We can read in the literature that women more often than men are candidates in constituencies where defeat is expected. This study examines whether this belief is accurate. The population examined includes male and female candidates for the Québec Liberal party and the Parti Québécois during the 1976, 1981, 1985 and 1989 elections. Three different formulas were applied to the 958 electoral situations, from which one global difficulty index was devised. Using a log-linear model, the relation between the variables “sex of candidate” and “constituency's level of difficulty” (high, average or low) was compared. Results have shown that between 1976 and 1989, women were not more likely than men to run in constituencies where there was no hope that they would win. It must be noted though, that in 1981, fewer women than men ran for the Parti Québécois in constituencies where victory seemed highly probable. However, when only new candidacies are considered, party affiliation becomes the most significant variable. In conclusion, it is noted that political parties will have to collaborate if more women are to become members of the National Assembly.

Power and Conflicts in Organizations: Strengths and Limits of the Model of Michel Crozier

Because of the manner in which they look at inter-organizational conflict and power, none of the main streams of organizational theory has been able to incorporate the three elements which compose the political dimension in an organization: strategic interaction, the integration of behaviour in the collective “system,” and the consideration given to cultural effects.

Michel Crozier claims to have solved the problem by having recourse to a systematic and hypothetical-inductive reasoning, and in making power the base for all forms of relationships where one always finds implied some negotiated influence. The different theoretical positions taken regarding the strategicanalysisthat he proposes are examined in this article. The author stresses the advantages of the procedure; suggests an improvement to understand interaction; questions the assumption of the necessity of the systematic integration; and comments on the methodological difficulties of introducing the cultural element in strategic action.

The Social Sciences Citation Index was canvassed for citations of all articles, notes, review articles, comments and replies published in volumes 1–10 of the Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique. The data show that nearly three-quarters of the 335 items published between 1968 and 1977 were cited at least once, with a greater likelihood of the citation appearing in non-Canadian than in Canadian publications. English-language items were cited four times as frequently as French-language ones, on the average, and those with at least some Canadian content were cited nearly twice as frequently, on the average, as those with no Canadian content.

Arend Lijphart has launched a stimulating line of inquiry by calling attention to certain affinities between consociational democracy and federalism (above, pages 499–515), but in my opinion the analysis can become still more interesting if we introduce a third element to the comparison. I refer to the rapidly burgeoning literature of the past five years around the phenomena that have been variously and rather tentatively labelled as “neo-corporatism,” “societal corporatism” or “liberal corporatism.” The purpose of this brief note is not to evaluate nor even to summarize that literature, but to draw attention to certain points of contact between the patterns that it describes and the consociational and federal models discussed above. In making this tripartite comparison we may be led to examine more carefully the significance of alternative sites or arenas for making policy and resolving conflicts, and the different patterns and strategies of bargaining appropriate to different sites.

It has been suggested that recall questions are unreliable measures of change in party identification. Data reported in this article confirm that 50 per cent of respondents in the 1974-1980 Canadian National Election Study three-wave panel had inconsistent patterns of recall. This finding urges caution in analysis; more importantly, such inconsistency raises questions about how to interpret recall behaviour in the light of party identification theory. The available evidence and unclear theory seem to point toward the possibility that at least one-half of the national sample lacked a meaningful federal party identification.

The literature on activism characterizes the recent transformations of activism as part of a process towards the “personalization of politics”. For structural or cultural reasons, committed citizens appear to be developing a new relationship to politics, seeking personal satisfaction in their engagement. We propose an alternative interpretation, and characterize this transformation as “do-it-yourself” (DIY) politics. Based on the protests against shale gas development in Quebec, we show that the DIY politics is the “logical” (in the sense of rational) result of citizens developing the means to compensate for the lack of institutional opportunities in the context of developments that potentially threaten their lives and livelihoods. Hence, rather than a quest for personal fulfillment, DIY politics must be understood as a more prosaic and contingent reaction to a specific situation, an individual and collective response to a situation experienced and perceived as problematic. In the conflict surrounding shale gas development in Quebec, which serves as our case study, we show that 1) the initial impulse to mobilize may be accurately interpreted as moving from the “territory of the self” (“territoire du moi”) to the “territory of the us” (“territoire du nous”), and that 2) it is the double failure of institutional representation that underpins civic engagement: the failure of institutional representation and the lack of representation by collective actors already in place.

Abstract. The growing interest in the relation between language and politics brings new assumptions and theoretical frameworks to the study of politics. This study presents a simple empirical test of a major assumption of the critical discourse analysis school: that power is a major factor in political discourse. It examines whether the discourse of Israeli members of parliament (Knesset) represents a view of the world through the prism of power or whether parliament members refer to the experience of similar democracies. We demonstrate that power is a strong and significant factor in Israeli legislative discourse through time and across issues while relevance plays no role.

