Carty Flashcards
What is a ‘brokerage party’?
A political institution hoping to assemble a wide coalition of support across the entire electorate. Its ‘raison d’être’ is to act as a social and political broker capable of accommodating competing interests of distinctive elements of the whole electorate.
Why is the brokerage party different from the general conception of modeen political parties?
Other political parties are seen as the organizational instruments that articulate and institutionalize division, while the brokerage party is conceived as the one that can reconcile the most differences in society - a sort of anti-party, unprincipled and shapeless.
What does this have to do with Kirchenheimer’s ‘catch-all’ parties in the Canadian context?
The catchall party’s electoral base was shaped by the identity of its historic core constituency. Its expressive function was moderated and limited due to ideology being largely ignored, and it commanded little loyalty from partisans - this is very different from the Liberal Party of Canada.
How are brokerage parties unique from catch-all parties?
Brokerage parties face no systemic imperatives to be true to their evolution of party forms, like how the catchall emerged from electoral competition. Brokerage parties are usually created by political entrepreneurs as a polity-building instrument, and their very success at incorporating a wide support base effectively constrains the capacity of their opponents to replicate their formula.
What is the defining feature of a brokerage party in Canada?
A brokerage party prioritizes broad electoral appeal over ideological consistency by constructing cross-regional coalitions and accommodating diverse interests.
How does Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system support brokerage politics?
FPTP incentivizes broad-based coalition-building, rewarding parties that can win support across regions rather than those with narrow ideological or geographic appeal.
Which party is considered the archetype of Canadian brokerage politics, and why?
The Liberal Party, due to its centrist platform, strategic regional balancing (especially with Quebec and Ontario), and strong leader-centric model.
Why has the Conservative Party historically struggled with brokerage politics?
Internal ideological divisions and fragmentation from right-wing or regional parties have made it harder for the Conservatives to consistently act as a successful brokerage party.
What challenges has brokerage politics faced in the contemporary Canadian party system?
Growing regionalism, ideological polarization, the rise of issue-based parties, and the weakening of mass party identification have all undermined traditional brokerage strategies.
