How power is separated to prevent authoritarianism:
spatially among the executive, legislature, and judiciary, as well as across federal levels and regions.
temporally, through regular electoral periods
How power is separated to prevent authoritarianism:
(parties)
spatially organized along ideological dimensions like left versus right or pro- versus anti-integrationist.
Temporally, parties adapt their programs to meet voter demands, modifying them over time and replacing candidates as needed.
modern democracies can affect cooperation and create problems like;
legislative gridlock
executive and judicial activism
compliance issues between different levels of government
defections close to election time.
Camp Building
align themselves into distinct camps or groups based on their positions regarding EU policies
Postfunctionalism explains polarization through three steps:
- Mass-mobilization of national identities: This fosters a desire for self-rule among the populace.
- Responsiveness of challenger/periphery parties: These parties react to the desire for self-rule.
- Establishment of a new transnational cleavage: This division emerges between ruling/mainstream parties and challenger/periphery parties.
SNP explains polarization through three steps:
- A divide between ruling/mainstream and challenger/periphery parties arises from a critical juncture.
- This divide consolidates through camp-building in EU policy-making.
- Partisans ideologically align during times of supranational problem-solving, particularly with mass-mobilizing EU crisis management efforts.
hypotheses in Divides, Camp-building, and Polarization
- Hcon8: Accession as a Critical Juncture
- Hcon9: Veto Bicameralism and Supranational Camp-Building
- Hcon10: Portfolio Distribution and Polarization
- Hcon8: Accession as a Critical Juncture
- critical moment that divides mainstream or ruling parties from challenger or periphery parties in national party competition over European integration.
- sparking debates issues related to sovereignty, identity, and the extent of integration.
- likelihood of a U-shaped space, indicating a multidimensional political landscape, becomes higher than a traditional one-dimensional
- Hcon9: Veto Bicameralism and Supranational Camp-Building
- encourages the formation of pro-versus anti-integrationist camps
- can create opportunities for certain member states to block or obstruct integration initiatives, leading to the formation of distinct camps.
- Increases technocracism (not a good thing for democracy)
veto bicameralism
two legislative chambers must both approve legislation
- Hcon10: Portfolio Distribution and Polarization
- A higher number of portfolios, or Commissioners, in the European Commission increases the likelihood of polarisation
- A larger number of portfolios → greater competition and divergence of interests among Commissioners, –> polarisation in EU policy-making processes.
does technocracism mitigate polarisation
no
who do proposals from EU commission typically favour
supranational norms over national interests
(contribute to camp-building between pro-integrationist mainstream/ruling parties and anti-integrationist challenger/periphery parties)
one dimensional party ideology
- political discourse revolves primarily around economic issues, social welfare, and the distribution of resources.
- single ideological spectrum
two dimensional party ideology
- beyond traditional economic ideologies
- parties may also compete based on cultural, social, or identity-related issues.
- The U-shape indicates that parties cluster at both ends of each dimension, creating a more nuanced and multidimensional political space.
