Myth and Reality of the Legitimacy Crisis

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Secular Decline ◽  
New Research ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
Legitimacy Crisis ◽  
Party Decline

Theories about legitimacy decline and legitimacy crisis are as old as democracy itself. Yet, representative democracy still exists, and empirical evidence for a secular decline of political support in established democracies is limited, questionable, or absent. This calls into question existing explanatory theories of legitimacy decline. How valid are theories of modernization, globalization, media malaise, social capital, and party decline, if the predicted outcome, i.e. secular decline of political support, does not occur? And which (new) explanations can account for the empirical variation in political support in established democracies? This book systematically evaluates: (a) the empirical evidence for legitimacy decline in established democracies, (b) the explanatory power of theories of legitimacy decline, and (c) promising new routes in investigating and assessing political legitimacy. In doing so, this volume provides a broad and thorough reflection on the state of the art of legitimacy research, and outlines a new research agenda on legitimacy. It brings together a broad team of accomplished scholars, approaching these questions from different angles based on their respective topic of expertise. The result is a set of studies that do not only provide state-of-the-art analytical and empirical analyses, but also provide original insights in the questions at hand.

A Legitimacy Crisis of Representative Democracy?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Thomassen ◽  
Carolien van Ham
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Short Description ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Systematic Fashion ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
Legitimacy Crisis

This chapter presents the research questions and outline of the book, providing a brief review of the state of the art of legitimacy research in established democracies, and discusses the recurring theme of crisis throughout this literature since the 1960s. It includes a discussion of the conceptualization and measurement of legitimacy, seeking to relate legitimacy to political support, and reflecting on how to evaluate empirical indicators: what symptoms indicate crisis? This chapter further explains the structure of the three main parts of the book. Part I evaluates in a systematic fashion the empirical evidence for legitimacy decline in established democracies; Part II reappraises the validity of theories of legitimacy decline; and Part II investigates what (new) explanations can account for differences in legitimacy between established democracies. The chapter concludes with a short description of the chapters included in the volume.

Studying Political Legitimacy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudy B. Andeweg ◽  
Kees Aarts
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Political Legitimacy ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Research Strategies ◽  
New Research ◽  
Legitimacy Crisis

This final chapter concludes with a reflection on the findings presented in the book, the implications of these findings for politics and political science, and suggestions for a new research agenda on legitimacy. The chapter concludes that the analyses in this volume do not provide evidence of legitimacy crisis. This leaves us with a puzzle, as the belief in such a legitimacy crisis is persistent, and it has proven to be quite resistant to evidence provided by political scientists on the basis of data such as analyzed in this book. This discrepancy between current data and public discourse must also prompt us to reflect on political science research: what have we done so far in selecting our concepts, data, research strategies, and empirical domain, and what can and should be improved? The chapter concludes with suggestions for new research on legitimacy.

Legitimacy Decline and Party Decline

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudy B. Andeweg ◽  
David M. Farrell
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Party Decline ◽  
Possible Cause

This chapter discusses the decline of political parties as a possible cause of the decline of legitimacy. Political parties constitute a link between the citizens and the political system, and therefore a loss of support could delegitimize the political system. However, the decline of political parties can only cause legitimacy decline if they are indeed in decline and if there is a causal relationship between citizens’ involvement in political parties and political support. The chapter argues that empirical evidence for party decline is limited, as parties may have undergone transformation rather than decline. Using ESS data from 2002 to 2010, the chapter finds only weak relations between political support and party membership and party closeness. However, being close to a particular party is more important than being a member of a political party, and is interpreted as a sign that the party system facilitates citizens in making meaningful political choices.

The Myth of Legitimacy Decline

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolien van Ham ◽  
Jacques Thomassen
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
European Values ◽  
Secular Decline ◽  
European Election ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
Election Studies

This chapter comprises an empirical evaluation of trends in political support within established democracies, to evaluate whether there is indeed a trend toward declining political support in established democracies. Using a variety of comparative data sets, i.e. the World Values Surveys, European Values Surveys, the European Election Studies, and the Eurobarometer surveys, this chapter reevaluates the empirical evidence for declining legitimacy, comparing trends in political support in sixteen established democracies from the mid-1970s to 2015. No consistent evidence is found for declining political support after the mid-1970s. Rather than a clear-cut long-term decline in political support that is apparent across established democracies, there is large variation between countries both in levels and trends of support. These findings call for a critical reappraisal of existing theories of legitimacy decline: how valid are such theories if the predicted outcome, i.e. secular decline of political support, does not occur?

