What is (SDMP) single member district plurality (first past the post/winner take all)?
One representative per district
Representative is the winning candidate who gets the most votes in the district
A majority is NOT required
Chosen by the people of the district
Voters only chose ONE candidate
Tends to lead to a two party system
What is (PR) proportional representation (party list system)?
Multiple members per district (may be the entire country)
Voters select a PARTY, NOT A CANDIDATE
After all ballots are collected, percentages of votes received by parties are calculated (ex. Labour Party won 40% of the 10,000 ballots)
Then, they receive the same percentage of seats (ex. Labour Party got 40% of the 360 seats) and the party assigns seats to party members
Tends to lead to a multi-party system
What are gender quotas?
Require political parties to have a certain percentage of female candidates run in SDMP or be placed in seats in PR
In Mexico
Common in Latin America
What is the election system in Russia?
In Duma, half of the 450 members are elected through the PR system and the other half through single member district (majority).
Federation Council appointed by regional governors and legislature but not independent due to the fact that governors are approved by President
Does not enhance democratization
In PR election, parties must get >5% of the vote to win seats.
President directly elected and must win a majority
Semi-presidential system
What is the election system in Iran?
President must win a majority, directly elected every 4 years (run off method if no candidate wins a majority)
Single member (majority) and multi-member districts in the Majles, candidates are vetted by the Guardian Council
Legislative body lacks political party structures
290 seats, some seats are reserved for non-Muslim minorities
1/2 of Guardian Council are selected by the Supreme leader and the other 1/2 are by the judiciary with Majles approval
What is the election system in Mexico?
300 members elected through SDMP and 200 members through PR (2% floor for parties to be represented) in the Chamber of Deputies
96 members in Senate are elected by multi-member district system. Each district has 3 senators and the party who wins the most votes gets 2 senators, the runner up gets 1
What is the election system in Nigeria?
House of Representatives and Senate are elected through Single member district
Number of representatives that represent an electoral district depends on population size
Senate has 3 members directly elected from 36 states
Presidential candidates must win the most votes and secure at least 25% of the vote in 2/3s of Nigeria’s states
Majority
What is the election system in China?
Indirect elections by local governments
No official elections except for CCP member elections
What is the election system in the United Kingdom?
House of Lords appointed, approved by monarch with recommendations made by the prime minister and an independent commission
House of Commons elected through SDMP
How does proportional representation serve regime objectives?
Increase in the number of political parties represented
Increase of election of minority candidates
How does SDMP serve regime objectives?
Promote two-party systems
Provide voters with strong constituency service and accountability
Ensure geographic representation
How do election rules affect regime objectives?
Representation of different religious, ethnic and socioeconomic groups
What does party membership look like in China?
One party (CCP)
Centralism and order, but 8 other parties exist to broaden discussion and consultation but don’t have much power as CCP ensures parties are small and supportive
CCP based off of democratic centralism (society is best led by an elite vanguard party with a “superior” understanding of the Chinese people and their needs
CCP is strong, all other parties weak and act as a release valve
CCP controlled the gov’t and military since 1949, minor parties have limited power to fill minor political offices
What does party membership look like in Russia?
One party dominance by only allowing legally registered parties to run, selective court decisions to disqualify candidates, limiting opposing viewpoints in media
United Russia, pro-Putin- right wing
The Communist Party of the Russian Federation- Communist party from old Soviet Union, nationalist- left wing
Liberal Democrats- anti-semitic and anti-reformist, far right
Parties are weak
Diminished representation of smaller parties
What does party membership look like in Iran?
Factionalist, weak
Splintering of political elites based off of personalities and ideologies
Many political parties are of former dissidents are now in exile
Executives of Construction Party- Reformist (right wing)
Moderation and Development Party (center)
Combatant Clergy Association- reformist, supports Islamic Coalition Party, (right wing)
Islamic Coalition Party- oldest, conservative (right-wing) not a party but influences the gov’t, supports CCA
Lacks formal political party structures- parties operate as loosely formed political alliances
What does party membership look like in Mexico?
