Academic literature on the topic 'Ethno-regional parties'

Ethno-regional parties play a vital role in the conflict between the center and the ethnic regions, which is relevant for all modern multiethnic EU states. The European integration allows these parties to participate in the regional policy of the EU (contributing to the decentralizing reforms in the member states), as well as to interact within Euroregions and on communitarian platforms, such as the European Parliament. This article aims to clarify if this ethno-regionalist faction is able to influence the integration processes in Europe, and to what extent. To achieve this goal, we need to answer the following questions: how can the ethno-regionalists be described from a theoretical point of view? What is the dynamic of their development within the European Parliament, considering the historical retrospective? What are their current ideological attitudes that allow them to maintain unity and achieve success? The article is based on the author’s concept of cultural-territorial differentiations, which points the correlation between the political ethno-regional movement and the existing ethnocultural features and historical territory. The author concludes that it was Europeanization that led to the strengthening of the ethno-regional movement in Europe as it made the question of the ethno-regional collective response relevant. Therefore, ethno-regionalists are an essential element of every political system at the national and supranational levels. At the same time, the historical evolution and experience of European regionalists prove that they cannot constitute an independent and autonomous political force at the supranational level as their cooperation depends on various legal and political circumstances occurring on the state level.

In the last few decades, ethno-regionalist parties have become leading players in many regional political systems across Europe. This increased representation has opened up new strategic opportunities for these parties, and in particular it has offered them the chance to participate in regional government. Based on a newly compiled data set of 282 governmental formations in Italian and Spanish regions during the period 1945–2011, this study develops and tests several hypotheses regarding the governmental participation of ethno-regionalist parties at regional level. These have been partly drawn from similar studies of ‘outsider’ party families, such as the Green parties or the radical right. A specific focus is then placed on multilevel dynamics, based on the idea that there is a relationship between party strategies at regional and state levels, and in particular on the perception that parties are willing to adopt compatible alliance strategies at the two levels (vertical congruence), at least under certain conditions. Both types of hypothesis (single-level and multilevel) are shown to be plausible when empirically tested on the cases of Italy and Spain. Special attention is given to the conditions under which vertical congruence is used by ethno-regionalist parties as an effective way of minimizing the risks associated with inclusion in governmental coalitions at regional level.

For about two and a half decades (1991-2018) it was propagated that Ethiopia’s ethno-linguistic federalism was primarily meant to unify the state and build the nation. However, competing perspectives on whether ethnic-based federalism would preserve unity in diversity in the country as a whole and in regional states in particular have proliferated. This article examines the outcome of post-1995 Ethiopian federalism in ethnic conflict management. It focuses on why Ethiopia has remained deeply divided and prone to ethno-cultural conflicts despite the ethno-linguistic federal political system, which was adopted as a mechanism for building unity in diversity in the context of peaceful coexistence among various ethno-linguistic groups. Although ethnic-federalism alone may not exacerbate ethnic conflicts, ethnic-federalism entwined with the existence of ethnic-based political parties and the rapid proliferation of narrow ethno-nationalist politics constitute major impediments to peaceful co-existence among the country's ethnic groups. Furthermore, the land ownership questions raised by various ethno-linguistic political elites are among the causes of violent ethnic conflicts in contemporary Ethiopia. Mistreatment of ethnic minorities in all regional states is also a source of ethnic conflict. I argue that the current government at the federal and regional levels should work hard to ensure that identity-based politics will incrementally dissolve like salt in water.

A well-developed party system has emerged in Estonia over the decades of independence. There are, however, distinct geographical patterns of voting. A number of new political parties have appeared in the country; the regional and ethnic patterns of voting (the latter matter much in Estonia) have changed dramatically. This study aims to analyse the recent changes in the Estonian party system as well as the causes of these changes and the effect of the ethnic and geographical factors on the transformation of the electoral behaviour of Estonian citizens. The research employs a systemic approach that makes it possible to solve the agent—structure problem to the benefit of the general structure and integral system of Estonia’s party scene. The method of comparative systemic analysis is used alongside those adopted in electoral geography. It is concluded that the effect of the ethnic and geographical factors on electoral behaviour is diminishing as a civil society based on civic rather than ethnic principles is emerging in the country. The main drivers of the change are the formation of new parties and coalition-building — both have an immediate effect on how the image of the parties is perceived by voters.

This paper analyses Ghanaian electoral geography and its accompanying political party variations over the last decade. After re-democratisation in the early 1990s, the Fourth Republic of Ghana has successfully completed multiple elections and party alternation. Due to its single-member-district-plurality electoral system, the country has functioned virtually as a two-party system, privileging its two major parties – the NDC and the NPP. However, close examination of election results in the last parliamentary and presidential elections reveals that notwithstanding the two-party tendency, there is a dynamic and multilayered aspect of electoral participation in Ghanaian politics. Ethnic-based regional cleavages show much more complex varieties of electoral support for the two major parties, especially in light of fragmentation and concentration. Electoral support in the ten regions varies from strong one-party-like to almost three-party systems. Yet this lower, regional level tendency is not invariable. Regional party strengths have shifted from election to election, and it was just such shifts that made the party alternation possible in 2000. Employing traditional and newly designed indicators, this paper illustrates the patterns of electoral cleavage and regional party organisation, and how these ultimately sustain the party system at the national level in Ghana.

