Camp theory (politics)

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The camp theory is a theory developed by the historian Adam Wandruszka in the 1950s to analyze the party system in the First Republic of Austria . The camp theory was - unconsciously or on purpose - adopted for many other states in public and scientific debates on basic descriptions of party systems. In Germany, “milieus” and for the Netherlands “pillars” are related terms for describing the basic social and political structures on which a party system is based.

Austria

Wandruszka described three camps for the First Republic of Austria:

Wandruszka justified the scientific use of the term not only with its establishment in everyday language, but above all with the “militant character of the phenomenon”, in which express opposition and irreconcilable contradictions separate one camp from the other. The enmity between the political camps in Austria finally culminated in civil war-like unrest in February 1934 , the wounds of which are still felt today. In today's party system in Austria with the three traditional parties ÖVP , SPÖ and FPÖ and their still large network of apron organizations, the historical camps are still recognizable.

Germany

Four parties / parliamentary groups represented in the Bundestag and in the regional parliaments

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the then General Secretary of the CDU , Heiner Geißler , introduced the camp theory to the German media public in the mid-1980s . Geißler described the following two camps within the newly created four-party system of the Federal Republic:

His conclusion from this description of the situation was that the success factor of politics was to bring about a majority in one's own camp. Votes won by one's own party at the expense of the camp partner are a zero-sum game . In order to appeal to voters from the other camp, moderate central politics are necessary. As a result, the CDU presented itself as the "great people's party in the middle".

The background to Geissler's camp theory was the change from the previous three-party system consisting of the Union, SPD and FDP to a four-party system with the Greens and the emergence of the Republicans party on the right-hand side of the political spectrum .

In the 1970s, the FDP represented the political center of the three parties and thus “ tipped the scales ”. The changes in government in the federal government in 1969 and 1982 were not brought about by elections, but by changes in the coalition of the FDP. Both changes had led to an exchange of a considerable part of the voters and members of the FDP. In his camp theory, Geissler now regarded the FDP as a stable part of the bourgeois camp. At the same time, the FDP continued to have the reputation of being an unreliable "party to fall".

In the mid-1980s, the new Green Party was still completely shaped by the conflict between Fundis and Realos . While some sought a fundamental opposition, the second wanted to form a government majority with the SPD, which had moved to the left. At the first opportunity, after the state elections in Hesse in 1983 , a red-green coalition was formed . Geissler assumed that red-green governments would also be formed elsewhere if there were majorities.

The final factor was the emergence of Republicans, who portrayed themselves as a national conservative force and a democratic right-wing alternative. The Union demarcated itself harshly against the REP. The then Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss commented on the election success of the REP in Bavaria in 1986 with the words: “To the right of the CSU there must be no democratically legitimized party!” It was clear that the CSU in the Strauss era and in the years that followed Treat Republicans and other right-wing parties as part of their own camp and strictly marginalize them.

Geissler's camp theory was attacked from various sides. Parts of the CDU and the CSU feared losing conservative voters with a course in the center without winning voters in the center. Furthermore, this policy is a reason for the gains of the FDP at the expense of the Union.

There was also massive criticism from other quarters. It was not in the interest of the FDP to be tied to the Union in “ loyalty to the Nibelungs ”, nor was the SPD to the Greens.

In the 1998 federal election campaign, the camp theory was often discussed as a possible explanatory model.

Before 2005, the vast majority of governments were actually formed within the camps. Exceptions were the governments in Hamburg (1987 to 1991), Rhineland-Palatinate (1991 to 2006), Brandenburg (from 1990 to 1994) and Bremen (from 1991 to 1995). A coalition with the participation of the CDU or the CSU and the Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen party did not come about until 2005.

Five parties / parliamentary groups represented in the Bundestag and in the state parliaments

With the turnaround , Germany's party system expanded again. A new party was added with the PDS . As early as 1994 a government was formed for the first time with the votes of the PDS ( Magdeburg model ), since without the votes of the PDS no majority decisions in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt (except by including a party from the "other" camp) were no longer possible. Since 1994 there has been a discussion about the extent to which Die Linke can be assigned to a left-wing camp that has to be redefined.

In connection with the 2005 Bundestag election , the camp theory was declared obsolete. Since a coalition of the parties SPD, Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen and Die Linke did not come about in 2005 or 2013 (mathematically possible until 2017), the first of three grand coalitions in the federal government was formed in 2005 , which gives the traditional impression that the "camp leaders" CDU or CSU and SPD pursued a completely different policy, which was permanently questioned. Only from 2009 to 2013 could a government be formed at the federal level that fully belonged to a "camp" (consisting of CDU / CSU and FDP).

