The Political Class in Advanced Democracies A Comparative Handbook

by Borchert, Jens; Zeiss, Jürgen

• ISBN13: 9780199260362
• ISBN10: 0199260362
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-12
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Professional politicians have increasingly come under public attack in most democratic countries. Yet they have received surprisingly little systematic attention in political science. This book demonstrates that there are both striking similarities between professional politicians in different countries and notable national peculiarities. The introduction develops a common conceptual framework for the chapters to follow. Using Mosca's term and Weber's seminal insights it reconstructs the concept of political class to grasp the degree of common interests shared by politicians of different parties and in different institutions. Thereby, it presents an innovative perspective on politicians. The twenty country chapters written by scholars from sixteen countries both provide up-to-date information on professional politics in their countries and discuss the merits of the theoretical approach. In doing so, they follow a common format thus facilitating a comparative reading of particular aspects. Each chapter looks at the historical process of professionalization, the institutional context of professional politics, the size of the political class in each country, typical career paths, the renumeration of politicians, and recent reform debates.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	x
List of Contributors	xii
1 Professional Politicians: Towards a Comparative Perspective	1	(25)
Jens Borchert
2 Australia: Party Politicians as a Political Class	26	(19)
Ian McAllister
3 Belgium: Political Professionals and the Crisis of the Party State	45	(22)
Lieven De Winter and Marleen Brans
4 Canada: Political Careers between Executive Hopes and Constituency Work	67	(17)
David C. Docherty
5 Denmark: Professionalism in an Egalitarian Political Culture	84	(23)
Torben K. Jensen
6 Finland: From Political Amateurs to Political Class	107	(17)
Ilkka Ruostetsaari
7 France: Enduring Notables, Weak Parties, and Powerful Technocrats	124	(18)
Marcus Kreuzer and Ina Stephan
8 Germany: From "Guilds of Notables" to Political Class	142	(22)
Jens Borchert and Lutz Golsch
9 Great Britain: From the Prevalence of the Amateur to the Dominance of the Professional Politician	164	(23)
Uwe Jun
10 Ireland: Party Loyalists with a Personal Base	187	(16)
Michael Gallagher
11 Israel: Community, State, and Market in the Shaping of the Political Class	203	(20)
Uri Ram
12 Italy: The Homeland of the Political Class	223	(22)
Ettore Recchi and Luca Verzichelli
13 Japan: Political Careers between Bureaucracy and Hereditary Constituencies	245	(14)
Claudia Derichs and Harold R. Kerbo
14 Netherlands: Political Careers between Central Party Dominance and New Pressures	259	(19)
Monique Leijenaar and Kees Niemoller
15 New Zealand: Parliamentary Careers and Electoral Reform	278	(20)
Elizabeth McLeay
16 Norway: Professionalization-Party-oriented and Constituency-based	298	(22)
Hanne Marthe Narud
17 Portugal: The Patrimonial Heritage and the Emergence of a Democratic Political Class	320	(16)
Jose M. Magone
18 Spain: A Textbook Case of Partitocracy	336	(16)
Peter Matuschek
19 Sweden: Between Participation Ideal and Professionalism	352	(22)
Magnus Hagevi
20 Switzerland: The Militia Myth and Incomplete Professionalization	374	(19)
Reto Wiesli
21 United States: A Political Class of Entrepreneurs	393	(23)
Jens Borchert and Gary Copeland
Subject Index	416