In Egalitarian Thought and Labour Politics Nick Ellison argues that the concept of equality is the cornerstone of the British socialist tradition. He examines the alternative understandings of equality which have divided the labour party since 1930 and traces the origins of the current shift away from concern for social and economic equality to an increasing emphasis on liberty and individual entitlement.
Egalitarian Thought and Labour Politics is also concerned with contemporary attitudes within the Labour party, discussing the importance of the concept to debates about citizenship and market socialism.

Consociational power sharing is often perceived to be the method of conflict management that is most likely to succeed in deeply divided societies. The case of Northern Ireland in particular is heralded by many as a consociational success story. Since the signing of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in 1998, significant conflict transformation has taken place in the form of a considerable reduction in levels of violence and the establishment of power sharing between unionists and nationalists. This book looks at what consociational power sharing achieves after its implementation - specifically, whether it can work to overcome existing identities in divided societies, or whether it simply freezes divisions. It argues that if consociational power sharing is facilitating a move towards a genuinely shared society, this would be demonstrated in the focus of the election campaigns of Northern Ireland's political parties, which would be almost exclusively based around socio-economic issues affecting the whole population, rather than narrow single identity concerns. However, the book claims that, on the whole, this has not been realised. Although election campaigns are today less strident than they were in the pre-1998 era, it remains the case that they usually foreground single identity symbolism, as it is this that resonates with voters. Whilst consociational power sharing has been very successful in reducing levels of violent conflict and facilitating elite level cooperation between unionists and nationalists, it has been much less successful in reducing divisions within wider society to facilitate a genuinely shared Northern Irish identity. By establishing an important middle ground between consociational proponents and critics, this research will be of significant interest to students and scholars of ethnic politics, political sociology, conflict management, and divided societies more generally.

When Neil Kinnock took over the leadership of the Labour Party in 1983, he inherited a divided organization, saddled with an array of unpopular left-wing policies. When he resigned in 1992, Labour was a radically different party, tightly organized and committed to working within the framework of a privately-owned market economy. "Crisis and Transformation: The Labour Party Since 1979" tells the story of Labour's struggle to survive during the turbulent years in opposition. The book charts the internal strife of the early 1980s, the transformation of Labour's structure, strategy and policies under Kinnock's leadership, and the party's rise to a position at the brink of power in the run-up to the 1992 election, at which its hopes were dashed again. Eric Shaw has provided the first systematic analysis of the evolution of Labour's policies, power structure and strategies during the 1980s and up until the present day. Using new sources and documents, he looks at how and why the transformation occurred, examining the pressures and constraints impeding the modernization process of the party, its shift to the political middle ground and the new professionalism of Labour's campaigning and o

West Bengal has often been perceived as somewhat of an aberration in the wider context of a rather chaotic Indian democracy, as the Left Front (spearheaded by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, CPIM) demonstrated a rare instance of political stability, decisively winning seven consecutive democratic elections from 1977 to 2006. Its development record has also been substantial, with a focus on land reforms, the panchayati-raj institution, and an agriculture centric development agenda. This book presents a reappraisal of the political economic history of the CPIM/Left Front regime against the backdrop of the Indian reform experience. It examines two distinct areas: the conditions that necessitated the regime to engineer a transition from an erstwhile agricultural-based growth model to a more pro-market economic agenda post-1991, and the political strategy employed to manage such a transition, attract private capital and at the same time sustain the regime's traditional rhetoric and partisan character. In order to develop a more textured understanding of the recent political developments in West Bengal, the author applies a historically nuanced and inductive political-economic analysis, which draws on published materials, and primary material such as government documents and interviews (with bureaucrats, political activists, members of the intelligentsia and ministers). A valuable contribution to the ongoing debate in the literature on the drifts underway with the Indian Left and India's economic transformation post-1990s, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Political Science, Government, Political Economy and South Asian Studies.

This title was first published in 2000. With the advent of the Second World War, fascism became inextricably associated with anti-Semitism. It is hardly surprising, therefore, to find that a significant number of Jewish people were politically inclined towards the left and were actively involved in socialist movements. The essays in this volume seek to arrive at an understanding of Jewish involvement in Labour movements outside Israel from the end of the First World War to the final stages of World War Two. This was a period which saw the creation of several international socialist institutions. Gail Malmgreen looks at the American Jewish Labor Committee and examines the interaction between trades unions and the Jewish community. Deborah Osmond, Christine Collette and Jason Heppell discuss the contributions made by Jews living in Britain to Labour politics, including the Communist Party of Great Britain and the Labour and Socialist International. The reactions and stances of the British Labour party in relation to Zionism and the Holocaust are the subjects of essays by Isabelle Tombs and Paul Kelemen. David De Vries's study of the position of Jewish white-collar workers in British-ruled Palestine provides another perspective on the complex web of relationships between British and Jewish identity, class, labour and politics. An invaluable bibliography by Arieh Lebowitz of sources for the study of Jewish interaction with the American and British Labour movements completes this important survey.

