scholarly journals The promiscuous public? Exploring public opinion and why it matters to political actors

Politics ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 026339572110077
Author(s):  
Nikki Soo ◽  
Alexandra Anderson ◽  
Charlie Heywood-Heath
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Community Activists ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Public Policy Decisions ◽  
The Relationship

Political actors often cite public opinion to provide support for public policy decisions. This process is made more challenging with diverse demands and perspectives of the public. How then do political actors decide which opinion gets heard? In this article, we go beyond the assumption that the practice of political representation is indistinguishable across various levels of political actors and ask, why do political actors value public opinion and how does it then influence the way in which they apply this information? Developing a multi-level approach, we employ semi-structured interviews with a wide range of political actors, including politicians, pollsters, and community activists. We find that motivations for defining and applying public opinion differs according to the hierarchy of political actors, demonstrating that the relationship between public and political actors is more nuanced and complex than what is often depicted. In particular, we find that minority views play just an important view in policymaking.

Negotiating Control

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Pfetsch ◽  
Katrin Voltmer
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Journalism ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
The Relationship

After the demise of communist rule the relationship between media and politics in Eastern European countries has to adjust to the conditions of democratic politics and a competitive communication environment. This study explores how journalists and politicians understand their relationship past and present and what orientations govern their day-to-day interactions. The political communication cultures in Bulgaria and Poland are investigated on the basis of semi-structured interviews with journalists and politicians. The findings suggest that in Bulgaria closed-knitted networks between the two sets of actors continue to shape political communication breeding ‘deals’ and even corruption that seriously undermine the independence of political journalism. In contrast, political communication roles in Poland appear more differentiated making it more difficult for political actors to exercise control over the public agenda.

Has Anyone Seen It?

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagmar Radin ◽  
Aleksandar Džakula
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sentiment ◽  
Public Opinion Surveys ◽  
Health Care Performance ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
Care Performance

Over the past decade, public opinion surveys have shown that Croats are deeply dissatisfied with their health care system and asses it to be one of the most important issues. However, health care hardly makes it into any political discourse in Croatia. This study analyzes the results of a public opinion survey conducted before the 2007 parliamentary elections to find out what the public sentiment on health care performance in Croatia is and to analyze the reasons why health care is not addressed by political actors. Evidence suggests that while health care is the most salient issue today, the public often understands it poorly. Thus, in a political environment of competing issues, and given the complexity of tacking health care in the policy arena, politicians strategically avoid discussing the issue.

scholarly journals The experience of life events and body composition in middle childhood: a population-based study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivonne P. M. Derks ◽  
Sara Hannani ◽  
Florianne O. L. Vehmeijer ◽  
Henning Tiemeier ◽  
Pauline W. Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Body Composition ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Fat Free Mass ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Population Based Study ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Dutch Children

AbstractWhile studies suggest potential influences of childhood adversities on obesity development in adulthood, less is known about the short-term association in children. We examined the association between a wide range of life events experienced in the first ten years of life (including maltreatment and milder adversities) and body composition in 5333 ten-year old Dutch children. In structured interviews, mothers retrospectively reported on their children’s experience of 24 events. BMI was calculated, and fat mass index and fat free mass index were determined by dual-x-ray absorptiometry scanning. Linear regressions showed that, unadjusted, a higher number of life events was associated with higher BMI and body composition. However, associations attenuated to non-significance after adjustment for covariates. Similar findings were observed for maltreatment and milder life events. Thus, the number of experienced life events was not associated with body composition in middle childhood. Rather, other factors, like socioeconomic conditions, accounted for the relationship between life events and weight development in children.

scholarly journals Trajectories of Civil Society Leaders in Italy: Individual Careers, Organizational Structures, and Ideological Affiliations

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824402110615
Author(s):  
Cecilia Santilli ◽  
Roberto Scaramuzzino
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
National Level ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Third ◽  
Career Trajectories ◽  
Member Organization ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Relationship

