Separating Candidate Valence and Proximity Voting: Determinants of Competitors’ Non-Policy Appeal

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Nyhuis
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political System ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Individual Vote ◽  
Valence Component ◽  
Proximity Voting ◽  
Previous Scholarship ◽  
Policy Agreement

Previous scholarship has provided ample evidence that non-spatial considerations can trump voters’ policy preferences in candidate selections. The literature has been less successful, however, in providing a sense of the factors that raise candidates’ non-policy appeal. Faced with the challenging task of separating policy and non-policy aspects of individual vote choices, empirical research has frequently relied on shorthand measures like candidate incumbency. This paper separates the valence component from policy-based candidate selections by explicitly supplying voters with information on the policy agreement between themselves and their district candidates. Relying on the distinction between campaign valence and character valence by Stone and Simas, it is shown that candidate valence is driven by candidate visibility in a party-dominated political system.

scholarly journals Modelos de democracia e espaços políticos: o caso da democracia participativa/Models of democracy and political spaces: the case of participatory democracy

2018 ◽  
pp. 126-146
Author(s):  
Daniel Abreu Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Political System ◽  
Participatory Democracy ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Political Space ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
The World ◽  
Models Of Democracy ◽  
Democratic Political System

RESUMOO presente artigo tem como objetivo principal trazer o conceito de espaço político e sua relação com o sistema político democrático, analisando, especificamente, o caso dos Conselhos Municipais e o modelo da democracia participativa. A partir dessa discussão teórico-conceitual, busca-se lançar luz, através de uma perspectiva geográfica, sobre a forma de governo que, ao mesmo tempo em que se expande no mundo, também tem sua legitimidade questionada. A partir de pesquisa empírica desenvolvida nos Conselhos Municipais do Rio de Janeiro entre os anos de 2015-2016, o artigo analisa especificamente o caso dos Conselhos Tutelares e questiona a legitimidade democrática dessas novas instituições brasileiras.Palavras-chave: espaço político, democracia participativa, Conselhos Municipais, Conselhos Tutelares, Rio de Janeiro. ABSTRACTThe main objective of this article is to bring the concept of political space and its relation to the democratic political system, specifically analyzing the case of Municipal Councils and the model of participatory democracy. From this theoretical-conceptual discussion, we seek to highligh, through a geographical perspective, the form of government that, at the same time it expands in the world, also it has its legitimacy questioned. Based on empirical research developed in the Municipal Councils of Rio de Janeiro between the years 2015-2016, the article specifically analyzes the case of the Tutelary Councils and the democratic legitimacy of these new Brazilian institutions.Keywords: political space, participatory democracy, Municipal Councils, Tutelary Councils, Rio de Janeiro.

scholarly journals Immediate rewards or delayed gratification? A conjoint survey experiment of the public’s policy preferences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Serup Christensen ◽  
Lauri Rapeli
Keyword(s):  
Political Trust ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Delayed Gratification ◽  
Distant Future ◽  
Temporal Aspect ◽  
Electoral Cycles ◽  
Societal Problems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Previous Scholarship

Abstract Previous scholarship has focused primarily on how citizens’ form policy preferences and how those preferences are taken into account in democratic decision-making. However, the temporal aspect of policy preferences has received little attention, although many significant societal problems have consequences that extend far into the future. To fill the gap, we examine to what extent citizens are willing to support policies, when rewards can only be expected after several electoral cycles. Using a conjoint survey experiment, we demonstrate that while a slight tendency towards more immediate policy rewards is discernible, citizens are not as impatient as has been widely assumed. In contrast with previous research, political trust does not affect the impact of the time horizon of policy choice. Instead, we find that people with higher education are more likely to choose policies the benefits of which materialize in the distant future. These findings add to the growing evidence which suggests that citizens’ short-sightedness is not a very strong driver of democratic myopia.

The Electoral Implications of Candidate Ambiguity

2009 ◽  
Vol 103 (01) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
MICHAEL TOMZ ◽  
ROBERT P. VAN HOUWELING
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Experimental Finding ◽  
Winning Strategy ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Survey Experiments

Candidates often make ambiguous statements about the policies they intend to pursue. In theory, ambiguity affects how voters make choices and who wins elections. In practice, measurement and endogeneity problems have impeded empirical research about the consequences of ambiguity. We conducted survey experiments that overcame these obstacles by manipulating a common form of ambiguity: the imprecision of candidate positions. Our data show that, on average, ambiguity does not repel and may, in fact, attract voters. In nonpartisan settings, voters who have neutral or positive attitudes toward risk, or who feel uncertain about their own policy preferences, tend to embrace ambiguity. In partisan settings, voters respond even more positively to ambiguity; they optimistically perceive the locations of ambiguous candidates from their own party without pessimistically perceiving the locations of vague candidates from the opposition. We further find, through analysis of two additional new data sets, that candidates often take—and voters frequently perceive—ambiguous positions like the ones in our experiments. The pervasive use of ambiguity in campaigns fits with our experimental finding that ambiguity can be a winning strategy, especially in partisan elections.

