Before political party politics was not formed in Taiwan, local factions completely took control of political resources and the directions of political situations. So political factions usually dominated political parties and were the mainstay power that dominated Taiwan politics. In Kaohsiung County, local factions are severely competitive, have their own political territories, and have grabbed political resources. So local political factions are the predominant influencing force in elections for political positions. This study used document method and field research method to explore the origins, development and operating models of local factions and how the local factions of political parties have strengthened or weakened in the wake of the rising to power of Democratic Progressive Party. The study has found out that the Black Faction has remained the largest one despite the shift of national ruling power, followed by the White Faction, the Red Faction, the Yellow Faction, and the Green Faction in order of strength. The votes that the Black, the White, the Red, the Yellow, and the Green faction can control are as follows: about 200,000 to 250,000, about 150,000 to 200,000, about 70,000 to 100,000, about 30,000 to 50,000, and about 30,000 to 40,000 respectively. On May 14, 2005, Taiwan people elected their mission-specified National Assembly representatives, and the turnouts of election verified the conclusions of this research. The Black Faction remained the largest on, grabbing 57.46% of the vote, leading the Red, the White Faction by a margin of 18.65%; the Red and the White Factions scored 38.81%. On June 7, 2005, the mission-specified National Assembly representatives ratified the Constitution Revision act passed in the Legislature. According to the Constitution Revision act, the number of legislators will be reduced by 50% from the 7th Legislature Assembly and their term will be extended to four years. At the same time, a system of one constituency, two votes will be instituted. This constitutional reform will definitely redefine the territories of local political factions. How Taiwan political situations will develop, the directions of political parties, and how local political factions will grow or recede deserve further observation. Key words¡GKaohsiung County¡Bpolitical party politics¡Blocal factions¡Bpolitical factions.

Over the past decades, European democracies have experienced diminishing trust in their political representative institutions leading to a decline in party membership as well as both reduced electoral turnout and overall political participation (Van Biezen et al., 2012). In response, many European parties began reforming themselves allowing for the direct participation of party members or even non-members in various intra-party arenas, such as leadership selections through primaries. Parties claim that such reforms increase intra-party democracy (IPD) by making internal organisation more inclusive and by providing all party members or even non-members with decision-making power perilously reserved to the party elites (Hazan and Rahat, 2010). However, the positive effect of increased IPD on membership is highly contested and surprisingly few relevant empirical and comparative studies exist. The central research question of this thesis is what are the (different) consequences of adopting different types of primary rules for party members? Hence, my aim is to examine whether the introduction of primaries is in fact as negative for party members as outlined by Katz and Mair (1994), Lefebvre (2011) or Hopkin (2001) or, alternatively, whether it represents a chance to revitalize parties as membership organizations (Macpherson, 1977; Ware, 1979; Bille, 2001). Primaries are defined as selection process for party leaders and candidates in which the final vote rests with either party members in closed primaries, or loosely defined group of party supporters or the wider electorate, open primaries. Thus, introducing a primary leads to a change in the level of intra-party democracy, as it shifts power from a more exclusive selectorate to either of the two selectorates outlined above. While this project focuses on primaries that select top-executive candidates, the theory and conceptual framework developed can be applied to primaries more broadly. The general argument put forward is that to capture the differentiated effects of party primaries we have to study the interplay between the rules determining who can vote (selectorate) and who can run (candidacy requirements) in primaries. This thesis answers its central research question by developing a conceptual framework that combines these two dimensions for party primaries that select the party leader in public office. First, it outlines the underlying logic of the conceptual framework that links the two dimensions and then provides a theoretical discussion of its consequences for party members looking specifically at the interaction between the two. To assess the consequences of different primary reforms, the thesis focuses on four dimensions of party membership: the party membership level, the turnout in primaries, the quality of membership and the attitude towards the leadership. This perspective highlights that different combinations of selection rules and candidacy requirements in primaries result in four distinct types of intra-party democracy from the perception of party members. In turn, these types lead party members to respond in a distinct fashion. Using a mixed-method case study approach, the second part of the thesis tests the theoretical framework for various Western European parties. The analysis will mainly use primary and secondary document analysis as well as new and existing survey data complemented by qualitative in-depth membership surveys. The main conclusion is that only some combinations of primary rules can lead to a positive effect for members while others do not. For example, closed primaries with open candidacy requirements will lead to more active participation of members, while open primaries with open candidacy requirements will reduce membership participation considerably.

