To cite the article:
Emanuele, V., Improta, M., Marino, B., and Verzichelli, L. (2022) Going technocratic? Diluting governing responsibility in electorally turbulent times, West European Politics, DOI: 10.1080/01402382.2022.2095494
The article, published on West European Politics, can be accessed here
Abstract
Technocracy has recently triggered growing scholarly interest, especially as an alternative form of ruling to both party government and populism. In the context of weakened parties-citizens links and increasing external constraints faced by Western European ruling parties, technocratic appointments might help deal with the responsibility-responsiveness dilemma highlighted by Peter Mair. However, research on the explanatory factors of technocratic appointments is still underdeveloped. This article argues that the recourse to technocracy is fuelled by electoral volatility. In contexts of high electoral turbulence – and even more when parties frequently enter or exit the party system – ruling parties turn to technocratic appointments to dilute responsibility. This expectation is tested through an original longitudinal multilevel dataset including 655 cabinets and 373 elections in 20 Western European countries from 1945 to 2021. The findings of this article contribute to the current debate on technocracy and shed new light on the general understanding behind political representation.
Marco Improta (Napoli, 1995) è postdoctoral researcher presso l'Università di Siena. Ha conseguito il dottorato di ricerca in Politics presso la LUISS Guido Carli. È stato Visiting Research Fellow presso il Department of Political Science della Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Visiting PhD presso il Department of Politics and International Relations della University of Oxford e Visiting Researcher presso il Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales del Ministerio de la Presidencia, Governo di Spagna, Madrid. I suoi principali interessi di ricerca riguardano i governi e la rappresentanza politica in prospettiva comparata. Ha pubblicato articoli su riviste scientifiche internazionali e nazionali, tra cui West European Politics, Political Studies, Electoral Studies, Parliamentary Affairs, Journal of Legislative Studies, British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Mediterranean Politics, European Politics and Society, Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche, Quaderni di Scienza Politica, Italian Political Science, Journal of Contemporary European Research, Italian Journal of Electoral Studies. È inoltre autore di contributi pubblicati in volumi. È membro del CISE, del CIRCaP e di varie associazioni scientifiche nazionali e internazionali tra cui IPSA, MPSA, CES, SISP, SISE, ISPSA ed ECPR.
Bruno Marino è Ricercatore a Tempo Determinato (Tipo B) presso il Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche Giuridiche, e Studi Internazionali dell'Università di Padova. I suoi interessi di ricerca comprendono partiti e sistemi di partito in prospettiva comparata, élite politiche e la personalizzazione della politica. Ha pubblicato articoli su West European Politics, Government and Opposition, Acta Politica, Electoral Studies, European Political Science Review, Regional and Federal Studies, Italian Political Science Review/Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. La sua monografia, Party Leaders and their Selection Rules in Western Europe, è stata pubblicata da Routledge.