Abstract
Peaceful political swings and government/opposition cycles mark a crucial distinction and line of division between democracy and non-democracy. Democracies are characterized by substantially higher frequencies of government/opposition cycles (in more particular) and political swings (in more general) than non-democracies (where they are less frequent or do not exist at all). In the empirical macro-model, it is being verified that probabilities of a “peaceful person and/or party change of the (de facto) head of government” increase with increasing degrees of political freedom. Party change is here even more important than person change. Democracy introduced to the world the innovation (the political innovation) of peaceful government/opposition cycles as a standard procedure for government institutions and for how a democracy is operating and performing. This defines an (evolutionary) advantage of democracy over non-democracy. Government/opposition cycles can initiate political swings, for example, political left/right swings. Does a political system or system of governance not express any or not sufficiently regular government/opposition cycles, then it should be questioned, whether this political system still can represent a democracy. In democracies, the government/opposition cycles or political swings fulfill the following functions: (1) to balance power; (2) to allow a “cycle of seeking,” by supporting policy-seeking in contrast to office-seeking and vote-seeking; and (3) to balance policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For an analysis of political left /right swings at the national level of the political system in Austria, see Campbell (1992). For a long-term comparison of political left /right swings at the national and provincial level of Austrian democracy, see Campbell (2007). For a comparative international assessment of political left /right swings in North America and Western Europe , see Campbell (1996).
- 2.
The factors discussed here that are interpreted to contribute to the phenomena of government /opposition cycles (political swings ) in political systems (democracies ) actually also address the “Why Question”: Why are there political swings and government / opposition cycles ?
- 3.
- 4.
For a discussion of Freedom House , see also Rosenberger and Seeber (2008).
- 5.
- 6.
Manfred G. Schmidt makes on Freedom House the methodic comment that “nicht alle Informationen über die Gewichtung der Beobachtungsergebnisse eindeutig und in allen Details nachvollziehbar” are (Schmidt 2006, p. 413). Also, the scores produced by this US institution may express “eine Schieflage zugunsten des US-amerikanischen Regierungssystems” (Schmidt 2006, p. 407).
- 7.
At the beginning of this section, we already discussed, why government /opposition cycles (political swings ) can be regarded as an indication for democracy and advanced quality of democracy .
- 8.
One concrete example here is Iraq, where we reinterpreted the de facto head of government by moving the attention from the president to the prime minister during the 2000s.
- 9.
In the current literature, there is maximum consent, who the head of government of a specific country is (or was) and which party affiliation this head of government has (or had in the past).
- 10.
Would (in a hypothetical scenario) the freedom ratings of Freedom House and the government /opposition cycles behaved to each other in a mutually negative statistical correlation, then this would have created a “puzzle,” not easy to interpret, perhaps fundamentally questioning our conventional wisdom.
References
Banks, A. S., Muller, T. C., & Overstreet, W. R. (Eds.). (2006). Political Handbook of the World 2005–2006. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press (CQ Press).
Bollen, K. A. (1986). Political Rights and Political Liberties in Nations: An Evaluation of Human Rights Measures, 1950 to 1984. Human Rights Quarterly, 8(4), 567–591.
Bollen, K. A. (1993a). Liberal Democracy: Validity and Method Factors in Cross-National Measures. American Journal of Political Science, 37(4), 1207–1230.
Bollen, K. A. (1993b). Political Democracy: Conceptual and Measurement Traps, 3–20. In A. Inkeles (Ed.), On Measuring Democracy: Its Consequences and Concomitants. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Bollen, K. A., & Paxton, P. (2000). Subjective Measures of Liberal Democracy. Comparative Political Studies, 33(1), 58–86.
Budge, I., & Farlie, D. J. (1983). Explaining and Predicting Elections: Issue Effects and Party Strategies in Twenty-Three Democracies. London: George Allen & Unwin.
Budge, I., Klingemann, H.-D., Volken, A., Bara, J., & Tannenbaum, E. (2001). Mapping Policy Preferences: Estimates for Parties, Electors, and Governments 1945–1998. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Campbell, D. F. J. (1992). Die Dynamik der politischen Links-rechts-Schwingungen in Österreich: Die Ergebnisse einer Expertenbefragung. Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft (ÖZP), 2, 165–179.
Campbell, D. F. J. (1996). Links- und Rechtsschwingungen in den westlichen Demokratien ab 1945. Dissertation. Vienna: University of Vienna.
Campbell, D. F. J. (2002). Zur Demokratiequalität von politischem Wechsel, Wettbewerb und politischem System in Österreich, 19–46. In D. F. J. Campbell & C. Schaller (Eds.), Demokratiequalität in Österreich. Opladen: Leske + Budrich.
Campbell, D. F. J. (2007). Wie links oder wie rechts sind Österreichs Länder? Eine komparative Langzeitanalyse des parlamentarischen Mehrebenensystems Österreichs (1945–2007). SWS-Rundschau, 47(4), 381–404.
Campbell, D. F. J., Carayannis, E. G., Barth, T. D., & Campbell, G. S. (2013). Measuring Democracy and the Quality of Democracy in a World-Wide Approach: Models and Indices of Democracy and the New Findings of the “Democracy Ranking”. International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development, 4(1), 1–16. http://www.igi-global.com/article/measuring-democracy-quality-democracy-world/77344.
