Elections in Non-Democracies*.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgy Egorov ◽  
Konstantin Sonin
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

Abstract Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of a democratic system, but elections are common in other regimes as well. Such an election might be a pure farce, with the incumbents getting close to 100% of the vote. In other instances, incumbents allow opposition candidates to be on the ballot and run campaigns, limit electoral fraud, e.g., by inviting international observers, all to make elections appear fair. In our model, the incumbent is informed about his popularity, and having a fair election allows him to signal his popularity to the people. After casting their vote, heterogeneous citizens decide whether or not to participate in a protest, and they are more willing to do so if they expect others to protest as well. We demonstrate theoretically that regimes that have a high level of elite repression are less likely to have fair elections, but regimes with a high cost of protesting for ordinary citizens make fair elections more likely.

scholarly journals The Sense of “Pleasure” in Eastern Chant

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-138
Author(s):  
Achilleas Chaldaeakes
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Area ◽  
Medieval Period ◽  
Late Medieval ◽  
Philosophical Dialogue ◽  
Relevant Evidence ◽  
Late Medieval Period ◽  
The People ◽  
Ability To Act ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So

Abstract Music is by default a key element of every kind of Entertainment. Actually, the two terms (Pleasure and Music) are almost synonymous in the geographical area of the East - especially during the late medieval period - and there is a plethora of relevant evidence in the rescued literature and musicological sources to support this argument. It seems that there is a mutual and interactive “dialogue” between the two terms. This is an ideological and philosophical dialogue, as well as a completely fundamental and practical one: the musicians (the people who actually carry out the musical task) channel in abundance and mainly ensure the pleasure of the people who participate in any type of entertainment; and they do so through both their presence and their performance. However, at the same time, in order to acquire the ability to act in this way, i.e. to bring the “entertaining” dimension of music to the forefront, they themselves have to be in a position to experience music as pleasure, to grasp the multiple gratifications which are hidden at the very core of every kind of music. In both circumstances we can refer to two high level conquests of the Spirit and the Art: the pleasure of Music and music for Pleasure. In the present article Ι will attempt a first approach of the issue and an outline of its twofold dimension.

scholarly journals Satisfaction With Democracy: When Government by the People Brings Electoral Losers and Winners Together

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110243
Author(s):  
Lucas Leemann ◽  
Isabelle Stadelmann-Steffen
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Extensive Survey ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Do So

The last decade has witnessed the rise of populist parties and a number of actors that question liberal democracy. Many explanations of this rely on dissatisfied citizens. We ask in this article whether and how institutions allowing citizens to participate in policy-making affect differences in democratic satisfaction within varying representative contexts as well as between electoral winners and losers. To do so, we first develop a measure of sub-national direct democracy and then use it together with extensive survey data to investigate how direct democracy is associated with citizens’ evaluation of their democratic system. We conclude that direct democracy is not generally related to more satisfied people but rather closes the “satisfaction-gap” between electoral winners and losers. In contrast to previous research, we demonstrate that this mechanism holds across different representative systems.

scholarly journals Criminality and election outcomes in Nigeria

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Barnabas Suleiman
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
The People ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Form Of Government ◽  
Process And Outcome ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Multistage Sampling

<p>This study explores democratic practice in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in the light of globally prescribed and acceptable norms, tenets and values of democracy as a form of government. The study was conducted in Nigeria and adopted a multistage sampling technique to administer questionnaire to 700 delegates across the six (6) geopolitical zones of Nigeria’s 36 States. The results and findings show that Nigeria’s democracy is plagued with massive electoral fraud, including intimidation, disenfranchisement of eligible contestants and voters from participating in the democratic process, corruption of the election process, scam, and fraudulent declaration of winners of elections. The implications of such democratic deceit in Nigeria’s democracy includes voter apathy resulting from lack of confidence in the democratic process and outcome, violence and political instability and the nonparticipation of qualified and honest  citizens in the politics of Nigeria. Consequently, leaders that emerge from Nigeria’s democratic politics are not always the choice of the people, which explains why they are not accountable to the people as well as why there is deficit of public trust in Nigeria’s democratic system.</p>

