This study examines the impact of governing parties in changing patterns of income inequality in three liberal democracies with 'Westminster' systems - Australia (1981-1990), the United Kingdom (1979-1986) and Canada (1971-1981). Extensive analysis of the Luxembourg Income Study datasets for these countries and periods suggests that structural factors, such as changes in the market sphere or alterations in the demographic profiles, can account for only a part of the overall inequality trends in these periods. By using income decomposition analyses, this study indicates that government redistributive policies played an important role in changing inequality trends. Governments in all three countries are single-party operations, and policy responds strongly to partisan processes and considerations. The main question involved in assessing policy changes is therefore why party actors may be willing to increase or decrease income inequality. Applying conventional 'unitary' models of party behaviour (such as the median voter convergence hypothesis) to try and explain decision-making on income inequality also cannot explain these examples. It seems that redistributive policies can only be understood by taking account of the bargaining processes which take place within the organization of the party in power. Explanations of how parties intervene on income inequality should explicitly incorporate the organizational dimension as a key to their behaviour.

Faculty of Humanities School of Social Sciences 9807483w Casimij@hse.pg.wits.ac.za / This comparative study on the use of the closed-list Proportional Representation electoral system is based on the experiences of democratic political transition undertaken by Angola and Mozambique in 1992 and 1994 respectively. The fieldwork for this study was conducted between the end of 2002 and beginning of 2003. Angola and Mozambique are two former Portuguese colonies on the African continent that share a history of liberation wars, anti-apartheid struggles, frontline statehood, post-colonial Marxist rule, and the existence of an armed opposition. For all that each country has its own particularly political trajectory. This study attempts to highlight one fundamental conclusion about the electoral process and the national list PR electoral system applied in Angola as well as in Mozambique and its impact on emerging democracies, namely: Electoral practices and processes are critical to give effect to the principles of democratic transition.

Crime and violence are central issues for citizens in new democracies, many of which are increasingly threatened by organized crime and “brown areas” of lawlessness. The impact of crime concerns on vote choice, however, has been largely overlooked in the existing literature on voting behavior, which has centered on the role of partisanship, clientelistic linkages, or economic voting in explaining electoral outcomes. In this paper, I argue that crime voting explains much of vote choice in high crime new democracies. Using Mexico as a representative case of a new democracy facing rising violence, I find that crime considerations significantly affect vote choice in the country’s recent presidential elections. In 2006, crime views had up to five times the effect on vote choice as economic considerations. In 2012, despite stronger partisanship, clientelism, and economic effects, and a dearth of candidate attention to the issue, crime perceptions remained a significant predictor of vote choice. This finding suggests crime matters to vote choice and should be incorporated into models of voting behavior in violence-plagued new democracies. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 27, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis explores why political elites in post-conflict ethnically divided states accommodate or resist each other across ethnic lines. The geographic focus of research is on post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. In both countries the track record of post-conflict politics has been uneven and on some issues political elites still resist agreement and co-operation across ethnic lines. This thesis explores the reasons behind this mixed pattern of ethnic accommodation and resistance. Based on the post-conflict literature in social science, the thesis examines the impact that the following explanatory variables have on ethnic accommodation and resistance: power-sharing mechanisms, political party dynamics, informal practices, policy legacies, and external actors. The analysis is situated at the policy level. Two policy areas, highly sensitive for ethnic relations in the post-conflict context, are analysed and compared in each of the two countries. In Bosnia, the focus is on military and police reforms; in Macedonia, on minority education and decentralisation. Within the wider institutionalist approach, the empirical chapters present the findings of process tracing in each of the four policy fields. Based on these findings, the thesis demonstrates that although power sharing arrangements tend to lead to greater ethnic accommodation, they are not always sufficient to produce accommodating outcomes. Informal practices often supplement the work of formal institutions in providing incentives and means towards greater accommodation. External actors tend to enable greater accommodation when perceived as neutral and credible by domestic political elites. Ethnic divisions in both countries remain and require regular management by a flexible set of institutions, which can accommodate challenges unforeseen by peace agreements.

