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Summary of the book Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries by A. Lijphart (2nd edition, 2012).
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Summary Patterns of Democracy:Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries
A. Lijphart (2nd edition, 2012)
Chapter 1: Introduction
Democracy
• Government by the people → basic definition
• Government by the representatives of the people → representative democracy
• Democracy means government not only by but also for the people
o But who will do the governing and to whose interests should the government be
responsive when the people are in disagreement and have divergent preferences?
▪ The majority of the people → essence majoritarian model of democracy
• Concentrates political power in the hands of a bare majority, and
often even merely a plurality instead of a majority
• Exclusive, competitive and adversarial
▪ As many people as possible → consensus model
• Majority rule is better than minority rule, but it accepts majority rule
only as a minimum requirement → ‘broad agreement’
• Tries to share, disperse, and limit power in a variety of ways
• Inclusiveness, bargaining, and compromise → ‘negotiation
democracy’
2 clearly separate dimensions with, for each group 5 differences
1. Executives-parties dimension → groups 5 characteristics of the arrangement of executive
power, the party and electoral systems, and interest groups
a. Concentration of executive power in single-party majority cabinets versus executive
power-sharing in broad multiparty coalitions
b. Executive-legislative relationships in which the executive is dominant versus
executive-legislative balance of power
c. Two-party versus multiparty systems
d. Majoritarian and disproportional electoral systems versus proportional
representation
e. Pluralist interest group systems with free-for-all competition among groups versus
coordinated and ‘corporatist’ interest group systems aimed at compromise and
concertation
2. Federal-unitary dimension → commonly associated with the contrast between federalism
and unitary government
a. Unitary and centralized government versus federal and decentralized government
b. Concentration of legislative power in an unicameral legislature versus division of
legislative power between two equally strong but differently constituted houses
c. Flexible constitutions that can be amended by simple majorities versus rigid
constitutions that can be changed only by extraordinary majorities
d. Systems in which legislatures have the final word on the constitutionality of their
own legislation versus systems in which laws are subject to a judicial review of their
constitutionality by supreme or constitutional courts
e. Central banks that are dependent on the executive versus independent central banks
1
,Federalism has primary and secondary meanings
1. Primary definition: a guaranteed divisions of power between the central government and
regional governments
2. Secondary characteristics
a. Strong bicameralism
b. A rigid constitution
c. Strong judicial review
3. The guarantee of a federal division of power can work well only if
a. Both the guarantee and the exact lines of the division of power are clearly stated in
the constitution and this guarantee cannot be changed unilaterally at either the
central or regional level – hence the need for a rigid constitution
b. There is a neutral arbiter who can resolve conflicts concerning the division of power
between the two levels of government – hence the judicial review
c. There is a federal chamber in the national legislature in which the regions have
strong representation – hence the need for strong bicameralism
d. The main purpose of federalism is to promote and protect a decentralized system of
government
Chapter 2: The Westminster Model of Democracy
Lijphart uses the term Westminster model interchangeably with majoritarian model to refer to a
general model of democracy
• It can also be used more narrowly to denote the main characteristics of British parliamentary
and governmental institutions
• Majoritarian prototypes: United Kingdom, New Zealand and Barbados
The Westminster model in the United Kingdom
1. Concentration of executive power in one-party and bare-majority cabinets
a. Cabinet in the UK is the most powerful organ
b. Coalition and minority cabinets are the exception in the UK
2. Cabinet dominance
a. UK has a parliamentary system of government → the cabinet is dependent on the
confidence of Parliament
b. In theory, because the House of Commons can vote a cabinet out of office, it
‘controls’ the cabinet. In reality, the relationship is reversed; because the cabinet is
composed of the leaders of a cohesive majority party in the House of Commons, it is
normally backed by the majority in the House of Commons, and it can confidently
count on staying in office and getting its legislative proposals approved
3. Two-party system
a. UK politics is dominated by 2 large parties: the Conservative party and the Labour
party
i. In between these 2 parties: Liberal Democrats
ii. Minor parties
1. Scottish National party
2. The Welsh nationalists
3. Several Northern Ireland parties
2
, 4. Majoritarian and disproportional system of elections
a. House of Commons is a large legislative body with a membership that has varied
between 625 and 659 since 1945
b. Members are elected in single-member districts according to the plurality method →
first past the post system
i. The candidate with majority vote or, if there is no majority, with the largest
minority vote wins
ii. Tends to produce highly disproportional results → in 2005 Labour won an
absolute majority of 355 out of 646 seats with only 35,2 % of the popular
vote (‘manufactured majorities’)
c. UK can be called a pluralitarian democracy instead of a majoritarian democracy
5. Interest group pluralism
a. By concentrating power in the hands of the majority, the Westminster model of
democracy sets up a government-versus-opposition pattern that is competitive and
adversarial
b. Competition and conflict also characterize the majoritarian model’s typical interest
group system: a system of free-for-all pluralism → it contrasts with interest group
corporatism in which regular meeting takes place between the representatives of the
government, labour unions, and employer’s organizations to seek agreement on
socioeconomic policies
i. Process of coordination: concertation
1. Facilitated if there are relatively few, large, and strong interest
groups in each of the main functional sectors (labour, employers and
farmers) and / or there is a strong peak organization in each of the
sectors that coordinates the preferences and desired strategies for
each sector
ii. Agreements reached are often called tripartite pacts
c. Pluralism, in contrast, means a multiplicity of interest groups that exert pressure on
the government in an uncoordinated and competitive manner
i. Britain’s interest group system is clearly pluralist
6. Unitary and centralized government
a. The UK is a unitary and centralized state
i. Local governments
1. Perform a series of important functions, but they are the creatures
of the central government and their powers are not constitutionally
guaranteed
2. They are financially dependent on the central government
3. There are no clearly designated geographical and functional areas
from which the parliamentary majority and the cabinet are barred
b. 2 exceptions
i. Northern Ireland was ruled by its own parliament and cabinet with a high
degree of autonomy
1. In 1972 by a simple majoritarian decision by Parliament it was
eliminated
ii. Gradual movement toward greater autonomy for Scotland and Wales
(devolution)
3
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