The Many Faces of Corruption

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajit Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Political Corruption ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Many ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So ◽  
Ordinary Citizens ◽  
Petty Corruption

As is well known, corruption has several faces, ranging from petty corruption, where ordinary citizens have to pay bribes to get goods and services, to high level political corruption. Anti-corruption policies have to take cognizance of the possible trade-offs existing between different forms of corruption such as collusion, extortion, embezzlement, and bribery. Efforts to control one form may encourage another. In such a context, the chapter argues that, despite its lower value and gift-like manifestation, extortive petty corruption is not to be ignored as it creates a ‘culture’ of corruption which contributes to its persistence. This form of corruption spreads easily as victims of bribery are more likely to seek bribes when they are given the chance to do so.

Exploring cross-border integration in Europe: How do populations cross borders and perceive their neighbours?

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Decoville ◽  
Frédéric Durand
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Border Regions ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
The People ◽  
European Unity ◽  
Free Movement Of Goods ◽  
High Level ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
Do So

Since its creation, the European Union seems to be guided by the idea that an increase in cross-border flows contributes to more European unity. Thus, emphasis has been placed for instance on lowering customs tariffs and encouraging the free movement of goods and people. However, if the opening up of borders creates new opportunities for some residents of border regions, there are others who may not benefit. For this reason, and in a context characterized by the rise of Euroscepticism, it seems crucial to take a more critical look at actual cross-border integration and to unravel its concrete consequences for the people who live in border regions. This paper aims to do so by focusing on two aspects of this process: the functional dimension, through the number of cross-border activities, and the perceptions border residents have of their neighbours, through the level of mutual social trust. The EUROBAROMETER 422 survey is used in order to produce statistical analyses and maps. This enables us to offer a new image of European cross-border integration and to draw the following conclusions. Firstly, cross-border flows are not uniform and vary greatly from one cross-border area to another. Secondly, cross-border regions in which the intensity of flows between neighbouring regions is high do not necessarily show a high level of mutual social trust between borderland populations. Thirdly, there is not always reciprocity with regard to the mutual social trust that people have towards their neighbours within cross-border areas.

scholarly journals Automated Teller Machine-Based Voting System

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Ayokunle A.O. ◽  
Martin E. ◽  
Ernest E.O. ◽  
Izang A. ◽  
Ajayi W. ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Identity Theft ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Electoral Fraud ◽  
Automated Teller Machines ◽  
The People ◽  
Automated Teller Machine ◽  
The World ◽  
Voting System ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Debit Cards

Voting is a critical element of any election which involves the processes of electing leaders or representatives into positions of authority in a democratic system of government. In most developing countries of the world, this process is usually marred with challenges of confidentiality, integrity, availability and auditability such as falsification of results, identity theft, theft of ballot boxes, multiple voting problems, over voting, and electoral fraud. This paper presents a framework for Automated Teller Machine-based voting system that solves the aforementioned challenges of the current voting system by using the existing Automated Teller Machines and debit cards issued for voting. Going further to implement the solution proposed in this paper will enhance and guarantee the credibility of the electoral processes and show a true reflection of the wishes of the people.