Must Radicals be Marxists? Lukes on Power, Contestability and Alienation

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political System ◽  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
General Concept ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Equal Weight

According to Steven Lukes ‘A exercises power over B when A affects A in a manner contrary to B's interests’. Although he is not willing to contend that this general concept of power is altogether beyond reasonable dispute Lukes argues that it is the specific conceptions of power to which this more general concept gives rise when we fill in what is to count as B's interests that pose the fundamental problem for social and political science. For, although the conceptions are, to some degree, assessable in terms of their descriptive accuracy and explanatory scope, they are also ‘ineradicably evaluative’ and ‘essentially contested’. Three important ‘normatively specific conceptions of interests’, implying three corresponding conceptions of power, particularly concern him:(1) the liberal conception, which relates men's interests to what they actually want or prefer, to their policy preferences as manifested by their political participation; (2) the reformist conception, which, deploring that not all men's wants are given equal weight within the political system, also relates their interests to what they actually want and prefer, but allows that this may be revealed in the form of deflected, submerged, or concealed wants and preferences; and (3) the radical conception, which maintains that men's wants may themselves be a product of a system which works against their interests and, in such cases, relates the latter to what men would want and prefer, were they able to make the choice.

Tribes and Proto-Tribes: The Deep Roots of Political Differences

The Forum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-414
Author(s):  
John R. Hibbing
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Political Differences

Abstract People belong to political tribes that support particular positions on a variety of substantive policy topics; however, when the topics that divide a polity involve identity, in-groups, out-groups, core institutions, homogeneity, diversity, security from outsiders, and immigration, tribalism will be especially ferocious and debilitating. I refer to tribes based on these core matters as proto-tribes because the issues involved connect to our species’ evolutionary past. Due to longstanding individual predispositions, people manifest deep policy preferences either 1) to protect their society’s insider populations and institutions by being relentlessly vigilant against the intrusions of human outsiders, especially immigrants or 2) to enrich their society by embracing diverse outsiders and by being vigilant against the untoward power of insider institutions. Whenever societal conflict centers on proto-tribes—as was the case in the 1860s and 1960s and is the case today—rather than tribes that emphasize positions on issues such as taxes, regulations, transgender rights, and preferred governmental structure, the political system will be endangered.

The legislative representation of public opinion policy priorities in Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Visconti
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political System ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Longitudinal Analyses ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Legislative Agendas ◽  
Legislative Representation ◽  
Policy Problems

Normative democratic theory requires political actors in parliament and government to represent not only the citizens’ policy preferences, but also their issue priorities. This article investigates Italian dynamic agenda representation – the transmission of public priorities into the policy priorities of the Italian political system. To assess the public’s policy priorities, data on the Most Important Problem from the Eurobarometer polls are used, while the legislative agendas of the members of parliament (MPs) and government are built following the rules of the Comparative Agendas Project. The results of longitudinal analyses across 10 policy areas and 20 semesters (2003–13) suggest a persistent link between the public’s agenda and the prioritization of legislation by the Italian parliament, majority MPs, and government. Contrary to expectations, the opposition does not seem to be responsive to public opinion policy problems when introducing bills.

scholarly journals The Catalan Conflict in Spain: Consequences for the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 2018 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Татьяна Вербицкая ◽  
Tatyana Verbitskaya ◽  
Полина Гилева ◽  
Polina Gileva ◽  
Федор Золотарев ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political System ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Systemic Approach ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Video Recordings

The present paper identifies the specific features of the conflict between Madrid and Catalonia and its significance for the European Union. The Catalan conflict serves here as an example of the regionalism processes in the European Union. The author defines the conflict as postmodern, which determines the novelty of the research. The research employed integrated scientific methods. The comparative method was used to compare the economic, social, cultural, and political positions and aspects of Catalonia and Spain; the method of actualization was used to describe the situation taking into account the specifics of the region; the method of structural analysis was used to study the content of the conflict. The authors applied the systemic approach since the structure of the Spanish political system is extremely complex. Analytical expert articles, news reports, and video recordings were used as an empirical research base. As a result, some features of the conflict in the postmodern world were revealed and exemplified by the Catalan crisis.

scholarly journals Policy Preferences Of Political Party Leaders And The Mass Public: A Southern Perspective

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Mark C. Ellickson
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Vital Functions ◽  
American Party

In recent years there has been a steady stream of literature proclaiming the decline of the American party system (Burnham, 1976; Kirkpatrick, 1978; Ladd, 1982; Crotty, 1984, 1985; Konda and Sigelman, 1987). It is argued that the parties have been losing their “ relevance,” their critical capacity in responding to social needs and problems (Eldersveld, 1982; Miller and Wattenberg, 1983). This allegation entails serious ramifications as political parties have long been viewed as performing many vital functions in the American political system (Leiserson, 1958; Sorauf, 1984).

Conclusion

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Bailey ◽  
Forrest Maltzman
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Influence ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Attitudinal Model ◽  
The Law

This concluding chapter first summarizes the book's key themes. These are that justices are influenced by more than just the policy preferences emphasized by the attitudinal model; the law matters for justices; and the influence of specific legal doctrines varies across justices. These findings have important implications for understanding the political context of the Court. What does it mean for the legitimacy of the Court that both law and policy influence justices? What do the existence and patterns of these non-policy influences mean for the Court in it relations with the rest of the political system? The remainder of the chapter is devoted to exploring such questions.

Selecting the Optimal FM System for Children With Cochlear Implants

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
Erin C. Schafer
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Speech Processor ◽  
System Input ◽  
Optimal Type

Children who use cochlear implants experience significant difficulty hearing speech in the presence of background noise, such as in the classroom. To address these difficulties, audiologists often recommend frequency-modulated (FM) systems for children with cochlear implants. The purpose of this article is to examine current empirical research in the area of FM systems and cochlear implants. Discussion topics will include selecting the optimal type of FM receiver, benefits of binaural FM-system input, importance of DAI receiver-gain settings, and effects of speech-processor programming on speech recognition. FM systems significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio at the child's ear through the use of three types of FM receivers: mounted speakers, desktop speakers, or direct-audio input (DAI). This discussion will aid audiologists in making evidence-based recommendations for children using cochlear implants and FM systems.

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