The local appropriation of democracy: an analysis of the municipal elections in Parakou, Republic of Benin, 2002–03

2006 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 543-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Bierschenk
Keyword(s):  
Local Politics ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
African Context ◽  
Republic Of Benin ◽  
Considerable Pressure

Ever since the ‘democratic renewal’ of 1989–90, Benin has been regarded as a model democracy in the African context. The holding of local elections in 2002–03 can be seen as the culmination of this turn to democracy. Donors attach high expectations to decentralisation and local democracy. Based on an empirical analysis of municipal elections in Parakou, the country's third-largest city, the paper tries to gauge whether these expectations have been realised. The paper argues that while multi-party democracy has been instituted under considerable pressure from the outside, the particular form it has taken derives instead from rationales of national and local politics which go back to the late colonial period, and from recent developments in Benin's rent-based economy.

The Insulation of Local Politics Under the Nonpartisan Ballot

1959 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 1052-1063 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver P. Williams ◽  
Charles R. Adrian
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Municipal Elections

The purpose of this article is to analyze the relationships between partisan and nonpartisan voting patterns in four cities using nonpartisan municipal elections. It is part of a larger comparative study on the process of policy formation in middle-sized cities. The data have been used to test the nonpartisan rationale which states that the removal of party labels from the ballot insulates local elections from state and national political party influences.The “insulation” argument states that national political parties do not and cannot adequately serve the needs of the local political unit. Their intrusion into the local scene invariably represents the introduction of irrelevancies which confuse the voters and prevent them from dwelling on local issues in city elections. Thus, the nonpartisan idea is partially based on the belief that local democracy will be improved through rationalizing its political universe. Citizens will choose well if specific, pertinent, and familiar questions are posed to them.

scholarly journals Post-election Survey Data: Local Democracy and the 2018 Local Elections in the Czech Republic

Data in Brief ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 107039
Author(s):  
Pavel Šaradín ◽  
Tomáš Lebeda ◽  
Jakub Lysek ◽  
Michal Soukop ◽  
Daniela Ostrá ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
The Czech Republic

Sustaining Labor Politics in Hard Times: Race, Labor, and Coalition Building in Racine, Wisconsin

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 41-63
Author(s):  
Naomi R Williams
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Coalition Building ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Industrial Workers ◽  
Labor Politics ◽  
Working People ◽  
Hard Times ◽  
The 1960S

Abstract This article explores the shifting politics of the Racine, Wisconsin, working-class community from World War II to the 1980s. It looks at the ways Black workers’ activism influenced local politics and how their efforts played out in the 1970s and 1980s. Case studies show how an expansive view of the boundaries of the Racine labor community led to cross-sector labor solidarity and labor-community coalitions that expanded economic citizenship rights for more working people in the city. The broad-based working-class vision pursued by the Racine labor community influenced local elections, housing and education, increased the number of workers with the power of unions behind them, and improved Racine's economic and social conditions. By the 1980s, Racine's labor community included not only industrial workers but also members of welfare and immigrants’ rights groups, parents of inner-city students, social workers and other white-collar public employees, and local and state politicians willing to support a class-based agenda in the political arena. Worker activists’ ability to maintain and adapt their notion of a broad-based labor community into the late twentieth century shows how this community and others like it responded to the upheaval of the 1960s social movements by creating a broad and relatively successful concept of worker solidarity that also incorporated racial justice.

Newspaper news exposure predicts political participation

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esther Thorson ◽  
Scott Swafford ◽  
Eunjin (Anna) Kim
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Government Structure ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Political News ◽  
Perceived Importance

This study reports a survey of media use, political knowledge, and participation in local elections by people in three small Midwest communities. This study showed that newspaper political news exposure strongly predicted political participation, perceived importance of local municipal elections, and self-reported voting. It did not, however, predict knowledge about local government structure.

scholarly journals Women Mayors in Portugal: A Case Study in Political Representation and Citizenship

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (68) ◽  
pp. 27-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Antónia de Figueiredo Pires de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Positive Effects

Abstract Introduction The article presents a historical analysis of the participation of women in Portuguese politics and reveals the positive effects of the introduction of the parity law in 2006. In the 2015 national elections, for the first time one third of the elected the Members of the Portuguese Parliament were women. However, in municipalities there is still a long way to go to reach this level of female political representation. Does the political system limit women’s access only to elected positions? Thus, important questions remain: why are women still a minority in local politics? What obstacles do they encounter? And what can be done to improve the situation? Materials and Methods For this investigation, data were collected on the electronic pages of municipalities and political parties, as well as in the press, to monitor the evolution of the presence of women in Portuguese local government, initially as members of the administrative commissions appointed to manage municipal councils from 1974 to the first elections that took place on December 12, 1976 and then as elected representatives from 1976 to the latest 2017 local elections, comparing this level with central government. Results The study of this group reveals higher educational levels and more specialized jobs among women than among men, particularly in teaching and management. There is also discussion of partisan membership and it is revealed that left-wing parties invest more in women for local government than do right-wing parties. Discussion Although four decades have passed since the democratic regime was established, the representation of women in politics is still incipient. We present some examples of policy actions that can encourage the presence of women in local government and increase their role as active citizens.

