|
Political Society
This arena is that part of the political
system which deals with how ideas and interests are
aggregated into specific policy proposals. Much of the
difficulty in consolidating democracy in regions like
Latin America is seen by students of politics to be
rooted in the problem of how contending social classes
and interest groups are to be connected to the governing
process. This arena is usually referred to as "political
society", i.e. the place where public demands get
tackled by specific political institutions. Rules for
aggregating policy vary. One major distinction in democratic
polities is between pluralist and corporatist systems.
The former is competitive while the latter is directed.
Many authoritarian regimes find the transition at the
political society level especially hard since rules
at this level tend to dictate who gets to power. Thus,
the design of electoral systems tends to influence the
party system; the party system the way the legislature
operates. Countries in political transition tend to
prefer a presidential system rather than a parliamentary
one on the assumption-often mistaken-that a strong executive
can control political society and provide greater political
stability.
New Paper: Political Society and
Governance in 16 Developing Countries
|
|
|
246KB)