9. Political actors: parties & media Flashcards
Hard liners vs. Moderate & Authoritarian parties in Democratic trnsitions
hard liners= parties in conflict –> causes violent transition
moderates= parties willing to negotiate –> causes pacted transition
Early Third wave transitions were mostly pacted.
Authoritarian parties tend to survive transitions, because they support the dictator & opposition parties are limited
* Authoritarian parties are more organized –> tend to have more success
Why do we need political parties in representative democracies (for consolidation) ?
- they provide a coherent set of ideas + organize electoral choices
- they represent people + connect them to government
- help people understand where they belong in politics
- Ensure accountability & responsiveness of government
- Reach more people than individual candidates
- Facilitate political organization by connecting different individuals
Why are parties extra important in new democracies?
Need to build voter trust:
* Show people it makes sense to vote
* Demonstrate that parties represent their interests
* Address** divided societies (some voters will support former rulers)
* Fix major problems left by the authoritarian regime
* ** Inform & integrate voters into the new system
How can parties connect citizens to government?
Through linkages → depends on the degree and type of linkages
types of linkages + effect on
democratic/autocratic consolidation
Ideological/Programmatic → Best for democracy
Clientelist → Undermines democracy, favors incumbents
Personalist → Undermines elections, focuses on individuals
Ethnic/Nationalist → Can destabilize democracy, creates zero-sum politics
Ideological/Programmatic Linkage
Ideology-based (e.g., Social Democrat, Liberal, Conservative)
Policies follow from ideological principles
Ideal linkage in a democracy
Q: Clientelist Linkage
Offering payments or favors for votes
Common in new democracies
Leads to poor public service delivery → No need for politicians to govern well if they can buy votes
Undermines accountability
Personalist Linkage
- Voters support a leader, not a party or policies
- Common in new democracies → People vote for charismatic leaders without knowing their policies
- Ruins elections because voting should be about policies & representation
Ethnic/ nationalist linkage
- Voters based on etnicity instead of policies
- can create violence by excluding other etnic groups
accountability problem ethnic groups may vote for ‘‘their ‘’ party no matter what. This makes it difficult to remove bad leaders.
Example: South Africa’s ANC (post-apartheid) remains dominant due to historical loyalty
What else is important for connecting citizens to government and why?
*** party organization **–> stronger organization = better connection to civil society
* locally connected parties: represent people better than national parties
* Ties to civil society groups (churches, unions, etc.) influence party policies & democratization
* Authoritarian successor parties –> tend to be better organised –> more succesful in elections.
* Some parties may try to restore the old system (e.g. Post-WWII fascist/ communist parties) causing instability.
Sartori’s definition of a party system
A system of interactions resulting from inter-party competitions.
The number of parties in system shape how they work together & interact.
Fragmentation & its effects
Low fragmentation= Two-party system
Moderate fragmentation = multi-party system
High fragmentation = extreme multi-party system
Pros –> more representation
cons–> harder to form coalitions, harder for voters to understand policies
considers: coalition potential & blackmail potential
Sartori’s 2 key attributes of party systems
- Fragmentation –> number of parties in system
- Polarization –> ideological distance between parties
Coalition potential
can the party join/ form a government?
Blackmail potential
can small parties influence government formation?
Polarization- how does it create stabilization/ insabilization?
*Centrifugal competition –> parties move further apart –> destabilizes democracy, harder to reach agreements
* Centriputal competition –> parties compete near the center –> more cooperation, but can limit voter choice
Centrifugal competition
Parties move further apart –> destabilizes democracy, harder to reach agreements
Centripetal competitions
parties compete near center –> more cooperation, but can limit voter choice
Mainwaring & Torcal: Party System insitutionalization
- Party stability is just as important as fragmentation & polarization
- institutionalized parties = better democracy
- unstable systems: parties frequently change, voers can not hold hem accountable
What is party system intstituionalization?
4 points
- Sability of inter-party competition
- legitimacy of party system (do voters trust?)
- Stability of party roots in society
- strength of party organizations
!! Functions of media in democracy
3
- Provides** factual information**
-
Diversity of opinions & voices
3 . Watchdog function –> holds government accounable
Why are these (3) functions of media important for democracy?
Factual information reporting –> creates shared public understanding.
Diversity of opinions & voices/ Multiple viewpoints –> promote compromise & informed debate ..
Watchdog role –> prevents government abuse
How does the media achieve impartiality & plurality of opinion?
- Multiple journalists & outlets
- independent from government control
- Not fully controlled by private owners
- Regulation & oversight (but must balance with media freedom)
2 models of media systems
-
Public service model: plublic funding, regulated for fairness
2**. market model: **private ownership, competitive but risks of concentration & misinformation.
How does media affect democratic transitions?
3 kinds of media
- **Authoritarian media **–> censors opposition, promotes propaganda.
- Pro-democracy media –> supports transitions via value change & demonstration effect
- Social media –> can mobilize protests, spread independent information.
How does media affect democratic consolidation?
4 ways
- Educates citizens
- Holds governments accountable
- moderates public discourse
- social media: can support democracy OR spread fake news & polarization.
How does media affect democratic backsliding?
3 ways
- Government control over media
- anti-system actors using social media
- Fake news & polarization
Social media as a neutral tool?
3
Liberation technology –> democratizes news, mobilizes people
Authoritarian technology –> censorship, misinformation, fear
Improving democracy –> gives voice to marginalized groups.
