Comparative Politics

B07 - The Left in Contemporary Politics

Date: Jun 2 | Time: 03:15pm to 04:45pm | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Carmen Ho (University of Guelph)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Josh Gordon (Simon Fraser University)

The Political Origins of Social Policy in Liberal Welfare States: Vincent Mauro (Cornell University)
Abstract: While there exists a substantial body of evidence supporting power resource theories for the advance of redistributive social policy outputs and contributing to improved socioeconomic conditions, we know much less about how the organization and strength of left affect social policy formulation at the electoral stage. This article seeks to understand how party systems - particularly the degree of left organization and political competition between parties - affect the policy-making process of politicians and political parties during elections. It builds comparable measures of social policy saliency and formulation by utilizing party manifestos from over 30 political parties across 15 countries. It then employs multilevel models and finds that the ideological position of individual parties alone has no effect on the saliency or formulation of social policy, however politicians and political parties across the ideological spectrum are incentivized to advance social policy initiatives when there is a strong contingent of left party organization and robust political competition within the party system.

The Rightwards Shift and Decline of Social Democrat Parties Under Increasing Inequality: Matt Polacko (University of London)
Abstract: Recent findings reveal the significant influence that greater party system polarization has on turnout under conditions of high inequality. Therefore, this paper builds on these important findings by introducing into the framework the rightwards policy movement of center-left parties over the past generation. It investigates the responses of center-left parties to increases in inequality through their policy offerings, and how they in turn, shape people’s preferences and participation in the political process. Multilevel analysis of 105 elections in 31 advanced democracies from 1996–2016, finds that the rightwards movements of center-left parties negatively impacts overall turnout, as well as center-left party support. Thus, these findings show that the policy choices presented to the electorate substantially matter and provides one possible explanation for the recent decline of center-left parties across the West.

The Left and the Union: The Spread and Persistence of Teachers’ Union Protest in Indigenous Southern Mexico: Jessica Price (University of the Fraser Valley)
Abstract: Why have teachers’ union protests become common around federal elections in specific Mexican states? How do significant protests spread? This paper examines the spread of the 2006 teachers’ union protests in Oaxaca, Mexico, to answer these questions. Using local newspaper reports, I trace where and when protests by the teachers’ union and sympathizers occurred in Oaxaca’s municipalities in the 40 days after the state governor brutally repressed the movement in June of 2006. These protests are salient because they occurred in a highly indigenous state and launched a multi-issue social movement. I also track supportive protests in 2006 in the municipalities of Chiapas and Yucatan, neighboring states with large indigenous populations, and if similar protests occurred in the three states around the 2009 and 2012 federal elections. I rely on historical sources and electoral data to argue that the legacies of leftwing partisan activism from the 1970s onward help to explain the spread of protests, including teachers’ union protests. Leftwing partisan networks espouse moral narratives that justify protest and create potential activists. In the case of teacher’s union protests, union activists are more likely to find support among local people and organizations in areas where leftwing partisan networks previously legitimized protest. I further argue that indigenous networks and gender dynamics mediate the effects of leftwing networks on protest dynamics. Mexican social movements have criticized political parties as unrepresentative and corrupt. These criticisms are often warranted. However, previous leftwing networks fuel the growth of activism outside of partisan channels today.

A New Focus for Left-wing Parties: The Politics of Low-wage Work in Western Democracies: Dominic Durocher (University of Ottawa)
Abstract: Fight for 15$, Living wage movements, fast-food strikes; low wages have become a major issue for social movements in the last few years. These movements follow decades of labour market deregulation and neoliberalism, where governments have encouraged the creation of low-paid and unskilled jobs in the service sector. The impact of those mobilizations and of this growing category of workers on partisan politics has, however, rarely been studied in political science. The issue of low wages offers an opportunity for left-wing parties to consolidate their vote among low-wage workers and among electors favourable towards redistribution without increasing taxation on the middle class. Indeed, policies targeted towards low-wage workers such as minimum wage and targeted cash transfers allow left-wing parties to present themselves as champions of workers and redistribution at a relative low cost. We thus postulate that left-wing parties tend to put more emphasis on the issue of low wages than right-wing parties in electoral campaigns, especially in recent years. We also postulate that this relation is stronger in countries with a weak bargaining process such as Canada and the United Kingdom, because social partners are unable to reduce inequalities between workers, thus putting more pressure on left-wing parties. To study the position of political parties on the issue of low wages, we use electoral manifestos available through the Comparative Manifesto Project. The data of 15 western democracies from 1990 to 2018 are analyzed with advanced quantitative methods.