scholarly journals The role of the party factor in the implementation of electoral strategies (by the example of local elections in 2020)

Author(s):  
V. Komarnytskyy

The author analyzes the dynamics of changes in the activity and participation of political parties in the implementation of electoral strategies and technologies by the example of local elections in 2020. In particular, a wide range of techniques implemented by regional organizations of political parties during the campaign was studied. It is found out that in the conditions of decentralization reform and the new Electoral Code of Ukraine lower party organizations were not only involved into the electoral process, but were also empowered to form representative local authorities and develop their political policies.  It is stated that mandatory membership of party, open lists in local council elections and gender quotas in those lists became normative innovations for political parties. At the same time, it was found out that the party factor proved to be relevant also for the candidates for mayors, 80% of which were nominated by parties in regional centers. Having analyzed open data of the Central Election Commission the author ascertains that one fifth of the top candidates for mayors of regional centers were representatives of local political projects – parties, which activities are focused on specific regions or even communities. It is found out that because of reputational risks related to low rating of both the political forces as well as the institution of political parties in general there is a tendency to keep a distance from parliamentary parties. Political technologies used by parties in local elections are carried over from one campaign to another – bribery of voters, voting tourism, involvement of “clone” candidates, speculating on polls, ignoring sociological tools, manipulating party branding et cetera. Among other peculiarities there are the deepening of interparty competition, the struggle of the “first non-passing” and the “last passing” candidates in party lists, which indicates the deformation of communication component in the activities of political parties and the lack of stable party structure with defined roles and functions. Resolving these problems is a priority in the strategy of party organization and administration in the state.

2002 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-22
Author(s):  
Tobin Im

The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of the intergovernmental relations in Korea since the decentralization reforms begun in 1991. This study evaluates the Korean experience of 10 years of decentralization has significantly changed the decision-making structure in the country. Even though the apparent framework of tiers and local governments are the same as those before decentralization reform, the real number of decision-making units has increased and a new decision making structure has emerged since the introduction of local elections. The creation of local council as well as the elections of heads of local government brought about the loss of the central government’s controlling power over local governments. However many people are not satisfied with the actual state of decentralization. Constrains and limits that most local governments face support this thesis. In this point of view, the experience of the last ten years can be summarized as ‘controlled decentralization’. However, the central government is not totally responsible for this dissatisfaction. Citizens’ low participation and local governments’ incapacity and inefficiency are also responsible. These resulted in ‘the New Iron Triangle’ Model of decision making.


Author(s):  
Silke Behrendt ◽  
Barbara Braun ◽  
Randi Bilberg ◽  
Gerhard Bühringer ◽  
Michael Bogenschutz ◽  
...  

Abstract. Background: The number of older adults with alcohol use disorder (AUD) is expected to rise. Adapted treatments for this group are lacking and information on AUD features in treatment seeking older adults is scarce. The international multicenter randomized-controlled clinical trial “ELDERLY-Study” with few exclusion criteria was conducted to investigate two outpatient AUD-treatments for adults aged 60+ with DSM-5 AUD. Aims: To add to 1) basic methodological information on the ELDERLY-Study by providing information on AUD features in ELDERLY-participants taking into account country and gender, and 2) knowledge on AUD features in older adults seeking outpatient treatment. Methods: baseline data from the German and Danish ELDERLY-sites (n=544) were used. AUD diagnoses were obtained with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, alcohol use information with Form 90. Results: Lost control, desired control, mental/physical problem, and craving were the most prevalent (> 70 %) AUD-symptoms. 54.9 % reported severe DSM-5 AUD (moderate: 28.2 %, mild: 16.9 %). Mean daily alcohol use was 6.3 drinks at 12 grams ethanol each. 93.9 % reported binging. More intense alcohol use was associated with greater AUD-severity and male gender. Country effects showed for alcohol use and AUD-severity. Conclusion: European ELDERLY-participants presented typical dependence symptoms, a wide range of severity, and intense alcohol use. This may underline the clinical significance of AUD in treatment-seeking seniors.


Author(s):  
Rafaela M. Dancygier

As Europe's Muslim communities continue to grow, so does their impact on electoral politics and the potential for inclusion dilemmas. In vote-rich enclaves, Muslim views on religion, tradition, and gender roles can deviate sharply from those of the majority electorate, generating severe trade-offs for parties seeking to broaden their coalitions. This book explains when and why European political parties include Muslim candidates and voters, revealing that the ways in which parties recruit this new electorate can have lasting consequences. The book sheds new light on when minority recruitment will match up with existing party positions and uphold electoral alignments and when it will undermine party brands and shake up party systems. It demonstrates that when parties are seduced by the quick delivery of ethno-religious bloc votes, they undercut their ideological coherence, fail to establish programmatic linkages with Muslim voters, and miss their opportunity to build cross-ethnic, class-based coalitions. The book highlights how the politics of minority inclusion can become a testing ground for parties, showing just how far their commitments to equality and diversity will take them when push comes to electoral shove. Providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding the causes and consequences of minority political incorporation, and especially as these pertain to European Muslim populations, the book advances our knowledge about how ethnic and religious diversity reshapes domestic politics in today's democracies.


