Daniele Caramani

The nationalization of politics : the formation of national electorates and party systems in Western Europe

This comparative and long-term in-depth analysis studies the macro-historical process of the nationalization of politics. Using a large wealth of newly collected and unexplored data on single constituencies in 17 West European countries, the analysis reconstructs the territorial structures of electoral participation and support for political parties, as well as their evolution since the mid-nineteenth century from highly territorialised politics of early competitive elections toward nation-wide alignments. It provides a multi-pronged empirical analysis through time, across countries, and between party families. The inclusion of all the most importan social and political cleavages (class, state-church, rural-urban, ethno-linguistic, and religious) allows to assess the nationalising impact of the left-right dimension that emerged from the National and Industrial Revolutions, and the resistance of pre-industrial cultural and centre-periphery factors to national integration. State formation, institutional, and socio-political mobilisation models are combined with actor-centered explanatory factors to account for key evolutionary steps and differences between national types of territorial configurations of the vote.

Success factors for reducing maternal and child mortality

Reducing maternal and child mortality is a priority in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and will likely remain so after 2015. Evidence exists on the investments, interventions and enabling policies required. Less is understood about why some countries achieve faster progress than other comparable countries. The Success Factors for Womens and Childrens Health studies sought to address this knowledge gap using statistical and econometric analyses of data from 144 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over 20 years; Boolean, qualitative comparative analysis; a literature review; and country-specific reviews in 10 fast-track countries for MDGs 4 and 5a. There is no standard formula--fast-track countries deploy tailored strategies and adapt quickly to change. However, fast-track countries share some effective approaches in addressing three main areas to reduce maternal and child mortality. First, these countries engage multiple sectors to address crucial health determinants. Around half the reduction in child mortality in LMICs since 1990 is the result of health sector investments, the other half is attributed to investments made in sectors outside health. Second, these countries use strategies to mobilize partners across society, using timely, robust evidence for decision-making and accountability and a triple planning approach to consider immediate needs, long-term vision and adaptation to change. Third, the countries establish guiding principles that orient progress, align stakeholder action and achieve results over time. This evidence synthesis contributes to global learning on accelerating improvements in womens and childrens health towards 2015 and beyond.

Introduction to the comparative method with Boolean algebra

Preface and Acknowledgments Symbols, Abbreviations, Editorial Note Introduction 1 - Definition 2 - History 3 - Specificity 4 - Cases and Variables 5 - Control 6 - Causation 7 - Comparative Analysis with Boolean Algebra 8 - Assessment Conclusion: A Circular Story? Notes Glossary References About the Author

Is there a european electorate and what does it look like? evidence from electoral volatility measures, 1976–2004

Is the EU party system a reflection of national electorates or a distinct arena based on specific alignments arising from the European integration process? The main indicators used to test for distinctive dimensions in European Parliament elections are indices of electoral volatility comparing national and European elections. Data include national elections over the last 30 years and European elections from 1979 until 2004 for all member states. Evidence shows persistently overlapping electoral behaviour due to the predominance in the two ‘orders’ of elections of the left–right dimension. The article argues that this similarity reveals a multi-level European party system. In historical comparison, it is shown that, despite different conditions of social and political mobilisation, the left–right alignment plays a similarly important integrating role in the ‘Europeanisation’ of electorates today as it played in earlier processes of ‘nationalisation’.

Will vs. Reason: The Populist and Technocratic Forms of Political Representation and Their Critique to Party Government

The article compares analytically populism and technocracy as alternative forms of political representation to party government. It argues that populist and technocratic principles of representation challenge fundamental features of party democracy. The two alternative forms of representation are addressed theoretically from the perspective of political representation. First, the article identifies the commonalities between the two forms of representation: both populism and technocracy are based on a unitary, nonpluralist, unmediated, and unaccountable vision of societys general interest. Second, it highlights their differences. Technocracy stresses responsibility and requires voters to entrust authority to experts who identify the general interest from rational speculation. Populism stresses responsiveness and requires voters to delegate authority to leaders who equate the general interest with a putative will of the people. While the populist form of representation has received considerable attention, the technocratic one has been neglected. The article presents a more complete picture of the analytical relationship between them.

