Buch, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 575 g
Reihe: Comparative Politics
Conferring the Median Mandate
Buch, Englisch, 272 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 575 g
Reihe: Comparative Politics
ISBN: 978-0-19-928672-0
Verlag: OUP Oxford
Presents an innovative theory of representative democracy
- Draws on data from 21 post-war democracies
- Develops unique insights into the nature of policy making
This bold venture into political theory and comparative politics combines traditional concerns about democracy with modern analytical methods. It asks how contemporary democracies work, an essential stage in asking how they can be justified. An answer to both questions is found in the idea of the median mandate. The voter in the middle - the voice of the majority - empowers the centre party in parliament to translate his or her preferences into public policy. The median mandate provides a unified theory of democracy - pluralist, consensus, majoritarian, liberal, and populist - by replacing each qualified 'vision' with an integrated account of how representative institutions work. The unified theory is put to the test with comprehensive cross-national evidence covering 21 democracies from 1950 through to 1995.
This exciting book will be of interest to specialists and general readers alike, representing as it does a reaffirmation of traditional democratic practice in an uncertain and threatening world.
Comparative Politics is a series for students and teachers of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. The General Editors are Max Kaase, Professor of Political Science, Vice President and Dean, School of Humanities and Social Science, International University, Bremen, Germany; and Kenneth Newton, Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Southampton. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research
Contents
- Part 1: The Mandate Process
- 1 Choosing Governments or Identifying Preferences? The Role of Elections in Democracy
- 2 Mandate Theories: Government and Median
- 3 Communicating Preferences: The Public Policy Space
- 4 Research Questions for Comparative Investigation
- Part 2: The Electoral Process
- 5 Choices Parties Offer
- 6 Mandates Without Obvious Majorities
- 7 Representing the Meidan Voter
- Part 3: The Governing Process
- 8 Who Controls Short-Term Policy Making?
- 9 From Declared to Actual Policy: Short-Term Influences on Government Policies
- Part 4: The Democratic Process
- 10 Long Term Policy Regimes: Incrementalism Put in Context
- 11 Fluctuating Political Forces
- 12 Politics and Policy Regimes: Setting a Long Term Equilibrium
- 13 Unifying Theories of Democracy Through the Median Mandate
Zielgruppe
Scholars and students of politics, especially those with an interest in comparative politics, political behaviour, political parties, democracy studies, and electoral studies