Caramani, D. (2015). The Europeanization of Politics: The Formation of a European Electorate and Party System in Historical Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2013). The CIA World Factbook 2013. (Electronic Data Base). Washington, DC: CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html.
Central Intelligence Agency. (2018). The CIA World Factbook 2013 (Electronic Data Base). Washington, DC: CIA. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/.
Clubb, J. M., Flanigan, W. H., & Zingale, N. H. (1990). Partisan Realignment: Voters, Parties, and Government in American History. Boulder: Westview Press.
Dalton, R. J., & Wattenberg, M. P. (Eds.). (2002). Parties Without Partisans: Political Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Diamond, L., & Morlino, L. (2004). The Quality of Democracy: An Overview. Journal of Democracy, 15(4), 20–31.
Diamond, L., & Morlino, L. (2005). Assessing the Quality of Democracy. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Downs, A. (1957/1985). An Economic Theory of Democracy. Boston: Addison-Wesley.
Freedom House. (2012a). Freedom in the World 2012: Methodology. Washington, DC: Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2012/methodology.
Freedom House. (2012b). Freedom in the World 2012: Survey Team. Washington, DC: Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2012/survey-team.
Freedom House. (2013a). Freedom in the World: Aggregate Scores of Political Rights and Civil Liberties, 2003–2013. Washington, DC: Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/AggregateScores_FIW2003-2013%20%28final%29.xls.
Freedom House. (2013b). Freedom in the World 2013: Methodology. Washington, DC: Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world-2013/methodology.
Freedom House. (2013c). Freedom of the Press: Scores and Status Date 1980–2013. Washington, DC: Freedom House. http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOTP%20Scores%20and%20Status%201980-2013_0.xls.
Gastil, R. D. (1993). The Comparative Survey of Freedom: Experiences and Suggestions, 21–46. In A. Inkeles (Ed.), On Measuring Democracy: Its Consequences and Concomitants. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Harding, S., Phillips, D., & Fogarty, M. (1986). Contrasting Values in Western Europe: Unity, Diversity and Change. Studies in the Contemporary Values of Modern Society. Houndmills: MacMillan.
Klingemann, H.-D., Volken, A., Bara, J., Budge, I, & McDonald, M. (2006). Mapping Policy Preferences II: Estimates for Parties, Electors, and Governments in Eastern Europe, European Union and OECD 1990–2003. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Laponce, J. A. (1981). Left and Right: The Topography of Political Perceptions. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Luther, K. R., & Müller-Rommel, F. (Eds.). (2005). Political Parties in the New Europe: Political and Analytical Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Muller, T. C., Isacoff, J. F., & Lansford, T. (Eds.). (2012). Political Handbook of the World. Washington, DC and London: CQ Press (Sage).
Müller, W. C., & Strøm, K. (2000a). Conclusion: Coalition Governance in Western Europe. In W. C. Müller & K. Strøm (Eds.), Coalition Governments in Western Europe (pp. 559–592). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Müller, W. C., & Strøm, K. (Eds.). (2000b). Coalition Governments in Western Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Munck, G. L., & Verkuilen, J. (2002). Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy. Evaluating Alternative Indices: Comparative Political Studies, 35(1), 5–34.
Niemi, R. G., Mueller, J., & Smith, T. W. (1989). Trends in Public Opinion: A Compendium of Survey Data. New York: Greenwood Press.
Pickel, S., & Pickel, G. (2006). Politische Kultur- und Demokratieforschung. Grundbegriffe, Theorie, Methoden. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Przeworski, A., Alvarez, M. E., Antonio Cheibub, J., & Limongi, F. (2003). Democracy and Development: Political Institutions and Well-Being in the World, 1950–1990. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rosenberger, S., & Seeber, G. (2008). Wählen. Vienna: Facultas WUV (UTB).
Schlesinger, M. A., Jr. (1986). The Cycles of American History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Schmidt, M. G. (1983). Politische Zusammensetzung der Regierungen. In M. G. Schmidt (Ed.), Westliche Industriegesellschaften: Wirtschaft – Gesellschaft – Politik (pp. 371–375). Munich: Piper Verlag.
Schmidt, M. G. (2006). Demokratietheorien. Eine Einführung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Share, D. (1999). From Policy-Seeking to Office-Seeking: The Metamorphosis of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, 89–111. In W. C. Müller & K. Strøm (Eds.), Policy, Office, or Votes? How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions (pp. 89–111). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Strøm, K., & Müller, W. C. (1999). Political Parties and Hard Choices, 1–35. In W. C. Müller & K. Strøm (Eds.), Policy, Office, or Votes? How Political Parties in Western Europe Make Hard Decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Campbell, D.F.J. (2019). The Basic Dimension (Basic Conceptual Dimension) of Self-Organization (Political Self-Organization): Government/Opposition Cycles and Political Swings (Political Left/Right Swings), Peaceful Person Change of Head of Government and Peaceful Party Change of Head of Government in Global Comparison (2002–2016 and 1990–2017). In: Global Quality of Democracy as Innovation Enabler. Palgrave Studies in Democracy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship for Growth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72529-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72529-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-72528-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-72529-1
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)