Politiska dynastier

"Legislators and parliamentarians with dynastic links range from 6% in the United States to as high as 37–40% in the Philippines and Mexico. In the case of the Philippines, if we also consider familial links to local government units, the figure reaches an amazing 70%. Roughly 80% of the youngest legislators in the Philippines also hail from dynastic political families.

Dynasties across democracies nevertheless differ in important ways. During the period between 1996 and 2007, over 90% of Japanese politicians were male and some 30% of the Japanese parliament was from political dynasties. Daughters are unlikely to form part of political dynasties in that country, as power is often passed on to sons. A recent study noted that of over 120 Japanese politicians described as dynastic, only 3 are women (Asako et al 2010). On the other hand, one study of political dynasties in the US Congress showed how dynasties helped to improve the gender balance in the US Congress, by allowing more female legislators to get in via their familial ties (Dal Bo et al 2009)."

Ronald U Mendoza, "Dynasties in democracies: The political side of inequality", voxeu.org 11 mars