Is Canada a Westminster or Consensus Democracy? A Brief Analysis

Studlar, Donley T.; Christensen, Kyle

doi:10.1017/s1049096506061014

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…There are opposing views on this matter in comparative democracy research. On the one hand, Vergunst (2004) and Studlar/Christensen (2006) conclude, for recent times also, "(that) Switzerland is the most typical case of a consensus democracy" (Vergunst 2004: 39); according to Möckli (2007: 17) too, Switzerland still corresponds to "the perfect consensusbased model". On the other hand, various observers find that in the last few years Switzerland has been on the way to becoming a more competitive democratic system, aimed less at consensus and compromise and more toward the contraposi-tion of the government and the opposition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swiss Consensus Democracy in Transition: A Re-analysis of Lijphart's Concept of Democracy for Switzerland from 1997 to 2007

Vatter

2008

World Political Science

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The present article addresses the question of whether Switzerland can continue to be seen as an extreme case of federal consensus democracy, as illustrated by Arend Lijphart (1999). A re-analysis of Lijphart's (1999) study of the Swiss political system from 1997 to 2007 clearly demonstrates that due to recent political-institutional changes (a decreasing number of parties, growing electoral disproportionality, increasing decentralization and deregulation of the relationship between the state and interest groups), a consensus democracy with strong tendencies toward adjustment and normalization of the original exceptional Swiss case to meet the rest of the continental European consensus democracies has emerged. This development has been further strengthened by intensified public political contestation, rising polarization between the political camps in parliament, and the weakening of the cooperative search for consensus as the dominant mode of negotiation within the government. From the perspective of international comparison, Switzerland can thus be seen henceforth as a typical example, not an extreme case, of consensus democracy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Swiss Consensus Democracy in Transition: A Re-analysis of Lijphart's Concept of Democracy for Switzerland from 1997 to 2007

Vatter

2008

World Political Science

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“…Using the proxies detailed, a country is scored against each variable, and these scores are then aggregated to locate cases on a two-*** Table 1 here*** ***Figure 1 here*** As a starting point for systematic analysis, L provides a replicable framework and a commonly-understood vocabulary that can be used to facilitate both comparative analysis. It has also been successfully applied to a number individual country settings including Ireland (Bulsara and Kissane, 2009), Canada (Studlar and Christensen, 2006) and Switzerland (Vatter, 2007). When applied to the UK, however, a E L own analysis reinforces the caricature of the UK as the prototypical power-hoarding democracy, suggesting that between 1945-1981 and 1981-2010 there was a decisive shift towards the right of the map (figure 1 above).…”

Section: Patterns Of Democracy and Their Underlying Visionsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Patterns of democracy: Coalition governance and majoritarian modification in the United Kingdom, 2010–2015

Matthews

Flinders

2016

Br Polit

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The UK is often regarded as the archetype of Westminster democracy and as the empirical antithesis of the power-sharing coalitions of Western Europe. Yet, in recent years a different account has emerged that focuses on the subtler institutional dynamics which limit the executive. It is to this body of scholarship that this article responds, locating the recent chapter of coalition government within the wider context of UK democratic evolution. To do so, the article draws L two-dimensional typology of democracies, developing a refined framework that enables systematic comparison over time. The article demonstrates that between over the course of the 2010-15 Parliament, the UK underwent another period of majoritarian modification, driven by factors including the long-term influence of the constitutional forces unleashed under Labour and the short-term impact of coalition management. The article makes several important contributions, salient in the UK and beyond. Theoretically, it offers a critical rejoinder to debates regarding the relationship between institutional design and democratic performance. Methodologically, it demonstrates that the tools of large-scale comparison can be effectively scaled-down to facilitate withincase analysis. Empirically, it provides a series of conclusions regarding the tenability of the UK subject.

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“…First, modern‐day Canada has never developed strong consociational mechanisms (Stevenson ). Rather, Canada has a relatively strong majoritarian system (Lijphart ; Studlar and Christensen ). Because of the first‐past‐the‐post electoral system, and a parliamentary system with a weak Senate, power is concentrated in the hands of the executive.…”

Section: Canada: Majoritarian Politics and The Politics Of Representamentioning

confidence: 99%

The representation of ethnic and linguistic groups in the federal civil service of Belgium and Canada

Turgeon

Gagnon²

2013

Can Public Adm

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This article investigates how the struggles of national groups have affected the politics of bureaucratic representation of ethnic minorities in Belgium and Canada, and vice‐versa. It argues that the politics of multinational representation in Belgium limited the adoption of measures seeking to guarantee a greater representation of ethnic and racial minorities. In contrast, the politics of multiculturalism in Canada associated with the political mobilization of ethnic groups, contributed to the rejection of measures of guaranteed representation of Francophones in the federal bureaucracy. Measures adopted to increase the representation of Francophones, however, did not impede later attempts to augment representation of visible minorities in the civil service.

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Is Canada a Westminster or Consensus Democracy? A Brief Analysis

Cited by 9 publications

References 9 publications

Swiss Consensus Democracy in Transition: A Re-analysis of Lijphart's Concept of Democracy for Switzerland from 1997 to 2007

Swiss Consensus Democracy in Transition: A Re-analysis of Lijphart's Concept of Democracy for Switzerland from 1997 to 2007

Patterns of democracy: Coalition governance and majoritarian modification in the United Kingdom, 2010–2015

The representation of ethnic and linguistic groups in the federal civil service of Belgium and Canada

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