Elimination of state-owned corporations to decrease patronage, decentralization and one-party power at the subnational level
Establishment of the National Electoral Institute to ensure fair and free elections
Multi-party
PRI- corporatist structure with patron-client system- center right
PRD- left opposition to PRI, appeals to young populists (left-wing)
PAN- right leaning opposition, supports Catholic Church and middle class
Morena- anti-neoliberalist, populist (left), established by A.M.L.O.
PRI strong, all other parties developing
Parties can form coalitions to nominate candidates for any election
What does party membership look like in Nigeria?
Multiparty system which includes 30 registered political parties
2 strong parties- People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APC)
3rd party with a degree of electoral success
PDP- center right, strong
APC- left, strong
Labor party developing
Multiple parties /w ethnic quotas affect representation in the federal legislature
What does party membership look like in the UK?
Competition between the two major parties- Labour and Conservative
Minor parties are also able to win some legislative representation
Conservative- right wing, conservative
Labour- left wing, more socialist
Liberal Democratic Alliance Party- liberal
Parties are strong
SDMP diminishes minor-party representation but allows regional parties to win legislative seats
What are catch-all political parties?
Parties that earn support from groups /w different characteristics, attracting popular support /w ideologically diverse platforms
What are social movements?
Social movements are organized, collective societies that aim to fundamentally change society or resist it
Large groups working together
Long-term goals, less formal, grass-roots
Reflect frustration with current system and a desire for change
Shorter, less organized, difficult to establish connections /w government institutions and leaders
Membership more inconsistent and potentially less committed
Harder to suppress, can have significant sociopolitical consequences
Usually addresses civil rights, redistribution, free and fair elections, equality, environment and corruption
What are interest groups?
Groups of like-minded people who want to influence public policy- not fundamentally change society
Organizations created to represent and articulate a specific interest or policy
Attempts formal communication with the regime
More organized and established
Can foster ties to the gov’t over time
Can build a solid base of support and loyal following
More controllable by the state
Goals are limited
What do social movements and interest groups have in common?
Both want to change society and public society to some extent
Have connections to civil society, political participation, civil liberties, political efficacy and political and social cleavages
Fundamental to political participation and civil society
Exists in democratic and authoritarian regimes (more restricted in auth regimes)
What are the social movements in Iran and how do interest movements work?
Green Movement that protested corruption in the 2009 election
Corporatist
What are the social movements in Mexico and how do interest movements work?
Zapatista/Chiapas uprising in Mexico in response to socioeconomic inequality and the negative impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement
Neo-corporatist
What are the social movements in Nigeria and how do interest movements work?
Often militant movements
Includes Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People- emerged to advocate for the rights of an ethnic minority or to protest against the unjust methods of oil in the Niger Delta region
Boko Haram movement attempted to establish an Islamic state in Northern Nigeria
Corporatist relationship between Nigerian parastatals
What are the social movements in China and how do interest movements work?
Corporatist- interest groups not allowed to influence the gov’t
NGOs and unions run by the gov’t
1989 Democracy Movement- ended in Tiananmen Square, gov’t killed students
Beijing Spring
Grass mud horse
Umbrella movement
Falun Gong (Shen Yun)
What are the social movements in Russia and how do interest movements work?
Corporatist
Large and powerful oligarchy
Fair treatment of the LGBTQ community, corruption and free and fair elections
What are the social movements in the UK and how do interest movements work?
Pluralist
Neo-corporatist
Anti-Brexit
Climate Change
LGBTQ+ movement
What is corporatism?
Allow interest groups to function with low levels of autonomy- usually to the point that the state has created them
Government controls access to policy making by relying on state-sanctioned groups or single peak associations to represent labor, business and agricultural sectors
What is pluralism?
Grant interest groups the most autonomy to advocate
More freedom, promote competition amongst autonomous groups
What is neo-corporatism?
Interest groups dominate the state and take the lead