This paper critically re-examines the long held belief that parties in the first decade after Confederation were rather loose coalitions of provincial and ethnic factions, and that they were, on the whole, rather undisciplined. Taking as the focus for criticism Escott Reid's work during the 1930's on the development of national parties in Canada, this paper first presents his arguments (and of those who accept his thesis); following this perusal, the paper turns to the creation and examination of an "alternative thesis", one which argues that parties in the early post-Confederation period were, in fact, fairly cohesive. Unlike most other work done in this area, this paper is based largely upon an analysis of empirical evidence. The core of this paper lies in a comprehensive examination of the individual and collective voting behaviour of all M.P.'s on all divisions recorded during each of the first three parliaments (1867-1872; 1872-1874; 1874-1878). By undertaking such an examination it is possible to discern precisely the degree to which parties were, or were not, fairly cohesive voting blocs. In addition to examining the overall loyalty of M.P.'s to their party leader, a number of highly salient and critical issues have been singled out for further examination. The findings of this paper prove quite interesting. Contrary to orthodox opinion, we find that the two parties were, in fact, fairly cohesive voting blocs even as early as 1867. The main core of Reid's thesis having been critically reexamined (and somewhat disproved) the writer turns to a critique of several of Reid's other arguments. While the arguments presented by the writer are largely of a speculative nature, their intended purpose is merely to present alternatives to those presented by Reid, and to show that there may be other explanations for the supposed tightening up of party lines after 1878. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed July 23, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 328-364).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 226-236).

This study evaluates the fitness of political parties for the democratisation of the European Union. At the national level political parties have successfully functioned as transmission belts between voter’s preferences and political outcomes in representative democracies. Some scholars have therefore argued that an increase in party competition at the European level could make the European Union more democratic; other scholars claim that European political parties are too weak to fend off public pressure, which would arise from an increase in political competition. Since cohesive voting behaviour of political parties is the basic prerequisite for a functioning representative democracy, this study analyses how the transnational party groups of the European Parliament are able to generate voting cohesion. Drawing on rational institutionalist theories of political parties and theories of collective action, the study outlines two competitive scenarios for explaining party group voting cohesion in the European Parliament. In the party group disciplinary scenario, the party group leadership is able to enforce voting cohesion through its disciplinary powers. The national party discipline scenario predicts that party group voting cohesion is dependent on the voluntary cooperation of the national party delegations. The empirical analysis of party disciplinary effects in the European Parliament corroborates the party group disciplinary scenario. The party group leadership of the two largest party groups is able to discipline it is members for disloyal voting behaviour. The findings do, however, also show that the party group leadership is not able to sanction national party delegations if they fail to toe the party group line. The study concludes that it will be difficult for the party groups to maintain voting cohesion, if public pressure on Members of the European Parliament increases through a more open form of political contestation at the European level. The responsibility for a successful democratisation of the European Union through party competition, therefore, lies in the hands of national political parties.

This paper will explore further the process of selection of majority party leaders in the United States House of Representatives. It will seek to show that there were certain common denominators that existed among those who were selected for leadership positions between 1962 and 1976, and that these common denominators were not present in those individuals who challenged the leaders and lost. Additionally, it will be argued that those certain qualities were particularly important to the style of leadership during that period, and that their importance to that style allowed the development of an institutionalization of the selection process during that period.

The study examines the level of party voting discipline displayed by current Russian deputies. The objective is to discover whether deputies elected since the reintroduction of the mixed-member electoral system in 2016 showed a diverse level of party voting discipline. The study expands on the existing research and verifies results of earlier analysis proving weaker party discipline among politicians elected from single-member districts (SMDs). A sample of over 500 thousand deputy votes is analyzed with multiple regression analysis and other methods of quantitative research. The research explores the influence of several variables including the type of elections, political faction membership, double candidacy of a deputy and his incumbency in the previous term of office. Evaluation of results implies that the type of elections does not have a significant impact on party discipline of deputies. The most noticeable is the impact of the membership in various political factions. Greater independence in voting typical for SMD deputies does not manifest considerably in Russia because of the impact of the local hybrid regime and because the majority of SMD deputies belong to the faction of United Russia. Members of a faction with such importance tend to be less motivated to vote against their political...