After 2005, the CDU and the Greens also formed coalitions at state level. This combination was used in three cases, in Hamburg from 2008 to 2010, in Hesse since 2014 and in Baden-Württemberg since 2016. A Jamaica coalition existed or exists from November 2009 to January 2012 in Saarland , and since 2017 in Schleswig-Holstein . Such a coalition almost existed at federal level after the 2017 federal election (see also exploratory talks in Jamaica 2017 ).

A fully developed "five-party system" was spoken of after the party Die Linke had also moved into several state parliaments in the old federal states (for example North Rhine-Westphalia). In the 2005 Bundestag election, neither red-green nor black-yellow had a majority of the seats in the Bundestag. Including the left in a red-red-green coalition was just as out of the question at the federal level as a tolerance of a red-green minority government by the left. There was also no “traffic light” consisting of CDU / CSU, FDP and Greens or SPD, Greens and FDP. Large coalitions of CDU / CSU and SPD as a way out of the dilemma were no longer an exception , unlike from 1966 to 1969 . For a long time it was taken for granted that both parties together could unite an absolute majority of MPs.

Forming coalitions has become more difficult in Germany since parliaments here consist of more than four parliamentary groups. More and more campaigners have to admit that they have an undesirable grand coalition, the inclusion of a party from the "other camp" in a government of which the party is supposed to be a member, as well as cooperation with a non-coalition party from a minority position for the Can't rule out time after the election. In North Rhine-Westphalia there was a red-green minority government with left-wing tolerance; A Jamaica coalition (black-yellow-green) ruled at state level in Saarland , and Baden-Württemberg has had a green-black state government for the first time in German history since 2016 .

Geißler himself considered black-green after the election in Baden-Württemberg in 2010 as “a real option”.

Six (and more) parties / parliamentary groups represented in the Bundestag and state parliaments

For the thesis that Geissler's camp theory is no longer tenable, the 2018 state election in Bavaria was also cited. The CSU lost 190,000 voters in Bavaria compared to 2013 (more than to the AfD), and a quarter of the former SPD voters there voted for the CSU. The AfD and the Free Voters each received more than ten percentage points in the election in Bavaria.

The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) has now moved into all state parliaments in Germany and (after the 2017 federal election ) into the Bundestag. In this (as in many state parliaments) there are now six parliamentary groups. Franz-Josef Strauss' concern to prevent the entry of a democratically legitimized party to the right of the CSU into German parliaments has thus failed for the time being. Most officials of established parties do not assess the AfD as a possible coalition partner (in an expanded “right-wing camp”), while the acceptance of cooperation between these parties and the left, including a governing coalition with them, tends to increase.

Left camp

In the present the question arises again whether there are still camps in the sense of coalition preferences. taz.de pointed out in June 2019 that the Greens, the SPD and the Left represented similar positions. The three parties named had the same position on 26 of 38 theses that the Wahl-O-Mat of the Federal Agency for Civic Education had given for the European elections in Germany 2019 , while in this election there was only 15 theses in agreement between the Greens and gave the CDU.

After the election for Bremen's citizenship , which also took place on May 26, 2019, the Greens decided to form a red-green-red coalition, although a coalition with an arithmetical majority of the CDU, Greens and FDP members would have formed can be. With their decision, the Bremen Greens ensured that in 2019 a coalition of the three parties of the "left camp" was formed for the first time in a country of the Federal Republic within the borders of 1989 (without taking Berlin into account ). In Thuringia there was a red-red-green state government from 2014 to 2019, in Berlin it has existed since 2016.

Bourgeois camp

In a number of elections in the young Federal Republic of Germany, there were list connections or joint lists from the so-called “bourgeois camp” to improve the chances of voting. Examples are the Vaterstädtischer Bund Hamburg , the Hamburg-Block , the German electoral block in the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein in 1950 , the Low German Union in the state elections in Lower Saxony in 1951 or the Alliance for Germany .

According to Peter Pragal, however, there was a “bourgeois camp” in Germany at most until the Weimar Republic. In the 19th century, a bourgeois was considered to be a person who, unlike the proletarian, did not get his income from wage-related work. At that time, conservative, liberal and denominational parties had differentiated themselves from the workers' parties. That was still the case for the early 20th century and the Weimar Republic. The assumption of a contradiction between “bourgeois” and “proletarians” and an assignment to political camps would no longer do justice to today's social reality. Because today most of the SPD members are not workers, but academics and members of the public service. According to Pragal, whoever is organized with the Greens or who elects them is usually not an outsider to society, but an upper middle class. And property is - unlike in the past - not a criterion for awarding the title “civil”. Today people across the political spectrum lived in materially secure circumstances, including property ownership and savings. The term “bourgeois camp” stands for exclusion, ideology and arrogance. He defamed political competitors. According to Pragal, the political battle term 'bourgeois camp' should be "deleted from our vocabulary."

