Candidates in 2013 Italian general election: evidence from the Italian Candidate Survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo Di Virgilio ◽  
Daniela Giannetti ◽  
Andrea Pedrazzani ◽  
Luca Pinto

IntroduzioneChanges in electoral politics in contemporary democracies have contributed to shifting the focus of research from parties to individual candidates. The 2013 Italian Candidate Survey (ICS) has collected original survey data with the aim of gaining new insights into the role of political elites, looking in particular at the candidates running for office in the last Italian general election. Based on interviews with individual candidates, the ICS provides a tool for analysing party members; and for comparing them with voters in several ways. In this paper, we spell out the main features of our research that was conducted within the framework of a larger project that examined political representation in Italy between 2013 and 2015. Moreover, we offer three examples of potential applications of ICS data. First, we present a model of political representation favoured by Italian candidates that matches with a well-known typology of political representation. Second, we utilize our ICS data to estimate candidates’ policy preferences and to assess the level of congruence with their voters. Finally, by comparing the distribution of candidates’ self-placements and their own party mean position on the left-right scale, we show how our data can be used to explore intra-party cohesion.

Author(s):  
Thomas Ibrahim Okinda

This chapter assesses the role and performance of the Kenyan media in women's participation in 2013 Kenya general election with particular emphasis on radio, television and newspapers. Kenya has a diverse, vibrant and largely free media whose coverage of the election was useful in informing, educating and mobilizing women to vote. However, limited and biased media coverage of women candidates, inadequate civic and voter education may have inhibited women's electoral participation as few women contested and won electoral seats in the 2013 Kenyan polls. Therefore, the media should enhance the visibility of women, political rights and issues of women as the country endeavours to enhance gender equality in political representation. To achieve this, the media should partner with women, the electoral body, government, political parties and other stakeholders in Kenya in order to improve women's media coverage and political participation.


2020 ◽  
pp. 528-548
Author(s):  
Thomas Ibrahim Okinda

This chapter assesses the role and performance of the Kenyan media in women's participation in 2013 Kenya general election with particular emphasis on radio, television and newspapers. Kenya has a diverse, vibrant and largely free media whose coverage of the election was useful in informing, educating and mobilizing women to vote. However, limited and biased media coverage of women candidates, inadequate civic and voter education may have inhibited women's electoral participation as few women contested and won electoral seats in the 2013 Kenyan polls. Therefore, the media should enhance the visibility of women, political rights and issues of women as the country endeavours to enhance gender equality in political representation. To achieve this, the media should partner with women, the electoral body, government, political parties and other stakeholders in Kenya in order to improve women's media coverage and political participation.


2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Corstange

AbstractVote buying and vote selling are prominent features of electoral politics in Lebanon. This article investigates how vote trafficking works in Lebanese elections and examines how electoral rules and practices contribute to wide and lively vote markets. Using original survey data from the 2009 parliamentary elections, it studies vote selling with a list experiment, a question technique designed to elicit truthful answers to sensitive questions. The data show that over half of the Lebanese sold their votes in 2009. Moreover, once we come to grips with the sensitivity of the topic, the data show that members of all sectarian communities and political alliances sold their votes at similar rates.


2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (02) ◽  
pp. 244-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celeste Beesley

ABSTRACTProtest can be seen as a highly democratic expression of popular opinion. However, protest is also a non-representative, extra-institutional process for political change. In hybrid regimes, such as Ukraine, the legitimacy of effecting change through mass protest is a subject of debate. Because of the influence of mass protests in Ukrainian politics, individual views on the democratic legitimacy of protest are potentially important in perceptions of government legitimacy. Using original survey data from December 2013, this article finds that, whereas satisfaction with the functioning of democracy, partisanship, and the oft-cited regional divide are important determinants of approval for the Euromaidan protests, they do not influence how Ukrainians perceive the role of protest in a democracy. However, among those less committed to democracy, protest is more likely to be seen as illegitimate.


