Network model of the cabinet coalitions formation
Project title: Network model of cabinet coalitions formation. A comparative case study of the UK, Canada and New Zealand
Background
Cabinet coalitions are an integral part of many political systems and many authors consider their durability to be a good indicator of the stability of a given political system. Although their functioning is a complex process, the formation stage of a given alliance undoubtedly plays a special role in it.
The aim of the project was to develop a new – network – model for the formation of cabinet coalitions, which, on the one hand, would reflect the structural characteristics of the process in question (its complexity and multi-level nature) and, on the other hand, would indicate the number, intensity and quality of the connections that determine this structure. The main research assumptions must also be different – focusing the research on the dynamics of the interactions taking place as the main determinant of the process of forming cabinet coalitions. In order to develop such a model, classic political science research methods and tools were adapted to the requirements of the network perspective, which emphasises the importance of social networks. The main stages of the research conducted were: 1. reviewing the models of the cabinet coalition formation process created so far, 2. detailed development of a new – network – model of cabinet coalition formation, 3. verification of the resulting model in relation to non-standard cases (deviant cases):
- The British case of the formation of an alliance between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats in 2010, which was the first cabinet alliance in the UK since the end of the Second World War;
- The New Zealand case of a coalition agreement between the New Zealand Labour Party and the New Zealand First party (and the official support of the Green Party) in 2018. The conclusion of a coalition between the aforementioned parties, neither of which won the election, was the first such case in the country’s history and the ultimate confirmation of the sustainability of significant changes to the electoral system;
- The Canadian case of the coalition agreement between the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party in 2008, which was intended to remove a minority Conservative government from power, but which did not materialise due to the intervention of the Governor General of Canada.
This will make it possible to frame political parties as specific social networks, identify the number and types of actors involved in the process in question, define the basic communication and resource exchange channels between the negotiating actors, and analyse and interpret the formal and informal links outside the coalition party structures. Reconstructing the complexity of the cabinet coalition formation process itself, will highlight the importance of the dynamics of the interactions taking place in it as a primary source of knowledge about how cabinet alliances are formed.