Author(s):  
Melanie M. Hughes

Around the world, countries are increasingly using quotas to enhance the diversity of political representatives. This chapter considers the histories and policy designs of ethnic and gender quotas that regulate national legislatures. Most countries with quotas target only one type of under-represented group—for example, women or ethnic minorities. Even in countries with both gender and ethnic quotas (called ‘tandem quotas’), the policies typically evolved separately and work differently. Women and ethnic minorities are treated as distinct groups, ignoring the political position of ethnic minority women. However, a handful of countries have ‘nested quotas’ that specifically regulate the political inclusion of ethnic minority women. The second half the chapter focuses explicitly on nested quotas. It lays out how nested quotas work, where and how they have been adopted, and the prospect for their spread to new countries in the future. The chapter concludes with reflections on the promises and pitfalls of nested quotas as a vehicle for multicultural feminism.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096100062110165
Author(s):  
Mohammadhiwa Abdekhoda ◽  
Fatemeh Ranjbaran ◽  
Asghar Sattari

This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the role of information and information resources in the awareness, control, and prevention of COVID-19. This study was a descriptive-analytical survey in which 450 participants were selected for the study. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data through SPSS. The findings show that a wide range of mass media has become well known as information resources for COVID-19. Other findings indicate a significant statistical difference in the rate of using information resources during COVID-19 based on age and gender; however, this difference is not significant regarding the reliability of information resources with regard to age and gender. Health information has an undisputable role in the prevention and control of pandemic diseases such as COVID-19. Providing accurate, reliable, and evidence-based information in a timely manner for the use of resources and information channels related to COVID-19 can be a fast and low-cost strategic approach in confronting this disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 817-817
Author(s):  
Shana Stites

Abstract Many studies find gender differences in how older adults’ report on their memory, perform on cognitive testing, and manage functional impairments that can accompany cognitive impairment. Thus, understanding gender’s effects in aging and Alzheimer’s research is key for advancing methods to prevent, slow, manage, and diagnosis cognitive impairment. Our study, CoGenT3 – The study of Cognition and Gender in Three Generations – seeks to disambiguate the effects of gender on cognition in order to inform a conceptual model, guide innovations in measurement, and support future study. To accomplish this ambitious goal, we have gathered an interdisciplinary team with expertise in psychology, cognition, sexual and gender minorities, library science, measurement, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and gender and women’s studies. The team benefits from the intersections of expertise in being able to build new research ideas, gain novel insights, and evaluate a wide-range of actions and re-actions but this novelty can also raise challenges.


1973 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
H. G. Nicholas

Elections satisfy both the practical and the theoretical requirements of classical democratic theory if they answer one question only: Who shall rule? Judged by this test the American elections of 7 November 1972 returned as clear and unequivocal an answer as the United States Constitution permits – crystal-clear as to individuals, equivocal as to parties and political forces. But the student of politics and society cannot resist treating elections as data-gathering devices on a wide range of other questions, on the state of the public mind, on the relative potency of pressure groups, on the internal health of the political parties, and, of course, on the shape of things to come. In this ancillary role American elections, despite the generous wealth of statistical material which they throw up – so much more detailed and categorized (though often less precise) than our own – Suffer in most years from one severe limitation, a limitation which in 1972 was particularly conspicuous; they do not engage the interest of more than a moderate percentage of the American citizenry. In 1972 that percentage was as low as 55 per cent, i.e. out of an estimated eligible population of 139,642,000 only 77,000,000 went to the polls. Since this circumscribes the conclusions which can be drawn from the results themselves, as well as constituting a phenomenon of considerable intrinsic interest, it seems worthwhile to begin any examination of the 1972 elections by an analysis not of the votes counted but of those which were never cast.


Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-260
Author(s):  
Christoph Randler

The purpose of this study was to segment birdwatchers into clusters. Members from a wide range of bird related organizations, from highly specialized birders as well as Facebook bird group members were studied to provide a diverse dataset (n = 2766; 50.5% men). Birding specialization was measured with a battery of questionnaires. Birding specialization encompassed the three constructs of skill/competence, behavior, personal and behavioral commitment. Additionally, involvement, measured by centrality to lifestyle, attraction, social bonding, and identity, was used. The NbClust analyses showed that a three-cluster solution was the optimal solution. Then, k-means cluster analysis was applied on three groups: casual/novice, intermediate, and specialist/advanced birdwatchers. More men than women were in the specialist/advanced group and more women than men in the casual/novice group. As a conclusion, this study confirms a three-cluster solution for segmenting German birdwatchers based on a large and diverse sample and a broad conceptualization of the construct birding specialization. These data can be used to address different target audiences (novices, advanced birders) with different programs, e.g., in nature conservation.


Author(s):  
Stuart Murray

Disability and the Posthuman is the first study to analyse cultural representations and deployments of disability as they interact with posthumanist theories of technology and embodiment. Working across a wide range of texts, many new to critical enquiry, in contemporary writing, film and cultural practice from North America, Europe, the Middle East and Japan, it covers a diverse range of topics, including: contemporary cultural theory and aesthetics; design, engineering and gender; the visualisation of prosthetic technologies in the representation of war and conflict; and depictions of work, time and sleep. While noting the potential limitations of posthumanist assessments of the technologized body, the study argues that there are exciting, productive possibilities and subversive potentials in the dialogue between disability and posthumanism as they generate dissident crossings of cultural spaces. Such intersections cover both fictional/imagined and material/grounded examples of disability and look to a future in which the development of technology and complex embodiment of disability presence align to produce sustainable yet radical creative and critical voices.


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