Bipartisanship

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find common ground through compromise. In multi-partisan electoral systems or in situations where multiple parties work together, it is called multipartisanship. Partisanship is the antonym, where an individual or political party adheres only to its interests without compromise.

Usage

The adjective bipartisan can refer to any political act in which both of the two major

constituencies
.

Bipartisanship in different party systems

According to political analyst James Fallows in The Atlantic (based on a "note from someone with many decades' experience in national politics"), bipartisanship is a phenomenon belonging to a two-party system such as the political system of the United States and does not apply to a parliamentary system (such as Great Britain) since the minority party is not involved in helping write legislation or voting for it. Fallows argues that in a two-party system, the minority party can be obstructionist and thwart the actions of the majority party.[2] However, analyst Anne Applebaum in The Washington Post suggested that partisanship had been rampant in the United Kingdom and described it as "a country in which the government and the opposition glower at each other from opposite sides of the House of Commons, in which backbenchers jeer when their opponents speak." Applebaum suggested there was bipartisanship in Britain, meaning a coalition in 2010 between two opposing parties but that it remained to be seen whether the coalition could stay together to solve serious problems such as tackling Britain's financial crisis.[3]

Bipartisanship (in the context of a two-party system) is the opposite of

partisanship which is characterized by a lack of cooperation between rival political parties.[4]

Bipartisanship can also be between two or more opposite groups (e.g. liberal and conservative) to agree and determine a plan of action on an urgent matter that is of great importance to voters. This interpretation brings bipartisanship closer to the more applied notion of postpartisan decision-making; a solution-focused approach that creates a governance model with third-party arbiters used to detect bias.

It is also argued that bipartisanship exists in policy-making that does not have bipartisan support. This is the case if it involves bipartisan exchanges. This element is a central feature in the legislative process and is a bipartisan concept in the sense that it serves as a mechanism for achieving consensus and cooperation.[5]

Global examples of bipartisan politics

Canada

At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two big tent parties practicing "brokerage politics".

far-left parties have never gained a prominent force in Canadian society and have never formed a government in the Canadian Parliament.[14][15][6]

United Kingdom

Although the

British membership of the European Union
were areas where the parties would tend to agree on the central question but where divided, often sharply, on questions of approach.

There is also a convention within British politics where there are minor areas where there is little partisan cooperation to have formal and semi-secret cooperation facilitated by both parties parliamentary

whips and senior civil servants, a process often referred to as the usual channels
.

US perspectives

US commentators have sought to apply their understanding of bipartisanship to analyses of the UK situation. According to political analyst James Fallows in The Atlantic (based on a "note from someone with many decades' experience in national politics"), bipartisanship is a phenomenon belonging to a two-party system such as the political system of the United States and does not apply to a parliamentary system (such as Great Britain) since the minority party is not involved in helping write legislation or voting for it. Fallows argues that in a two-party system, the minority party can be obstructionist and thwart the actions of the majority party.[16]

However, analyst Anne Applebaum in The Washington Post suggested that partisanship had been rampant in the United Kingdom and described it as "a country in which the government and the opposition glower at each other from opposite sides of the House of Commons, in which backbenchers jeer when their opponents speak." Applebaum suggested there was bipartisanship in the UK with the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition in 2010.[17]

Republic of Ireland

Until recently politics in the

Foreign Direct Investment and a stated willingness to incorporate Northern Ireland
the broad policies of the two parties were very similar.

United States

Main article:
Bipartisanship in US politics

Constitution
did not think that political parties would play a role in American politics, political parties have long been a major force in American politics, and the nation has alternated between periods of intense party rivalry and partisanship, as well as periods of bipartisanship.

There have been periods of bipartisanship in American politics, such as when Democrats worked with Republican President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.[19], with foreign policy was being seen as an area where bipartisanship was strongest with President Taft, stating that fundamental foreign policies should be above party differences.[20] Military policies of the Cold War and actions like the Iraq War were promoted and supported, through the mass media, as bipartisan acts.[21]

A more partisan tone tended to be taken on domestic policy and this could be sharper at some times such as Barack Obama's presidency with minority parties voting as a bloc against major legislation.[2][22][23] A call for bipartisanship is often made by presidents who "can't get their way in Congress," according to one view.[24]

Criticisms

Bipartisanship has been criticized because it can obscure the differences between parties, making voting for candidates based on policies difficult in a democracy.[25] Additionally, the concept of bipartisanship has been criticized as discouraging agreements between more than two parties, thus exercising a tyranny of the majority by forcing voters to side with one of the two largest parties.

Analyst Benedict Carey writing in The New York Times claims political analysts tend to agree that government will continue to be divided and marked by paralysis and feuding, there was research suggesting that humans have a "profound capacity through which vicious adversaries can form alliances," according to Berkeley professor Dacher Keltner.[26]

Notes

  1. ^ Brokerage politics: "A Canadian term for successful big tent parties that embody a pluralistic catch-all approach to appeal to the median Canadian voter ... adopting centrist policies and electoral coalitions to satisfy the short-term preferences of a majority of electors who are not located on the ideological fringe."[6][7]

References

  1. ^ Dan Froomkin (April 30, 2009). "What Bipartisanship Is -- and Isn't". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  2. ^ a b James Fallows (February 1, 2010). "Why bipartisanship can't work: the expert view". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  3. ^ Anne Applebaum (June 1, 2010). "Can the Brits learn bipartisanship?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  4. NPR
    . Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  5. ISBN 9781440834424
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7748-2231-2
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-19-533535-4
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-19-541806-4
    . two historically dominant political parties have avoided ideological appeals in favour of a flexible centrist style of politics that is often labelled "brokerage politics"
  9. ISBN 978-1-4426-3521-0
    . ...most Canadian governments, especially at the federal level, have taken a moderate, centrist approach to decision making, seeking to balance growth, stability, and governmental efficiency and economy...
  10. ISBN 978-1-317-25478-2
    .
  11. ISBN 978-1-4426-0695-1. Canada's party system has long been described as a "brokerage system" in which the leading parties (Liberal and Conservative) follow strategies that appeal across major social cleavages
    in an effort to defuse potential tensions.
  12. ^ Elections Canada (2018). "Plurality-Majority Electoral Systems: A Review". Elections Canada. First Past the Post in Canada has favoured broadly-based, accommodative, centrist parties...
  13. ISBN 978-1-4426-0871-9
    .
  14. S2CID 145773856
    .
  15. ^ Taub, Amanda (2017). "Canada's Secret to Resisting the West's Populist Wave". The New York Times.
  16. ^ James Fallows (February 1, 2010). "Why bipartisanship can't work: the expert view". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  17. ^ Anne Applebaum (June 1, 2010). "Can the Brits learn bipartisanship?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  18. ISBN 978-1-317-31269-7
    .
  19. ^ John R. Bohrer (September 30, 2009). "Because Bipartisanship Is Dead Until 2011: A Defense of Senate Moderates". HuffPost. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  20. ISBN 9781462844388
    .
  21. ISBN 9780820495262
    .
  22. ^ Linda Feldmann (June 25, 2009). "Rahm Emanuel redefines bipartisanship". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  23. ^ Charles Babington (November 4, 2010). "Election doesn't end major discord for GOP, Obama". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-04 – via Yahoo! News.
  24. ^ Mark Knoller (February 9, 2010). "Obama Says Bipartisanship, But What He Wants Is GOP Surrender". CBS News. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  25. ^ Sam Haselby (March 22, 2009). "Divided we stand: The problem with bipartisanship". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2010-11-02.
  26. ^ Benedict Carey (November 4, 2010). "Cede Political Turf? Never! Well, Maybe". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
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