studies only when the populist leader's actions demobilized his support and not from the actions of the opposition. / by Morgan Alissa Weiss. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral--Univeristé de Genève, 1988). / Includes bibliographical references (p. [477]-480).

The outbreak of crisis exposes the weakness of the incumbent government. It brings the opposition two opportunities to challenge the incumbent. First, the opposition, through providing a timely and appropriate response to crisis within a limited time, challenges the incumbent's legitimacy by exposing its underperformance and maladministration. Second, crisis brings change to existing policy, providing another opportunity for the opposition to channel its policy advocacy into real policy. Against this background, this thesis examines how the opposition in Hong Kong responds to and manipulates crises to gain issue ownership and electoral advantage. Through such an examination, one can observe the dynamics between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, the opposition and the pro-government establishment camp. Through examining 19 crises selected throughout the period from 1998 to 2017, i.e., the beginning of the first LegCo session to the end of Leung Chun-ying's term, this thesis contributes to the literature in two ways. It offers a new framework for studying factional politics. The thesis regards the pan-democrats as a whole as one quasi-political party, and each member party constituent of the pan-democrats is viewed as a faction. The analysis applies a new model combining competition and cooperation to study the dynamics within the pan-democrats. The pan-democrats both cooperate to confront the HKSAR Government and its faithful ally and compete among themselves for vote share. This thesis also offers a new perspective for understanding Hong Kong politics, as the existing literature on Hong Kong politics mainly focuses on the constitutional disputes between the HKSAR Government, pan-democrats and the pro-establishment. One can study the dynamics between these three actors in the policy-making process under the context of Hong Kong politics, which has been little discussed in the existing literature.

No description available.

The purpose of this dissertation was to address the problem expressed in the following question: "Why have the opposition political parties in Lesotho weakened since 1993?" A qualitative approach was used. The researcher interviewed officials of twelve representative parties out of the total of eighteen parties. The responses of the interviewees are in appendix 5. This work reveals the problems of the opposition parties in Lesotho. Among others, the study addressed the following issues: the reform of the electoral system, political party funding, dominance of the ruling party, prohibitive legislation and party leadership. The potential strengths and weaknesses of the opposition parties have been noted. The MMP electoral model, introduced in 2001 and tested in 2002, created a more inclusive party system, but it is not the sole solution for the weakness of the opposition parties. Patronisation and lack of political party funding appear to be major factors. / Political Sciences / M. A. (Politics)

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Paris 1, 2005. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 522-557).

Thesis (doctoral)--Université de Paris 1, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 522-557).