Political parties and democracy : Post-Soviet and Asian political parties

Political Parties and Democracy: Volume III: Post-Soviet and Asian Political Parties is the third volume in this five-volume set. It offers clearly written, up-to-date coverage of post-Soviet and Asian political parties from the unique perspective of distinguished indigenous scholars who have lived the truths they tell and, thus, write with unique breadth, depth, and scope.

Presented in two parts, this volume overviews post-Soviet parties, then discusses the realities on the ground in Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine. Likewise, the book offers an introduction to Asian political parties, followed by chapters on China, India, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea. Throughout, contributors explore the relationship between political parties and democracy (or democratization) in their respective nations, providing necessary historical, socioeconomic, and institutional context, and clarifying the balance of power among parties—and between them and competing agencies of power—today

Democracy, governance and political parties in India: an introduction

The party political domain of India is replete with a large number of parties representing the tapestry of Indian society. Many of them are based in specific regions and states, built around social and linguistic identities. While this enhanced the representative character of the parties, it also contributed to varied patterns of political competition and unstable governments. The two major national parties – the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party – becoming coalitionable heralded an era of coalition governments both at the Centre and states, enabling parties to increase their power and their pay-offs. Parties across the political spectrum have tended to converge on macro-economic policy, but continue to diverge on social policies and larger issues that confront India, such as nation building and secularism. Chronic lack of internal democracy coupled with the rise of political corruption and clientelist practices are matters of serious concern. A broader view of governance, resisting temptations to concentrate power and pursue personal enrichment, would enable parties to deliver policies for a better, more just society.

Race as political strategy by US presidential candidates: a case study

Race has played an important part in US presidential politics in contemporary history. Different political parties and candidates have followed covert strategies playing on the prejudices of white voters both cognitively and emotionally by linking racerelated issues to the majority's individual and group interests. This elite discourse carried to the public by the mainstream media, along with media's practices of stereotyping, priming, framing and agenda setting, help to justify racial prejudice, discrimination against minorities and their marginalized status, while maintaining the status quo. Taking the social constructionist position, this case study examines the opinions expressed by a sample of undecided voters selected from different geographic locations at various stages of the 1992 US presidential campaign under the themes 'Candidates' racial prejudice' and 'Race is used as political strategy by candidates.'

Self-determination in Aboriginal political thought

Part 1 - Political Ideas -- Liberalism and the Liberal Party of Australia -- The Australian Labor Party and the Third Way -- Australian feminism: the end of 'the universal woman'? -- Self-determination in Aboriginal political thought -- From the 'social laboratory' to the 'Australian Settlement' -- Australian nationalism and internationalism -- Part 2 - Institutions of Democracy -- Parliament and the Executive -- Political integration and the outlook for the Australian party system: party adaptation or regime change? -- Administrative agencies and accountability -- The institutional mediation of human rights in Australia -- The news media and Australian politics -- The role of the state: welfare state or competition state? -- Part 3 - Political Issues and Public Policies -- National policy in a global era -- The economic policy debate -- The decentralisation of industrial relations -- The labour market and the future of employment -- The welfare reform agenda -- The social consequences of the rural reform agenda -- Politics and the environmental policy debate -- Immigration policy and the attack on multiculturalism.

Culture and political party ideology in Australia

Australian federal cultural policy has been shaped by the political party in government in ways that reflect the distinctive ideology of that party. The authors trace the influence of Australia's two major political parties on federal cultural policy, arguing that their distinctive political philosophies have been significant forces in determining the changing shape of cultural policy in diverse ways. The authors demonstrate that, over the past decade, the cultural policies of the two major parties have become less distinctive as each party responds to the same international economic and political challenges. This lack of ideological dichotomy within political discourse has hampered the development of cultural policy that adequately responds to the cultural interests of Australian communities and artists.