My dissertation examines how political institutions -- such as dual mandates, committee systems, and political associations -- impact the level and timing of party consolidation in a new democracy, as well as incentivize the behavior of elite politicians. I explore this through an intensive, data-driven analysis of the French Third Republic (1870-1940), during its formative years of its democratization. I trace the evolution of French political development across three papers. I first begin in the electorate, by looking at how a lack of ``bottom-up" electoral pressures slowed early political competition in France, and use an exogenous shock to population to demonstrate how urbanization affected local races and the creation of the first political associations in 1901. I then link the electorate with the legislature by examining how an institution meant to connect local and national politics -- cumul des mandats, or the ability to hold two offices -- had a negative effect on party development. Finally, I look at how the legislative organization of the committee system affected the career trajectories of politicians, in the absence of party institutions. In sum, this research contributes to a growing microfoundations literature that argues the geographic distribution of voters and the incentives of political elites are crucial but understudied factors in key episodes of early institution building in new democracies.

Abstract In this study the notion of domestic democratic peace will be examined by using a holistic understanding of internal conflicts. Domestic democratic peace has most commonly been studied by using quantitative methods. This study will be qualitative using an abductive approach when understanding why mature democracies are more stable than other types of regimes. The holistic understanding of internal conflicts used in this study is based on the concepts of relative deprivation, instrumentalisation of politics and politicisation of identity. Burton’s sources of conflict are used to show how relative deprivation can be experienced. The questions to be answered in this essay are as follow: How can the proposed holistic understanding explain why mature democracies are more stable than newly established democracies and autocratic states? - In what ways do mature democracies decrease experience of relative deprivation and thereby safeguarding Burton’s sources of conflict? - In what ways do mature democracies cater to a more peaceful process of politicisation of identity and instrumentalisation of politics?Key Words: domestic democratic peace, holistic understanding of internal conflicts, mature democracies

The right to belong and participate in some form of political community is the most fundamental social right there is. This dissertation argues that social rights have not been understood broadly enough, that there has not been enough attention paid to their historical roots, and that they must not be viewed as being simply passive welfare rights. Rather, they must be seen in their historical context, and they must be seen for what they are: a much larger and more substantive phenomenon than what liberal theory has projected: both theoretically and empirically. I am calling this body of discourse “the social citizenship tradition.” This dissertation hopes to show that there was more than one definition of social citizenship historically and that social rights are certainly not “new.” In surveying a vast literature in Britain, the United States, and Canada, it points to places where alternative social rights claims have entered politics and society. By looking at writings from these three countries over three centuries, the evidence points to some similarities as well as differences in how scholars approached questions of economic and social rights. In particular, similar arguments over labour and property figured prominently in all three countries. The contextual ground of right was different in each country but the voice of social action was similar. The objective here is to reunite this common tradition of social citizenship with its past. It is because of classical liberalism that social right has lost focus and power, and a whole tradition of political thinking has been lost.This tradition has been narrowed to the point that it might be unrecognizable to the more radical forces, those who also fought for it, in the American, Canadian and British pasts.

The right to belong and participate in some form of political community is the most fundamental social right there is. This dissertation argues that social rights have not been understood broadly enough, that there has not been enough attention paid to their historical roots, and that they must not be viewed as being simply passive welfare rights. Rather, they must be seen in their historical context, and they must be seen for what they are: a much larger and more substantive phenomenon than what liberal theory has projected: both theoretically and empirically. I am calling this body of discourse “the social citizenship tradition.” This dissertation hopes to show that there was more than one definition of social citizenship historically and that social rights are certainly not “new.” In surveying a vast literature in Britain, the United States, and Canada, it points to places where alternative social rights claims have entered politics and society. By looking at writings from these three countries over three centuries, the evidence points to some similarities as well as differences in how scholars approached questions of economic and social rights. In particular, similar arguments over labour and property figured prominently in all three countries. The contextual ground of right was different in each country but the voice of social action was similar. The objective here is to reunite this common tradition of social citizenship with its past. It is because of classical liberalism that social right has lost focus and power, and a whole tradition of political thinking has been lost.This tradition has been narrowed to the point that it might be unrecognizable to the more radical forces, those who also fought for it, in the American, Canadian and British pasts.