Author(s):  
Stefanie Reher

Abstract Whether citizens are better represented by politicians ‘like them’ has been the subject of much debate and analysis. Yet, this scholarship has largely ignored the 1 in 5 people who are disabled and experience economic, social and political marginalization. Linking voter and candidate data from the 2015 British general election, this study examines whether disabled citizens are better represented by disabled elites. It analyses the effects of disability on both preferences and preference congruence. The findings reveal that disabled citizens and candidates are more supportive of healthcare and general public spending, even within parties. At the same time, the views of disabled citizens are rarely more congruent with the positions of disabled candidates than those of non-disabled candidates, except on healthcare spending. The study provides ground-breaking insights into the role of disability in policy preferences and political representation while also highlighting broader implications of how the descriptive–substantive representation link is analysed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN McALLISTER ◽  
ANTHONY MUGHAN

There is now general agreement that social class has declined in electoral importance in Britain in recent years. There is disagreement, however, about the role political attitudes have come to play in structuring the vote. This article builds on our previous research on political attitudes and voting in Britain by applying multivariate analysis to survey data collected for the 1983 general election. The analysis uses a sophisticated conceptualization of social class and political attitudes, and examines both their interrelationship and their conjoint influence on the vote. The results show, first, that the most salient political attitudes in the 1983 election, socialism and nuclearism, were significantly rooted in social class. Second, considered comparatively, attitudes were about three times as important an influence in the election as social class. Finally, a longitudinal analysis spanning the October 1974, 1979, and 1983 elections, confirms other research and indicates that there has been little fundamental change in the electorate's overall attitudinal structure but that the change there has been contributed to the Labour Party's falling vote over the three elections.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402098868
Author(s):  
Hae Jung Oh ◽  
Zhieh Lor ◽  
Jihyang Choi

In an era of news abundance, people increasingly feel uncertain as to whether they possess adequate information to participate in politics. However, previous research has not paid attention to the issue of such efficacy. To fill the gap, this study examines (a) how different types of news repertoire are associated with political information efficacy and (b) how perceived news overload mediates the relationship. The findings show that people have three distinct types of news repertoires, such as commentary-oriented, TV, and social media news repertoires, and those who consume news via a commentary-oriented news repertoire tend to have a higher level of political information efficacy, while the use of TV and social media news repertoires does not show significant effects on political information efficacy. In addition to that, the perceived news overload negatively mediates the link between all three types of news repertoires and political information efficacy. Two-wave original survey data were used for analyses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Webb ◽  
Tim Bale ◽  
Monica Poletti

Drawing on survey data on the members of six British parties gathered in the immediate aftermath of the general election of 2015, this article asks what motivates members to engage in high-intensity election campaign activism. It argues that two factors are especially prominent: the aspiration to pursue a career in politics (which only accounts for a small minority of these activists) and becoming integrated into a local social network (which accounts for a much larger proportion). By contrast, members who lack either of these characteristics, but are mainly motivated to join by ideological impulses, largely restrict themselves to low-intensity activity. These findings are likely to be especially pertinent to countries with single-member district electoral systems.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Makse ◽  
Anand E. Sokhey

The 2008 Democratic primary was marked by divisiveness as notable as its historic candidates. And while Barack Obama won the general election,political scientists would be remiss in studying divisive primary effects only when they are electorally decisive. Accordingly, we examine this largely forgotten storyline, searching for these effects throughout different segments of the electorate. Our analysis pursues evidence at multiple levels, focusing on the illustrative case of Franklin County in the bellwether state of Ohio. First, we use aggregate data and ecological inference to ascertain levels of abstention and defection among Clinton supporters, noting patterns in precincts. Next, we analyze original survey data drawn from individuals observed displaying yard signs, examining rates of participation within this engaged population. Overall, the evidence suggests that the primary produced lasting effects in terms of turnout, defection, and other participatory acts—effects that might have cost Obama the presidency under different circumstances.


Author(s):  
Shreya Bhattacharya

The contact hypothesis posits that having diverse neighbours may reduce one’s intergroup prejudice. This hypothesis is difficult to test as individuals self-select into neighbourhoods. Using a slum relocation programme in India that randomly assigned neighbours, I examine the effects of exposure to other-caste neighbours on trust and attitudes towards members of other castes. Combining administrative data on housing assignment with original survey data on attitudes, I find evidence corroborating the contact hypothesis. Exposure to more neighbours of other castes increases inter-caste trust, support for inter-caste marriage, and the belief that caste injustice is growing. I explore the role of friendships in facilitating these favourable attitudes. The findings shed light on the positive effects of exposure to diverse social groups through close proximity in neighbourhoods.


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