Factions and tendencies in the Australian political party system

This paper uses the 1987 Australian Election Study to examine the attitudinal, social and political characteristics of the political factions and tendencies which exist within the Labor, Liberal, National and Australian Democrat parties. We show that attitudinal groups are identifiable in all four parties, the greatest diversity existing within the Democrats and the least diversity within the Nationals. Substantial differences exist between groups within each party in social background and political characteristics. A multivariate analysis of factional and tendency electoral support shows that incumbency and control of nominations is important among ALP factions, while electorate involvement and party membership are important within Liberal and National tendencies.     

The transformation of the Italian party system

Abstract

This article analyses the political and social changes that occurred in Italy in the 1980s and 1990s in ways that bring economic and sociological models together in a historical perspective. It argues that the rise of the new Right following the disintegration of the Christian Democrats and the Socialist Party was the result not only of the changed international situation (which was none the less important) but of the changes that had been taking place within the Italian political parties and the growing importance of neo‐patrimonial tendencies over the previous fifteen years. Increasingly open forms of corruption (on the part of the political classes rather than the industrial bourgeoisie, even though they too were to some extent accomplices) are interpreted as a sign of the crisis and disintegration of the political system that had taken shape in the postwar period. Hence the nexus of anguish and politics for both the upper classes and the rest of Italian society that has become one of the most important features of the situation in Italy today.     

The Democratic Party and the restructuring of the Italian party system

Abstract

Out of a quickly performed merger between the Left Democrats and the Daisy, a new party has made its appearance in Italy: the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico – PD). In the summer of 2007 three candidates, Walter Veltroni, Rosy Bindi and Enrico Letta campaigned in order to convince sympathizers and supporters of that, yet non-existing party, that they were worthy of the office of Secretary of the PD. The election of Veltroni contributed to the already existing tensions within the centre-left governmental coalition that led to the demise of Prodi's government and to early elections. In April 2008, though receiving 33 per cent of the vote, the Democratic Party suffered a serious defeat. This article explores the reasons of the defeat and analyses its consequences on the restructuring of the Italian party system and the future of the Italian political system. Unless the Democratic Party is capable of finding an adequate organizational model and of expanding its electoral support beyond the areas of the traditional entrenchment of the former Communist party, the centre-right seems destined to guide Italian politics for some time to come.     

The 1983 change in surplus vote transfer procedures for the Australian senate and its consequences for the single transferable vote

Among the 1983 changes to the electoral rules for Australian Senate elections using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) was a new procedure for determining the transfer of vote surpluses. The adoption of this modified (‘inclusive’) Gregory method has tended to be overlooked in the literature, yet as this article shows—using both hypothetical and real-world examples—it incorporates an anomaly that could have significance for electoral outcomes. This has important implications not only with regard to whether the ‘correct’ candidate is elected, but also for wider social choice debates over the quasi-chaotic nature of STV.     

The origins of agriculture and its consequences

Flannery, Kent, ed. Guila Naquitz: Archaic Foraging and Early Agriculture in Oaxaca, Mexico. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, 1986. xix + 538 pp. including references, index, tables, figures, and Spanish synopsis. $98.50 cloth.

Merbs, Charles F., and Robert J. Miller, eds. Health and Disease in the Prehistoric Southwest. Arizona State University Anthropological Papers No. 34. Tempe,: Arizona State University, 1985. xix + 402 pp. including chapter references, tables, figures, and photographs. $17.50 paper.     

The regional consequences of a dualistic industrial structure: the case of Australia

This article is a preliminary attempt to consider the spatial consequences of business organisation segmentation in the Australian economy. The first section outlines a framework that can be employed in an analysis of business organisation segmentation. The second section applies this framework in the context of the Australian economy. This section is in three parts. First, it is shown that conventional sectoral data can be used to approximate business organisation segmentation. Second, the labour market consequences of this empirical exercise are documented. Finally, the spatial consequences of the exercise are shown by way of a series of maps.     

The problem with counting preferences: the example of one nation party preferences at the 2001 Western Australian legislative assembly election

A growing number of lower‐house seats at Australian State and federal elections rely on a distribution of preferences from Independent and small‐party candidates before seats can be awarded. Actors have attempted to gain political capital from this situation by claiming that the preferences of particular small parties have affected election outcomes. This paper uses the events of the Western Australian State election held in 2001 to explore the validity of such claims. More specifically, it investigates the widely propagated contention that the One Nation Party's anti‐sitting‐member preference strategy was a key determinant of the Coalition's electoral defeat. It concludes that the increased number of candidates contesting elections makes it difficult to assess whether the second and subsequent preferences of any particular small party were critical to the outcome.     

一部研究当代中国政党制度的力作--读《当代中国的多党合作制度》

中国共产党领导的多党合作制度,是在长期的革命、建设和改革的实践中逐步形成和发展起来的具有中国特色的社会主义政党制度.研究和分析这一政党制度的形成和发展过程,总结多党合作实践的经验教训,探讨其中的规律,对于进一步推进多党合作的制度化、规范化和程序化建设,发展社会主义民主政治,推进社会主义政治文明建设,有着十分重要的意义.最近,吴美华教授的新著《当代中国的多党合作制度》[1]正是多年研究这一课题的力作.该书作为中国人民大学马克思主义学院中共党史系承担的教育部"211工程"项目"当代社会主义理论与实践"的系列成果之一,运用马克思主义立场、观点和方法,全面而系统地阐述了当代中国的多党合作制度.具体来讲,该书具有以下几个特点.     

The Rise and Fall of the Australian Greens: The 2002 Cunningham By-election and its Implications

This article examines the 2002 by-election in the Australian federal seat of Cunningham, in which the Australian Greens secured their first and only member of the House of Representatives. This case study of Greens voting suggests that the electoral support base of the Greens in Cunningham was consistent with what is known about the support base of the Greens elsewhere in Australia. At the same time, it makes the case that local factors were at least as important as national issues in explaining the high Greens vote in Cunningham. A suburb-by-suburb analysis of Greens voting in the 2002 by-election suggests that traditional markers of Greens voting, such as higher than average incomes and educational qualifications, were a necessary, but not a sufficient, explanation of Greens voting in the case of Cunningham.