Résumé. L'intérêt grandissant que suscite le lien entre langage et politique, génère de nouvelles hypothèses et de nouvelles théories de l'étude du politique. Cette étude propose de tester l'une des principales hypothèses de l'analyse critique de discours, à savoir que le pouvoir serait un facteur essentiel du discours politique. Le discours des membres du parlement israélien (la Knesset) est analysé afin de déterminer s'il reflète une vision du monde à travers le prisme du pouvoir, ou si au contraire les membres du parlements se réfèrent plutôt à l'expérience d'autres démocraties sous différents angles, en particulier celui de la similaritê de leur travail parlementaire. Cette étude démontre que le pouvoir constitue un facteur important et significatif du discours législatif israélien, à la fois sur la longue durée et concernant une variété de sujets, alors que le facteur de la pertinence ne joue aucun rôle.

It is now a more or less established feature of Canada's political life that many sectors of the Canadian electorate are disposed to reject the two “major” political parties in favour of “minor” party alternatives. Recently, the New Democratic party, one of these so-called minor parties, has received substantial electoral support especially in urban English Canada, to such an extent that it is now bidding either to replace one of the major parties or to join both of them in a position of relative equality. Until now, the rather scanty commentaries attempting to account for this “deviant” electoral behaviour of some Canadians have tended to be highly speculative.

This article analyses survey findings that shed some light on the NDP phenomenon in the 1960s in four cities in English Canada. It begins by examining the economic and social elements in partisan choice, emphasizing religion and class identification. Next it deals with political habits and attitudes and with party identification and issue orientation. Following this, some of the characteristics of people switching to the NDP are probed. Finally, the findings are related to other research on the topic and some limited comments about the future are made.

Aristotle gives the classical definition of political rule as the kind of rule appropriate for free and equal persons. This concept of political rule is complicated, however, by the fact that, even in what Aristotle calls a free and equal association, the ruler is separated from the ruled by his possession of the virtue of prudence. This article explores the relation between political rule and prudence in Aristotle's writings, and considers particularly the case of political rule between men and women. Though Aristotle characterizes the proper relation between men and women as a free and equal one, he distinguishes the male/female political relation from the more general political relation by saying that men are naturally more fit to rule than women. We are interested in whether Aristotle excludes women from political rule because he thinks that women lack the potential for the virtue of prudence.

Résumé. L'imprécision couramment observée dans les discours sur les pratiques du patronage et du lobbying, respectivement, tient en très grande partie à un flou conceptuel auquel cet article propose précisément de remédier au moyen d'une comparaison de la fonctionnalité de ces deux formes de médiation entre la société et les institutions politiques. Adoptant une perspective proprement politique, tout en tenant compte du statut normatif différencié qui marque chacune des deux pratiques, nous présentons d'abord en parallèle leurs traits distinctifs pour ensuite, quasi paradoxalement, mieux saisir leurs similarités. Les dynamiques que traduisent les échanges au cœur d'une relation patron-client, dans le cas du patronage, et d'une relation lobby-titulaire de charge publique, dans le cas du lobbying, ont pour effet de transformer les rapports de force qui structurent les relations du patron et du lobby avec leurs rivaux-concurrents. Par ailleurs, à l'encontre de présupposés largement répandus qui associent ces pratiques à des stades différents du développement des sociétés, nous montrons leur coexistence possible dans les pratiques politiques contemporaines. Notre exercice, principalement conceptuel, peut par ailleurs se révéler utile pour poser des diagnostics adéquats sur la vie démocratique … dont certains dysfonctionnements ne peuvent être corrigés qu'au moyen d'interventions appropriées.

Abstract. Patronage and lobbying are currently discussed with vague concepts. This article suggests a comparison of the two phenomena by pointing to their respective roles in the conduct of relations between the society and the political institutions. In a properly political perspective, we consider their own status in normative terms and then present both their differences and similarities. The exchanges between a patron and a client and between a lobby and a public office holder result in transforming the power balance in the relations of a patron with rivals and of a lobby with competitors. Contrary to common assumptions which relate patronage and lobbying to societies at different stages of their development, we also show that they can coexist in contemporary political practices. We claim that our exercise, mainly conceptual in its nature, could serve to diagnose more adequately democratic malfunctioning and, consequently, to define more appropriate correctives.

Abstract. This paper analyzes the connection between democracy and human development. In so doing, it examines two main questions: Are democracies better than non-democracies in achieving human development? Among democracies, is there a direct relationship between the actualization of civil and political rights and human development? In answering these questions, we offer a cross-national study of 18 Latin American countries from 1972 to 2001. We use fixed effect models for analyzing our cross-country, pooled time-series data. The evidence suggests not only that democracies are better than nondemocracies in fostering human development (controlling for wealth), but also that differences in degree of democracy have a significant impact on human development in terms of infant mortality and life expectancy.