The End of "Silent Elections". The Birth of Electoral Competition, 1832-1915

This article explores empirically the competitive strategies of political parties aimed at maximizing electoral support in the early years of democratic elections. By spreading through geographical space in search of votes, candidates and parties challenged adversaries in their strongholds - a process that led to a reduction in the number of safe seats and uncontested constituencies. Evidence covers eight European countries from the early nineteenth century until World War I and is based on constituency-level data. The increasing competition among parties is described, and the impact of the ‘massification of politics’ evaluated: (1) the extension of voting rights; (2) the challenge to conservatives and liberals by mass parties (mainly social democrats after the Industrial Revolution) and the supremacy of the left-right cleavage over cultural resistances; and (3) the change from a majoritarian to PR formula as an incentive for parties to spread across constituencies. The analogy between competition in the geographical and ideological space is illustrated.

The Europeanization of politics : the formation of a European electorate and party system in historical perspective

Introduction: electoral integration in Europe Part I. Framework: 1. Theoretical framework: Europeanization in historical perspective 2. Research design: European party families and party systems Part II. Analysis: 3. Homogeneity: convergence and deviation in European electoral development, 1848-2012 4. Uniformity: electoral waves and electoral swings across Europe, 1848-2012 5. Correspondence: overlapping vs distinctive electorates in national and European elections, 1974-2012 6. Cohesion: ideological convergence within European party families, 1945-2009 7. Closure: the Europeanization of cabinet and coalition politics, 1945-2009 Part III. Assessment: 8. Sources of Europeanization: supra-, within-, and trans-national Explanations Conclusion: toward European-wide representation.

Non)Comparative Politics in Britain

This article compares the state of the art of comparative politics in Britain with the US and continental Europe. Three main traditions are distinguished: a narrative single-country tradition, in which comparative politics is understood as the study of foreign countries, a methodology-oriented tradition, which is concerned with the development of the techniques of comparison, and an analytical comparative tradition, which understands comparative politics as a combination of substance and method. It is argued that comparative politics in Britain is dominated by single-country studies, while the methodology-oriented and the analytical comparative traditions are more strongly developed in the US and continental Europe respectively. A comparative analysis of research interests and teaching provision furthermore demonstrates that, in Britain, comparative politics is an underdeveloped sub-field in terms of both teaching and research. This currently results in the need to import comparativists trained outside the British system in order to sustain the discipline. The article concludes by stressing the potential for the development of comparative politics in Britain.

The literature on European parties and party systems since 1945: A quantitative analysis

This article analyses the structure and evolution of the literature on parties and party systems in Europe since 1945. Using a bibliographical database comprising all references to scientific work on parties and party systems, we propose an innovative quantitative analysis. The completeness of our database allows us to show in detail the evolution of the literature over time. On the basis of a systematic coding of all references with respect to the type of parties, the countries and topics covered, as well as the language, place and type of publication, we propose a detailed quantitative analysis of the literature in all its dimensions. The result of our exploration is an accurate map of the literature on political parties in Europe.

The Europeanization of electoral politics: An analysis of converging voting distributions in 30 European party systems, 1970–2008

‘Nationalization’ theories have been used to explain the integration of electorates and party systems in democratizing and newly formed national polities. This article extends these theories to the ‘Europeanization’ of politics and to the European Union as an emerging supra-national democratic space. Analysing electoral data for national elections in 30 countries from 1970 to 2008, the article looks at the convergence of party systems in Europe. Results attest to increasingly homogeneous voting distributions for parties of a same family across national electorates, indicating an incipient party system institutionalization at the European level. The article shows that homogeneous patterns are stronger for parties belonging to the left–right dimension and less so for parties stemming from cultural cleavages. In the light of the debate on democratic deficit, the structuring of electoral alignments is interpreted as enhancing the democratic linkage between voters and representatives, and seen as a prerequisite for responsive and accountable politics in the EU.