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between individual leaders’ career trajectories and organizational structure and identity in Italian civil society organizations (CSOs) active at national level. The analysis in this qualitative study draws on two sets of data, semi-structured interviews with leaders on their career trajectories and their understanding of what it takes to become a leader of a CSO and short biographies of leaders’ career trajectories. Three main representational logics are idenitified: within: multi-level, within: member-organization, and outside: supporting organization. The two first logics are based on a trajectory within the organizations either departing from the local and regional levels of the same organizations or within one or more member organizations. The third logic is based on a trajectory outside the organization that is marked by the ideological affiliation of the president through leading positions in other organizations within the same movement or field.

scholarly journals Public Opinion and Public Policy in Advanced Democracies

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Wlezien
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Roll Call ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
The Government

The representation of public opinion in public policy is of obvious importance in representative democracies. While public opinion is important in all political systems, it is especially true where voters elect politicians; after all, opinion representation is a primary justification for representative democracy. Not surprisingly, a lot of research addresses the connection between the public and the government. Much of the work considers “descriptive representation”—whether the partisan and demographic characteristics of elected politicians match the characteristics of the electorate itself. This descriptive representation is important but may not produce actual “substantive representation” of preferences in policy. Other work examines the positions of policymakers. Some of this research assesses the roll call voting behavior of politicians and institutions. The expressed positions and voting behavior of political actors do relate to policy but are not the same things. Fortunately, a good amount of research analyzes policy. With but a handful of exceptions noted below, this research focuses on expressed preferences of the public, not their “interests.” That is, virtually all scholars let people be the judges of their own interests, and they assess the representation of expressed opinion no matter how contrary to self-interest it may seem.

Digital spaces, public places and communicative power

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 476-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina Kreide
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Empirical Reality ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Communicative Power ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Digital Spaces

The deliberative model of politics has recently been criticized for not being very well equipped to conceptualize current developments such as the misinterpretation of political difference, the digital turn, and public protests. A first critique is that this model assumes a conception of public spheres that is too idealistic. A second objection is that it misconceives the relationship between empirical reality and normativity. Third, it is assumed that deliberative democracy offers an antiquated notion of a shared ‘we’ of political actors and because of this, fourth, fails to take into consideration the ‘digital turn’, in particular the de-personalizing effects of social media that have led to a rapid decline of the public sphere. And a fifth critique states that the deliberative model ignores the fact that politics is not, and especially protests and revolutions are not, seminar-like debates but spontaneous, chaotic and sometimes violent expressions. I will argue that all of these critiques fall short in a variety of ways. A deliberative model of politics allows us to address the tension between the ideal and the real, the ‘old media’ and the so-called digitalization of public spheres as well as peaceful discourse and violent uprisings. Especially the concept of communicative power, a notion also used by Hannah Arendt and Jürgen Habermas, reveals the potentials for future participation in digital spaces and public places.

scholarly journals Guerra e opinião pública nos Estados Unidos: o caso da Guerra do Iraque em 2003 / War and public opinion in the United States: the Iraq War in 2003

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-448
Author(s):  
Cláudio Júnior Damin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Iraq War ◽  
The United States ◽  
War On Terrorism ◽  
Global War On Terrorism ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
Global War ◽  
The Relationship