This PhD dissertation analyses the processes used by political parties to select candidates for the European elections, making the unique institutional setting and electoral dynamics of the European Parliament a “litmus test” for party organisations. By applying an institutional design theory to the ways parties nominate their candidates for the EP, I can test a wide range of pre-existing postulates about parties’ behaviours, and can do so across many different countries (thus considering various electoral settings and socio-political arenas) while also accounting for the multi-level setting in which they operate. To this end, I thoroughly explore the intra-party “machinery” at work in the drafting of nominees. More specifically, this dissertation first provides a descriptive account of the main intra-party formal rules that govern the EP selection procedures from a comparative perspective. Concretely, this descriptive analysis serves to measure the relative power of individuals, party organs, and party levels, and to establish what imperatives (membership fees, endorsements, incompatibilities, quotas) are prescribed by the various parties. On that basis, I identify the patterns of selection rules put in place by the parties. I then explore the factors that condition the parties' choices of procedures by relating the aforementioned observations to a number of national- and EU-level characteristics. Later, I confront these rules with the parties’ informal practices during the actual process, and further trace an entire process from the rules' enactment to the choice of candidates. In doing so, I hope to contribute a small but important building block to the understanding of current political parties, while also speaking directly to those who are more generally interested in comparative politics and EU politics. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

During 2002 and early 2003 the international debate over Iraq became a major topic throughout the world. The debate became contentious, splitting long standing allies between those who supported the military option against Iraq and those who did not. The United States was at the forefront of the military option movement, while Germany was the leader of the anti-war movement. In Germany massive protests against the war occurred weekly. Many Germans recalled their own history of war to justify their opposition to any military action against Iraq. To compound the issue even further was the fact Germany in the fall of 2002 was holding national elections and re-election of the ruling government appeared bleak. The ruling parties in Germany tapped into the anti-war movement and in the process used personal attacks against President Bush to win political points. The dispute over Iraq severely strained and tested German and American relations. The intent of this thesis is to understand the nature of German opposition and to determine if the previously stated explanations fit the case of German opposition.

Cette thèse examine l'origine, le mécanisme et la mobilisation du nationalisme ethnique au Pakistan. Depuis sa création en 1947, le Pakistan a souffert d'un manque de consensus ethnique important face aux projets de construction nationale et consolidation de l'État du Centre. Les mouvements et partis ethniques du Pakistan sont un reflet important de la résistance sociétale contre l'hégémonie perçue de l'Etat. À l'heure actuelle, le Pakistan abrite plusieurs mouvements ethniques qui sous-tendent la grande désaffection avec les politiques de l'État. L'objet de cette thèse portera sur deux de ces mouvements, à savoir les nationalismes ethniques Sindhi et Siraiki. Au-delà de l'étude des mouvements et dirigeants nationalistes, cette thèse propose également une étude sur les courants plus larges de la politique partisane et du comportement électoral dans les provinces du Sindh et du sud du Punjab. / This dissertation examines the origin, mechanism and mobilization of ethnic nationalism in Pakistan. From its inception in 1947, Pakistan has suffered from a serious lack of ethnic consensus in the face of nation-building and state-consolidation projects of the Center. The ethnic movements and parties of Pakistan are an important reflection of societal resistance against the perceived hegemony of the state. At present, Pakistan is home to several ethnic movements underlying the broad disaffection with the policies of the state. The focus of this dissertation will be on two of these movements, i.e. the Sindhi and Siraiki ethnic nationalisms. Going beyond the study of nationalist movements and leaders, this dissertation will also engage with the broader currents of party politics and electoral behavior in Sindh and south Punjab.

Political scientists have sought to unify under a single theoretical umbrella the explanations for the patterns of public opinion in the electorate and the patterns of party policy. Yet, these models have not taken account of potential differences between left-wingers and right-wingers in the ways that policy preferences are bundled together across multiple dimensions of political disagreement. The dissertation examines the origins and structure of political opinions on three dimensions of left/right disagreement: wealth redistribution, social morality, and immigration. The overall argument is that the content and structure of opinions are fundamentally intertwined. As a result, left/right disagreement is multidimensional and asymmetrical. Left-wingers and right-wingers derive from different sources, and structure in different ways, their opinions about policy. These asymmetries appear in the patterns of public opinion, the preferences of party activists, and in the positioning of political parties.

Political scientists have sought to unify under a single theoretical umbrella the explanations for the patterns of public opinion in the electorate and the patterns of party policy. Yet, these models have not taken account of potential differences between left-wingers and right-wingers in the ways that policy preferences are bundled together across multiple dimensions of political disagreement. The dissertation examines the origins and structure of political opinions on three dimensions of left/right disagreement: wealth redistribution, social morality, and immigration. The overall argument is that the content and structure of opinions are fundamentally intertwined. As a result, left/right disagreement is multidimensional and asymmetrical. Left-wingers and right-wingers derive from different sources, and structure in different ways, their opinions about policy. These asymmetries appear in the patterns of public opinion, the preferences of party activists, and in the positioning of political parties.

