by Moshe Maor (1997)
This introduction to the theme of political parties presents a wide variety of theoretical approaches - illustrating these ideas by applying comparative approaches to the British case. Political Parties and Party Systems covers all the key subjects of study, including: the classification of party definitions; change in the party system; party institutionalisation; models of party organisation; cohesion and dissent; intra-party conflicts and legislative bargaining; and multi-party electoral competition. Moshe Maor argues that the intra-party arena is the key to the understanding of political party behaviour. Strategic decisions made by party leaders often reflect the internal conflicts with which they are confronted. This study addresses the ways in which intra-party actors solve these trade-offs and in the process how the parties' definitions of activities and motivations are constantly reinterpreted. This is a clear and accessible introduction to modern political science analysis of parties and party systems which will be essential reading for students of politics.
Ross M. Martin
This is the story of a nine-year-old cotton weaver who went on to become a dominating presence in the Edwardian trade union movement, and a Member of Parliament who played a critical role in the infancy of the Labour Party.
H.-J. Schmidt
"Maurice Duverger is arguably the most distinguished French political scientist of the last century, but his major impact has been largely in the English-speaking world. His book, Political Parties, first translated into English in 1954, has influenced both the party politics literature (which continues to make use of his typology of party organization) and the electoral systems literature. His chief contributions there deal with what have come to be called in his honor Duverger's Law and Duverger's Hypothesis. The first argues that countries with the plurality rule will tend to become two-party systems; the second argues that countries using proportional representation (PR) will tend to become multi-party systems. Duverger also identifies specific mechanisms that will produce these effects, conventionally referred to as "mechanical effects" and "psychological effects." However, while Duverger's Hypothesis concerning the link between PR and multipartism is now widely accepted, the empirical evidence that plurality voting results in two-party systems is remarkably weak--with the U.S. the most notable exception. The chapters in this volume consider national-level evidence about Duverger's law in the world's largest, longest-lived and most successful democracies of Britain, Canada, India and the United States. One set of chapters involves looking at the overall evidence for and against Duverger's Law in these countries; the other set deals with evidence about the mechanical and psychological effects predicted by Duverger. The result is an incisive analysis of electoral and party dynamics that will appeal to researchers, academics, students, policymakers, and policy watchers around the world."--Publisher's website.
James Brabazon
Describes how an unlikely friendship forged between the author, a British journalist, and Nick Du Toit, his bodyguard and a notorious mercenary, during Liberia's civil war led to a covert plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea.
John Wadham, Jonathan Griffiths, Bethan Rigby
This guide explains the mechanism for seeking access to information, the exemptions that, in certain circumstances, permit public authorities to refuse access to information, and the powers of enforcement available under the Act.