O artigo aborda a relação existente entre guerra e opinião pública nos Estados Unidos. O artigo foca na análise do caso da Guerra do Iraque iniciada em março de 2003 durante os mandatos de George W. Bush. Esse conflito insere-se no contexto dos ataques terroristas de 11 de setembro de 2001, sendo parte constitutiva da chamada “guerra global contra o terrorismo”. A primeira hipótese de trabalho é a de que inicialmente e reproduzindo padrões históricos anteriores, a guerra foi amplamente aprovada pela população norte-americana, processo que se prolongou por alguns meses e influenciou decisivamente para a reeleição do presidente republicano em 2004. Como segunda hipótese assevera-se que, passado algum tempo, o humor da opinião pública sofreu uma inflexão, diminuindo a aprovação popular à guerra e tendo como importante desdobramento a derrota dos republicanos na eleição de 2008, com o conflito ainda em curso. Espera-se mostrar, portanto, como a Guerra do Iraque pode ser dividida em duas fases distintas, sendo a primeira de bônus para o governo de George W. Bush e seus correligionários republicanos e a outra de ônus a partir do crescimento do número de baixas militares norte-americanas e da crise de credibilidade do governo no que concerne às perspectivas de vitória definitiva no conflito.Abstract: The article discusses the relationship between war and public opinion in the United States. The article focuses on the analysis of the case of the Iraq War that began in March 2003 during the administration of George W. Bush. This conflict is within the context of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, being a constituent part of the "Global War on Terrorism." The first hypothesis is that initially and reproducing previous historical standards, the war was widely approved by the American population, a process that was prolonged for a few months and influenced decisively to the re-election of Republican president in 2004. As a second hypothesis asserts that, after some time, the mood of public opinion has undergone a shift, reducing the public approval of the war and with the important effect the defeat of the Republicans in the 2008 election. It is expected, therefore, to show how the Iraq War can be divided into two distinct phases, with the first bonus for the George W. Bush and his fellow Republicans and other liens being from the growing number of U.S. military casualties and the crisis of credibility of the government with regard to the prospects of ultimate victory in the conflict.

scholarly journals Social Demand for the Future of Russia Within Political Projects and Mass Political Consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-122
Author(s):  
Aleksander Vilkov ◽  
◽  
Nikolaj Shestov ◽  
Andrei Abramov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Process Analysis ◽  
System Optimization ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Consciousness ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Future

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to find out to what extent the “social state” concept, brought to the fore of domestic political, social, and economic agendas by amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is able to satisfy the demand of the mass political consciousness in Russia for the image of the country’s future. Methods and materials. To solve this problem, a wide range of general scholarly and specific political science approaches and methods were used. The conclusions are based on the results of opinion polls conducted by the largest social surveys research organizations of Russia (i.e. “Russian Public Opinion Research Center”, “Levada-Center”, and “Public Opinion Foundation”), analysis of the programs of political parties, speeches of Russian politicians, as well as on the observation over the Russian political process. Analysis. The views of citizens on the prospects for the development of relations between the state and society in Russia are analyzed in relation to the political projects of leading Russian political actors; the prospects of key projects of the existing political, social, and economic system optimization in the context of their compliance with the needs of various social groups in modern Russia are considered; estimation of social risks of their implementation is given. Results. An inference is made that formation of a socially desired image of the future of Russia requires a significant adjustment of the main Russian political actors’ activities. Domestic political parties need a renewal of their leadership and relevant institutional and ideological reformatting; the highest bodies of state power need to adjust the political course – first of all, it is necessary to establish control over the use of natural resources, introduce a differentiated taxation system, and stimulate production. The lack of a clear response from government bodies and party structures to society’s requests for a just, socially responsible state creates risks for the stability of the domestic social and political system, and can be used by destructive political forces to implement the scenario of a “colour revolution” in Russia.

scholarly journals Extent of Integration in Agriculture Supply Chain: The Public Sector Stakeholders perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1319-1334
Author(s):  
Nadir Munir Hassan ◽  
Muhammad Nauman Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Supply Chain Integration ◽  
Supply Chain Performance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Reasonable Evidence ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose: Integrating network factors (i.e. Actors, Activities, and Resources), help organizations in achieving superior supply chain performance. Despite reasonable evidence on positive relationship between SCI and SCP, there exists sufficient contradiction on universal integration of chains. This paper is a qualitative exploratory study, which based on the network perspective intends to explore the current and required levels of supply chain integration among actors, activities, and resources in the agriculture supply chain of Pakistan. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data was collected through in depth semi-structured interviews from public sector stake holders of agriculture sector (i.e. From Thirteen wings of Ministry of Agriculture) across Pakistan. The current and required extent of supply chain integration was measured at three levels, i.e. strategic (long-term), tactical (medium-term) and operational (short-term) as suggested by (Childerhouse & Towill, 2011). Findings: The research results indicate that the relationship between supply chain integration and supply chain performance is a contextual phenomenon and significantly varies among Network factors. This study and its findings are expected to add into the literature of supply chain integration and its impact on supply chain performance.

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