64 research outputs found
Political parties
No full textAcross the globe voters are losing faith in political parties - from both the left and the right. But why do we have parties and was there ever a time when politicians were independent and not bound by party rules?
Guests
Stephen Ingle - Professor History and Politics at Sterling University
David Karol - Associate Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland
Paul Strangio - Associate Professor of Politics at Monash University
Publications
Title: The British Party System: An Introduction
Author: Stephen Ingle
Publisher: Routledge
Released: 31 Mar 2008
Title: Confusion : the making of the Australian two-party system
Author: Paul Strangio and Nick Dyrenfurth
Publisher: Melbourne University
Released: 31 Mar 2009
Title: "Political Parties in American Political Development" in The Oxford Handbook of American Political Development
Author: David Karol
Publisher: Oxford Handbook online
Released:30 Oct 2014
Credits
Presenter: Annabelle Quince
Producer: Annabelle Quinc
The Roman Stock Exchange between the 19th and 20th Centuries. A History of the Italian Stock Market
No full textThe goal of the author, Donatella Strangio, consists of a serious and
documented analysis of the evolution of the city through a particular
observatory, that of the Stock Exchange, considered not so much as an
exclusive or absolute protagonist of the financial market, but rather as a
subject and object of the history, certainly economic, but also social and
political, of Rome and the Papal State. In addition, this singular observa tory, despite its atypical nature, seems to be valuable for the purposes of
an overall analysis of the behaviour of the local, national and international
executive and entrepreneurial classes.
Focussing on six key historical moments, the book starts from the
decline in the Pope’s temporal power—the aforementioned breach of
Porta Pia-: an epochal event, here linked to previous institutional and
social transformations as well as to the level of nineteenth–twentieth
century internal and external relations. As the subtitle of the work explic itly states (Structure and activity of the Rome stock market between the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries: a history of the Italian stockexchange),
the periodization adopted by the Author is also unconventional.
Starting from 1821—and nevertheless attentive to some important
pre-existing joints—Strangio examines the dynamics triggered by the
Commerce Regulations to clarify how the Roman stock exchange reacted
with respect to the Risorgimento and subsequently to the establishment
of the Kingdom of Italy. Embracing both the liberal period and that of
the “Belle époque”, the study finally reaches the First World War (as
the author recalls, it was with the Great War that the “long nineteenth
century” ended and a new system of contacts and of exchanges appeared,
thanks to which the Eternal City abandoned the welfare model that had
distinguished it most in previous centuries), and then proceeds to the
following decades. This long-term approach allows Donatella Strangio to
convincingly demonstrate how, far from confining it to a more restricted
space, becoming the Italian capital greatly facilitated the evolution of the urban development trends in Rome, finally released from the nefarious
effects of the papal public debt, from which it had suffered for some time,
aggravated by the “amputation” of the territory of the Patrimony of St.
Peter, after 1861. The rhythms imposed by being the capital influenced
all sectors and economic sectors of the city, from industry to the tertiary
sector.
Rome Capital City therefore traces the historical evolution of the
legislation that is the object of its investigation, the role of financial inter mediaries, and the functions of the decision-making and control bodies
that were part of the Rome Stock Exchange, in particular in light of the
consolidation of the British capitalist model and the Northern European
one.