Media Malaise and the Decline of Legitimacy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Van Aelst
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Political News ◽  
Negative Tone ◽  
Election News ◽  
Over Time

This chapter analyzes media malaise theories and their consequences for legitimacy. These theories argue that the increasing availability of information through new and old media and increasingly negative tone of media are to blame for declining legitimacy. The chapter examines these claims by providing a systematic review of empirical research on media and political support. It first investigates whether news coverage has become more negative over time, and then examines the micro process that might explain the link between media coverage and political support. Empirical evidence suggests that where coverage has become more negative, this occurred before the 1990s and has levelled off since, and is concentrated primarily in election news. Negative political news does have a modest impact on political support once controlled for level of education, but that effect can be positive and negative, depending on the medium, the receiver, and the indicator of political support.

scholarly journals Advances in the Application of Machine Learning Techniques for Power System Analytics: A Survey

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (16) ◽  
pp. 4776
Author(s):  
Seyed Mahdi Miraftabzadeh ◽  
Michela Longo ◽  
Federica Foiadelli ◽  
Marco Pasetti ◽  
Raul Igual
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Power Systems ◽  
Smart Grids ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Power Grids ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
New Research ◽  
Traditional Approaches

The recent advances in computing technologies and the increasing availability of large amounts of data in smart grids and smart cities are generating new research opportunities in the application of Machine Learning (ML) for improving the observability and efficiency of modern power grids. However, as the number and diversity of ML techniques increase, questions arise about their performance and applicability, and on the most suitable ML method depending on the specific application. Trying to answer these questions, this manuscript presents a systematic review of the state-of-the-art studies implementing ML techniques in the context of power systems, with a specific focus on the analysis of power flows, power quality, photovoltaic systems, intelligent transportation, and load forecasting. The survey investigates, for each of the selected topics, the most recent and promising ML techniques proposed by the literature, by highlighting their main characteristics and relevant results. The review revealed that, when compared to traditional approaches, ML algorithms can handle massive quantities of data with high dimensionality, by allowing the identification of hidden characteristics of (even) complex systems. In particular, even though very different techniques can be used for each application, hybrid models generally show better performances when compared to single ML-based models.

scholarly journals A escola como espaço de práticas educativas e de pesquisa em Permacultura: Estado da arte da produção científica

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-319
Author(s):  
Daniela Tomio ◽  
Daniela Andersen ◽  
Luciane Schulz
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Scientific Production ◽  
Educational Context ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Research School ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Art Research ◽  
New Research

A permacultura é um movimento internacional de pessoas, organizadas em comunidades ecológicas, que se engajam em buscar outras formas de produção e consumo mais sustentáveis. No contexto educacional este modelo de (com)viver é fundamento de projetos de escolas que buscam ressignificar seus tempos, espaços e relações sociais a partir práticas sustentáveis. Neste cenário, por meio de uma pesquisa de estado da arte, objetivamos caracterizar compreensões e métodos das pesquisas sobre práticas educativas em permacultura na escola, divulgadas na produção científica brasileira. O conhecimento sistematizado permite apontar lacunas e oportunizar reflexões para novas investigações, contribuindo para repensar o cotidiano escolar, ampliar referências e mobilizar para construção de uma rede de conhecimentos integrados entre a pesquisa acadêmica, a escola e as comunidades na direção de uma cultura permanente de relações sustentáveis. The Permaculture is an international movement of peoples, organized in ecological communities, which are engaged in seeking other forms of more sustainable production and consumption. In the educational context this model of (co)living is the foundation of projects of schools that seek to re-signify their times, spaces and social relations from sustainable practices. In this scenario, through state-of-the-art research, we aim to characterize understandings and methods of research on educational practices in permaculture at school, disseminated in Brazilian scientific production. Systematized knowledge allows us to point out gaps and to provide reflections for new research, contributing to rethinking school daily life, expanding references and mobilizing to build a network of integrated knowledge between academic research, school and communities towards a permanent culture of relationships sustainable development. La permacultura es un movimiento internacional de personas, organizadas en comunidades ecológicas, que se dedican a buscar otras formas de producción y consumo más sostenibles. En el contexto educativo este modelo de (con) vivir es fundamento de proyectos de escuelas que buscan resignificar sus tiempos, espacios y relaciones sociales a partir de prácticas sustentables. En este escenario, por medio de una investigación de estado del arte, pretendemos caracterizar comprensiones y métodos de las investigaciones sobre prácticas educativas en permacultura en la escuela, divulgadas en la producción científica brasileña. El conocimiento sistematizado permite apuntar lagunas y oportunizar reflexiones para nuevas investigaciones, contribuyendo a repensar el cotidiano escolar, a ampliar referencias y movilizar para la construcción de una red de conocimientos integrados entre la investigación académica, la escuela y las comunidades hacia una cultura permanente de relaciones sostenibles.

