Institutional Structures, Party Selection, and Spotty Tights

2019 ◽  
pp. 194-216
Author(s):  
Thomas Hennessey ◽  
Máire Braniff ◽  
James W. McAuley ◽  
Jonathan Tonge ◽  
Sophie A. Whiting
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Participation ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Female Attitudes ◽  
Local Councillors ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Nationalist Parties

Chapter 9 assesses the representation and roles of women in the UUP. Women represent 30 per cent of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and 25 per cent of local councillors However, compared to other devolved institutions, where female representation is 42 and 35 per cent in the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament respectively, Northern Ireland politics maintains a significant gender deficit, as nationality and religion tend to eclipse a gender focus. The gender deficit within unionist politics is stark when compared with nationalist parties. The chapter accounts for the reasons behind the gender deficit in the UUP, where there is low female party membership and elected representation. The chapter discusses how female participation is promoted. It examines male and female attitudes to women in the party, utilizing survey evidence on views of quotas, on whether female elected representatives can better represent women’s interests, and whether women have significant voice.

4. What People Think and Do about Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 101-145
Author(s):  
Peter John
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Citizen Attitudes ◽  
Local Councillors ◽  
Elected Representatives

This chapter focuses on citizen attitudes, values, cultures, and behaviours, which underpin the British political system. Particularly important is voting for elected representatives, whether MPs, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), Members of the Senedd (MSs), Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs), directly elected mayors, police and crime commissioners (PCCs), local councillors, or even parish councillors. Then there are extensive forms of political participation from citizens and groups, ranging from complaining to public authorities to protesting. Both voting and participation are linked to wider attitudes and beliefs about politics. The chapter also provides an understanding of the different forms of turbulence that have emerged in recent years, in particular since 2014, with the arrival of populist movements, and the more frequent use of referendums.

scholarly journals The Experience of Victimisation among Muslim Adolescents in the UK: The Effect of Psychological and Religious Factors

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Francis ◽  
Ursula McKenna
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Muslim Students ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Being Bullied ◽  
Religious Factors ◽  
The Uk

This study set out to explore the levels of victimisation experienced by Muslim adolescents in the UK, the extent to which victimisation is conceptualised in religious terms, and the extent to which individual differences in the experience of victimisation is related to personal factors, psychological factors and religious factors. Data provided by 335 13- to 15-year-old Muslim students from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales demonstrated that one in four Muslim students (25%) reported being bullied because of their religion. These students saw their religious identity as being a more important cause of their victimisation than their ethnicity, their colour, or their name. Male and female Muslim students were equally vulnerable to victimisation. Psychological and religious variables predicted individual differences in vulnerability to victimisation among Muslim students.

scholarly journals The Constitution of the United Kingdom

1999 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney Brazier
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
British Government ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
Unitary State ◽  
Legal Effect ◽  
History Of ◽  
Similarities And Differences

BEFORE the dawn of the millennium new legislative and executive authorities will have been established in Edinburgh, Cardiff and (subject to further political and other progress) in Belfast. This article analyses the nature of these constitutional initiatives, and examines their place in the unitary state which is the United Kingdom. It begins by tracing the history of constitutional union between England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The legal effect of the 1998 devolution statutes is examined, in particular on the legal sovereignty of the United Kingdom Parliament. A triple constitutional and legal lock exists in the Scotland Act 1998 to ensure that the devolution settlement is the final step away from the pure unitary state which has enfolded Scotland in Great Britain. The nature and likely success of that lock are analysed in some detail. The lawmaking powers of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly are assessed. The similarities and differences between each of the three devolved governments and the British Government are highlighted, and consequences and possible lessons for future government-making at Westminster are drawn. The article concludes with a peer into the possible constitutional futures for the United Kingdom.

