Warum Große Koalitionen? Antworten aus koalitionstheoretischer Sicht

Abstract

Grand Coalitions" do not constitute an analytical category in Comparative Government but are to be perceived as a contextual type of governmental alliance. Their formation is puzzling, as they contradict the assumptions of mainstream coalition theories and they are characterised by severe structural problems. This article seeks to identify conditions under which Grand Coalitions are likely to occur. They include instable majorities, qualified majority requirements, the existence of anti-system parties, threats to the democratic system, unpopular governmental agendas, de facto veto-power of extra-parliamentary groups, transaction costs and the self-commitments of political parties. When applied to Germany and Austria, the mentioned variables may explain the formation of Grand Coalitions in specific cases but remain highly contingent in both countries.Anmerkung der Schriftleitung: Die Beurteilung Großer Koalitionen unterliegt trotz wachsender empirischer Bedeutung unzureichender analytischer Aufmerksamkeit. Der nachfolgende Beitrag sollte als Eröffnung einer breiteren Debatte gesehen werden.1 Ich danke Ulrich Sieberer für Kommentare zu einer ersten Fassung dieses Beitrags.

The Changing German Voter

“…They first appeared in the 1990s (Kropp 2010). Straddling the ideological divide and coupling the party system's main antagonists in a joint government, they are typically not sought for by any of the participants and created more out of necessity than desire, when no alternative appears feasible (Mu ¨ller 2008;Spier 2015). Nonetheless, their share increased sharply to about one out of four state governments during the following decade.…”

Partisan Policy-Making in Western Europe

“…Controlling extra seats in excess to those necessary for the simple majority is a common phenomenon which is often labelled as having a "working majority" (Laver, 1986;Laver/Schofield, 1990;Müller, 2008). Thus, a government can stick to the agreed, more or less mainstream policies and does not have to obey parliamentarians with more extreme policy positions.…”

Regierung und Regierungsbildung

“…Der Begriff bezeichnet in Österreich eine "Block-übergreifende" Koalition aus SPÖ und ÖVP, selbst wenn sie zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt nicht die beiden größten Parteien darstellen. Dass diese Art der Koalition lange Zeit der Regelfall war, obwohl zumindest eine der Parteien auch eine kleinere Koalition mit anderen Parteien hätte bilden können, ist im internationalen Vergleich eher ungewöhnlich(Müller 2008)…”