In 2011, the Maghreb occupied a prominent place in world headlines when Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, became the birthplace of the so-called Arab Spring. Events in Tunisia sparked huge and sometimes violent uprisings. Longstanding dictatorships fell in their wake. The ensuing democratic reforms resulted in elections and the victory of several Islamist political parties in the Arab world. This book explores the origins, development and rise of these Islamist parties by focusing on the people behind them. In doing so, it provides readers with a concise history of Sunni Islam in North Africa, the violent struggles against European colonial occupation, and the subsequent quest for an affirmation of Muslim identities in its wake. Exploring Islamism as an identity movement rooted in the colonial experience, this book argues that votes for Islamist parties after the Arab Spring reflected a universal human need for an authentic sense of self. This view contrasts with the popular belief that support for Islamists in North Africa reflects a dangerous "fundamentalist" view of the world that seeks to simply impose archaic religious laws on modern societies. Rather, the electoral success of Islamists in the Maghreb, like Tunisia's Ennahdha party, is rooted in a reaffirmation of the Arab-Islamic identities of the Maghreb states, long delayed by dictatorships that mimicked Western models and ideologies (e.g., Socialism). Ultimately, however, it is argued that this affirmation is a temporary phenomenon that will give way in time to the fundamental need for good governance, accountability, and a stable growing economy in these countries. Written in an accessible format, and providing fresh analytical perspectives on Islamism in the Maghreb, this book will be a valuable tool for students and scholars of Political Islam and North African Politics.

An anthropological study of a major national political party - one which dominated Israeli politics for nearly five decades and was returned to office in summer 1992. The analysis focuses on the relationship between culture and politics to explain the crucial role the Labour Party has played.

An anthropological study of a major national political party - one which dominated Israeli politics for nearly five decades and was returned to office in summer 1992. The analysis focuses on the relationship between culture and politics to explain the crucial role the Labour Party has played.

The use of ethnographic research - social research based on the observation of individuals or institutions where the researcher becomes part of the group or very close to the group to better understand their actions - is becoming more and more of a prevalent methodology within sociology. As ethnography gains prominence within the discipline its focus, theoretical underpinnings and narrative styles are also expanding to the yet-unexamined worlds and institutions of society. Politics, political institutions, and those working in politics (state officials, politicians and activists) have so far missed the lens of the ethnographer. As a group, politicians and those in politics can be found in every corner of the world. While political systems and politicians are by no means the same in every country, what brings these people together to be part of the political process? Ethnography is uniquely equipped to look microscopically at the foundations of political institutions and their attendant sent of practices, just as it is ideally suited to explain why political actors behave the way they do and to identify the causes, processes and outcomes that are part and parcel of political life. The volume, based on a special issue of Qualitative Sociology has a two-fold purpose: to bring politics into the ethnographic literature and of ethnography in studies of politics. The case studies included are based on the research of ethnographers studying the various level of politics in Brazil, Japan, El Salvador, Bosnia, the Philippines, India and the United States. It will be of interest to those in the sociology of politics, political science and those looking for ethnographic research on aglobal level.

In this book, Benjamin Farrer explains how activists can influence the policies they care about, even when they are outnumbered and their issues are ignored. The solution lies in a surprising place: organizational choice. Different types of organizations will be more influential under particular democratic institutions. If they choose the optimal type of organization - given their institutional context - then even minority groups can be influential. Environmentalists are a key example of how small groups can sometimes punch above their weight. Environmentalists in different countries have made different organizational choices. These choices explain whether or not they succeeded in influencing policy. In the empirical chapters that follow, Farrer shows that environmentalists can sometimes be more influential if they form interest groups, but under other institutions, political parties are the optimal organizational choice. Although interest groups are often easier to create, national institutions can sometimes insulate mainstream politicians from niche interest groups. When institutions deny access to interest groups, activists are forced to send the stronger signal of party entry. Using a variety of methods, including a formal model, an experiment, and a wealth of empirical data from a variety of settings, Farrer proves that this theory of organizational choice adds to our understanding of several crucial phenomena. First, it helps explain patterns of political participation, by showing the importance of instrumental, rather than purely expressive, motivations for activism. Second, it provides an important modification to Duverger's (1954) law, by showing that new party entry is a function not only of electoral rules but also of the rules that govern interest groups. Third, it extends research on the role of institutions in determining policy outputs, by showing that policy outcomes are a function of the interaction between organizational choices and institutional context.

Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson laid the foundations for today's political debates between Democrats and Republicans. Hamilton believed that freedom must be married with a strong central government and especially an energetic president, while Jefferson believed freedom derived from local civic virtues. Throughout history, Democrats and Republicans have chosen sides in this eternal debate-and sometimes even changed sides. Today, those debates have become sharper and more polarized, as the two parties square off on major issues such as healthcare, taxes, regulation, the role of the federal government, and what discretion should be given to local authorities. The debate can be loud and shrill, even as the public yearns for some accommodation between these two schools of thought. People may generally desire an active government to deal with acute problems, but localism still has widespread appeal, and political dysfunction often results when these outcomes are presented as polar opposites and elections are reduced to zero sum contests. Social media adds to the polarization, as Americans gravitate to websites that often ratify their preexisting points of view. The parties struggle to function in this environment as they try to adapt to the political realities of the social media age and the Trump era.

Drawing upon released documents, memoirs and party-history works, the process and impact of the political campaigns in China between 1950 and 1965 is documented. Complete with extensive interviews with Chinese scholars and former officials, the book reviews the findings of the first edition.

Countless studies have assessed the dramatic reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev, but their analysis of the impact on European communism has focused overwhelmingly on the Soviet Union and Eastern bloc nations. This ambitious collection takes a much broader view, reconstructing and evaluating the historical trajectories of glasnost and perestroika on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Moving beyond domestic politics and foreign relations narrowly defined, the research gathered here constitutes a transnational survey of these reforms' collective impact, showing how they were variably received and implemented, and how they shaped the prospects for "proletarian internationalism" in diverse political contexts.

Drawing upon released documents, memoirs and party-history works, the process and impact of the political campaigns in China between 1950 and 1965 is documented. Complete with extensive interviews with Chinese scholars and former officials, the book reviews the findings of the first edition.

The theme of Professor Evan's book is the growth of a recognizable modern party system from the much looser and often family-based attachments of the eighteenth century. He examines the significance of the terms 'Whig' and 'Tory' in the later eighteenth century and the growth of a party aligment between 1788 and 1812 - a period in which war was a major factor in polarization. He discusses the years of Tory hegemony under Liverpool and the decline of the independent member, and then takes as his main themes the transition from Whigs to Liberals and from Tories to Conservatives in the period of 1830-46 which saw so much concern both with political reform and with social questions. He also examines the substantial growth of political organizations. Professor Evans goes on to deal with the paradox that though the Tory party was shattered by the corn law crisis, the subsequent period to 1867 saw an increasing importance being attached to party allegiance. He also discusses the waning power of the Crown, the growing importance of general elections, and various areas of divergence between parties. Although the emphasis of this book is necessarily thematic, a firm sense of chronology is always maintained.

The relevance of this book to central concerns of political and social science hardly needs emphasizing. Parties are the organizing force of democratic governments, giving coherence and direction to their policies and relating them to popular preferences. Election programmes are crucial to this role, providing electors with some insight into the policies they are voting for, and parties themselves with a starting point for their activity in government. Discussion begins with a comparative assessment of the impact of election pledges on government action. The book goes on to describe systematically the place of the programmes in the political process of nineteen democracies. It subjects them to detailed qualitative, quantitative and spatial analyses to answer such questions as: Who prepares election programmes and how? What is the nature of modern party divisions? Do they differ across countries? Is there indeed an 'end of ideology' or an intensification? Does the need to attract votes weaken old partisan attachments? Combining individual studies of each country with comparative analyses on a scale never previously undertaken, the book will interest country specialists and comparativists and prove indispensable to research on voting and party behaviour, coalition formation, ideology, and rational choice.

The 1950s in India were a crucial transition phase where the legacy and institutions of British rule had to be transformed to fit the needs of a post-colonial state. This period is closely associated with India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru (1947 - 64). Selecting three key policies closely associated with him, the book traces the political origins of the Panchasheela Agreement with China in 1954, the Hindu Code Bills of 1955 and 1956 and the founding of the Planning Commission in 1950. Each provides a window into the compulsions of Indian domestic politics at the time as well as the parameters of parliamentary debate. The book goes on to discuss how these policies correspond to the pillars of Nehru's vision for a modern, independent India that encapsulated socialism, nonalignment and secularism and assesses their long-run impact in Indian politics. With a growing recognition of the resilience of India's political arrangements, the analysis is particularly relevant to those interested in the politics of transition and modernisation, and contributes to studies on Political Institutions and South Asian Politics.