An unusual picture emerges, a picture that portrays the complex finan cial mechanisms of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries but also the
broad world of Roman entrepreneurship, which, moreover, can benefit
from the in-depth analysis of stock exchanges between 1860 and 1870,
as well as share prices up to the Great War, the Depression and the
consolidation of the Fascist period
Reimagining national leadership (Swinburne Leadership Dialogues)
No full textWhy are independents and minor parties on the rise? Is this a good thing? What does this say about the sort of national political leadership Australians want? Or does it say more about what we don't want? What do Australians want of national political leaders? How can we get the leadership the country needs? Speakers include Judith Troeth (Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1993 - 2011, representing the state of Victoria), Maxine McKew (former Labor MP for Bennelong from 2007-2010; author and Honorary Fellow of the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne), Rob Oakeshott (independent member for Lyne in the House of Representatives from 2008–2013), and Paul Strangio (Associate Professor of Politics at Monash University; commentator on Australian politics). Recorded 31 July 2014
Institutions and Practices of Social Assistant: Monte di Pietà of Rome
No full textThe origins of the Monte di Pietà, or Mount of Piety, in Rome are well-known: established on the initiative of Giovanni Calvi, a commissioner of the Franciscan Order in Rome and approved by Pope Paul III, the Monte opened in 1539. This paper (based on original archival sources) will document the expansion of the Monte’s operations from the 16th century onwards. Particular attention will be devoted not just to ethical concerns but to the key countercyclical function played by pawnbroking activities at the lower end of the market, not just from an economic viewpoint but from a political perspective as well. Indeed the Monte played an important, albeit indirect, political role, at crucial junctures in the 17th and 19th century history of papal Rome: easy access to cheap Monte credit was instrumental in keeping internal peace and preventing the flaring up of social tensions
Recommended from our members
A Century of Compulsory Voting in Australia ::Genesis, Impact and Future /
No full textThis volume provides valuable insight into how compulsory voting has worked over the last century in Australia and beyond. The collection includes contributions by historians, political theorists and empirical political scientists, and in addition to Australia it also considers how compulsory voting has been debated in Europe and North America. The authors address a wide variety of different aspects of the institution and offer analyses that will be highly relevant to all who take an interest in electoral institution design and voter participation. - Professor Sarah Birch, King's College London Political scientists, historians and legal scholars regularly examine facets of Australia's system of compulsory voting. But, for the first time, this volume provides a comprehensive set of analyses, spanning the history, justification, administration, public support and opposition, and - critically - the political consequences of compulsory voting. A long overdue and rigorous contribution to our understanding of one of Australia's most important yet most understudied and undervalued political institutions. - Professor Simon Jackman, University of Sydney Compulsory voting has operated in Australia for a century, and remains the best known and arguably the most successful example of the practice globally. By probing that experience from several disciplinary perspectives, this book offers a fresh, up-to-date insight into the development and distinctive functioning of compulsory voting in Australia. By juxtaposing the Australian experience with that of other representative democracies in Europe and North America, the volume also offers a much needed comparative dimension to compulsory voting in Australia. A unifying theme running through this study is the relationship between compulsory voting and democratic well-being. Can we learn anything from Australia's experience of the practice that is instructive for the development of institutional bulwarks in an era when democratic politics is under pressure globally? Or is Australia's case sui generis - best understood in the final analysis as an intriguing outlier? Matteo Bonotti is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University, having previously taught at Cardiff University, Queen's University Belfast, and the University of Edinburgh. His research interests include democratic theory, political liberalism, the normative dimensions of partisanship and electoral design, linguistic justice, food justice, and free speech. Paul Strangio is an Associate Professor of Politics at Monash University. Paul specialises in Australian political history with a particular focus on political leadership and political parties. He is an author and editor of eleven books.
Italy-China Trade Relations. A Historical Perspective
No full textThis book examines the political connections and trade relations between Italy and China, with particular emphasis on the second half of the 19th century and the period following the Second World War. In recent years, economic relations between the two countries have intensified as a result of increasing exchange and trade agreements, with positive impacts on their political and diplomatic relations. By studying original public sources such as the Archives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bank of Italy and the Central State Archives in Rome, the author offers a historical perspective on the evolution of the two countries’ economic and political ties. The respective chapters address e.g. the role of international governmental authorities, the role of the Italian Bank of China, the impact of trade agreements and foreign investment projects, etc. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars of economic history and international economics, as well as political scientists and legal scholars with an interest in international diplomacy and trade agreements
Resilience in Papal Rome, 1656-1870. A City's Response to Crisis
No full textThis book analyses the evolution of the city of Rome, in particular, papal Rome, from the plague of 1656 until 1870 when it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. The author explores papal Rome as a resilient city that had to cope with numerous crises during this period. By focusing on a selection of different crises in Rome, the book combines cultural, political, and economic history to examine key turning points in the city's history. The book is split into chapters exploring themes such as diplomacy and international relations, disease, environmental disasters, famine, and public debt and unravels the political, economic, and social consequences of these transformative events. All the chapters are based on untapped original sources, chiefly from the State Archive in Rome, the Vatican Archives, the Rome Municipal Archives, the Ecole Francaise Library, the National Library, the Capitoline Library
Ordinary is now the way to be
No full textHave Australians lost faith in a politics that is larger than themselves, asks Paul Strangio
REFUGEES from an earlier political era, Paul Keating and Jeff Kennett occasionally lunch together. Presumably the former prime minister and premier dwell on past achievements, console each other about their rejection by unappreciative publics and scratch their heads at the direction of politics federally and in the states since they departed the parliamentary arena.