Delicate Years: Children and Identity in Zimbabwean Literature

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine Muganiwa
Keyword(s):  
Growing Up ◽  
Economic Crises ◽  
Child Characters ◽  
The People ◽  
Do So

The paper argues that children face challenges in growing up and fitting into their societies and that these challenges need to be addressed with care. These challenges, which are complicated by the effects of colonialism, war and economic crises in the context of Zimbabwe, are portrayed in the novels Nervous Conditions (Dangarembga 1989), The Book of Not (Dangarembga 2006), The Uncertainty of Hope (Tagwira 2006) and Running with Mother (Mlalazi 2012). In analysing the characters of the children portrayed in these four novels, the vulnerability of children, regardless of their age, is demonstrated. The child characters strive to help their parents and be useful citizens and yet at times this contrasts with their desire to be sheltered and treated as children. This contradiction is best exhibited in teenagers who try to fashion their own identity that is separate from the people around them but who still require guidance to do so.

scholarly journals Populism, Twitter, and COVID-19: Narrative, Fantasies, and Desires

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 294
Author(s):  
Laura Cervi ◽  
Fernando García ◽  
Carles Marín Lladó
Keyword(s):  
Text Analysis ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Ability To Work ◽  
The Core ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The People ◽  
Working People ◽  
The Government ◽  
Do So

During a global pandemic, the great impact of populist discourse on the construction of social reality is undeniable. This study analyzes the fantasmatic dimension of political discourse from Donald Trump’s and Jair Bolsonaro’s Twitter accounts between 1 March and 31 May. To do so, it applies a Clause-Based Semantic Text Analysis (CBSTA) methodology that categorizes speech in Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) triplets. The study findings show that in spite of the Coronavirus pandemic, the main beatific and horrific subjects remain the core populist signifiers: the people and the elite. While Bolsonaro’s narrative was predominantly beatific, centered on the government, Trump’s was mostly horrific, centered on the elite. Trump signified the pandemic as a subject and an enemy to be defeated, whereas Bolsonaro portrayed it as a circumstance. Finally, both leaders defined the people as working people, therefore their concerns about the pandemic were focused on the people’s ability to work.

scholarly journals Mapping of affordability levels for photovoltaic-based electricity generation in the solar belt of sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and South Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sándor Szabó ◽  
Irene Pinedo Pascua ◽  
Daniel Puig ◽  
Magda Moner-Girona ◽  
Mario Negre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
Term Operation ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So

AbstractLack of access to modern forms of energy hampers efforts to reduce poverty. The provision of electricity to off-grid communities is therefore a long-standing developmental goal. Yet, many off-grid electrification projects neglect mid- and long-term operation and maintenance costs. When this is the case, electricity services are unlikely to be affordable to the communities that are the project’s primary target. Here we show that, compared with diesel-powered electricity generation systems, solar photovoltaic systems are more affordable to no less than 36% of the unelectrified populations in East Asia, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. We do so by developing geo-referenced estimates of affordability at a high level of resolution (1 km2). The analysis illustrates the differences in affordability that may be found at the subnational level, which underscores that electrification investments should be informed by subnational data.

scholarly journals Idiosyncratic volatility, option-based measures of informed trading, and investor attention

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannes Mohrschladt ◽  
Judith C. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Stock Returns ◽  
Idiosyncratic Volatility ◽  
Investor Attention ◽  
Intuitive Idea ◽  
Joint Examination ◽  
Stock Market Investors ◽  
Private Investors ◽  
High Level ◽  
Do So ◽  
Option Market

AbstractWe establish a direct link between sophisticated investors in the option market, private stock market investors, and the idiosyncratic volatility (IVol) puzzle. To do so, we employ three option-based volatility spreads and attention data from Google Trends. In line with the IVol puzzle, the volatility spreads indicate that sophisticated investors indeed consider high-IVol stocks as being overvalued. Moreover, the option measures help to distinguish overpriced from fairly priced high-IVol stocks. Thus, these measures are able to predict the IVol puzzle’s magnitude in the cross-section of stock returns. Further, we link the origin of the IVol puzzle to the trading activity of irrational private investors as the return predictability only exists among stocks that receive a high level of private investor attention. Overall, our joint examination of option and stock markets sheds light on the behavior of different investor groups and their contribution to the IVol puzzle. Thereby, our analyses support the intuitive idea that noise trading leads to mispricing, which is identified by sophisticated investors and exploited in the option market.

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