scholarly journals Vote intent and beliefs about democracy in the United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 455-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kris Dunn ◽  
Judd R Thornton

Democracy is an abstract and murky concept. This is particularly apparent in the wide variety of beliefs about democracy held by publics around the globe. Within democracies, political parties often define and name themselves with reference to a particular understanding of democracy. This article focuses on this partisan division in understanding democracy. We suggest that parties will attract those who share similar beliefs about democracy. Specifically, we look at whether differences in beliefs about democracy predict party support in the United States. Examining the responses of US participants to the fifth wave of the World Values Survey, we find that differences on a number of “essential” aspects of democracy among individuals predict vote intent (and party identification). Those more likely to understand democracy as a form of government that promotes civil liberties and the redistribution of wealth to protect the vulnerable are more likely to vote Democrat. Those who report stronger associations between democracy and both religious interpretation of laws and severe punishment of criminals are more likely to vote Republican. This research reinforces the idea that policy differences between the two main parties in the United States may derive from different understandings of the role of government in society.

Significance A new justice has the potential to change the tenor of the Supreme Court's rulings significantly for many years to come, on issues including the scope of federal regulation, campaign finance and the federal government's powers. Scalia was a vocal political and judicial conservative, and the upcoming political fight to appoint his successor will reflect the broader conservative-progressive debate about civil liberties, the scope of the Constitution and the role of government in society. Impacts The Obama administration is likely to see many of its administrative actions upheld, at least until his term ends next January. An open Supreme Court seat may boost turnout by conservative Republican voters worried about a moderate or liberal appointment. Appointment politics and numerous federal vacancies are likely to persist as a feature of divided government in the United States.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt A. Barreto ◽  
Dino N. Bozonelos

AbstractThe role of religiosity as an important predictor of partisan identification has been well researched over the years, with most of our understanding of religion focused on Christianity. However, it is not clear that religiosity operates equally for the partisan identification of non-Christian religious groups. One of the most discussed religious minority groups in the United States today is Muslim-Americans. Numbering between 2.3 million and 7 million, Muslim-Americans have been the focus of considerable debate regarding religion and American political inclusion. We argue that religiosity does influence Muslim-American party identification, however not in the same manner as with other groups. While the two major political parties encourage religiosity among Protestants, Jews, and Catholics, they are either silent or opposed to religiosity among Muslims within their parties. Thus, religiosity among Muslim-Americans may not necessarily lead to partisan identification with either Republicans or Democrats. Rather, high levels of religiosity, coupled with perceptions of discrimination against Muslims, may lead many to oppose both major political parties and instead identify with “none of the above.” This is not to say that Muslim-Americans reject civic engagement or political participation in the United States, but rather the two political parties have not carved out a space to welcome Islam, as they have for Christianity and Judaism. We examine new data from the 2007 Muslim-American Public Opinion Survey to assess the predictors of partisan identification among Muslims in the United States.


1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 18-21
Author(s):  
Gerald J. Bender

In addition to our discussions today of the current situation in Angola, I would like to direct my remarks to the question of what role, if any, the United States should play with regard to Angola, and concretely, how the Congress can assist in the formulation and execution of a responsible American policy toward Angola. We have all learned a number of important lessons from recent revelations about the conduct of American policy in Southeast Asia, about Government coverups such as Watergate, corporate bribery of foreign officials and political parties, and about the illegal and unacceptable activities of the CIA as described in the Rockefeller Commission report and elsewhere. Certainly we can apply some of these lessons to our present consideration of U.S. policy toward Angola; hopefully we will learn the vital facts and ask the necessary questions now, rather than, as has too often been the case, after the fact.


Author(s):  
Holly M. Mikkelson

This chapter traces the development of the medical interpreting profession in the United States as a case study. It begins with the conception of interpreters as volunteer helpers or dual-role medical professionals who happened to have some knowledge of languages other than English. Then it examines the emergence of training programs for medical interpreters, incipient efforts to impose standards by means of certification tests, the role of government in providing language access in health care, and the beginning of a labor market for paid medical interpreters. The chapter concludes with a description of the current situation of professional medical interpreting in the United States, in terms of training, certification and the labor market, and makes recommendations for further development.


1975 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-142
Author(s):  
Robert G. Craig ◽  
Harry P. Mapp

“There is more than enough evidence to show that the states and localities, far from being weak sisters, have actually been carrying the brunt of domestic governmental progress in the United States ever since the end of World War II … Moreover, they have been largely responsible for undertaking the truly revolutionary change in the role of government in the United States that has occurred over the past decade.”–Daniel J. Elazar, The Public Interest


2020 ◽  
pp. 107808742095807
Author(s):  
Jack Lucas

Recent research in the United States has found that municipal governments are responsive to the ideological complexion of their cities even in the absence of partisan elections. In this paper, I test for the presence of party match—a match between the partisan character of a district and the partisanship of its municipal representative—in Canada, where municipal elections are distinctively non-partisan. Using new data on district-level party support and the partisanship of Canadian municipal politicians, I find clear evidence for party match. This match is equally likely in at-large and ward elections, partisan and non-partisan elections, and large and small cities. I thus argue that partisan and ideological representation is an important and widespread feature of Canadian municipal politics. I discuss the implications of these findings for theories of municipal representation and the role of ideology in municipal politics.


COMPASS ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-61
Author(s):  
Janine Hancock

Scarcity of democracy is often cited as the source of hunger. In this paper the origin of this idea, the arguments behind it, and its validity are examined. In doing so, different types of hunger are addressed. The author also looks at the role of government systems in the famines of Ireland, India, and Sudan and the effect that democracy has on food policy decisions in the United States. By the conclusion of this paper, the reader will be familiar with the phenomenon of citing democracy in discussions of food. A lack of democracy is not the source of hunger, and democracy is not inherently equipped to confront hunger.


Author(s):  
Nunzio Pernicone ◽  
Fraser M. Ottanelli

Customarily both in Europe and the United States, government officials, the press and historians have described late 19th century anarchists as murderous, bloody thirsty, irrational and wretched individuals The introduction details how the book will show that “propaganda of the deed,” as conceived and carried out by Italian anarchists, was the product of the revolutionary tradition of the Risorgimento; the influence of Russian anarchist revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin; the role of government repression in Italy, France and Spain; along with the experiences of Italian migrant laborers at home and abroad. Finally, the introduction described how the book will also provide biographical portraits and analysis of the major Italian perpetrators of political assassinations in fin-de-siècle Italy, France, and Spain.


Author(s):  
Joseph W. Pearson ◽  
Dick Gilbreath

This book is about politics, exploring the general outlook of a group of Americans called Whigs. The Whigs were one of the two great political parties in the United States between the years 1834 and 1856, battling their opponents the Jacksonian Democrats for offices, prestige, and power. This book explores how Whiggish Americans understood human nature, society, and the role of the state, and explains how they reflected on the past and anticipated the future. A Whig worldview resonated with a vast array of future-looking people in large cities and small villages, in factories and on farms, and in the varied state houses across the country, as well as the in halls of Congress. The Whig Promise attracted those Americans seeking middle-class achievement, community, and meaning through collaborative effort and self-control in a world growing more and more impersonal.


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