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CONSOCIATIONAL DEMOCRACY

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Title: CONSOCIATIONAL DEMOCRACY


1
CONSOCIATIONAL DEMOCRACY
Lecture 16
Politics and Governance in Netherlands, Belgium,
Austria, Switzerland
2
Objectives
  • knowledge of
  • the consociational model
  • its empirical fit
  • further understanding of the span of variation in
    liberal-democratic politics and governance
  • Concepts consociational politics elite
    accommodation proporz sub-cultural autonomy

3
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4
Introduction
  • Consociational Democracy- one of the few models
    explaining WE politics and government
  • Originally set up by Lijphart, The Politics of
    Accommodation (1968)
  • Aim to explain functioning - governance in
    small countries with deep cleavages

5
Issues
  • Pluralism governments allow groups to articulate
    interests but no special favours are given
  • Corporatism key groups or organizations have
    institutionalized roles and are built in the
    political process
  • Consociationalism the inclusion of deeply
    divided groups in the political framework

6
Features of Consociationalism
  • Interest aggregation in a state with major
    internal divisions (ethnic, religious,
    linguistic)
  • Institutional features of
  • asymmetric bicameralism
  • balanced executive and legislative power,
    decentralization
  • proportional representation
  • constitutionally guaranteed rights for minorities
  • judicial review
  • Nowadays often seen as important part of
    consensus democracy (corporatism)

7
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8
Typologies
  • Almonds typology of political systems (1956)
    three types of Western democratic systems
  • Anglo-american (US, UK) a homogenous secular
    political culture and a highly differentiated
    role structure for governmental agencies,
    parties, interest groups and media high degree
    of stability and effectiveness
  • Continental European (France, Germany, Italy)
    fragmented political culture, with separate
    sub-cultures unstable
  • Scandinavian and Low Countries in between the
    two models differentiated role structure for
    subcultures stable and efficient

9
The problem
  • General assumption in liberal-democratic theory
  • cross-cutting cleavages ensure stability of a
    polity
  • overlapping memberships force tolerance and
    mediation
  • BUT In Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and
    Switzerland cleavages are rather parallel,
    creating segmented groups
  • Cleavage structure based on religion, class /or
    language established distinct communities
  • little contact to each other breeding ground for
    hostility
  • So what explains the relative stability in
    theses fragmented systems?

10
The Netherlands
  • Complex cleavage structure based on religion and
    class
  • Catholic/protestant (Calvinist)
  • Clerical/secular
  • Middle class/working class

Four Pillars Verzuiling
catholic
calvinist
liberal
socialist
11
Belgium
  • Traditional cleavage structure based on religion
    and class
  • Clerical (75 cath.)/1 prot./anti-clerical (20
    agnost.)
  • Middle class/working class
  • Key event Brabant revolution 1789

Three sub-cultures
French speaking
Flemish speaking
catholic
liberal
socialist
12
Austria
  • Bitter cleavages based on religion and class
    persistent German nationalism
  • Gives rise to three Lager
  • Catholic/middle-class
  • Socialists/anti-clerical
  • German nationalists
  • Key experience civil war during 1930s and
    dictatorship
  • Fear of recurrence after 1945 dominated Austrian
    elite politics until mid-1960s

socialist
catholic
German nationalists
Three Lager
catholic
13
Switzerland
  • Deep seated cleavages based on language and
    religion non-violent (but 1847)

Three nations
Languages German French Italian Romanesch
Protestant (55)
Catholic (45)
14
Question
  • How do these countries, where the cleavage
    structure appears to have the capacity to cause
    severe political confrontations even civil war
    manage to operate as stable polities?

15
Consociationalism and elites
  • Elites play prominent role in consociational
    politics
  • Elites learn from disasters caused by violent
    cleavage struggle
  • Policies are a deliberate joint effort to
    stabilize the system and avoid confrontation
  • Implemented through advisory councils and
    committees
  • Dahrendorf a cartel of elites

16
Consociational Democracy
Ljjphart Model I (1968)
  • electorate elite
  • 2 cleavages recognize political danger
  • parallel cleavages committed to maintaining
    the national state and democratic
    politics
  • distinct communities transcend cleavages
  • with group identities
  • inter-group hostility accommodationist
    political strategies
  • accept authority of group leaders government by
    elite cartel

17
Misfit of model I
  • Belgium new cleavage pattern (language)
  • Switzerland absence of civic unrest
  • Austria opposition politics after 1966
  • Netherlands depillarization after 1970s

18
Ljjpharts Model II (1982)
  • Why a second model?
  • L.s reaction to misfit theoretical critique
  • e.g. what if political elites were responsible
    for creating the sub-cultures and hostility?
  • Contrary evidence (s.a.)
  • The new model
  • De-emphasised mass level
  • Explanatory weight on elites
  • Based on four principles of political method

19
The four principles
  • Grand coalition government
  • General political willingness to cooperate
  • Backed by elaborate system of advisory councils
    and committees in which all parties participate
  • Sub-cultural political autonomy
  • Culturally distinct groups allowed considerable
    autonomy (e.g. religious teaching at school or in
    local language)
  • Where divisions geographic, federal political
    form proved to be most suitable
  • Proportionality proporz
  • All public resources allocated in strict
    proportion between the communities (i.e.
    government funds, jobs, services)
  • Where communities are unequal in size, then
    minority is given parity or to be
    over-represented
  • Minority veto
  • Minorities have veto over policy matters on vital
    interests

