New Forms of Political Representation: European Ecological Politics and the Montreal Citizen's Movement

Abstract

In his examinations of the ecological parties of Belgium and West Germany, Herbert Kitschelt argues that he has found a new form of political representation that defies patterns of behaviour outlined for political parties by all previous scholarly work. These parties, which Kitschelt calls “left-libertarian,” are unique because they lack the organizational structures common to traditional parties, and include in their membership constituencies that are normally more comfortable in social movements. This article compares the political platforms of these parties and the sociological characteristics of their activists with those of the Montreal Citizen's Movement (MCM) and concludes that the MCM is indeed a left-libertarian party. However, an examination of the MCM reveals that although Kitschelt has found a new form of political representation in the left-libertarian party, this new form does not actually defy the developmental patterns outlined by the classical studies of political parties.

Canadian Political Science and the City: A Limited Engagement

“…MacDermid's work (2009) on campaign contributions in recent Toronto-region elections has shed harsh light on the degree to which property development interests fund can potentially influence council campaigns in smaller municipalities in the Toronto region. Thomas (1995) has profiled local party organization and competition in Montreal, Vancouver, and Winnipeg in relation to European social movement-parties, while Lustiger-Thaler and Shragge (2002) describe the 1994 Montreal election as the triumph of neoliberal discourse. Still, significant gaps remain.…”