scholarly journals Interindi: una nueva perspectiva de investigación acerca del indigenismo / Interindi: A New Research Perspective on Indigenismo

2018 ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Laura Giraudo ◽  
Juan Martín Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Scientific Discussion ◽  
Professional Field ◽  
New Research ◽  
Empirical Contribution

This article presents the main objectives and outcomes of the Interindi research project: “El indigenismo interamericano: instituciones, redes y proyectos para un continente, 1940-1960”. Its most ambitious research objective is to provide a methodological, theoretical and empirical contribution to scientific discussion on indigenismo. After discussing the state of the art in this field, advances are offered for a new broader perspective based on two fundamental aspects: 1) the importance of consulting primary sources to explain indigenismo, and 2) the need to remove the discussion of the indigenous question and indigenismo from the auto-referential context in which it has developed.Key WordsIndigenismo, professional field, inter-American networks.ResumenEste artículo presenta los objetivos y resultados principales del proyecto de investigación Interindi: “El indigenismo interamericano: instituciones, redes y proyectos para un continente, 1940-1960”. El objetivo más ambicioso de la investigación es conseguir una contribución metodológica, teórica y empírica a la discusión científica acerca del indigenismo. Tras discutir el estado de la cuestión, se introducen los avances de una nueva perspectiva general que radica en dos aspectos fundamentales: 1) la importancia de acudir al estudio de las fuentes para explicar el indigenismo y 2) la necesidad de sacar la discusión sobre la cuestión indígena y el indigenismo del contexto autorreferencial en que se ha desarrollado.Palabras claveIndigenismo, campo profesional, redes interamericanas.

Children, Risks, and the Mobile Internet

2015 ◽  
pp. 1409-1418
Author(s):  
Giovanna Mascheroni ◽  
Leslie Haddon
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Mobile Communication ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Mobile Internet ◽  
Internet Studies ◽  
New Research

This article examines young people's use of smartphones, with a particular focus on opportunities and risks related to the mobile internet. Drawing on a review of mobile phones literature and internet studies, the article examines the emergence of a new research agenda in the study of children and mobile communication and outlines relevant empirical evidence of changes associated with smartphones.

Enhancing Women's Economic Empowerment Through Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

2019 ◽  
pp. 74-97
Author(s):  
Wassim J. Aloulou
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Economic Empowerment ◽  
Entrepreneurship Development ◽  
Saudi Women ◽  
Challenging Research ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Desk Research

This chapter aims, first, to explore the state of the art of women's economic empowerment as a challenging research inquiry that needs a real investigation and to explore the different mechanisms of entrepreneurship development for women. It presents, then, the evidence of how Saudi women are economically empowered and how their potential is unleashed and sparked through entrepreneurship mechanisms. This chapter is based on a literature review on women's economic empowerment and entrepreneurship and a desk research involving the collection and analysis of already available information in the country. It introduces a needed ecosystem for Saudi women's economic empowerment and highlights some main empirical evidence from selected initiatives. Moreover, the recommendation that this chapter advances would be helpful to the practitioners, researchers, planners, and policymakers who are involved in the concerned area. Further, it tries to contribute to the literature of economic empowering of women through entrepreneurship in an emerging economy.

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