WESTMINSTER DEMOCRACY: A COMPARISON OF SMALL ISLAND STATES VARIETIES IN THE PACIFIC AND THE CARIBBEAN

Authors

Dag Anckar, Åbo Akademi University

Abstract

The validity of the suggestion by Arend Lijphart that the structure of consensus democracy may spring from a general cultural inclination toward consensus is investigated by comparing a set of small Pacific and Caribbean island states. All have colonial histories that involve a strong British legacy, and all have been submitted to attempts by the metropolitan power to influence the preparing of the independence constitution. The results indicate that the Pacific islands with long-standing indigenous and consensual cultures and traditions have indeed introduced into their political systems more consensus-based applications of Westminster rule. Controls for the impact on democratic style of ethnic fragmentation and a dispersed geography suggest, however, that a dispersed geography likewise promotes consensualism, whereas the impact of ethnic fragmentation appears negligible. This finding is in line with other recent findings that emphasize the importance of geographical and physical factors for understanding the structure of political institutions in island states.

Recommended Citation

Anckar, Dag (2000) "WESTMINSTER DEMOCRACY: A COMPARISON OF SMALL ISLAND STATES VARIETIES IN THE PACIFIC AND THE CARIBBEAN," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 23: No. 3, Article 3.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol23/iss3/3