Minority Groups and Judicial Legitimacy: Group Affect and the Incentives for Judicial Responsiveness

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Zilis
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Attitude Change ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Novel Model

This paper introduces a new perspective into the literature on judicial legitimacy by examining the incentives for courts to cater to a popular majority and offering a novel model of legitimacy that has consequences for judicial responsiveness. The account integrates into the literature classic research on how strategic social groups shape public opinion. I theorize that citizens use their perceptions of the judiciary’s support for various social groups as a means to assess the institution overall. From this insight, I derive specific expectations about the conditions under which the Supreme Court’s protection of minority groups like gays and immigrants can damage its legitimacy. Using national survey data, I demonstrate that dislike for the beneficiaries of recent Court rulings systematically diminishes the institution’s legitimacy. The influence of these group-based considerations shapes individual-level attitude change and can be observed at various points in time.

scholarly journals Do Unto Others? Individual-Level Mechanisms of Political Altruism

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-443
Author(s):  
Marco Giugni ◽  
Maria T. Grasso
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Altruistic Behavior ◽  
Unemployed People ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Social Structural ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

Starting from a definition of altruism as situations in which a given actor sustains harm while another actor gains benefits, we compare the behaviors of respondents in relation to the members of three main groups of beneficiaries—refugees and asylum seekers, unemployed people, and people with disabilities—through the analysis of original survey data collected in eight European countries ( N ~ 16,000) in the TransSOL project. We investigate in particular the reasons why people act on behalf of each of these three groups without being a member of any of them or having close ties with any individuals in these groups. These respondents are compared with respondents who are members of these groups and/or have close ties with people within them so as to isolate the factors underlying individual-level altruistic behavior. Our results show that political altruism emerges out of a complex combination of factors and is not simply reducible to social structural positions, subjective feelings of attachment or resources, but is the result of the interaction of these influences and that these vary when looking at support for different social groups.

scholarly journals How well are citizens represented by their governments? Issue congruence and inequality in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Rosset ◽  
Christian Stecker
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Policy Preferences ◽  
Expert Survey ◽  
Popular Support

AbstractThis study analyses congruence across various issues in 16 European democracies. Making use of public opinion and expert survey data, our analyses show that congruence between the policy preferences of citizens and the stances of governments is much more complex than what is revealed by studies focusing on ideology solely. Size and directions of incongruence are larger and more systematic on specific issues than on the left–right scale. On redistribution, citizens are more to the left than their governments, while popular support for European integration is systematically lower among citizens than among their representatives. Moreover, the relatively poor are particularly underrepresented on redistribution, while the preferences of the relatively lower educated are not well reflected in government preferences in relation to European integration. We interpret these results as being partly linked to a representation gap with privileged social groups enjoying higher levels of congruence with their government.

Policy Mood and Political Sophistication: Why Everybody Moves Mood

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER K. ENNS ◽  
PAUL M. KELLSTEDT
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Political Sophistication ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Opinion Change

This article presents evidence that both micro (individual level) and macro (aggregate level) theories of public opinion overstate the importance of political sophistication for opinion change. It is argued that even the least politically sophisticated segment of society receives messages about the economy and uses this information to update attitudes about political issues. To test this hypothesis, the authors have used General Social Survey data to construct a 31-item measure of policy mood, disaggregated by political sophistication, that spans from 1972 to 2004. They found that all the subgroups generally changed opinion at the same time, in the same direction, and to about the same extent. Furthermore, they show that groups at different sophistication levels change opinions for predominantly the same reasons.

Public Opinion in the American States: New Perspectives Using National Survey Data

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Brace ◽  
Kellie Sims-Butler ◽  
Kevin Arceneaux ◽  
Martin Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
American States

scholarly journals How Does Multilevel Regression and Poststratification Perform with Conventional National Surveys?

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew K. Buttice ◽  
Benjamin Highton
Keyword(s):  
Monte Carlo ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Substantial Variation ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
Empirical Inquiry

Multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) is a method to estimate public opinion across geographic units from individual-level survey data. If it works with samples the size of typical national surveys, then MRP offers the possibility of analyzing many political phenomena previously believed to be outside the bounds of systematic empirical inquiry. Initial investigations of its performance with conventional national samples produce generally optimistic assessments. This article examines a larger number of cases and a greater range of opinions than in previous studies and finds substantial variation in MRP performance. Through empirical and Monte Carlo analyses, we develop an explanation for this variation. The findings suggest that the conditions necessary for MRP to perform well will not always be met. Thus, we draw a less optimistic conclusion than previous studies do regarding the use of MRP with samples of the size found in typical national surveys.

