Klaus Stolz

Moving up, moving down: Political careers across territorial levels

In the sparse literature on political careers in federal systems, regional positions are often seen as mere stepping stones on the way to federal office. But are they really? The recent professionalization of state politics in federal systems and the regionalization of former unitary states point to the strengthening of the regional level as a career arena in its own right. Could this lead to the emergence of a regional political class with a set of career interests distinct from those of national politicians? This article takes a first, comparative look at current patterns of career movements between regional and national parliaments in a wide range of federal and newly regionalized systems. The study shows that, contrary to general belief, the number of deputies actually moving from the regional to federal level is generally relatively low. While some cases show fairly integrated career structures, others exhibit a pattern of career development in which state or regional office functions as the main focus of political careers. The territorial structure of the political class is dependent upon a whole range of social, cultural and institutional factors. At the same time, it is also an important factor in the mechanics and institutional development of each federal system in question.

Introduction: Political Careers in Multi-level Systems

Political careers in modern democracies have been affected by important territorial reorganisations of the political system. In the newly emerging multi-level systems long-established career patterns are dissolving and new patterns are emerging. For a number of reasons these changes have not yet been adequately mapped and explained. In this introduction we are arguing for a dynamic, careers oriented approach to supersede the traditional institution-centred analysis. The aim of this special issue – and of further research in this field – is to reveal the existing links between political careers and the complex institutional opportunity structures provided by each political system. While changing institutions affect career pathways, changing career patterns, in turn, are bound to have important repercussions for the institutional and territorial order of political systems in general.

German Political Careers: The State Level as an Arena in its Own Right?

This article looks at political career patterns in Germany with a focus on the state level. After all, state legislators are a far more representative group of professional politicians in Germany than members of the federal parliament. Furthermore, by looking at pathways to the state legislatures, strategies to remain there (including office accumulation) and options of career advancement from a state mandate to other positions the authors substitute a dynamic career perspective for a mainly institution-centered one. The main finding of the article is contra-intuitive: Despite an institutional structure that allows for high levels of permeability between different territorial levels of government in Germany, there is actually very limited movement. The high degree of professionalization of state politics, a certain regionalization of the party system and some other factors seem to have turned state politics into a career arena in its own right.

The Regionalization of Political Careers in Spain and the UK

The conventional wisdom of career studies holds that the central state is at the apex of political careers. In this study the traditional notion is contrasted with two extreme cases, where regionalism in conjunction with political professionalization makes for a strong regional career orientation. The empirical analysis, based on an extensive data set on political careers in Catalonia and Scotland, shows political career patterns in both cases to differ not only from the standard pattern, but also from each other. Explaining the institutional opportunity structures operant in each case, the article illuminates the ‘black box’ of how regional politicians pursue their careers and how rather similar territorial identities may translate into rather different career patterns.

Towards a regional political class? : professional politicians and regional institutions in Catalonia and Scotland

1. The quest for a regional political class 2. Regionalism, regionalisation and regional institutions in Catalonia and Scotland: setting the stage for a regional political class 3. Political careers: the making of a regional political class in itself 4. (Re)making political institutions: a regional political class for itself 5. Conclusion: traces of a regional political class in Catalonia and Scotland Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3 References

Institutional Order and Career Patterns: Some Comparative Considerations

This article tries to sum up the findings of the country articles and put them into a comparative perspective. The major finding is one of great diversity among prevailing career patterns in multi-level polities. This in itself is considered an advance over frequent assumptions about career patterns based on the US case alone. Looking for causal explanations the article discards some institutional hypotheses. It therefore calls for more empirical research on institutional configurations, the time sequence in which institutions have emerged historically, and the perception and interpretation of institutional arrangements by politicians.

Post-Cabinet Careers of Regional Ministers in Germany, 1990–2011

The study of ministerial careers in Germany is rather new. So far it has been mainly restricted to the federal level and to the career pathways up until cabinet exit. This article, by contrast, concentrates on the post-cabinet careers of regional ministers. Drawing from the scarce literature we first sketch out career patterns of regional ministers prior to and during their time in the regional cabinet. The main focus, though, is on the post-cabinet biographies of all regional ministers in the sixteen German Länder since unification. Our empirical analysis reveals the regional cabinet as the career apex for most ministers. Looking at those ministers who do move up the political ladder after leaving the cabinet shows a clear preference for the national over the European level and the executive office over the legislative mandate. Variation in post-cabinet careers seems not only to be influenced by party, Land and ministerial office (Prime Minister vs normal minister) but also by the causes and circumstances of exit from the cabinet (exit type). These empirical results represent a first step into a new research field – lying waste since Blondels early attempt in 1991 – and will hopefully provide a starting point for more comprehensive and comparative analysis.

The paradoxes of regions and regional studies

Regionalism in the European Union. Edited by Peter Wagstaff. Exeter: Intellect, 1999. Pp.204. £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 1 8415 0001 1. Die Europäische Union der Regionen. Subpolity und Politiken der dritten Ebene. Edited by Peter Nitschke. Opladen: Leske+Budrich, 1999. Pp.206. DM36.00 (paperback). ISBN 3 8100 2115 6. Regions in Europe. Edited by Patrick Le Galès and Christian Lequesne. London and New York: Routledge, 1998. Pp.305. £60.00 (hardback); £17.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 4151 6482 6 and 0 4151 6483 4.