BUILDING BLOCS by Cedric De Leon (Editor), Manali Desai (Editor), Cihan Tugal (Editor) ( 9780804794923 )

Item Details

Title:

BUILDING BLOCS
HOW PARTIES ORGANIZE SOCIETY

By:

Cedric De Leon (Editor), Manali Desai (Editor), Cihan Tugal (Editor)

Format:

Paperback

List price:	£21.99
We currently do not stock this item, please contact the publisher directly for further information.

ISBN 10:

0804794928

ISBN 13:

9780804794923

Publisher:

STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

Pub. date:

27 May, 2015

Pages:

254

Description:

Going against the prevailing notion that political parties mirror divisions in society, Building Blocs argues that some parties actively structure those divisions. Using international case studies and Gramscian social theory, this volume demonstrates that political articulation is not the work of ambitious politicians or of the state, but primarily of parties. With one foot in society they also control the system of nominations, appointments, and elections-and as a consequence, the resources of state power.

Synopsis:

Do political parties merely represent divisions in society? Until now, scholars and other observers have generally agreed that they do. But Building Blocs argues the reverse: that some political parties in fact shape divisions as they struggle to remake the social order. Drawing on the contributors' expertise in Indonesia, India, the United States, Canada, Egypt, and Turkey, this volume demonstrates further that the success and failure of parties to politicize social differences has dramatic consequences for democratic change, economic development, and other large-scale transformations.This politicization of divisions, or "political articulation," is neither the product of a single charismatic leader nor the machinations of state power, but is instead a constant call and response between parties and would-be constituents. When articulation becomes inconsistent, as it has in Indonesia, partisan calls grow faint and the resulting vacuum creates the possibility for other forms of political expression. However, when political parties exercise their power of interpellation efficiently, they are able to silence certain interests such as those of secular constituents in Turkey. Building Blocs exposes political parties as the most influential agencies that structure social cleavages and invites further critical investigation of the related consequences.

Publication:

Imprint:

Stanford University Press

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

BUILDING BLOCS (HB)

CARING FOR THE POOR