Camp election campaign

An election strategy in which the parties of the same camp make it clear in the election campaign that the election is about the decision between the camps is referred to as “camp election campaign” . On the one hand, this strategy emphasizes the similarities between one's own position and that of the partner (e.g. through a clear coalition statement ) and, on the other hand, represents the parties of the other camp as a bloc.

Before the 2011 state elections in Berlin, Christoph Seils wrote in the daily newspaper Tagesspiegel (a red-red coalition ruled there from 2002 until after the 2011 election ):

The five-party system paralyzes the election campaigners because the parties have to be able to form coalitions beyond the camp boundaries. The times in which not only parties faced each other in the election campaign, but also possible alliances, seem to be over for good.

Block politics in Scandinavian countries

In Denmark , instead of the “left” and “bourgeois camp”, the term “red” and “blue block” is used. Left parties such as De Radikalische (B), Alternativet (Å), Socialdemokraterne (A), SF (F) and Enhedslisten (Ø) are assigned to the red bloc , while liberal and conservative parties such as Liberal Alliance (I. ), Kristdemokraterne (K), De Konservative (C), Venstre (V), Dansk Folkeparti (O), Fremskridtspartiet (Z) and Nye Borgerlige (D). These blocks are already perceived as such during the election campaign, as the parties also assign themselves to these blocks and position themselves accordingly. The chances of success for new parties are very high due to the low threshold of 2%. Traditionally, there are often minority governments that are supported by parties in the same bloc - despite possible differences of opinion on individual issues - without them belonging to the governing coalition. Such bloc-backed minority governments have proven to be unusually stable compared to those in other countries. This also has the advantage for voters that they can express their will more accentuated by “changing parties” within the bloc, without having to change camp.

There are also warehouses in the autonomous regions of Denmark. In the Faroe Islands , the “red” block consists of Nýtt Sjálvstýri (D), Javnaðarflokkurin (C) and Tjóðveldi (E), while the blue block consists of Miðflokkurin (H), Sambandsflokkurin (B) and Fólkaflokkurin (A); while Framsókn (F) does not belong to any block. In Greenland, on the other hand, the “red” block Demokraatit (D), Siumut (S) and Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA) and the “blue” block Atassut (A)] and the Nunatta Qitornai (NQ) are assigned; the Partii Inuit and the Partii Naleraq do not belong to any camp.

In Sweden , too , politics and the party landscape are characterized by such bloc politics. On the one hand there is the “bourgeois block” ( det borgerliga blocket ), consisting of Centerpartiet (C), Folkpartiet liberalerna (L), Kristdemokraterna (KD) and Moderaterna (M), which also form the alliance ; and on the other hand the “left block” ( vänsterblocket ), made up of Miljöpartiet (MP), Socialdemokraterna (S) and Vänsterpartiet (V), which between 2008 and 2010 also formed an alliance called “Red-Greens”; the Sverigedemokraterna (SD) have not yet been assigned to any block.

There is also such a bloc policy in Norway . There is the "left bloc" made up of Senterpartiet (Sp), Arbeiderpartiet (Ap), Sosialistisk Venstreparti (SV) and Rødt (R), which between 2005 and 2013 also formed an alliance called "Red-Greens", and one "Bourgeois block", consisting of Venstre (V), Kristelig Folkeparti (KrF), Høyre (H) and Fremskrittspartiet (FrP); the Miljøpartiet De Grønne (MDG) is previously assigned to a block.

Other countries

In many countries where there is no two-party system , two large camps are usually created.

Europe

In France , there were two dominant large camps up until the French presidential election in 2017 that were formed due to majority voting. The “right camp” consists of Les Républicains and Union des démocrates et indépendants , among others , the “left camp” led by the Parti socialiste consists of the Parti radical de gauche and Europe Écologie-Les Verts and the 2017 “Lager der Mitte “consists of En Marche and Mouvement démocrate .

