The Modern British Party System
The Modern British Party System
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现代英国政党制度
DOI：
10.1093/oso/9780199217236.001.0001
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发表时间：
2021
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Webb P
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Webb P
1945年至1970年间，人们普遍认为英国拥有非常稳定、集权和政党导向的政治体系。政党对于该国政治的许多相互关联和关键方面至关重要：它们组织和组织选举以及国家立法机构的工作；制定政治议程并向公民通报公共政策问题；促进政治代表性和参与；招募和社会化担任选举和任命职位的政治精英；并提供负责任的治理。它们是如此重要，以至于如果不首先考虑政党的政治生活，就不可能想象国家的政治生活。毫无疑问，政党仍然是当今英国政治生活的核心，但同样明显的是，它们在二十世纪最后三十年面临着巨大的适应压力。本书旨在展示政党如何保持核心重要性，以及政党和政党制度发生了哪些变化。英国政党政治的变化不难看出。这可以从一系列相互关联的事态发展中观察到，包括：两党选举统治地位的削弱；选民内部的党派和阶级分歧；新的政治冲突路线的出现，打破了政党和选民之间的传统联系；各种小党派的出现和相关性的增强；议会政党内后座异议的增加；对所谓的选举制度不公正的抱怨声越来越响亮；更加多样化的选举地理；以及更加多样化的地区政党制度动态。鉴于这些变化，出现了一些问题。变化的确切性质和范围是什么？变化的根源是什么？变化的影响是什么？各方如何应对不断变化的环境带来的压力？从广义上讲，本书是出于对这些问题的潜在关注而编写的。开篇章节旨在提供政党制度变革的广泛概述。在此过程中，它认为英国社会作为一个整体变得更加异质化，这反映在英国各种政党制度更加多元化和多样性上。总体而言，这些变化现在使该国传统的“两党”称号显得不够充分。在
Between 1945 and 1970, it was orthodox to regard Britain as having a very stable, centralized and party-oriented political system. Parties were vital to a number of interconnected and critical aspects of politics in the country: they structured and organized elections and the work of the national legislature; shaped the political agenda and informed citizens about public policy issues; fostered political representation and participation; recruited and socialized the political elites who occupied elective and appointive office; and provided accountable governance. So central were they, that it was quite impossible to conceive of political life in the country without thinking first and foremost of party political life. While there is no doubt that parties remain at the heart of political life in Britain today, it is equally plain that they have come under considerable pressure to adapt in the last third of twentieth century. This book seeks both to show how parties remain of central importance, and the ways in which they and the party system have changed. Change in British party politics is not hard to discern. It can be observed in a host of interconnected developments, including: the erosion of two-party electoral domination; partisan and class dealignment within the electorate; the emergence of new lines of political conflict which cut across traditional linkages between parties and voters; the emergence and growing relevance of various minor parties; the growth of backbench dissent within parliamentary parties; an increasingly audible chorus of complaint about the supposed iniquities of the electoral system; a more diverse electoral geography; and greater variety of regional party system dynamics. In the light of these changes, a number of questions arise. What is the exact nature and scope of change? What are the sources of change? What are the effects of change? And how have parties responded to the pressures imposed by their changing environments? Broadly speaking, this book is driven by an underlying concern with these questions.The opening chapter seeks to provide a broad overview of party system change. In doing so, it argues that British society as a whole has become more heterogeneous, and that this is reflected in the greater pluralism and diversity of the various party systems found in the UK. Overall, these changes now make the country's traditional'two-party7 designation seem inadequate. In