Welfare Dualism in Two Scandinavian Welfare States: Public Opinion and Party Politics

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann-Helén Bay ◽  
Henning Finseraas ◽  
Axel West Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Welfare States

Public Opinion, Party Politics, and the Welfare State

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Lindvall ◽  
David Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Party System ◽  
Median Voter ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Welfare State

This chapter examines the long-run relationship between public opinion, party politics, and the welfare state. It argues that when large parties receive a clear signal concerning the median voter’s position on the welfare state, vote-seeking motivations dominate and the large parties in the party system converge on the position of the median voter. When the position of the median voter is more difficult to discern, however, policy-seeking motivations dominate, and party positions diverge. This argument implies that the effects of government partisanship on welfare state policy are more ambiguous than generally understood. The countries covered in the chapter are Denmark, France, Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom (going back to the 1960s). The number of observations is (necessarily) limited, but the diverse cases illustrate a common electoral dynamic centered around the position of the median voter.

Welfare States and Public Opinion

2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Myles
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Welfare States

Conclusion: ‘Female Politicians’?

2019 ◽  
pp. 172-180
Author(s):  
Jennifer Davey
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Victorian Britain ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Political Narratives ◽  
Informal Politics ◽  
Female Politicians ◽  
High Politics

This conclusion explores what Mary’s life in politics might tell us about political life in Victorian Britain. It argues that Mary’s life illuminates particular aspects of Victorian political culture. In particular, it stresses the importance of incorporating informal political processes into the construction of high political narratives. It suggests that focusing on the activities of informal politics might offer new insights into familiar preoccupations of historians of high politics: of parliamentary dynamics, of party politics, of civil servants, and of public opinion.

Party Politics and Free Speech in Democratic Athens

1937 ◽  
Vol 7 (19) ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
Lionel Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Free Speech ◽  
Social System ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
The State ◽  
The Right

One of the privileges which the Athenians prized very highly was parrhesia—the right of free speech. From the foundation of the democracy until the dangers of uncensored speech in the Pelopon-nesian War made some restraint advisable this privilege remained unimpaired, and it is an important part of their political, if not of their social, system. The recognition of this right of free speech should mean that no grievance need remain unspoken, and that politicians could be well informed about the state of public opinion.

scholarly journals Measuring corruption: whose perceptions should we rely on? Evidence from Iceland"

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gissur Ólafur Erlingsson ◽  
Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
General Public ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Perceptual Bias ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
The Public ◽  
Corruption Perception ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
International Corruption

The extent of corruption in Iceland is highly contested. International corruption measures indicate a relatively small amount of corruption while domestic public opinion suggest a serious corruption problem. Thus, uncertainty prevails about the actual extent of corruption and whose perceptions to rely on. This problem is relevant for corruption research in general. Perceptions are increasingly used as proxies for the actual levels of corruption in comparative research. But we still do not know enough about the accuracy of these proxies or the criteria they must meet in order to give dependable results. In fact, radical differences exist concerning evaluations of perceptions between those who believe in unbiased learning and those believing perceptual bias to be widespread. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to attempt to gauge which factors may influence how perceptions of corruption are shaped and why differences in corruption perceptions between different groups may be so pronounced. We present findings from original survey data from three parallel surveys – among the "public", experts, and "municipal practitioners" – conducted in Iceland in 2014. Expectations based on the perceptual bias approach are tested, indicating that perceptions may be affected by (1) information factors, (2) direct experience of corruption and (3) emotive factors. The validity of perception measures should be considered with this in mind. Domestic experts are likely to be well informed and avoid perceptual bias to a greater extent than other groups. Our examination of the Icelandic case suggests that the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) tends to underestimate corruption problems in "mature welfare states", such as Iceland, whilst the general public tends to overestimate it.

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