Suchergebnisse

IN RECENT YEARS THE JOURNALS HAVE PUBLISHED AN INCREASING NUMBER OF ARTICLES WHICH PRESENT OR UTILIZE FORMAL MODELS OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR AND POLITICAL PROCESSES. AT PRESENT, HOWEVER,THIS RESEARCH PROBABLY REACHE ONLY A SMALL AUDIENCE.

WHY DO WE HAVE DIVIDED GOVERNMENT, AND WHAT ARE ITS CONSEQUENCES? THIS ARTICLE ADDRESSES THESE QUESTIONS, ALTHOUGH THE DISCUSSION IS ONLY SUGGESTIVE. IT BEGINS BY PLACING THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT, THEN PROCEEDS WITH A SURVEY OF THE QUESTIONS OFFERED FOR THE CONTEMPORARY CONDITION, AND CONCLUDES WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT ITS LIKELY CONSEQUENCES.

FOR DECADES THEORIZING ABOUT PARTY COMPETITION IN TWO-PARTY AND MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACIES HAS PROCEEDED ALONG SEPARATE TRACKS. THE FORMER HAS ASSUMED AN IDEALIZED WORLD IN WHICH ONE PARTY WINS FULL CONTROL OF A SYSTEM'S GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS IN A FIRST-PAST-THE-POST ELECTION, WHILE THE LATTER POSITS A WORLD IN WHICH ELECTIONS CONDUCTED UNDER A SYSTEM OF PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION SPLIT CONTROL OF THE PARLIAMENT AMONG THE PARTIES. THE CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN EXPERIENCE WITH DIVIDED GOVERNMENT SUGGESTS THAT THE TWO LINES OF THEORY GREATLY EXAGGERATE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWO-PARTY AND MULTI-PARTY SYSTEMS. WHERE A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM HAS A SEPARATION OF POWERS BASED ON INDEPENDENT ELECTIONS, COALITION GOVERNMENTS INVOLVING SHARED CONTROL OF THE SEPARATE INSTITUTIONS MAY RESULT. UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS RATIONAL VOTING MAY BE JUST AS DEMANDING IN TWO-PARTY SYSTEMS AS IN MULTI-PARTY SYSTEMS, AND THE POLICY OUTPUTS OF TWO-PARTY SYSTEMS MAY BE NO MORE COHERENT THAN THE OUTPUTS OF MULTI-PARTY SYSTEMS, CONTRARY TO TRADITIONAL ARGUMENTS.