The Nature of Party Government : A Comparative European Perspective

The Nature of Party Government examines relationships between governments and supporting parties on a comparative European basis. The book does so at the level of principles: there is a major conflict between governments, which should govern, and parties, which being representative, wish to shape the way governments operate. The book studies relationships empirically as well: it shows that they occur on three planes, appointments, policy-making and patronage and assesses the extent of two-way influence, from parties to governments and from governments to parties. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-17 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 The Normative Foundations of Party Government....Pages 21-37 Party Government, State and Society: Mapping Boundaries and Interrelations....Pages 38-55 Defining Party and Government....Pages 56-95 A framework for the Empirical Analysis of Government-Supporting Party Relationships....Pages 96-115 Front Matter....Pages 117-117 Political Recruitment and Party Government....Pages 119-140 Patronage by National Governments....Pages 141-160 Governments, Supporting Parties and Policy-making....Pages 161-195 Conclusion: From the Simple World of Party Government to a More Complex View of Party-Government Relationships....Pages 196-222 Back Matter....Pages 223-241