Demobilizing Voters: Election Turnout in the 2016 Russian Election

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-433
Author(s):  
Ian McAllister ◽  
Stephen White
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Electoral Success ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Urban Regions ◽  
Sense Of Efficacy ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Party Support

Under communism, official election returns suggested that around 99 percent of the electorate voted. Since then, election turnout in Russia has declined dramatically, with the 2016 Duma election recording the lowest level of turnout since democratization. This paper uses national survey data collected just after the 2016 election to test four hypotheses to explain this low turnout, and to evaluate its consequences for party support. The results show that a voter’s resources, the degree of mobilization and his or her sense of efficacy all influence the probability of voting. A belief in electoral integrity also matters, but only insofar as it is related to support for the Putin regime. The level of differential turnout across the regions in the 2016 election was exceptional. Both aggregate and individual level analyses confirm that United Russia gained considerably from the higher turnout that occurred in the remoter regions, and from lower turnout in the urban regions. United Russia has pursued a strategy of voter demobilization in areas of low support, and this explains its continuing electoral success.

A Change is Gonna Come

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian F. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Attitude Change ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Marriage Equality ◽  
Lgbt Rights ◽  
Echo Chambers

Get your head out of your @*&. Snowflake. You’re an idiot. Stupid liberal. Ignorant conservative. It can feel good to use a disparaging name and dismiss a divergent belief or opinion but it turns people off from genuine engagement. At best, feelings are hurt and family and friends decide to avoid political discussions altogether. Often social groups break apart. How can deliberative democracy survive if we can’t even speak to people with whom we disagree? The conventional wisdom to avoid talking about politics has to change. We need to talk to each other about American politics more, especially to those with whom we disagree. We just need to do it better. The antecedents of bitter political disagreements are well documented but less attention is paid to ways to improve things. Public opinion doesn’t change quickly on average but it does change: how people think and feel about LGBT rights, for example, saw a meteoric change over the last few decades. Supportive people from many different social and identity groups had conversations in ways that got people out of their echo chambers to see issues in new ways. The unprecedented attitude change toward marriage equality and LGBT rights is a compelling public opinion phenomenon and a roadmap for how to talk about other contentious issues. Relying on research spanning academic disciplines, A Change is Gonna Come identifies and explains where conversations fail and how we can start to dig out of our opinion silos to make reasonable changes in everyday, interpersonal political conversations.

Is the Personal Always Political?

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Osborne ◽  
Yannick Dufresne ◽  
Gregory Eady ◽  
Jennifer Lees-Marshment ◽  
Cliff van der Linden
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Openness To Experience ◽  
Political Sophistication ◽  
Knowledge Based

Abstract. Research demonstrates that the negative relationship between Openness to Experience and conservatism is heightened among the informed. We extend this literature using national survey data (Study 1; N = 13,203) and data from students (Study 2; N = 311). As predicted, education – a correlate of political sophistication – strengthened the negative relationship between Openness and conservatism (Study 1). Study 2 employed a knowledge-based measure of political sophistication to show that the Openness × Political Sophistication interaction was restricted to the Openness aspect of Openness. These studies demonstrate that knowledge helps people align their ideology with their personality, but that the Openness × Political Sophistication interaction is specific to one aspect of Openness – nuances that are overlooked in the literature.

Feminisation of Multidimensional Poverty in Rural Odisha

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surya Narayan Biswal ◽  
◽  
S. K. Mishra ◽  
M. K. Sarangi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty ◽  
Cumulative Distribution ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Living Standard ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty Index ◽  
Order Stochastic Dominance ◽  
The Individual

UNDP’s 2030 agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasized gender equality in augmenting human capital and alleviating poverty. For eradication of extreme poverty and building resilience for persons who are vulnerable to poverty, SDGs calls for a pro-poor and gender-sensitive policy framework. In this context, a gender-based study on multi-dimensional aspects of poverty is highly significant. Extant literature reveals that females are more deprived in different dimensions of poverty such as education, health, living standard, empowerment, environment, autonomy and social relationship. The present study is conducted with the basic objective of examining feminization of poverty in rural areas of Jagatsinghapur district of Odisha. Seven socio-economic dimensions comprising sixteen indicators have been taken into consideration to construct the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) using the Alkire-Foster (AF) Method at the individual level. The novelty of the study lies in analyzing MPI at the individual level for rural Odisha. Higher female deprivation is observed across social groups and all occupation categories except services. Dummy variable regression analysis also supports the major findings of the study. Complementary Cumulative Distribution Function satisfies strict first-order stochastic dominance condition and substantiates the feminisation of poverty at each level of poverty cut-off across all social groups and occupational categories except for services. The findings of the study have significant implications for developing suitable policies for gender equalization and poverty alleviation.

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