scholarly journals Challenging the wisdom on preferential proportional representation

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Mershon
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Legislative Politics ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Politics And Political Science

The conclusion to the special issue takes stock of both the first and the second generations of research on preferential proportional representation (PR) and electoral personalism. The article uses this appraisal in order to locate this project’s achievements within extant scholarship. It argues that the project not only reevaluates but also challenges the wisdom on preferential PR. In challenging the canon, the project enriches the study of electoral institutions, political parties, legislative politics, comparative politics, and political science more broadly.

A Tribute to Harry Eckstein

1998 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES A. CAPORASO ◽  
ALEC STONE SWEET
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Personal Life ◽  
Structural Basis ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Political Inquiry ◽  
Formative Experiences ◽  
Ongoing Dialogue

In this article, the authors attempt to provide background for this special issue in honor of Harry Eckstein and his work. A brief sketch of Eckstein's personal life is offered, focusing on his formative experiences in Hitler's Germany. The article then turns to an in-depth analysis of three of Eckstein's writings: his splendid essay titled “Political Science and Public Policy”; his unrivaled overview of the field of comparative politics in “A Perspective on Comparative Politics, Past and Present”; and his attempt to redirect the discipline of political science in “Authority Patterns: A Structural Basis for Political Inquiry.” Eckstein's work holds up well, less in the sense that it has triumphed in the discipline as a whole (both Eckstein and his critics agree that it has not) and more in the sense that it serves as a constant reference point for an ongoing dialogue about questions that will never be settled.

Parties, Voters, and Multi-Level Elections

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sona N. Golder ◽  
Ignacio Lago ◽  
André Blais ◽  
Elisabeth Gidengil ◽  
Thomas Gschwend
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Party System ◽  
Voting Behaviour ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter argues that individual voting behaviour and the strategies chosen by political parties across multiple electoral arenas should be considered jointly. Existing literature points to the importance of an election as a major driving force in voting behaviour, but it is argued that voters and parties may differ in their assessments of the importance of elections at different levels. The chapter discusses how the effect of the importance of an electoral arena, for both voter and party behaviour, will be conditioned by electoral institutions and characteristics of parties and the party system, in addition to individual voter characteristics contributing to it.

scholarly journals Introduction to special issue about election reporting: Why journalism (still) matters

Journalism ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 985-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Cushion ◽  
Daniel Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
News Media ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Campaign Coverage ◽  
Election Coverage ◽  
Social Media Platforms

This introduction unpacks the eight articles that make up this Journalism special issue about election reporting. Taken together, the articles ask: How has election reporting evolved over the last century across different media? Has the relationship between journalists and candidates changed in the digital age of campaigning? How do contemporary news values influence campaign coverage? Which voices – politicians, say or journalists – are most prominent? How far do citizens inform election coverage? How is public opinion articulated in the age of social media? Are sites such as Twitter developing new and distinctive election agendas? In what ways does social media interact with legacy media? How well have scholars researched and theorised election reporting cross-nationally? How can research agendas be enhanced? Overall, we argue this Special Issue demonstrates the continued strength of news media during election campaigns. This is in spite of social media platforms increasingly disrupting and recasting the agenda setting power of legacy media, not least by political parties and candidates who are relying more heavily on sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to campaign. But while debates in recent years have centred on the technological advances in political communication and the associated role of social media platforms during election campaigns (e.g. microtargeting voters, spreading disinformation/misinformation and allowing candidates to bypass media to campaign), our collection of studies signal the enduring influence professional journalists play in selecting and framing of news. Put more simply, how elections are reported still profoundly matters in spite of political parties’ and candidates’ more sophisticated use of digital campaigning.

Ethnographic Approaches to Contentious Politics: The What, How, and Why

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402110255
Author(s):  
Diana Fu ◽  
Erica S. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Ethnographic Methods ◽  
Political Ethnography ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Social Meanings ◽  
Methodological Tool ◽  
Why Questions

How should we study contentious politics in an era rife with new forms of contention, both in the United States and abroad? The introduction to this special issue draws attention to one particularly crucial methodological tool in the study of contention: political ethnography. It showcases the ways in which ethnographic approaches can contribute to the study of contentious politics. Specifically, it argues that “what,” “how,” and “why” questions are central to the study of contention and that ethnographic methods are particularly well-suited to answering them. It also demonstrates how ethnographic methods push scholars to both expand the objects of inquiry and rethink what the relevant units of analysis might be. By uncovering hidden processes, exploring social meanings, and giving voice to unheard stories, ethnography and “ethnography-plus” approaches contribute to the study of contention and to comparative politics, writ large.