Résumé. Cet article analyse la relation entre la démocratie et le développement humain et aborde sous cet angle deux questions principales. Les régimes démocratiques assurent-ils mieux que les régimes non démocratiques le développement humain? Au sein des pays ayant un régime démocratique, y a-t-il une relation directe entre l'actualisation des droits civils et politiques et le développement humain? Pour répondre à ces questions, nous observons les données de 18 pays latino-américains sur une période allant de 1972 à 2001. En ce qui concerne la méthodologie, nous avons utilisé un modèle à effets fixes pour analyser nos données chronologiques consolidées regroupant plusieurs pays. Les résultats de notre analyse nous amènent à conclure que non seulement les régimes démocratiques réussissent mieux que les régimes non démocratiques à favoriser le développement humain (en mesurant le niveau de richesse), mais aussi que les différences dans les niveaux de démocratie ont également un effet notable sur le développement humain en termes de mortalité infantile et d'espérance de vie.

Abstract. Official participation in Canadian First Ministers' Conferences has long been exclusive to federal and provincial first ministers. In March 1992, however, the membership of this intergovernmental arena was expanded permanently to include territorial premiers. Using the tools of historical institutionalism and drawing upon relevant literature and eleven elite interviews with former first ministers and senior civil servants, this paper seeks to explain why this instance of incremental institutional change occurred. It finds that significant friction between the institutional and ideational layers of the Canadian federation during a period of mega-constitutional reform allowed federal, provincial and territorial actors to draw upon ideas about democracy and the political and constitutional maturation of the territorial North to expand permanently the membership of First Ministers' Conferences.

Résumé. Pendant longtemps, seuls les premiers ministres fédéral et provinciaux étaient admis officiellement à la conférence des premiers ministres du Canada. Toutefois, en mars 1992, ce sommet intergouvernemental était élargi en permanence de façon à accueillir les premiers ministres des territoires. À l'aide des outils de l'institutionnalisme historique, et en tirant parti de la documentation pertinente ainsi que de 11 entrevues menées auprès d'un groupe sélect d'ex-premiers ministres et de hauts fonctionnaires, cet article tente d'expliquer pourquoi nous avons assisté à un tel degré de changement constitutionnel. Nous en concluons que d'importantes frictions entre les niveaux institutionnel et idéationnel de la fédération canadienne au cours d'une période de réforme mégaconstitutionnelle ont permis aux acteurs fédéraux, provinciaux et territoriaux de s'inspirer d'idées portant sur la démocratie et sur le processus de maturation politique et constitutionnel du Nord territorial afin d'accroître en permanence le nombre de participants aux conférences des premiers ministres.

Résumé. Cet article porte sur l'utilisation du concept de “ liberté d'expression ” par une station de radio de Québec, CHOI-FM, dans ses démêlés avec le CRTC et dans le procès de Sophie Chiasson contre la station en Cour supérieure du Québec. Bien que les promoteurs de CHOI-FM aient fait de la liberté d'expression leur argument principal en 2004 et 2005, nous défendons l'hypothèse que cet argument était purement instrumental. Cependant, le concept de liberté d'expression mérite d'être analysé, car il a un pouvoir d'évocation peu commun en démocratie; il renvoie en effet à la nécessaire effervescence du débat public et à l'individualisme. D'autre part, la liberté d'expression a aussi été associée au populisme et au discours illicite, éléments auxquels elle confère un vernis de respectabilité.

Abstract. This paper deals with the use of the concept of freedom of expression by a Quebec City radio station, CHOI-FM, in its dispute with the CRTC and in the court case of Sophie Chiasson before the Quebec Cour supérieure. Although freedom of expression is the main argument used by CHOI-FM in 2004 and 2005, our hypothesis is that this argument is mainly instrumental. Nevertheless, freedom of expression must be analyzed because it is a major symbol of democracy; it is linked with lively public debate and individualism. In this case, freedom of expression is also used in an attempt to lend respectability to populism and illicit discourse.

Abstract. This article examines the impact of neoliberalism on provincial policies aimed at addressing the problem of violence against women during a period (1985–2005) when welfare state retrenchment convergence has been documented both provincially and in a variety of Western democracies, including in Canada. Using measurements of both aggregate government expenditures and qualitative evaluations of anti-violence policy progression during this time frame, my analysis questions the existence of welfare state convergence in both Ontario and British Columbia. Instead, it demonstrates evidence of pronounced anti-violence policy divergence in both cases, which is better explained by a partisan theory of public policy framework.

