How Desirable is Intra-Party Democracy? Evidence from the Political Party Database Project
Seminar
Few scholars on political parties would disagree that intra-party democracy (IPD) is desirable. Yet, this is exactly where agreement ends. Precisely how we should conceptualize IPD is open to debate. This paper suggests a two-dimensional conceptualization of IPD based on the nature of the process…
What have we learned about constitutional design in deeply divided societies over the last quarter of a century?
Lecture
In the aftermath of the end of the cold war, constitutional transitions in South Africa (1994), Bosnia (1995), Fiji (1997), Northern Ireland (1998) and Iraq (2005) aimed at ameliorating ethnic conflict, fostering resilient democracy and achieving political stability. This paper asks what these…
Gendered ministerial careers in three Westminster countries
Seminar
In recent years there has been an increased scholarly interest in the descriptive representation of women in executives. Particular emphasis has been given to women’s (s)election to cabinet, the allocation of portfolios and, more recently, the opportunities for the substantive representation of…
SPIR Seminar Series: Semester 1, 2017
Seminar
Week Speaker Talk title 23 February Patrick Dunleavy "Why some bureaucratic autonomy is key for the integrated operation of states: National debt policy-making in Australia and the UK" 2 March Matthew…
Citizens’ Wealth: Why and How to Transform Sovereign Funds into Citizens’ Funds
Seminar
How can it be that more governments are wealthier than ever, and yet fewer citizens enjoy the benefits that such wealth can bring? Never before have so many governments owned so much wealth in the form of financial assets amassed in state-controlled investment funds, known as Sovereign Wealth…
‘Intra-party divisions in time of party transformation: a framework for analysis’
Seminar
Intra-party cohesion is a crucial feature of parliamentary democracies. Indeed, government’s stability and survival as well as legislative activity greatly depend on the capacity of political parties to work as unified entities. However, parties are not monolithic organizations: they aggregate…
Life after Dictatorship: Authoritarian Successor Parties Worldwide
Seminar
A surprising feature of democratisation in many countries is that large numbers of people, after gaining the right to choose their leaders through free and fair elections, vote for political parties with deep roots in dictatorship. Authoritarian successor parties—or parties that emerge from…