Family, Ambition, Locality and Party. A Study of Professionalization in the Activation and Apprenticeships of Local Councillors in Europe

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-62
Author(s):  
Tom Verhelst ◽  
Eric Kerrouche
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Political Recruitment ◽  
And Function ◽  
Local Councillors ◽  
Elected Representatives

It is widely acknowledged that elected representatives have often benefited from a variety of steppingstones in their passage to power. This article comparatively studies a selection of such steppingstones amongst local councillors in Europe. More specifically, it takes account of family ties, ambition, the entrenchment in the locality and the political party as elements of activation and apprenticeship in the process of political recruitment. In doing so, it sets out ideal-typical laymen from their professionalized counterparts. The article shows that at this early stage of recruitment, local councillors still generally tend towards the layman archetype. Furthermore, some assets, such as the inclusion in the local community and the enrolment in a political party, seem necessary to enter on a political career. Others are more provisional (e.g. family, motivations, social background, municipal size, ideology and function) or dependent upon the institutional provisions in place (e.g. quota, electoral system). Finally, professionalization patterns do not depend directly from traditional country types, but rather from the specific combination of factors in each country.

The Rise and Fall of Sexual Inequality

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
William A. Haviland
Keyword(s):  
Social Class ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Classic Period ◽  
Preferential Treatment ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Distinguishing Features

AbstractOne of the distinguishing features of Tikal is the lack of female representation in both the monumental art and hieroglyphic inscriptions known from the archaeological site. This paper presents the results of a study of 208 burials from Tikal conducted to investigate this apparent androcentric focus. Burials were studied in terms of tomb location and construction, the nature of accompanying grave goods, body alteration, and cause of death. Marked differences were noted between male and female interments, with males receiving preferential treatment, particularly in terms of tomb location and construction as well as the quantity and quality of associated mortuary objects found with the burials. The level of inequality between the sexes varied through time and across social class, but was manifested most strongly among the elite. Beginning shortly after the rise in dynastic authority at Tikal, this androcentrism appears to relate closely to the development of the centralized state. Sexual inequality may have been less pronounced at smaller, less politically centralized Maya centers. Comparative studies using mortuary data from these smaller sites are required to expand our knowledge of gender relations among the Classic-period Maya.

Resisting gendered change: Feminist institutionalism and critical actors

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Abortion Legislation ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Rules Of The Game

Feminist institutionalism is concerned with the ‘rules of the game’ in political institutions. It is interested to explore how institutions create gender-just conditions in terms of the policies and actions they undertake and the make-up of the elected representatives they contain. It also has a growing interest in how institutions can resist or obstruct positive gendered change. It is argued here that employing the concept of ‘critical actors’ alongside a feminist institutionalist framework can further our understanding of why some institutions resist change. Using the example of abortion legislation in Northern Ireland, this article illustrates how the literatures on feminist institutionalism and critical actors can, when combined, help to build a fuller narrative of why gendered policy change does not happen.

scholarly journals Strategic Opposition and Government Cohesion in Westminster Democracies

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
TORUN DEWAN ◽  
ARTHUR SPIRLING
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Scottish Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Simple Variant ◽  
The Government ◽  
Empirical Regularity

Cohesive government-versus-opposition voting is a robust empirical regularity in Westminster democracies. Using new data from the modern Scottish Parliament, we show that this pattern cannot be explained by similarity of preferences within or between the government and opposition ranks. We look at differences in the way that parties operate in Westminster and Holyrood, and use roll call records to show that the observed behavior is unlikely to be determined by preferences on any underlying issue dimension. Using a simple variant of the agenda-setting model—in which members of parliament can commit to their voting strategies—we show that the procedural rules for reaching collective decisions in Westminster systems can explain this phenomenon: in the equilibrium, on some bills, members of the opposition vote against the government irrespective of the proposal. Such strategic opposition can reinforce government cohesiveness and have a moderating effect on policy outcomes. We introduce new data from the House of Lords, the Welsh Assembly, and the Northern Ireland Assembly to distinguish our claims from competing accounts of the data.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document