The funding of political parties. Where Now?

This book explores the problems associated with regulating the funding of political parties and election campaigns in a timely assessment of a topic of great political controversy.

From interest in Obama's capacity to raise vast sums of money, to scandals that have rocked UK and Australian governments, party funding is a global issue, reflected in this text with case studies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States. Taking an interdisciplinary approach with leading scholars from politics, geography and law, this text addresses key themes: contributions, spending controls, the role of broadcasters and special interests, and the role of the state in funding political parties. With regulatory measures apparently unable to change the behaviour of parties, why have existing laws failed to satisfy the demands for reform, and what kind of laws are necessary to change the way political parties behave? The Funding of Political Parties: Where Now? brings fresh comparative material to inform this topical and intractable debate, and assesses the wider implications of continuing problems in political funding.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, political theory, policy and law.

Contents:

List of Contributors
1. Introduction K.D. Ewing, Jacob Rowbottom and Joo Cheong Tham

Part 1: The Role of Contribution Caps
2. The Role of Institutional Donations Jacob Rowbottom
3. The Trade Union Question in British Political Funding K.D. Ewing
4. A Case Against Uniform Contribution Limits Joo Cheong Tham

Part 2: The Role of Spending Limits
5. Spending Controls: New Campaign Actors and New Regulatory Techniques K.D. Ewing and Jacob Rowbottom
6. Local Parties, Local Money and Local Campaigns Ron Johnson and Charles Pattie
7. Legal Regulation and Political Activity at Local Level in Britain Justin Fisher

Part 3: The Role of Other Actors
8. The Press: The Media and the ‘Rupert Murdoch problem’ Andrew Geddis
9. The Regulator: The First Decade of the Electoral Commission Navraj Ghaleigh
10. The Courts: Legal Challenges to Political Finance and Election Laws Stephanie Palmer

Part 4: Lessons from Abroad
11. State Intervention in Party Politics: The Public Funding and Regulation of Political Parties Ingrid Van Biezen
12. Canadian Political Finance Regulation and Jurisprudence Colin Feasby
13. The Transformation of the US Campaign Finance System in Presidential Elections Rick Hasen

Part 5: State Funding and Party Autonomy
14. Justifications for Regulating Party Affairs: Competition not Public Funding Graeme Orr