Gideon Rahat

The Personalization(s) of Politics: Israel, 1949-2003

In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in the personalization of politics. Unfortunately, the findings of studies carried out in different countries have led to inconsistent conclusions. This article argues that one of the reasons for this inconsistency is the lack of uniform conceptualization and operational definitions. The authors contend that it is helpful to make a distinction between institutional, media, and behavioral types of political personalization, and they provide specific measures of all three types. These clear distinctions should bring us closer to answering two questions: First, has there been a rise in the different types of political personalization? Second, what is the relationship between these various types of political personalization? This study shows, through a historical comparative analysis of the Israeli case (1949–2003), that political personalization can be better understood by employing Wolfsfelds politics-media-politics (PMP) model: Institutional personalization leads to personalization in the media, which in turn leads to personalization in the behavior of politicians.

Electoral engineering in Chile: the electoral system and limited democracy

Abstract On the eve of Chiles transition from military to elected government, the outgoing regime enacted an electoral engineering project intended to conserve the constitutional order it encoded in 1980. An analysis of 1989 and 1993 general elections shows that the way votes are translated into seats favors, as intended, the second largest electoral block, the Chilean Right. This bias, along with the number of appointed senators and the special majorities required for constitutional amendments, gives the Right a minority veto power on any reform initiative. Moreover, the electoral system produces incentives for parties, candidates and voters that enhances this balance of power. The role that the electoral system plays in Chile therefore consolidates a limited form of democracy, rather than a liberal one.

Testing the Language–Power Assumption of Critical Discourse Analysis: The Case of Israel's Legislative Discourse

Abstract. The growing interest in the relation between language and politics brings new assumptions and theoretical frameworks to the study of politics. This study presents a simple empirical test of a major assumption of the critical discourse analysis school: that power is a major factor in political discourse. It examines whether the discourse of Israeli members of parliament (Knesset) represents a view of the world through the prism of power or whether parliament members refer to the experience of similar democracies. We demonstrate that power is a strong and significant factor in Israeli legislative discourse through time and across issues while relevance plays no role. Resume. Linteret grandissant que suscite le lien entre langage et politique, genere de nouvelles hypotheses et de nouvelles theories de letude du politique. Cette etude propose de tester lune des principales hypotheses de lanalyse critique de discours, a savoir que le pouvoir serait un facteur essentiel du discours politique. Le discours des membres du parlement israelien (la Knesset) est analyse afin de determiner sil reflete une vision du monde a travers le prisme du pouvoir, ou si au contraire les membres du parlements se referent plutot a lexperience dautres democraties sous differents angles, en particulier celui de la similarite de leur travail parlementaire. Cette etude demontre que le pouvoir constitue un facteur important et significatif du discours legislatif israelien, a la fois sur la longue duree et concernant une variete de sujets, alors que le facteur de la pertinence ne joue aucun role.

PARTY PRIMARIES: TOWARDS A DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY

While primaries were once associated almost exclusively with the United States, similar methods for selecting party leaders and candidates have lately become common in many parliamentary democracies. This considerable expansion of intra-party democracy has resulted in the rising popularity and increased usage of the term ‘primary’ election. However, despite the popularisation of the term, little work has been done to create a clear definition and to identify the range of selection methods that fall under this umbrella. Without conceptual clarity and a common definition, we lack the necessary tools for comparative work. This paper identifies the point at which a participatory selection method can be labelled a party primary. We begin by examining the conceptual muddle concerning primaries and propose a path that allows for clarification of the concept. We then present a definition of primaries focusing on their three main characteristics and conclude by providing a typology of the various types of primaries.

Stable Blocs and Multiple Identities: The 2015 Elections in Israel

This article analyzes the dynamics of the 2015 Israeli elections by examining the movement of votes within ideological blocs and the manifestation of multiple identities in the electoral campaigns. The premature collapse of Netanyahu’s government led Israel to general elections only two years and two months after the previous elections. The elections were portrayed as a horse race between the Likud and the Zionist Union. Indeed, both parties gained some support in comparison to the previous elections, yet almost all of their electoral gains were from parties in their own bloc. The politics of multiple identities steered these two parties to appeal to voters within their blocs, and also clearly defined the borders of these blocs. An exception was the new centrist Kulanu, which succeeded in capturing the strategic pivotal position. Likud’s clear-cut “victory” over the Zionist Union led Kulanu to join the Likud’s right-wing religious coalition.