Distributive politics in Malaysia : maintaining authoritarian party dominance / Hidekuni Washida.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Washida, Hidekuni, author.

Series:

Politics in Asia series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Barisan Nasional (Organization).

Patronage, Political--Malaysia.

Patronage, Political.

Power (Social sciences)--Malaysia.

Power (Social sciences).

Political leadership--Malaysia.

Political leadership.

Malaysia--Politics and government--21st century.

Malaysia.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xiii, 229 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019.

Summary:

"The election on 9 May 2018 ended six decades of rule by the ruling coalition in Malaysia (Barisan Nasional or BN, formerly Alliance). Despite the turnover, the BN's resilience was outstanding in terms of its longevity and the competitiveness of the elections. This book explores the mechanisms of the emergence, endurance, and decline of the party's dominance. Specifically, using a systematic analysis of key resources (budgets, posts, and seats), Washida challenges the conventional argument that a punitive threat to exclude opposition supporters from distributive benefits sustained the loyalty of the masses and elites. He also questions the idea that the mere existence of party organization enables a leader to credibly commit to power-sharing. Instead he posits a theory of mobilization agency, in which a party leader needs to design an effective incentive mechanism. In addition, he explains how the BN had manufactured legislative dominance by tactical gerrymandering and malapportionment. He also explores how the party established its dominance, why it suddenly declined since 2008, and how it (unsuccessfully) tried to survive. The insights drawn from the Malaysian case help deepen our understanding of the rise and fall of authoritarian parties and distributive politics in general"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

The puzzling resilience of authoritarian party dominance

A theory of elite-level mobilization agency

Historical origins of the mobilization agency

Revisiting center-local relations : collusion rather than collision

Providing credible cost compensation : development budget allocation

Designing an incentive mechanism : ministerial portfolio allocation

Manufacturing legislative dominance : gerrymandering and malapportionment

Withstanding the decline : a dilemma in spatial positioning.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781138634510

1138634514

OCLC:

1042076610