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Political Science Canadian

Whipped

Party Discipline in Canada

by (author) Alex Marland

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2020
Category
Canadian, Elections, Political Parties
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774864961
    Publish Date
    Sep 2020
    List Price
    $39.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774864992
    Publish Date
    Sep 2020
    List Price
    $125.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774864978
    Publish Date
    Nov 2020
    List Price
    $34.95

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Description

Canadians often see politicians as little more than trained seals who vote on command and repeat robotic talking points. Politicians are torn by dilemmas of loyalty to party versus loyalty to voters. Whipped examines the hidden ways that political parties exert control over elected members of legislatures. Drawing on extensive interviews with politicians and staffers across Canada, award-winning author Alex Marland explains why Members of Parliament and provincial legislators toe the party line, and shows how party discipline has expanded into message discipline. This book exposes how democracy works in our age of instant communication and political polarization. Whipped is a must-read for anyone interested in the real world of Canadian politics.

About the author

Alex Marland (Political Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland) was a public servant in the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador from 2003 to 2006. He coedited First Among Unequals: The Premier, Politics, and Policy in Newfoundland and Labrador and coauthored the textbook Inside Canadian Politics. His book Brand Command: Canadian Politics and Democracy in the Age of Message Control won the Donner Prize for best public policy book by a Canadian and the Atlantic Book Award for scholarly writing.

Alex Marland's profile page

Awards

  • Short-listed, Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, The Writers Trust

Editorial Reviews

It is a fresh addition to the study of Canadian politics, written in a clear and accessible tone yet rife with diligent detail and sharp analysis.

Canadian Parliamentary Review

If you’re interested in how modern legislatures in Canada really work, Whipped: Party Discipline in Canada by Alex Marland is a treat — a detailed, well-researched and well-written look behind one of the curtains.

Policy Magazine

Whipped renews our understanding of Canadian parliamentary politics and party discipline in the modern setting, where we see intensifying message discipline across a range of new platforms and technologies. Writing in accessible plain language, Marland pushes his argument forward with a mix of convincing new primary research.

 

 

Canadian Journal of Political Science

Marland [provides] an important fresh look at the issues around party whip systems and explores the mechanisms of party discipline and the extent discipline can be enforced in the digital age of direct communication between represented and representative.

International Journal of Press/Politics

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