The study is mainly to comprehend the historic background and status quo of Taiwan¡¦s labor welfare policy. Since the structure of welfare allocation was not accorded with equity and justice under the time of authoritarian regime and the content/structure of Taiwan¡¦s social welfare allocation were changed, the author would explore the substantive connotation of how KMT and DDP allocating the resources of labor welfare after democratization in Taiwan by way of integrately researching both parties¡¦ ideology of social welfare, the expenditure of welfare budge and policy measures, and using the definition of labor welfare¡¦s category based on the concept of social security as the research constructure to analyze how both parties allocate the resources of labor welfare while they were in power. During the process of democratic politics in the meantime, the policy of labor welfare is one of the national policies valued by each party. The democratic politics, economic development and power of civil society were emerged after the society and politics were liberalized in 1980s and the martial law was lifted in 1987. Regarding politics, the initial shape of party competition was forming as the advantage of KMT¡¦s dominant rule has been challenged and DPP was established. Therefore, during the process of party competition in 1990s, many policies of labor welfare were presented, especially in the compaign of election, each party suggested a lot of appealing policies of labor welfare to attract votes and win the election. Taiwan experienced the first party turnover in 2000 when DDP substituted for KMT to be the party who led Taiwan society which carried significance to Taiwanese. Whether the development of Taiwan labor¡¦s welfare would go on to become systematized, high-qualified and high-efficient, it depends on many variables of political/economic systems and social change. Overall, the welfare politics of democratic system with pluralistic competetion could be gradually fulfilled by representative politics, but such kind of multi-construct would be the paradise for vested interests, while the field which people could join in competing with adequate capacities will determine whether the allocation of social welfare resources and such consensus would be lifted or established. If such social consensus could be built up, then, the general welfare of welfare state and indiscriminate reallocative system would be achieved naturally without effort and there would also be an opportunity to promote national unity.

Over the past twenty years, the geographical bases of state legislative parties have shifted substantially. In statehouses across the country, legislators from densely-populated districts with large racial minority populations have become a larger presence inside Democratic caucuses while legislators from exurban and sparsely-populated districts have become a larger presence inside Republican caucuses. These changes have had important consequences for roll-call voting and policy outcomes inside legislatures, as new coalitional configurations formed by the intersection of party and geography have replaced older ones. In this dissertation, I examine the causes and consequences of these changes in a new way, one that more closely approximates a legislator's relationship to her "geographical constituency" (to use Richard Fenno's famous term). Unlike traditional studies of the social origins of legislative conflict, which have focused on how the constituency bases of legislative parties can be distinguished by reference to a small set of district-level demographic variables examined independently of each other, my approach views district demographic variables as the empirical manifestations of a wide variety of distinct, if latent, geographical contexts. My efforts to model the geographical constituency are centered upon a technique called Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), which estimates a latent categorical variable (in this case, legislative district categories indicative of distinct socioeconomic contexts) that captures covariation among a set of observed continuous variables (in this case, district-level demographic and geographical variables). The LPA analysis, which incorporates over 3,500 districts from seventeen chambers in the 1990s and 2000s, yields a nine-fold district categorization scheme that serves as the basis for subsequent inquiries of the dissertation. These inquiries examine how demographic and electoral change have interacted to influence trends in partisan representation of the district categories, how party and district category come together to explain patterns of roll-call ideology among state legislators, and how social cleavages over public policy within state electorates are translated into particular voting alignments involving the district categories. The dissertation speaks to a large literature in political science on the constituency-legislator relationship, as well to current debates about geographical sorting, legislative polarization, and the role of policy content in shaping voting coalitions. / text

What are the conditions under which terrorist groups turn to party politics? Under what conditions do political parties turn to terrorism? What types of political groups are more likely to turn to or from terrorism? Answers to these questions provide new insights into explanations for the formation of linkages between political parties and terrorist groups. While political parties and terrorist groups are often differentiated by the tactics they employ, empirical evidence shows that these political groups sometimes shift tactics, making use of violent and nonviolent tactics either concurrently or consecutively. Shifts between violent and nonviolent tactics occur when a political party supports, creates, or becomes a terrorist group and when a terrorist group supports, creates, or becomes a political party. Cases in which terrorist groups turn to party politics have been addressed in the literature, most often in the form of case studies. Less attention has been paid to the more numerous cases of political parties forming linkages with terrorist groups. Both types of tactical shifts are under-studied and under-theorized. This dissertation fills a gap in the largely separate literatures on political parties and terrorism through an analysis of international-, state-, and group-level factors associated with the formation of party-terror linkages and a discussion of the implications of these factors for the construction of a more general theory of political group adaptation. / text