Résumé. Cet article examine l'incidence du néolibéralisme sur les politiques provinciales visant à enrayer le problème de la violence faite aux femmes au cours de la période 1985–2005. Cette période coïncide avec la remise en question de l'État providence, phénomène largement documenté à l'échelle provinciale comme dans diverses démocraties occidentales, incluant le Canada. En mesurant les dépenses publiques d'agrégat ainsi que les évaluations qualitatives de l'évolution des politiques contre la violence durant cette période, mon analyse remet en question l'existence d'une convergence dans l'évolution de l'État providence en Ontario et en Colombie-Britannique. En fait, elle démontre plutôt l'évidence d'une divergence prononcée de politiques dans les deux cas, qui peut être mieux expliquée par une théorie “partisane” des politiques publiques.

Within the broader literature on political representation, studies exploring Indigenous forms of representation are rather limited. Where they exist, they tend to explore how Western models of political representation include Indigenous peoples, conflating Indigenous groups with ethnic minorities. This article asks whether and how Indigenous political representation might be distinguished from the representation of ethnic minorities. Our argument is that Indigenous groups’ identities tend to be based on different claims and relationships to the state than ethnic groups, which leads to political mobilization seeking a means to respond to the colonial nation-state project. We develop a theoretical framework that identifies three principles that ought to inform an effective and legitimate model of Indigenous political representation: recognition, protection and decolonization. We then apply this theoretical framework to assess the extent to which existing models of Indigenous representation in Bolivia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway correspond with these three principles.

In the Quaderni del Carcere, Antonio Gramsci provided the foundations for a socialist theory of democracy. This theory can be drawn from some of Gramsci's most important concepts: his views of intellectual activity on the one hand, and the conceptions of hegemony and civil society on the other. The former provides a general conception of a non-bureaucratic relationship between leaders and the led, the latter points to a participatory model of political activity. This thesis, however, is formulated within the framework of a realist epistemology in which the class structure is conceived as the long-term determinant of the general historical process. Hence, although Gramsci's thought sheds new light on a non-class domain of political activity, it is constrained by both socio-economic conditions and the realism of available knowledge.

Abstract. This study discusses theoretical concepts from two strands of public law literature, namely rational choice accounts of strategic behaviour and notions of judicial leadership, and examines their relevance for explaining changes in judicial behaviour on the Canadian Supreme Court. Specifically, we test whether a justice who is elevated to the chief position strategically alters his/her patterns of judicial behaviour. The study uses a multiple regression equation that controls for rival hypotheses, and uncovers evidence of strategic change by all three modern chief justices. While Justices Dickson and Lamer appear to have consolidated their position as task leaders once they were promoted to the helm of the Court, Justice McLachlin made a remarkable change in her dissent behaviour to emerge as the preeminent social leader on her own Court. The study demonstrates that rational choice models of strategic behaviour and judicial leadership are useful theoretical frameworks for explaining changes in behaviour once recent Canadian justices were promoted to the chief position. Moreover, the findings illustrate the importance of incorporating critical institutional features when studying changing behaviour in other high courts around the world.

Résumé. Cette étude discute des concepts théoriques de deux composantes de la littérature du droit public, à savoir les témoignages de choix rationnel en fait de comportement stratégique et les notions de leadership judiciaire, et examine leur pertinence pour expliquer les changements de comportement judiciaire à la Cour suprême du Canada. Plus précisément, nous cherchons à déterminer si un juge qui devient juge en chef impose des changements stratégiques à son comportement judiciaire. L'étude utilise une équation de régression multiple qui neutralise les hypothèses rivales, et découvre des preuves de changement stratégique chez les trois juges en chef contemporains. Tandis que les juges Dickson et Lamer semblent avoir consolidé leur position de responsables de tâche après leur accession à la tête de la Cour, Madame le juge McLachlin transforma son comportement de dissidente pour devenir le leader social confirmé de sa propre Cour. L'étude démontre que les modèles de choix rationnel en fait de comportement stratégique et de leadership judiciaire sont des cadres théoriques utiles pour expliquer les changements de comportement des juges canadiens récemment promus à la position de juges en chef. En outre, l'étude démontre qu'il est important d'incorporer certaines caractéristiques institutionnelles clés lorsqu'on examine les changements de comportement dans d'autres tribunaux de grande instance de par le monde.

Both Harold Laski and C. B. Macpherson attempted to reconcile elements of liberalism and Marxism in their work. Macpherson offered a clearer and more precise argument about the ways in which capitalist market relations frustrate freedom, equality and the development of the individual. Laski provided a clearer and more consistent account of human nature, which is necessary to sustain such an argument. Macpherson, in turn, reformulated the distinction between negative and positive liberty, which had remained an unresolved problem in Laski's account of human nature. The respective strengths of Laski and Macpherson may be combined to provide a coherent and cogent ideological position.