Divided government occurs when the executive fails to enjoy majority support in at least one working house of the legislature. To date, the study of divided government has focused almost exclusively on the United States. However, divided government occurs much more widely. It occurs in other presidential systems. Moreover, it is also the equivalent of minority government in parliamentary regimes and cohabitation in French-style semi-presidential systems. This book examines the frequency, causes and management of divided government in comparative context, identifying the similarities and differences between the various experiences of this increasingly frequent form of government. The countries studied include Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Poland, and the US.

NEW TO THIS EDITION: A new chapter on civil rights and liberties (chapter 5) introduces students to a comparative look at rights and liberties, so that students can have a more holistic understanding of US politics. A new chapter on constitutional arrangements (chapter 6) introduces students to the uniqueness of the US Constitution, so that students can think more critically about the US Constitution in comparative perspective. An expanded chapter on institutions (chapter 7) provides comparative context to help students understand why legislative and executive branches together makes the most sense. The discussion on elections has been divided into two chapters - one on institutions (chapter 10) and one on behavior (chapter 11) - to make the topic easier to digest for students and easier to cover for instructors. New data around the 2016 general election and the 2018 midterm election offers students the most up-to-date information on elections and encourages students to explore how these elections are a reflection (or not) of American exceptionalism. A new textbox on far right political parties helps students to think critically about how different electoral and institutional arrangements impact how far right politics materializes in practice in various countries. New end of chapter material, including study questions, suggested readings and key words offer students multiple opportunities to further their knowledge of the content. KEY FEATURES: The balanced approach uniquely discusses and provides examples of similarities - as well as differences - between the US and other democracies. American exceptionalism is addressed and its most common definition, of the US as superior, is challenged, pointing out that exceptional only means different. Break-out boxes, attractively displayed empirical examples providing easily accessible data, and end-of-chapter study questions and terms help to reinforce concepts and provide learning aids for students.

A vast body of literature emphasizes that successful political development relies on stable and united political parties that underpin clear and responsive policymaking. By this perspective, divided government and party volatility represent pathologies that imperil political accountability and development. Indeed, studies contend that divided government - where different parties control the executive and legislative branches of government - lead to policy deadlock while party volatility - characterized by frequent party splits, solo switches, mergers, dissolutions or the establishment of new parties - confounds representation and accountability. Clearly, each on its own is seen as a considerable threat to political performance and democratic development; the confluence of the two points virtually to an inevitable political doom. The collection of six papers here follow from a workshop on 'Governability Across Regime Types', convened by the School of Social and Political Studies, University of Edinburgh, on 24 October 2007 to evaluate the effects of divided government and party volatility. Our research is methodologically broad as we seek to arrive at conclusions with generalizable and comparative implications. Thus, our papers use large-N data vis-à-vis issues of democratic stability in divided government and semi-presidential systems. We also adopt small-N comparative studies with in-depth qualitative methodology that analyze the stability of minority or divided government and how party volatility influences party performance and government stability.

The role of the United States in comparative politics and policy analysis has long been that of the Great Exception. Generalizations are routinely followed by the statement "but not in America." In Only in America? The Politics of the United States in Comparative Perspective, Graham K. Wilson argues that a more accurate qualifier might be "with minor differences in America," because, judged by criteria such as the size of government, citizens' expectations of government, and the topics being debated in government, the United States has more in common with other advanced industrial democracies than with its own past.

“A must-read for anyone concerned about the fate of contemporary democracies.”—Steven Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Why divisions have deepened and what can be done to heal them As one part of the global democratic recession, severe political polarization is increasingly afflicting old and new democracies alike, producing the erosion of democratic norms and rising societal anger. This volume is the first book-length comparative analysis of this troubling global phenomenon, offering in-depth case studies of countries as wide-ranging and important as Brazil, India, Kenya, Poland, Turkey, and the United States. The case study authors are a diverse group of country and regional experts, each with deep local knowledge and experience. Democracies Divided identifies and examines the fissures that are dividing societies and the factors bringing polarization to a boil. In nearly every case under study, political entrepreneurs have exploited and exacerbated long-simmering divisions for their own purposes—in the process undermining the prospects for democratic consensus and productive governance. But this book is not simply a diagnosis of what has gone wrong. Each case study discusses actions that concerned citizens and organizations are taking to counter polarizing forces, whether through reforms to political parties, institutions, or the media. The book’s editors distill from the case studies a range of possible ways for restoring consensus and defeating polarization in the world’s democracies. Timely, rigorous, and accessible, this book is of compelling interest to civic activists, political actors, scholars, and ordinary citizens in societies beset by increasingly rancorous partisanship.

An updated third edition of this authoriative analysis of Swiss democracy, the institutions of federalism, and consensus democracy through political power sharing. Linder analyses the scope and limits of citizen's participation in direct democracy, which distinguishes Switzerland from most parliamentary systems.

The establishment of durable, democratic institutions constitutes one of the major challenges of our age. As countless contemporary examples have shown, it requires far more than simply the holding of free elections. The consolidation of a legitimate constitutional order is difficult to achieve in any society, but it is especially problematic in societies with deep social cleavages. This book provides an authoritative and systematic analysis of the politics of so-called 'deeply divided societies' in the post Cold War era. From Bosnia to South Africa, Northern Ireland to Iraq, it explains why such places are so prone to political violence, and demonstrates why - even in times of peace - the fear of violence continues to shape attitudes, entrenching divisions in societies that already lack consensus on their political institutions. Combining intellectual rigour and accessibility, it examines the challenge of establishing order and justice in such unstable environments, and critically assesses a range of political options available, from partition to power-sharing and various initiatives to promote integration. The Politics of Deeply Divided Societies is an ideal resource for students of comparative politics and related disciplines, as well as anyone with an interest in the dynamics of ethnic conflict and nationalism.