Strange though this arrangement might seem at first blush - a former Labor warrior and Liberal larrikin breaking bread together - the source of the kinship between Keating and Kennett is not so difficult to divine. Theirs is a mutual admiration that developed in the early 1990s. Back then Kennett had brought the Cain-Kirner era to a close in Victoria (Keating always had a thinly disguised contempt for John Cain and the state Labor government’s Keynesian backsliding during the era of emerging neo-liberal orthodoxy), while Keating had not long wrested the prime ministership from Bob Hawke.
The tyro heads of government recognised similar qualities in one another. They were grand-vision types, leaders who set out to forge rather than read public opinion, or as Kennett later put it: “We were both focused on big picture rather than small, on outcomes rather than politics.” Both leaders seemed most alive when in full combative mode, smiting those who dared challenge their judgement. Both were men of style, sartorially striking; they had an undeniable flamboyance, and in a previous age they would have been described as “flash”.
If Keating and Kennett were bold riders, we are now deeply immersed in an era of a very different style of political leadership. In a recent study of the phenomenon of uniform Labor leaders in the states and territories, academics Brian Head, John Wanna and Paul Williams proposed that a new model of political leadership was evolving at the subnational level.
The authors summarised the leadership style of the present crop of premiers and territory chief ministers as follows: “They are modern day ‘ordinary populists’ - purposely non-elitist, a little mundane, attempting to be ‘everyman’ or ‘everywoman’. They are not classically charismatic; instead, they have a natural common touch. They have cultivated the image of the normal, ordinary, relaxed, accepted leader attuned to his/her community.”
The same study distinguished between this leadership style and that which prevailed in the postwar era of the so-called “boss” premiers (leaders such as Henry Bolte in Victoria, Thomas Playford in South Australia, Eric Reece in Tasmania and Joh Bjelke-Petersen in Queensland). These, too, were populist leaders but with a darker edge, usually gruff rather than urbane, and with a powerful streak of authoritarianism.
It is hardly coincidence that many of the traits described by Head et al are instantly recognisable in Prime Minister John Howard, suggesting that the model of “ordinary populism” is supreme at both the centre and periphery of our political system while the heroic leadership model of Keating and Kennett is very much out of favour. Certainly Howard and Steve Bracks in Victoria seemed to consciously craft their government leadership styles to present to the electorate as the antithesis of their respective predecessors, Keating and Kennett.
Peter Beattie’s fourth consecutive election victory in Queensland is further evidence of the ascendancy of the approachable, “everyman” leadership model. Indeed, Beattie probably has no peer in striking an image of familiar sincerity. His mastery was evident in the speech he gave on Saturday night claiming victory. As if to underscore that hubris has no place in the make-up of the new model leader, he was determinedly humble, almost apologetic about his achievement.
Contrast this to Keating’s “sweetest victory of them all” declaration after his defeat of John Hewson in 1993, or Kennett’s ever so modest assertion after his 1996 re-election that “there has been no government in Australia since the war that has dared to govern in the way in which we have”.
Political scientists have long wondered about the symbiotic relationship that exists between leaders and their publics and questioned whether particular styles of leadership suit particular climates. For example, it has been surmised that a strong, decisive leader will normally have greatest resonance in dark and threatening times, while the inspiring leader is likely to have greatest appeal when the zeitgeist is expansive and optimistic - for example, Whitlam in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
What can we tell about the present national psyche from the contemporary dominance of the “ordinary populist”? What is it about our collective temperament that we seem to prefer leaders who mirror us and punish those remotely too big for their boots? Is it that, as John Howard has argued, Australians have rarely been so comfortable with themselves, self-confident and optimistic? In short, we trust ourselves to lead. The more pessimistic interpretation is that of an inward-looking, circumspect public mood in which we have lost faith in the possibilities of a politics larger than ourselves.
Whatever it is, there is a fundamental paradox surrounding the triumph of the ordinary leader at a time in which politics is becoming less an ordinary sport and more a spectator sport. The major political parties are declining as grassroots organisations and we seem at a loss to find means for alternative and meaningful participation that goes beyond the artifice of talkback radio.
As politics becomes the preserve of a narrowing professional class, it is perhaps inevitable that their marketing solution is to package the system in leaders that appear no different from us. •
Paul Strangio is a senior lecturer in the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University. This article first appeared in theAge.
Photo: Maartje van Caspel/iStockphoto.co
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