New politics and changing parties : a comparative perspective

http://home.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/heiwa/JNL/25/HOFFMANN.pdfThis article illustrates a new style of politics, the New Political Culture (NPC), whichbegan in many countries in the 1970s. It has become dominant in some locations. Itdefines new rules of the game for politics, challenging two older traditions: classpolitics and clientelism. Advocates of the New Political Culture include Bill Clinton,Tony Blair, and Francois Mitterrand. They revolutionized the politics of their countriesby embracing NPC issues. These include citizen democracy, environmentalism, gayrights, and abortion—generally consumption and lifestyle issues, with less emphasis onworkplace and jobs than in the past. Leadership comes less from parties, unions, andethnic groups in coalitions of rich versus poor, or high- versus low-status persons.Rather, leadership shifts from issue to issue; leaders on abortion are distinct fromleaders on environmental issues. Issue-specific leaders are thus more active, as arecitizens and the media. This NPC emerges more fully and forcefully in cities andcountries with more highly educated citizens, higher incomes, and high-tech serviceoccupations.Political parties critically constrain elected officials who take positions and act. Wepresent here the most comprehensive synthesis to date of past research on local partystructures around the world including Japan, US, Canada, France, Finland, Norway,Australia, and Israel. We documents major differences in party penetration ofgovernment: minimal in Australia and Canada, deep in France and Italy. Parties alsosubstantially vary in their openness to citizens and organized groups—of business labor,and others, as well as to new social movements concerning ecology and women. Partiesfounded on traditional class cleavages and unions, or clientelism and patronage bypadrone, resist NPC developments—which can drive citizens to alienation, to protest, orto embrace new parties or organized groups