Tribes and political representation: the case of post-war Iraq

 Ten years have passed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the political scene in Iraq is still blurry. Iraq was promoted to be the democratic example in the Middle East. The US came to Iraq to “create” a democratic system that can be a model for other countries in the region. A major factor in creating such environment is by changing the radical centralised totalitarian regime with a weak state that can give more space to building the civil society in new Iraq (Looney, 2003). Nonetheless, the socio-economic and political indicators of the newly installed political “democratic” system point to notable failures. Apart from poor socio-economic factors, the new political elite has either misused democracy for personal, ethno-sectarian or partisan gains or abused the system to ensure their long lasting presence in the decision making arena. Corruption, disconnection from electorate, poor performance and carelessness of politicians and failing state service provisions have all made citizens question the feasibility of political participation in elections. The electorate seem to have lesser faith in the political parties and blocs whose legitimacy of representation  is at stake. Noticeably, tribes have stepped forward to mobilise people as a non-partisan and independent powerful social structure. They have been active in lobbying the state as well as encouraging their members for active participation. This paper discusses the extent to which Iraqi tribes are involved in political participation. It explores their roles in active citizenship and the way they represent and mobilise their  members. It also probes whether tribes have the influence on shaping the political trajectory in Iraq.

Indonesia's national parties and the representation of a diverse society

 This study explores laws that promote the nationalisation of Indonesia’s political parties, and considers what this means for the representation of a diverse society. Overall, the research finds that the laws have restricted the development of political parties, but not for the reasons commonly expected.

Analysis of the corporate political activity of major food industry actors in Fiji

BACKGROUND: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality in Fiji, a middle-income country in the Pacific. Some food products processed sold and marketed by the food industry are major contributors to the NCD epidemic, and the food industry is widely identified as having strong economic and political power. However, little research has been undertaken on the attempts by the food industry to influence public health-related policies and programs in its favour. The "corporate political activity" (CPA) of the food industry includes six strategies (information and messaging; financial incentives; constituency building; legal strategies; policy substitution; opposition fragmentation and destabilisation). For this study, we aimed to gain a detailed understanding of the CPA strategies and practices of major food industry actors in Fiji, interpreted through a public health lens.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We implemented a systematic approach to monitor the CPA of the food industry in Fiji for three months. It consisted of document analysis of relevant publicly available information. In parallel, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 stakeholders involved in diet- and/or public health-related issues in Fiji. Both components of the study were thematically analysed. We found evidence that the food industry adopted a diverse range of strategies in an attempt to influence public policy in Fiji, with all six CPA strategies identified. Participants identified that there is a substantial risk that the widespread CPA of the food industry could undermine efforts to address NCDs in Fiji.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite limited public disclosure of information, such as data related to food industry donations to political parties and lobbying, we were able to identify many CPA practices used by the food industry in Fiji. Greater transparency from the food industry and the government would help strengthen efforts to increase their accountability and support NCD prevention. In other low- and middle-income countries, it is likely that a systematic document analysis approach would also need to be supplemented with key informant interviews to gain insight into this important influence on NCD prevention.

Few choices under work choices

This paper sets out the history of the philosophical understanding held by the major political parties towards the governance of the Australian industrial relations system. In so doing it notes there has been a long legacy of socialist and conservative political and ideological support for mediating industrial conflict through the institutional agencies provided by conciliation and arbitration tribunals. The discussion notes the erosion of this legacy under the recent ascendancy of neo-liberal political and neo-classical economic thought, an ascendancy that has seen a significant retreat of state responsibility for mediating relations between the two sides of industry in the name of improving business productivity and national economic outcomes. The passing of the Workplace Amendment (Work Choices) Bill 2005 is the latest legislative manifestation of this thinking. This paper challenges the labour market assumptions and expectations of the Bill by arguing that equality in bargaining power between the two sides of industry in the manner afforded by conciliation and arbitration tribunals is essential for any genuine and lasting prosperity to exist between labour and capital.