Civic and Political Networks

2021 ◽  
pp. 241-255
Author(s):  
Denise Bedford ◽  
Thomas W. Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-49
Author(s):  
Sri Budi Eko Wardani ◽  
Valina Singka Subekti

In this article, we provide evidence suggesting that almost half (44 per cent) of female candidates elected to Indonesia’s national parliament in 2019 were members of political dynasties. Providing detailed data on the backgrounds of these candidates, including by party and region, we argue that several factors have contributed to their rise. Parties are increasingly motivated – especially in the context of a 4 per cent parliamentary threshold – to nominate candidates who can boost their party’s fortune by attracting a big personal vote. Members of political dynasties (especially those related to regional government heads and other politicians entrenched in local power structures) have access to financial resources and local political networks – increasingly important to political success in Indonesia’s clientelistic electoral system. We show that the rise of these dynastic women candidates is not eliminating gender bias within parties, but is instead marginalising many qualified female party candidates, including incumbents.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932098756
Author(s):  
Marc Esteve Del Valle ◽  
Marcel Broersma ◽  
Arnout Ponsioen

A growing body of research has examined the uptake of social media by politicians, the formation of communication ties in online political networks, and the interplay between social media and political polarization. However, few studies have analyzed how social media are affecting communication in parliamentary networks. This is especially relevant in highly fragmented political systems in which collaboration between political parties is crucial to win support in parliament. Does MPs’ use of social media foster communications among parliamentarians who think differently, or does it result in like-minded clusters polarized along party lines, confining MPs to those who think alike? This study analyzes the formation of communication ties and the degree of homophily in the Dutch MPs’ @mention Twitter network. We employed exponential random graph models on a 1-year sample of all tweets in which Dutch MPs mentioned each other ( N = 7,356) to discover the network parameters (reciprocity, popularity, and brokerage) and individual attributes (seniority, participation in the parliamentary commissions, age, gender, and geographical area) that facilitate communication ties among parliamentarians. Also, we measured party polarization by calculating the external–internal index of the mentions. Dutch MPs’ communication ties arise from network dynamics (reciprocity, brokerage, and popularity) and from MPs’ participation in the parliamentary commissions, age, gender, and geographical area. Furthermore, there is a high degree of cross-party interactions in the Dutch MPs’ mentions Twitter network. Our results refute the existence of “echo chambers” in the Dutch MPs’ mentions Twitter network and support the hypothesis that social media can open up spaces for discussion among political parties. This is particularly important in fragmented consensus democracies where negotiation and coordination between parties to form coalitions is key.


2021 ◽  
pp. 186810342198906
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ichsan Kabullah ◽  
M. Nurul Fajri

This article focuses on electoral victories by wives of regional heads in West Sumatra province during Indonesia’s 2019 elections. We argue that these victories can be explained by the emergence of a phenomenon we label “neo-ibuism.” We draw on the concept of “state ibuism,” previously used to describe the gender ideology of the authoritarian Soeharto regime, which emphasised women’s roles as mothers ( ibu) and aimed to domesticate them politically. Neo-ibuism, by contrast, allows women to play an active role in the public sphere, including in elections, but in ways that still emphasise women’s roles within the family. The wives of regional government heads who won legislative victories in West Sumatra not only relied on their husbands’ political resources to achieve victories, but they also used a range of political networks to reach out to voters, in ways that stressed both traditional gender roles and their own political agency.


2018 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 991-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf Hoque ◽  
Lucia Michelutti

This article explores the performances of a particular category of young men often derogatively referred to as“chamchas”(sycophants) who are using the art of making do(jugaad)by exploiting and bluffing links with powerful political networks and political parties, as well as friendships with strongmen and their criminal crews. Crucially, the comparative ethnography across India (western Uttar Pradesh) and Bangladesh (Sylhet) introduces readers to the “contact zone” where legality, semi-legality, and organized criminal systems meet. In so doing, the article unravels the working of the democratically elected “Mafia Raj.”


Author(s):  
Steven Borgatti

This chapter is one of six in this book in which leading scholars from other fields are interviewed about network science. These scholars bring to bear the perspective and experience of their fields, as well as insights about how network science integrates with questions that tend to be of interest to political scientists. They have knowledgeable and unique perspectives on the potential intellectual contributions that political scientists can make using network science approaches. This interview brings perspectives from the field of business and management to the study of political networks. Importantly, Stephen Borgatti has been a leader in the field in terms of developing applications and demonstrating productive application of network tools to questions of relevance. In this interview he brings these insights to political science.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-219
Author(s):  
Prasenjit Sarkhel ◽  
Anirban Mukherjee

In recent times, land acquisitions in India for both public and private projects are facing stiff political resistance. Existing studies on land acquisition mostly focus on optimal compensation that would secure the consent of land owners. In this article, we argue that besides compensation, membership in different types of networks such as political parties and self-help groups might influence landowner consent. This could occur either because of pro-social concerns or access to better investment opportunities for the compensation amount. Using survey data from flood prone Indian Sundarbans, where the government sought to acquire land to construct embankments, we find evidence supportive of our hypothesis. The survey elicited reservation price response from land owners for a hypothetical land acquisition program. Our estimates show that land owners with self-help group members are more likely to have a higher ask price for agreeing to land sales. In contrast, controlling for length of party association, members of political networks are more likely to sell their land and have a lower reservation price than their non-political counterparts. Our results suggest that, rather than only increasing the compensation package, which is a stock of wealth, it is equally important to enhance the flow of income to ensure consensual land sales.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (88) ◽  
pp. 21-46
Author(s):  
Ante Bećir

The article sought to put the social and political agency of the Trogir Canons in the period from 1300 to 1360 into the wider context of political conflicts that took place between opposing noble factions within the Trogir commune in the 14th century. However, before commencing with the analysis, the author gives a basic insight into the status and infrastructure of the Trogir ecclesiastical organization, situated in its respective Dalmatian- Croatian and Hungarian context. Starting with the normative definition of a Cathedral Chapter, which exists to assist the Bishop and engage in the pastoral care of its human flock, the article compares the idea with the practical dealings of the Trogir Canons. It is highlighted that their dealings were almost primarily concerned with these-worldly matters. On the other hand, and on the basis of tracking several Trogir Canons, namely Jacob son of Peter (Vitturi), John son of Peter (Castrafoci), Stephan son of Michael (Cega), Lampredius son of Jacob (Vitturi), Kazarica son of Martin (Kazarice), Albert son of Marinus (Andreis) and some others, which are heavily exposed in the primary sources, it is argued that the Trogir Cathedral Chapter was not functioning in practice as an independent church corporation, rather than the Canons were in one way or another involved in the factional strifes. More precisely, the considered canons were deeply connected with the noble families, from which practically all of them originated, and sequentially with the informal factions. Therefore, the Canons exploited the existing institutional (corporate) framework and material resources of the Cathedral Chapter in the pursuit of their own individual or factional goals. In that respect, the Cathedral Chapter cannot be considered as an entity separate from the activities of the city lay authorities, regardless of the actual distinction in political and judicial jurisdiction between ecclesiastical and secular institutions. The Case of Trogir provided very fruitful material, which allowed the unraveling of social and political networks and the role of individual participants in the collective (political) agency. In other words, the paper put the focus more on individual agency, and less to structures, bearing in mind that individual agency is exactly that which shapes the institutions in the end.


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