Suchergebnisse

In the wake of the crisis of the Keynesian Welfare State the social democratic parties in Western Europe have been searching for new concepts to retain their image as reform parties. One way to achieve this is to democratise and renew the intra-party structures. In the 1980s and 90s, the SPD and the Labour Party have developed different patterns to implement the process of intra-party reforms. The objectives are to increase the autonomy of action for the parties' various sub-units, in particular the party elite, and to reduce the political influence of the body of delegates. On paper the individual member is to get greater rights to participate, in practice this coincides with greater influence of powerful elites. In between, there have been different problems of the intra-party reforms. In the SPD, personal controversies and the old battles between old and new left and the right wing still determine the political agenda. Its reform got stuck halfway after Rudolf Scharping took office as party chairman. His counterpart Tony Blair tries to continue the reform process initiated by Neil Kinnock. In the Labour Party, the modernisers have had some success in reducing the internal power of the unions and in strengthening individual members. But these are only a few steps in becoming a "New Labour Party". (German Politics / FUB)

Intro -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- References -- Party Names in Polish and English -- Contents -- Abbreviations -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- 1 Theoretical and Methodological Framework -- 1.1 Approaches to Studying Political Parties -- 1.2 Political Parties as Communication Organisations -- 1.3 Research Outline -- 1.4 Data Selection and Party Characteristics -- 1.5 Research Methods -- References -- 2 Democracy in Poland: The Post-communist Regime and Its Performance -- 2.1 The Legacy of the Communist Regime -- 2.2 Trust in Political and Public Institutions -- 2.3 Low Voter Turnout -- 2.4 Towards an Illiberal Democracy -- References -- 3 The Emergence of the Party System in Poland-From Instability to Permanent Rivalry Patterns -- 3.1 Party Institutionalisation -- 3.2 Organisation Model(s) of Political Parties -- 3.3 Entry Barriers to the Political Market -- Registration of Candidate Lists -- Electoral Threshold and Voting System (Formula for Allocating Seats) -- District (Constituency) Magnitude -- Public Funding of Parties -- References -- 4 Changing Communication Environment -- 4.1 Parties' Communication Orientation -- 4.2 Media Logics in Party Communication -- 4.3 Factors Shaping Politicians' Relations with the Media in Poland -- References -- 5 Are Political Party Structures Still Important? -- 5.1 Beyond the Party Central Office-Organisational Potential -- 5.2 Local Structures in the Eyes of Party Elites -- 5.3 Beyond Mass Media: The Communication Potential of Political Parties' Structures -- References -- 6 Political Party Membership Features -- 6.1 Legal Regulations Regarding Party Membership -- 6.2 Party Members' Profiles -- 6.3 Motivations for Joining Political Parties -- 6.4 Party Members' Activities -- 6.5 Internal Communication: Practices vs Members' Expectations -- References.

Indian democracy has acquired a venerable place among the comity of thriving and robust democracies in the world due to its unflinching resilience and almost unhindered continuity. The case of Indian democracy receives accolades and appreciation due to its survival and durability in unimaginably challenging circumstances through history, especially in its peaceful transition of power between sworn rival parties.1 However, despite palpable success in keeping the elements of procedural democracy intact, including the perpetual election cycle in India, while still guaranteeing civil and political liberties to its citizens, Indian democracy is replete with a plethora of impediments which is indiscernibly enervating the substance that a democratic project entails. One such glaring shortcoming of Indian democracy is the lack of internal democratic functioning of the political parties in India.