Bale, Tim and Bergman, Torbjörn (2006) Captives No Longer, but Servants Still? Contract Parliamentarism and the New Minority Governance in Sweden and New Zealand. Government and Opposition, 41 (3). pp. 422-449. ISSN 0017-257X

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Abstract

Recent years have seen the institutionalization of minority governance in Sweden and New Zealand. Large, historic social democratic labour parties enjoy comparative security of tenure thanks to smaller, newer parties with whom they have signed long-term, detailed support agreements covering both policy and process. This trend toward ‘contract parliamentarism’ owes much to party-system dynamics, but also to the accretion of experience, to cultural norms and to institutional constraints – all of which, along with electoral contingency, explain why the trend has gone slightly further in one polity than in the other. While the trend seems to favour the left in general, its implications for the support or ‘servant’ parties, and – more normatively – for democracy itself, may be less favourable.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Politics
Subjects:	J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) > JF0020 General. Comparative government J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN7721 Sweden J Political Science > JQ Political institutions and public administration (Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific Area, etc.) > JQ3995 Australia. New Zealand. Pacific Ocean islands
Depositing User:	Tim Bale
Date Deposited:	06 Feb 2012 18:49
Last Modified:	11 May 2012 11:09
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/18498

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