In this article I argue that notwithstanding intermittent conflicts and wars among the nomadic and sedentary peoples since early times, the Asian and Middle Eastern region has been characteristic of relative peace and prosperity. This region has been known for the boom in energy trade, globalization and amalgamation of local, national and global economies during the post-Cold War era. I show how, at least in part, the gradual improvement in the indicators of social sustainability, human security and economic growth, was the natural concomitant of the historical position of this region. Yet, speedy progress in the region, this article shows, is impeded by divergent geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic agendas of the regional and global powers; these find manifestation in the conflicts in Middle East, Caucasia, Afghanistan, Indian Kashmir, Chinese part of Turkistan (Xinjiang) etc. The conflicts are diverse in nature, time and space, and are pre-emptive of enormous malice, hatred and heart burning among the contending parties. To downs-size one another, they perpetually build military capability and enhance defense expenditure, in hundreds of thousands of US dollars at the cost of public works, human security and precious national resources. I conclude that the conflicts can be overcome through peaceful means rather than use of force. Several alternatives are warranted for the purpose: (i) engagement of conflicting parties in composite dialogue for generational sustainability, (ii) promotion of regional and economic integration while marginalizing ethno-national, ethno-geographic, ethno-religious and ethno-sectarian disputes, (iii) revival of the region’s rich tradition of multiculturalism and human co-existence, and (iv) glorification of peace message in Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and other religions. The objective is simply making history relevant to the contemporary society, and bolstering peace efforts of the nations, philanthropists and civil society in an otherwise war-torn and conflict-ridden Asian and Middle Eastern space.

W artykule autor stara się ustalić, jaką rolę powinny i mogą odgrywać partie regionalne procesie integracji europejskiej. Znaczenie tego pytania wynika z faktu, że partie regionalne spotykają się z niechęcią ze strony władz politycznych i społeczeństw „państw narodowych” We wstępie autor pokazuje, w jaki sposób zmieniło się podejście do regionalizmu w Europie w połowie lat 80. XX w. Najbardziej widoczne jest ono w koncepcji „nowego regionalizmu”. Kontynuując swoje rozważania autor opisuje toczącą się debatę na temat tego jaką rolę odgrywają partie regionalne, a zwłaszcza ich szczególna forma jaką są partie etnoregionalne w systemach politycznych współczesnych państw europejskich. Podano również przykład rywalizacji politycznej w regionie i ogólnych zasad rządzących konkurencją na poziomie regionu. Autor wierzy, że analiza funkcjonowania regionalnych systemów partyjnych może być przydatna w analizowaniu procesów społeczno- politycznych, zwłaszcza na Górnym Śląsku.

In recent decades, in the context of the transformation of national states and the development of multi-level government, there has been an increase in ethnic/regional political parties in Europe. Ethno-regionalism in the CEE countries has a specific basis related to their imperial past, but despite the similarities, each country has special features concerning the strength of parties, their demands and development. The analysis of the most significant ethnic/regional parties in the CEE countries shows that the main factor affecting their strength is the ethnic structure of the population, especially if it is combined with intense ethnic identity, and the ethnic minority has a historical experience of autonomy/statehood. A favorable combination of these factors results in the stability of the electoral strength of ethnic parties, which makes them an important player in the political arena. Concerning the demands of ethnic parties, it has been confirmed that the localization of the respective ethnic minority has a significant effect. If it is in one administrative unit, it stimulates regionalist aspirations; if it dwells in some compactly located administrative units, an ethnic party usually promotes cross-regionalist demands to create a new region. Under conditions of dispersed localization of a minority, an ethnic party does not put forward regionalist claims.

AbstractPrevious studies show that in multiparty systems the formation of minority governments can be a rational choice. To ensure survival and policy implementation, minority governments make concessions to non-cabinet parties. In this study, we empirically analyse the pay-offs given to support parties under minority governments. We argue that the content of support agreements is conditioned by support party type. Results are based on a two-stage empirical investigation: a text analysis of 10 explicit support arrangements for minority governments in Romania and a within-case comparison of two Romanian minority cabinets with different support arrangements. We employ an original data set of support agreements and elite interviews with former minority cabinet members. We empirically confirm that ethno-regional parties are mostly policy-seeking and target benefits for their specific groups. In contrast, mainstream parties make stronger claims for office distribution. The analysis challenges the widespread understanding that all support parties are mostly policy-seeking.