Fringe political parties or political parties at the fringes? The dynamics of political competition in post-communist Europe

2019 ◽  
pp. 135406881986362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergiu Gherghina ◽  
Adam Fagan
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Growing Pains ◽  
Post Communism ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
The Relationship

Much of the literature on fringe political parties in post-communist Europe focused on the relationship with mainstream parties. Little is known about what happens at the fringes, what are the features of politics at the fringes and when this type of politics becomes mainstream. This special issue moves beyond the notion of the fringe versus mainstream dichotomy: it is more ‘granular’ in its approach and seeks to differentiate between different forms of ‘fringe’ parties. The contributions aim to explore how and whether the fringe in post-communist countries changes in an age of populism and illiberalism. They represent an important attempt to take the fringe as a feature of politics that is not necessarily transient or a manifestation of the ‘growing pains’ of post-communism.

scholarly journals MALCOLM EDWIN JEWELL

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (03) ◽  
pp. 585-587
Author(s):  
Bradley C. Canon
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Science ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Behavior ◽  
Science Department ◽  
University Of Kentucky ◽  
Political Science Department ◽  
The University

Malcolm “Mac” Jewell was a mainstay of the Political Science Department at the University of Kentucky (UK) for 36 years. For that same period and even longer, he was one of the profession's leading researchers in explaining legislative behavior (particularly in the states) and how state political parties worked. Mac retired from UK in 1994 but continued being active in our profession. Around 2004, he began suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He died on February 24, 2010, in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Designing Electoral Institutions: STV Systems and Their Consequences

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Farrell ◽  
Malcolm Mackerras ◽  
Ian McAllister
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Party System ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
Generic Type ◽  
Single Transferable Vote ◽  
Party Strategies

Although championed by advocates of proportional representation, the single transferable vote form of PR has been used consistently in only a small number of countries – principally Australia, Ireland and Malta. This paper examines the origins and development of STV and its implications for the political systems that use it. The results show that STV varies so widely in its form and application, differing on no less than five major characteristics, that it is impossible to identify any single generic type. These differences are also reflected in the party strategies that are used to maximize the vote under STV. A regression analysis of the various types of STV shows that Malta is the most proportional system, followed by Ireland and Tasmania. Ireland has the largest party system among the countries that use STV, net of other factors.

scholarly journals Voting Behavior in Parliamentary Elections in Slovakia

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-408
Author(s):  
Miroslav Řádek
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
University Students ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Exit Poll ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Future ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Final Question

Abstract Department of Political Science at Alexander Dubcek University in Trencin prepared its own exit poll during election day on March 5, 2016. The survey asked seven questions that were aimed at determining the preferences of the respondents concerning not only the current but also past general elections. Interviewers surveyed the choice of political party or movement in parliamentary elections in 2016 as well as preferences in past elections. Followed by questions concerning motivation to vote - when did the respondents decide to go to vote and what or who inspired this decision. The survey also tried to found out how many preferential votes did the voters give to the candidates of political parties and movements. Final question asked about expectations for the future of individual respondents. This article is the information output of the survey. The interviewers were 124 university students and its return was 1,612 sheets. The aim of this paper is to communicate the findings of this unique survey, which is unprecedented in the Slovak political science.

Discussion of Erik Martinez Kuhonta, Dan Slater, and Tuong Vu's Southeast Asia in Political Science: Theory, Region, and Qualitative Analysis

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-208
Author(s):  
Thomas B. Pepinsky ◽  
Barbara Geddes ◽  
Duncan McCargo ◽  
Richard Robison ◽  
Erik Martinez Kuhonta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Sensitive Area ◽  
Theoretical Orientations ◽  
Social Science Knowledge ◽  
Science Theory

Comparative politics has witnessed periodic debates between proponents of contextually sensitive area studies research and others who view such work as unscientific, noncumulative, or of limited relevance for advancing broader social science knowledge. In Southeast Asia in Political Science: Theory, Region, and Qualitative Analysis, edited by Erik Martinez Kuhonta, Dan Slater, and Tuong Vu, a group of bright, young Southeast Asianists argue that contextually sensitive research in Southeast Asia using qualitative research methods has made fundamental and lasting contributions to comparative politics. They challenge other Southeast Asianists to assert proudly the contributions that their work has made and urge the rest of the comparative politics discipline to take these contributions seriously. This symposium includes four short critical reviews of Southeast Asia in Political Science by political scientists representing diverse scholarly traditions. The reviews address both the methodological and the theoretical orientations of the book and are followed by a response from the editors.

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