Politics at the centre : the selection and removal of party leaders in the Anglo parliamentary democracies / William P. Cross, André Blais.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cross, William P. (William Paul), 1962-

Contributor:

Blais, André, 1947-

Series:

Comparative politics.

Comparative politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political parties--Cross-cultural studies.

Political leadership--Cross-cultural studies.

Cabinet system--Cross-cultural studies.

Elections--Cross-cultural studies.

Elections.

Cabinet system.

Political leadership.

Political parties.

Genre:

Cross-cultural studies.

Physical Description:

viii, 221 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2012.

Summary:

Comparative Politics is a series for students, teacher, and researchers of political science that deals with contemporary government and politics. Global in scope, books in the series are characterized by a stress on comparative analysis and strong methodological rigour. The series is published in association with the European Consortium for Political Research. For more information visit: www.ecprnet.eu

The Comparative Politics Series is edited by Professor David M. Farrell, School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin; Kenneth Carty, Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia; and Professor Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Institute of Political Science, Philipps University, Marburg.

Politics at the Centre is a comparative study of the rules, norms, and behaviour surrounding political party leadership. The primary analysis includes 25 parties in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom from 1965 onwards. The topics covered include methods of leadership selection and removal, and the nature of leadership politics. The themes of the book include intra party democracy, with an emphasis on the relative roles of the parliamentrary and extra parliamentary groups, and the causes of organizational reform within parties.

Particular attention is paid to change over time and to differences among parties with explanations offered for both. Considerable attention is paid to the trend of expanding the leadership selectorate, including consideration of why many parties are adopting this reform while others resist it. Data, collected from more than 200 leadership contests, the types of individuals who win the contests, an the longevity of leaders. The influence of different methods of selection and removal on these issues is also examined.

Much of the analysis is based on in-country interviews conducted with active politicians, former and current party leaders, political journalists, and officials of the extra parliamentary parties. Extensive use is also made of a comprehensive review of party documents related to leadership selection. Many real-life examples from all five countries are used to illustrate the central concepts and themes.

A separate chapter considers the applicability of the findings from the Westminster systems to parties in other parliamentary and presidential systems. The concluding chapter makes a normative argument for a particular version of leadership selection and removal. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Why Study Party Leadership Selection? 1

2 Who Picks the Party Leader? 14

3 Explaining Change in Leadership Selectorates 34

4 Rules of the Game 60

5 Retirements, Resignations, and Removals 87

6 Running, Getting Elected, and Staying in Office 113

7 Organizing, Strategizing, and Voting in Leadership Elections 128

8 Leadership Selection in Non-Westminster Democracies 156

9 How Should we Choose Party Leaders? 168.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [191]-205) and index.

ISBN:

9780199596720

0199596727

OCLC:

751832007