There is also a camp system in Italy that came into being after the collapse of the two large parties Democrazia Cristiana and Partito Comunista Italiano . The largest members of the Coalizione di centrodestra are Forza Italia , the Movimento Nazionale per la Sovranità, Lega Nord and Fratelli d'Italia - Alleanza Nazionale . The most important members of the Coalizione di centrosinistra are the Partito Democratico , Alternativa Popolare, the Federazione dei Verdi , the South Tyrolean People's Party and the Partito Autonomista Trentino Tirolese . The MoVimento 5 Stelle does not belong to any warehouse.

In the 2008 general election, in San Marino, similar camps were. The Patto per San Marino primarily consists of Partito Democratico Cristiano Sammarinese (sister party of Democrazia Cristiana), Arengo e Libertà (sister party of Forza Italia), Alleanza Popolare dei Democratici Sammarinesi per la Repubblica (sister party of Lega Nord), Nuovo Partito Socialista (sister party of Nuovo PSI ), Popolari Sammarinesi (sister party of the Unione di Centro ), Noi Sammarinesi (sister party of the Democrazia Cristiana per le Autonomie) and Alleanza Nazionale Sammarinese (sister party of the Alleanza Nazionale ) and Riforme e Libertà primarily consisting of Partito dei Socialisti e dei Democratici (sister party the Partito Democratico), Rifondazione Comunista Sammarinese (sister party of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista ), Partito della Sinistra - Zona Franca (sister party of the Sinistra Democratica ), Sammarinesi per la Libertà (sister party of the Rinnovamento Italiano ) and Democratici di Centro (sister party of the Partito Italiano ) liano ). However, the two camps broke up in 2011.

Two large camps can be recognized in Moldova and Ukraine , a liberal-conservative pro-European camp and a left, more pro-Russian camp. The pro-European camp in Moldova was already united under several names in alliances or governments: the Alliance for European Integration (2009-2013), the Pro-European Coalition (2013-2015), the Political Alliance for a European Moldova (2015 ) and the Alliance for European Integration III (2015–2016).

There were two warehouses in Hungary from 1998 to 2008. One consisted of Fidesz , KDNP , MDF and initially also FKgP , while the other consisted of MSZP and SZDSZ . However, this camp system collapsed in 2008 after a referendum in which 82% of citizens voted against reforms favored by the government. The SZDSZ then left the coalition, but continued to support a minority cabinet of the MSZP, but formed an electoral alliance with the MDF in 2010 , while the KDNP remained in the alliance with Fidez. In 2014 the MSZP formed an alliance with Együtt , PM , DK and MLP , but this alliance dissolved again after the election.

Latin America

In many Latin American countries there are 2 major party alliances that compete against each other. E.g. in Venezuela : Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (opposition) and the Gran Polo Patriótico (government) or Brazil : O Brasil pode mais and Coligação Com a Força do Povo . There are similar party alliances in Argentina , Chile , Peru (until 2016) and Uruguay .

literature

Adam Wandruszka: Austria's political structure. The development of parties and political movements. In: Heinrich Benedikt (Hrsg.): History of the Republic of Austria. Munich 1954, pp. 480-485.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A miserable picture of quarreling . In: Der Spiegel . No. 39 , 1987, pp. 17-18 ( online - 21 September 1987 ).
  2. ↑ "power play in Bonn" Focus 48/1995 of 27 November 1995
  3. ^ "Destroyed Mirage" Handelsblatt dated December 14, 2007
  4. ↑ Heiner Geißler believes in Schwarz-Grün Spiegel Online from December 4, 2010
  5. ↑ Julian Stahnke / Julius Tröger / Sascha Venohr / Matthias Breitinger: Alternating voters in Bavaria: Where the CSU lost the absolute majority . zeit.de . October 15, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2019
  6. ↑ Ulrich Schulte: Green-red-red federal government - back to the social question . taz.de. June 12, 2019
  7. ^ Peter Pragal: Bourgeois camp - a political battle term deutschlandfunk.de. February 9, 2009
  8. ↑ tagesspiegel.de August 8, 2011: The election campaign in Berlin is unreasonable
  9. ↑ MDG garanterer at de vil kaste Regjeringen Aftenposten from August 11, 2017
  10. ↑ Ukraine's party system in transition? The Rise of the Radically Right-Wing All-Ukrainian Association "Svoboda" by Andreas Umland , Center for Geopolitical Studies (1 May 2011)
  11. ↑ Pro-Russian bloc leads in Ukraine , BBC News (March 26, 2006)
  12. ↑ Communist and Post-Communist Parties in Europe by Uwe Backes and Patrick Moreau , Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht , 2008, ISBN 978-3-525-36912-8 (page 383 and 396)
  13. ↑ Partisan-political structure [1] ( Memento from November 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Analitics. 1999