The Social Democratic party family is a central part of political life in the West. This book focuses on this party family as well as a unique political force in the industrialised world. It provides a critical comparative survey of when, where, how and why Social Democracy developed within established capitalist democracies. The book explains the electoral fortunes of Social Democratic parties, the influence of the party system dynamics and co-operation between parties in government. It examines the ideological tensions within Social Democratic parties between socialists and reformists and its ramifications for pursuing a 'better and kinder' world. This study also discusses the recent state of affairs and its mission in the 21st century. The book features a comparative analysis of 21 cases from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and the United States. It will be of key interest to students and scholars of public policy, comparative politics, party politics and democracy studies.

Competitive elections have become an institutionalized feature of contemporary Indonesia's politics. This, together with other considerations, makes it reasonable to call Indonesia the world's third largest democracy. Nonetheless, democratic elections in Indonesia are both more complex and interesting than is commonly understood. This book explores how local elections in Indonesia have affected the development and dynamics of Indonesia's fledgling democracy. Based on fine-grained analyses of elections in five localities, the book shows how Indonesia's transition to direct elections of local government executives has transformed party politics and elite development at local levels of governance. Employing the methods of political anthropology and informed by a critical reading of theories of democracy and decentralization, the book presents detailed analyses of elections in five localities across four Indonesian provinces. The book calls attention to the ambiguous relation between formal democratic reforms and political behavior. It illustrates how local elite politics has evolved within the context of political and administrative reforms, whose announced goals are to improve the representativeness and responsiveness of political institutions. This book provides a window onto local political processes that will be of interest to students and scholars of politics in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan adopted many Western practices and institutions, including a constitution in 1889. "The Establishment of the Japanese Constitutional System" discusses how the Constitution actually worked during its first decade.
After the Diet--or parliament--was established, the oligarchs who had framed the Constitution found that the Diet intervened more than they had intended. In an equally surprising turn, the popular political parties who had initially opposed the expensive nationalist and industrial expansionist plans of the government eventually became supporters. The reasons for this drastic change in basic attitudes present a fascinating series of questions which Junji Banno addresses in this book.
To answer these questions, the author analyzes the constitutional framework and the economic interests of the key supporters of the popular parties--the agricultural landowners. The changing interests of this group in the mid 1890s forced the popular party leaders to modify their demand for "cheap government." Variations in the prices of agricultural products greatly influenced the attitudes of landowners towards government financial policies, shifting their focus away from tax reduction and towards industrialization as an attractive policy.

An authoritative evaluation of the long-term legacy of New Labour. * The first book-length retrospective assessment of New Labour in government which ranges across academic commentary and political debate * Features brand-new essays from political figures associated with the Labour party, senior commentators and leading academics, all reflecting upon key policy areas and themes in relation to the New Labour administrations * Includes a Foreword from Baron Neil Kinnock, former leader of the Labour Party; an edited conversation regarding the prospects for social democracy between Baroness Shirley Williams, leading Lib Dem politician, and Tony Wright (former Labour MP); and fresh evaluations of the Labour government s record and failings from the Shadow Minister John Denham MP * Raises highly topical and important questions about the purpose and future of the Labour Party, and is designed to stimulate debate about the political challenges facing the centre-left in Britain

The celebration of the centenary of the Indian National Congress prompted a scholarly re-examination of that organization in the midst of an active international discussion about the nature of Indian society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Any group of historians who come together to give fresh consideration to the Congress - its organization, leadership, ideology and support - also join in the wider debate going on in Indian history. This volume, first published in 1991, reflects such an engagement with the full range of contemporary discussion, representing not just scholarship in five different countries but also quite distinct historiographical traditions. It surveys the origins and development of the Congress from its inception to its development up to Independence.

The empire which Curzon left late in 1905 was different from what it had been at the close of the nineteenth century when he came to rule over it. After memorable events and political climax, the awakening upset the rulers' concept of Indian peace. A revolutionary movement, wide in its appeal and full of idealism, generated an incompatibility in the traditional relations between ruler and ruled. This book, first published in 1964 and drawing extensively on the private papers of the main protagonists, examines the years of Indian administration directed by Morley and Minto.

Although primarily defined in cultural terms, as the land of the Tamil-speaking people, Tamilnad's geographical location in the south-eastern corner of the Indian sub-continent has enabled it to develop and maintain a distinctive character. The story of the Congress in Tamilnad has two essential themes. One is the evolution of the Tamil Congress as a regional political party. The second is the changing relationship between a nationalist movement and a colonial regime. Examining in close detail these themes, this book, first published in 1977, presents the story of the Congress in Tamilnad as a case-study of how nationalist parties evolved during the later stages of colonialism.

A timely reference guide to the Labour Party which brings together the essential facts and figures about the Party since its foundation through to the 'New Labour' of the 1990's. It is the essential reference book for anyone wanting reliable information on the Labour Party.