scholarly journals Recent Developments in Clinical Applications of Mesenchymal Stem Cells in the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Jihwan Hwang ◽  
Yeri Alice Rim ◽  
Yoojun Nam ◽  
Ji Hyeon Ju
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Joint Function ◽  
Safety And Efficacy ◽  
High Expectations ◽  
Recent Developments

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies have been used as cell-based treatments for decades, owing to their anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and regenerative properties. With high expectations, many ongoing clinical trials are investigating the safety and efficacy of MSC therapies to treat arthritic diseases. Studies on osteoarthritis (OA) have shown positive clinical outcomes, with improved joint function, pain level, and quality of life. In addition, few clinical MSC trials conducted on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have also displayed some optimistic outlook. The largely positive outcomes in clinical trials without severe side effects establish MSCs as promising tools for arthritis treatment. However, further research is required to investigate its applicability in clinical settings. This review discusses the most recent advances in clinical studies on MSC therapies for OA and RA.

scholarly journals Does Property Ownership Lead to Participation in Local Politics? Evidence from Property Records and Meeting Minutes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Yoder
Keyword(s):  
Local Politics ◽  
City Council ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Property Ownership ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Property Owner ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Property Owners

Homeowners and renters have participated in politics at different rates throughout American history, but does becoming a property owner motivate an individual to par- ticipate in local politics? I combine deed-level property records in California and Texas with an original dataset on individual comments in local city council meetings to study the role of property ownership in shaping costly forms of political behavior, and I document large inequalities in who participates at city council meetings. I also link property records to individual-level contribution records and administrative voter files and find that becoming a property owner increases an individual’s political activity. Over and above voting in local elections, property ownership motivates individuals to participate in local city council meetings and donate to candidates. These findings illustrate how the experience of homeownership leads property owners to become much more active in local politics.

scholarly journals How COVID-19 affects voting for incumbents: Evidence from local elections in France

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davide Morisi ◽  
Héloïse Cloléry ◽  
Guillaume Kon Kam King ◽  
Max Schaub
Keyword(s):  
Propensity Score ◽  
Excess Mortality ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Mortality Data ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Municipal Elections ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Fear And Anxiety

How do voters react to an ongoing natural threat? We address this question by investigating voters’ reactions to the early spread of COVID-19 in the 2020 French municipal elections. Using a novel, fine-grained measure of the circulation of the virus based on excess-mortality data, we find that support for incumbents increased in the areas that were particularly hit by the virus. Incumbents from both left and right gained votes in areas more strongly affected by COVID-19. The results are robust to a placebo test and hold across different methods, including regressions with lagged dependent variables, a differences-in-differences approach and propensity score matching. We also provide indirect evidence for two mechanisms that can explain our findings: an emotional channel related to feelings of fear and anxiety, and a prospective-voting channel, related to the ability of incumbents to act more swiftly against the diffusion of the virus than challengers.

scholarly journals Analysis of the Influence of Local Politics on Implementation SDGs 4 Policy for Quality Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 196-204
Author(s):  
Wilda Rasaili ◽  
Dafik Dafik ◽  
Rachmat Hidayat ◽  
Hadi Prayitno
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Quality Education ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Public Meetings ◽  
A Value ◽  
Political Interests

SDGs-4, the quality education is one of the factors in achieving the goals of the SDGs. The problem is that the SDGs look ambitious in integrating local level policies that are responsive to political interests. The research used a mixed method of exploration, searching for interview data and questionnaires. The results showed that the implementation of the SDGs was strongly influenced by local democracy. The implementation of the promotion of SDGs requires strengthening local politics and democracy, including; the quality of the Pilkada, the role of the community, political parties, media control, and public meetings. The influence of local democracy on policy implementation is 51.5%. Policy implementation has a positive effect on the implementation of the SDGs with a value of 0.187. The influence of local democracy and policy implementation on the promotion of SDGs-4 is 64.2% and the remaining 35.8% is influenced by other factors.

scholarly journals Pemilihan Kepala Daerah (Pilkada) dan Tantangan Demokrasi Lokal di Indonesia

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suyatno Suyatno
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
New Order ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Democratic Responsiveness ◽  
Local Leader ◽  
People Participation ◽  
Local Leaders

<p>Direct local leader elections (Pilkada) had replaced indirect local elections. It based on the spirit of people empowerment to participate choosing local leaders more democratic. Responsiveness is an important element besides participation which represent local democracy. These two variables will decide the local elections that can enhance the quality of local democracy. This paper uses qualitative methodology to analyze the data of participation and responsiveness of Pilkada as an important variables in local democracy. People participation in Pilkada is not as high as the participation in New Order elections. Their participation are more substantive because accompanied assessment of the level of responsiveness of a local leader. Incumbent successful running of local responsiveness will get continued success as the next local elections victory. In contrast, incumbent who failed in the implementation of responsiveness will obtain defeat. Victory and defeat incumbent in the election can be stated that the relevance of participation and responsiveness become very important in the local democratic process as a whole.</p>

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