Clientelism, Political Culture and Ethnic Politics in Australia

Abstract

The discussion of political culture in Australia that exists focuses on the supposedly traditional traits of egalitarianism, utilitarianism, conformism, materialism and so on. While not wishing to deny the British influence on political institutions in Australia, to think that the massive nature of non-British postwar migration has not influenced political culture in Australia is not only naive but incorrect. In not paying attention to the impact of immigrants from NESB, political cultures and practices such as clientelism have not been the subject of Australian political discussion. Where ethnic participation in the political system has been examined, some have argued that it is based on corruption and has led political actors to deviate from national political and cultural norms. This paper argues that clientelism can provide a more useful and positive framework for understanding ethnic politics in Australia. After examining various views on political culture and ethnicity in Australia, this paper summarises some of the key points of recent approaches to clientelism. It suggests that clientelism has a positive face, especially as a form of representation for minority groups such as immigrants from NESB. The second section then describes the key features of clientelism in the Australian 'ethnic electorate'. It has evolved in ethnic electorates because of the process of ethnic community formation, the nature of case-work in ethnic electorates and the ability and willingness of political actors and parties to adapt their style to suit the environment.