Nationalism, Ethnic Parties and Democratisation

1. Nationalism, Ethnic Parties and Democratisation

2. Democracy • Free, fair, periodic elections • Adult population can vote • Freedom for dissent and opposition • Candidates sometimes lose elections and leave office • Constitutional limits on terms of office • Key is popular power and majority rule

3. Liberalism • Free Press • Constitutional liberties v. state, church • Freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom to assemble • Enforced non-discrimination • Other human rights • Political pluralism/Checks on executive branch

4. Illiberal Democracy • Most democratising countries do better on political than civil liberty • Growing number of illiberal democracies • Many mass plebiscites, few impartial judges • Many developing nations where there is freedom do not necessarily have the most democracy

5. Illiberal Democracy … • Democracy can legitimise the accumulation of power • Appeal to 'the people' through nationalistic media can legitimise the centralisation of power in a president (ie Yeltsin) and attacks on other branches of government • Democratic rule can pave way for curtailment of civil liberty (ie Iran) • Kant distrusted democracy as anti-peace and anti-liberal

6. Democracy and Nationalism • Once rights are won from the king, then what? What do people become loyal to? • Basis of sovereignty? • Loyalty no longer to king but to each other • Each other = Nation = Community of equals • Common rights and duties to nation • Boundary no longer hierarchical, so must become national

7. Are Nationalism and Democracy Inseparable? • Wimmer, Ringmar and many others suggest that democratisation and nationalism are intrinsic components of modernity • French Revolution: cosmopolitan phase of struggle quickly gives way to national phase, 1792-3 • Both democracy and nationalism seek to mobilise the people and 'bring them into history' • Struggle against foreign empire (multinational European and later Colonial) has similar mixture of nationalism + democracy

9. Dangerous Transition Theory • Challenged by those who argue that democratic transition leads to more belligerence due to fragility • Uneven democratisation seems linked to inter-state war • What of intra-state war? • Snyder claims that democratisation enhances risk of war, esp. intra-state • Democratisation-nationalism link explains

10. Free press and popular democracy can clamour for war…… But, democracy can also allow for deliberation on the costs, and for public to express opposition to the costs of war

14. Democratisation and Intra-State Conflict • Though inter-state conflict may/may not rise, intra-state warfare by democratising states is important • Rise of Ethnic Parties and power bases - patronage • Pre-war Yugoslavia, Burundi, Rwanda, Azerbaijan, Russia/Chechnya • Possible link to Wimmer's model of nationalist-democratic exclusion?

15. Ethnic Cleavages • In developing world, other cleavages often not present (unlike places like Belgium, Switzerland) • In West, older historic cleavages of religion, class-ideology cross-cut ethnicity • Societies often organised ethnically in Africa, Asia • Ethnic party systems often exacerbate ethnic conflict

16. Ethnic Parties & Party Systems • Ethnic party: serves interest of one ethnic group • Ethnic party system results in incommensurable ('zero sum') conflict • Ethnic parties driven by internal (closure) and external (domination) imperatives

17. Difference between a party which can count on a majority of an ethnic group's votes (ie US Democrats and blacks) and an ethnic party serving ethnic interests to exclusion of others • Major difference not so much in ethnic support as in degree to which party is tied to ethnic claims

18. Ethnic parties challenge classic definition (I.e. Key) of parties as reconcilers of interests • Challenge sharp distinction between interest groups and parties, and also idea that parties have popular will in mind

19. Makes sense to think of a minimalist definition of party: organisation that seeks to place personnel in office • Like nonethnic parties, they seek power, distribute offices and mobilise support, BUT they behave like special interests in promoting group claims

20. Ethnic Parties: Varieties • May have several ethnic parties representing one ethnic group, but nonethnic parties are almost unheard of in divided societies • Formally ethnic vs de facto ethnic parties • Often an explicitly ethnic electoral slogan (I.e. 'unite the Sinhalese' ) • Even if a party does not capture all of its group's vote or gets some votes from another group, it often remains an ethnic party

21. Zero-Sum Rigidity of Ethnic Politics Ascriptive ethnic parties take away 'choice' element in an election Elections in ethnic party systems thus more like a 'census' and have zero-sum character Violence can accompany elections Coups can follow ethnic elections

22. Fluidity in Ethnic Politics • Ethnic groups vary in degree of political unity & number of parties supported • Multiethnic parties, not nonethnic • Can have reconciliation of ethnic interests within a multiethnic party or between ethnic parties in a coalition. So both fixity and fluidity in the system • Few nonethnic parties are really representing cross-cutting cleavages (ie anti-Mossi party in Upper Volta; anti-Palestinian party in Jordan)

23. Inter-Ethnic Accommodation • Ethnic coalitions are shifting and temporary; multiethnic parties have permanent structrures • Multiethnic parties have elaborate and regularised mechanisms for bargaining and conciliation • Involves inter-ethnic accommodation

24. Superficial Nonethnicity • Many parties pay lip service to nonethnic ideals like socialism • Support base is often ethnic, but the party might try and include some other ethnic groups • One ministerial post, run minorities in safe seats, etc • Useful for legitimacy with outside world, and for negotiation

25. Ethnic Coalitions Within Parties • Ethnic division within a party: branch level, ethnic demarcation of factions within party, or movement of ethnic blocs in and out of party • fragile coalitions of ethnic groups, as with UNIP in Zambia (Bemba & Tonga vs Lozi & Nyanja , each with separate committees within the party)

26. Nonethnic Parties? • Nonethnic parties possible where ethnic divisions muted or at extremely high levels of local diversity (ie India) • Many postcolonial parties began with multi-ethnic support • Congress is nonethnic, but this is less true at state level. (Kerala, Bombay, elsewhere) • Degree of ethnic support often reaches more extreme proportion at local level. (ie Nationalists and communists supported by Javanese in many mixed areas)

27. Ethnic Party Systems • Ethnic Party systems: 1) ethnic parties; 2) clusters of ethnic coalition parties; 3) one ethnic party and one representing 'the rest' • Most common 4 systems: 1) ethnic parties; 2) ethnic parties & coalitions of ethnic parties; 3) ethnic parties and multi-ethnic parties; 4) multi ethnic parties • Multiethnic parties either compete with ethnic parties on flanks, like Congress in India; Or move to a single-party position with no competition

28. Centrifugal Tendencies in Ethnicising Party Systems • Ethnic parties often formed at colonial independence as ethnic leaders opt out of independence coalition • Challenge idea of competing for votes at centre • Driven by pessimism of game theory toward ethnic politics • Idea is that ethnic route is guaranteed, whereas non-ethnic route is not

29. Ethnic Leaders & 'Secession' From Multiethnic Parties • Vote maximisation is within ethnic bloc (ie Catholics/Protestants in N.Ireland) • Erroneous Utopian belief among ethnic seceders from a nonethnic party that theirs will become a majority party • Driven by rational belief that ethnic base is more secure and also by sincere ethnic sentiment • Sometimes secession a tactic to increase bargaining power for later return (I.e. Lim Chong Eu in Malaysia )