Floor crossing was an unknown phenomenon in Malawi until the re-emergence of multiparty politics in 1994. Since then the number of MPs crossing the floor in the Malawi National Assembly has steadily increased from around twelve in 1994 to more than sixty in 2005. This practice has continued even today. However, the biggest incident of floor crossing took place in 2005 when the State President, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, under the United Democratic Front (UDF) decided to abandon the party that sponsored him into office to form his own, the Democratic Progressive Party in February, 2005. Following him were several opposition MPs, a move which sparked a lot of tension in the National Assembly. The purpose of this study was to investigate political factors contributing to this phenomenon, and it was established that, among other factors, institutional weaknesses of political parties and gaps in the Constitution contributed significantly to floor crossing. / Political Science / M.A. (African Politics)

本文以戰後中國憲政的發展為題，探討1946－1948年間，國民黨、民社黨、青年黨三黨合作對制憲國大的召開、政府改組、國代選舉、立委選舉等重要政治事件的影響，本文側重探究三黨合作行憲的運作實態，探討國家利益的「前台表演」與黨派利益的「後台運作」之間的複雜關係。首先，本文扼要回顧抗戰期間到戰後初期的中國政局，探討朝野黨派關係如何影響憲政運動的推動，瞭解其對戰後中國政治的影響。抗戰勝利後，國、共衝突再起，美國、「第三方面」人士相繼居中斡旋，未能促使國共合作，最後國民黨單方面宣布召開國大制憲，中共和民盟抵制之，而國民黨則成功拉攏民、青兩黨合作。此後，國民黨拋出政府改組的議題，繼續與民、青兩黨談判，本文將分析三黨對行憲的不同想像，此間，國民黨三中全會為何對政府改組有反彈聲浪。在政府改組完成後，民、青兩黨的內部糾紛為何再起，社會輿論的普遍觀感為何，國府在此時宣布「動員戡亂」，又為日後行憲帶來什麼影響。 政府完成改組後，緊接著便是國代和立委選舉，本文將探討政府籌備選舉經過，國民黨如何建立其內部提名機制，剖析其中派系鬥爭、黨團競逐的內情。除此之外，三黨中央亦就選舉名額、地域分配作協商，以達到聯合提名，同額當選的結果，以維持三黨合作的政治格局，並略述在地方上的選舉經過。選舉結果出爐後，不符三黨協議，民、青兩黨以退出政府要挾，迫使國民黨設法遵守三黨協議，國民黨為避免造成一黨行憲的局面，運用黨紀強令當選黨員退讓，引發「黨紀」與「國法」之爭，最後國民黨中央幾經討論，由蔣中正祭出「以黨讓黨」的解決辦法，彌平選舉糾紛。為此，三黨又如何達成協議，繼續合作實施憲政。透過上述研究，本文將從五個角度分析：一、國際因素對中國政治的影響；二、「行憲」與「戡亂」的關係；三、「黨紀」與「國法」之爭的象徵意義 ；四、三黨合作的政治得失；五、戰後中國實施憲政的歷史意義。

Floor crossing was an unknown phenomenon in Malawi until the re-emergence of multiparty politics in 1994. Since then the number of MPs crossing the floor in the Malawi National Assembly has steadily increased from around twelve in 1994 to more than sixty in 2005. This practice has continued even today. However, the biggest incident of floor crossing took place in 2005 when the State President, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, under the United Democratic Front (UDF) decided to abandon the party that sponsored him into office to form his own, the Democratic Progressive Party in February, 2005. Following him were several opposition MPs, a move which sparked a lot of tension in the National Assembly. The purpose of this study was to investigate political factors contributing to this phenomenon, and it was established that, among other factors, institutional weaknesses of political parties and gaps in the Constitution contributed significantly to floor crossing. / Political Science / M.A. (African Politics)