20
  • Lijphart
  • The essential characteristics of a
    consociational democracy is not so much any
    particular institutional arrangement as
    overarching cooperation on the elite level with
    the deliberative aim of counteracting
    disintegrative tendencies in the system
  • The Politics of Accommodation (1968)

21
  • Dahl
  • The possibility of violence and civil war always
    lurks as a special danger in countries with
    hostile sub-cultures and this danger undoubtedly
    stimulates a search for alternative responses
  • Political Opposition in Western Democracies (1968)

22
Consociational arrangements
Netherlands
  • Bitter conflicts prior 1917 about suffrage and
    religious education
  • 1917 Pacification Pact (universal suffrage,
    proportional school funding)
  • Since 1917, Dutch parliament has had between 8-13
    parties anything from four to eight party system
  • 1945-65 The politics of Verzuiling
  • Most governments represented by 4party
    coalitions
  • Proportional allocation of funds for communities
  • Organizations for each of the communities
  • No attempt to integrate communities
  • Policy questions settled by negotiation between
    elites and sub-cultures
  • elite crisis summits
  • Social and Economic Council (15 each Socialists,
    Catholics, employers and government)

23
Consociational demise
Netherlands
  • rapid depillarization after 1970s
  • compulsory voting abolished
  • religious parties formed CDA
  • Church attendance dropped from 51 (1960s) to 17
    (today)
  • Growth of protest parties (D66), aiming to
    reduce elite domination of Dutch politics
  • Dominant form of government since mid-1970s
    CDA-VVD or CDA-PvdA coalitions
  • Growth of independent media
  • Dutch politics still very fragmented but in
    fact three dominant and several minor parties
  • The end of consensus?
  • assassination of Pim Fortuyn (2002) and van Gogh
    (2004)
  • Issues with Islam

24
Communities and Major Parties
  • Netherlands verzuiling
  • Catholic Catholic Peoples Party KVP
  • Calvinist Christian Historical Union CHU
  • Anti-Revolutionary Party ARP
  • Socialist Labour Party PvdA
  • Liberal (anti-clerical) Liberal Party VVD
  • Belgium mondes
  • Catholic Christian Peoples Party CVP
  • Liberal (anti-clerical) Liberal Party PVV
  • Socialist Socialist Party PSB
  • Flemish Volksunie VU
  • Wallon Wallon Rally
  • French Francophone Democratic Front FDF

25
Consociational arrangements
Belgium
  • Prior to 1958, Belgian politics dominated by
    religious issues
  • 1958 Schools Pact (public funding for all
    schools)
  • mondes regional councils (Wallonia, Flanders,
    and Brussels)
  • Community Councils (Flemish, French, and German)
  • 1978 Pacte Communitaire

26
Consociational demise
Belgium
  • by late 1960s/early 1970s becoming clear that the
    old cleavage pattern (religion and class) was
    being replaced by a new cleavage pattern
    (territorial-linguistic), which the traditional
    parties failed to manage
  • Volksunie (1961) and Rassemblement Wallon
    (1968)
  • Success of extreme right Vlaams Blok/Belang
  • National parties split into french/dutch parts
    around 1970
  • Today politics dominated by language divide,
    growing political distrust and constitutional
    crisis
  • unitary -gt neo-federal state -gt federal state

27
Belgium Regions and Communities
  • Three regions
  • Walloon Region
  • Flemish Region
  • Capital Region
  • Three communities
  • Flemish Community
  • French Community
  • German Community
  • Merger of Flemish Region/Community
  • Overlap of Flemish/French Community in Brussels
  • German Community part of Wallonia

28
Consociational arrangements
Austria
  • Grand coalitions until 1966
  • Main decision-making body Coalition committee
    (top catholic and socialist leaders equally
    represented)
  • Model for proporz (in all parts of society)

29
Consociational demise
Austria
  • after 1966, the post-war tradition of Grand
    coalitions gave way to opposition politics (end
    of strong proporz)
  • 1966-83 single party governments
  • 1983-87 SPÖ/FPÖ coalition
  • 1987-2000 Grand Coalition
  • 2000-2006/07 ÖVP/FPÖ 2007- GC
  • Lager structure weakening (50 still secured in
    sub-culture)
  • Parity Commission (setting overall economic
    strategy) still in place

30
Communities and Major Parties
  • Austria lager
  • Catholics Peoples Party ÖVP
  • Socialist (anti-clerical) Social Dem. Party SPÖ
  • Nationalist/(liberal) Freedom Party FPÖ
  • Switzerland cantons
  • Catholics Christian Dem. Party CVP
  • Socialist Social Dem. Party SPS
  • Liberal Radical Dem. Party FDP
  • Conservative Swiss Peoples Party SVP

31
Consociational arrangements
Switzerland
  • Oldest European federation (1848)
  • Consociational arrangements in place before party
    system emerged
  • 26 cantons (20 full 6 half)
  • (Con-)federal state cantons centre of politics
  • Party structure strongly federalised
  • Federal council
  • weak central government (federal council)
  • multi-member executive (7 members from 4 parties
    - 2221)
  • Zauberformel 1959-2003
  • Switzerland absence of civic unrest suggests
    interest clash on elite level only

32
Assessment fit of Lijphart Models
  • I sub-cultural communities national identity
    inter-communal hostility elites
  • II grand coalitions political autonomy
    proporz minority veto elites
  • NOT an exact fit to any of the countries but a
    useful tool for simplification

33
Summary consociationalism
  • Important variation on liberal-democratic model
  • Group of countries where cleavage structure has
    impeded the nationalization of politics
  • Analysis of elite behaviour and conflict
  • Analytic language
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