Modernisierung in kleinen Schritten? Die Reformen der Parteiorganisation der British Conservative Party und der deutschen CDU im Vergleich

Seit den frühen und wichtigen Arbeiten von Maurice Duverger (1954) und Robert Michels (1962) besteht ein großes Forschungsinteresse an der Entwicklung von Parteiorganisationen und deren Wandel. Darin spiegeln sich die erheblichen Konsequenzen, die sich aus den jeweiligen Organisationsformen der politischen Parteien ergeben, wider.

The CDU and party organisational change

This article undertakes an empirical analysis of the internal organisation of the CDU along four key dimensions. First, it discusses the model of the 'cartel party', identifying its key features and then setting out four key questions to pose in relation to the CDU's internal organisation, to see whether it approximates to the 'cartel' paradigm. The questions of whether a centralisation of power is visible; whether professionalisation has occurred; whether there has been the anticipated weakening in the power of party functionaries; and whether the CDU has become reliant upon state finances are then answered in the empirical section of the article, drawing upon the author's primary research. It concludes that the 'cartel party' thesis fails in significant respects accurately to reflect the CDU's modern organisation. This is of interest to scholars of the CDU, but also offers some insights on the way in which the cartel party thesis fails adequately to develop an accurate account of internal party organisational change, in particular underestimating the ability of internal actors to thwart reforms, and also the potential functional usefulness of a decentralised party organisation. © 2013 Association for the Study of German Politics.

Corporate governance and related party transactions research:an assessment of theories and methodologies

This paper critically evaluates the paradigm, theory, and methodology that dominate research on related party transactions (RPTs). RPTs have been debated in the literature whether they are a facet of conflict of interest between major and minor shareholders or they are normal efficient transactions that help the firms to achieve asset utilization. Literature has been widely interested in studying the association between corporate governance and RPTs especially that according to the agency theory it is assumed that corporate governance as a monitoring tool should impede the negative consequences of RPTs and ensure they are conducted to achieve better asset utilization.

Failure to relaunch? The United States, nuclear North Korea, and the future of the six-party talks

During the past twenty years, Washington has oscillated between tentative engagement with Pyongyang under the Clinton administration and isolation and multilateralism under the Bush administration. With the Obama administration almost nearing its four-year tenure, the Six-Party Talks have stalled and North Korea's multiple attacks on the South in 2010 have created new instabilities. Why so little results despite promises of a radical departure away from the Axis of Evil rhetoric and hard-line politics? This paper suggests that the Obama administration has utilized approaches that no longer fit current circumstances and hence failed to create an original, coherent and effective foreign policy. © 2012 McFarland & Company, Inc.

Caste, class and Trade Unionism in India

The caste system in India and its exploitative nature has been well researched (Siddique 2011 Gupta 2000). However, the role of caste in Indian employment relations and in particular its role in the labor movement in India is yet to be fully explored. The primary aim of this paper is to examine the rise of caste- based trade unions in India over the past decade. Specifically, we aim to examine why the lower-caste workers (historically treated as untouchables, referred to as ‘Dalits’and officially designated as Scheduled Caste and Tribes) are leaving established trade unions to organize their own unions along caste lines? While fragmentation of trade unions is a well-known phenomenon both in India and in the Western World (Shyam Sundar 2015; Connolly et al. 2014), the rise of caste based trade unions is a relatively new phenomenon which is yet to be fully explored. Caste based trade unionism appears to be counter-intuitive when the conventional logic suggests that unions are class based collective institutions which represent the interest of the working classes (Ramaswamy 1976). The Indian trade union movement has historically been fragmented along political ideological lines ranging from moderate unions affiliated to the Congress Party to the militant unions affiliated to the Communist and Socialist parties. However, the rise of caste-based trade unions of the lower caste workers is a relatively new phenomenon. Our findings from surveys and interviews with mainstream unions and caste-based trade unions suggest that the caste-based trade unions are unique in at least three ways. First, these unions are breaking away from well-established radical and militant union federations such as those affiliated to the Communist and Socialist parties. Second, these unions are predominantly organized on caste identities and not occupational identities or political ideologies. Third in unionized workplaces, lower caste workers are forming their own separate unions along caste lines with membership restricted only to workers of their own caste instead of joining the mainstream unions where present. We examine these issues using the analytical framework of Paulo Freire (1970) – dialogics, praxis and cultural oppression and relate it with the insights from comparative politics which examine the role of actors & their interests within institutions (Peters 2011).

Leadership and the Labour Party:narrative and performance

The relationships between narrative and leadership, between rhetoric and performance, between doctrine and its voicing, are crucial to party politics and are underrated by both practising politicians and scholars. This study analyses the ‘performance of leadership’ in the UK Labour Party, and what this means for a new approach to understanding politics. The main focus of this study is the five-year leadership of Ed Miliband, 2010-2015. The fortunes of the party and the party leadership can be apprehended as a series of performed rhetorical events. A political leader’s persona is a construction that performs – rather like an actor – in the political space. The author identifies and analyses the architecture and the modalities of leadership persona construction and performance in contemporary politics.