Awkward Embrace: One-party Domination and Democracy in Industrialising Countries

Democracies derive their resilience and vitality from the fact that the rule of a particular majority is usually only of a temporary nature. By looking at four case-studies, The Awkward Embrace studies democracies of a different kind; rule by a dominant party which is virtually immune from defeat. Such systems have been called Regnant or or Uncommon Democracies. They are characterized by distinctive features: the staging of unfree or corrupt elections; the blurring of the lines between government, the ruling party and the state; the introduction of a national project which is seen to be above politics; and the erosion of civil society.This book addresses major issues such as why one such democracy, namely Taiwan, has been moving in the direction of a more competitive system; how economic crises such as the present one in Mexico can transform the system; how government-business relations in Malaysia are affecting the base of the dominant party; and whether South Africa will become a one-party dominant system. Annotation Democracies derive their resilience & vitality from the fact that the rule of a particular majority is usually only of a temporary nature. By looking at four case studies, The Awkward Embrace studies democracies of a different kind: rule by a dominant party which is virtually immune from defeat. Such systems have been called Regnant Democracies or Uncommon Democracies. They are characterized by distinctive features: the staging of unfree or corrupt elections; the blurring of the lines between ruling party, government & the state; the introduction of a national project which is considered to be above politics; & the erosion of civil society. The Awkward Embrace addresses major issues such as why one such democracy, namely Taiwan, has been moving in the direction of a more competitive system; how economic crises, such as the present one in Mexico, can transform the system; how government-business relations in Malaysia are affecting the base of the dominant party; & whether South Africa will become a one-party dominant system "Democracies derive their resilience and vitality from the fact that the rule of a particular majority is usually only of a temporary nature. Examining four case studies, The Awkward Embrace considers democracies of a different kind: rule by a dominant party which is virtually undefeatable. These systems have been called Regnant Democracies or Uncommon Democracies. They are characterized by distinctive features: the staging of unfree or corrupt elections, the blurring of the lines between ruling party, government and the state, the introduction of a national project which is considered to be above politics, and the erosion of civil society. The Awkward Embrace addresses major issues such as why one such democracy, namely Taiwan, has been moving in the direction of a more competitive system; how economic crises, such as that in Mexico, can transform the system; how government-business relations in Malaysia are affecting the base of the dominant party; and whether South Africa will become a one-party-dominant system."--Jacket Annotation Giliomee (political science, U. of Cape Town, South Africa) and Simkins (political economy, U. of Witwatersrand, South Africa) are joined by scholars from around the world to discuss Regnant or Uncommon Democracies, in which one party dominates political power. Case studies of Mexico, South Africa, West Africa, and Taiwan highlight major issues such as why Taiwan has been moving toward a more competitive system, while even under a new government South Africa appears to be moving toward one-party domination Democracies derive their resilience and vitality from the fact that the rule of a particular majority is usually only of a temporary nature. By looking at four case studies, this work studies democracies of a different kind: rule by a dominant party which is virtually immune from defeat This chapter traces the rise and persistence of party domination in four semi-industrialised countries, namely Mexico, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Africa, with a side look at Singapore.