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Left and Right in Global Politics PDF

263 Pages·2008·1.55 MB·English
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This page intentionally left blank Left and Right in Global Politics Few notions are as universal as the idea of a left–right divide in politics. Despiteitsdeathbeingfrequentlyforetold,theleft–rightmetaphorremains the most common lens through which to interpret political life locally, nationally,and globally.Left and Right inGlobal Politicsarguesthat the left–right divideconnects these different levelsina worldpolitical debate. Interpretingtheleft–rightdichotomyasanenduringdebateaboutequality, Noe¨landThe´rienanalyzeopinionpollsandsocialdiscoursestodemonstrate how this debate shapes both individual and collective views of public affairs. Setting their findings in a historical perspective, they then show that for more than two centuries the conflict between progressives and conservativeshasstructuredbothdomesticandinternationalpolitics.They conclude by discussing the implications of their argument for the analysis ofworldpolitics,andcontendthattheleft–rightoppositionisheretostay. ALAIN NOE¨L is Professor in the Department of Political Science of the Universite´ de Montre´al. JEAN-PHILIPPE THE´RIEN is Professor in the Department of Political Science of the Universite´ de Montre´al. Left and Right in Global Politics and - ALAIN NOËL JEAN PHILIPPE THÉRIEN Universite´ de Montre´al CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521880015 © Alain Noel and Jean-Philippe Therien 2008 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2008 ISBN-13 978-0-511-40910-3 eBook (EBL) ISBN-13 978-0-521-88001-5 hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-70583-7 paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Contents List of tables page vi List of figures vii Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 1 A clash over equality 6 2 A worldwide value divide 32 3 Two tales of globalization 56 4 The rise of the modern state system (1776–1945) 83 5 The age of universality (1945–1980) 107 6 The triumph of market democracy (1980–2007) 137 7 Twenty-first-century rapprochement 166 8 The core currency of political exchange 198 Conclusion 231 Index 236 v Tables 2.1 Country means, mean deviations, and percentages of don’t know/no answer, left–right self-placement, 1999–2001 page 36 2.2 Relationships between left–right self-placement and attitudes about social justice and government intervention, on a world scale, 1999–2001 43 2.3 Relationships between left–right self-placement and qualities respondents find important to encourage in children, on a world scale, 1999–2001 45 2.4 Relationships between left–right self-placement and attitudes toward life, on a world scale, 1999–2001 45 2.5 Relationships between socio-economic attributes andleft–rightself-placement,onaworldscale,1999–2001 46 2.6 Scores for relationships between left–right self-placement and attitudes about social justice, competition, and government intervention, in seventy-six countries, 1999–2001 49 vi Figures 1.1 The left, the right, authority, and liberty page 25 2.1 Left–right self-placement in the world, 1999–2001 34 2.2 Left–right self-placement in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Israel, 1999–2001 41 3.1 Share of people living on less than $1 a day (% of population), 1981–2001 61 3.2 Number of electoral democracies, 1987–2005 68 3.3 GDP per capita in the poorest and the richest countries, 1960–1962 and 2000–2002 70 3.4 Aid as a percentage of developed countries’ GNP, 1955–2006 75 vii Acknowledgements Everyone has an idea about the left and the right. This is why these notions are so engaging and so fascinating. Their universal relevance, however, also makes the two terms difficult to grasp in a systematic manner.Aswith every conceptthatseemsmeaningfulandcleartoall, “theleft”and“theright”encompassawiderangeofvaluesandpercep- tions. In trying to make sense of these different standpoints, we were helpedbyanumberofpeople,whodiscussedtheissuesatstake,made suggestions,andwerealwayswillingtosharetheirviews,usuallyfirmly held,aboutthesignificanceofleftandrightinglobalpolitics. First thoughts and early drafts were presented at conferences or meetingsinCanada,Egypt,France,Germany,Italy,Mexico,Que´bec, Switzerland, and the United States. The book benefited very much from this exposure to views from different parts and cultures of the world. We are grateful to the organizers and participants of these different gatherings for the occasion they gave us to exchange ideas with them and for their comments. In the academic year 2004–05, both of us were visiting scholars in France, the country where the contemporary notions of left and right wereborn,afittingenvironmenttogiveafirstimpulsetothisproject. Alain was a guest of the Politiques publiques, Action politique, Territoiresresearchcentre(PACTE),attheInstitutd’e´tudespolitiques de Grenoble, a superb location for research and writing. Philippe Warin and Bruno Jobert, in particular, provided support and opportunities. Jean-Philippe spent the first half of the year at the Centred’e´tudesetderecherchesinternationales(CERI)inParis.Later that year, he was invited by the Centro de estudios internacionales (CEI) of the Colegio de Me´xico, which offered a nicely comple- mentary setting in a country of the global South. He is grateful to Christophe Jaffrelot and Marie-Claude Smouts in Paris, and to Jean- Franc¸ois Prud’homme and Maria del Carmen Pardo in Mexico City for their hospitality and encouragement. viii

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