scholarly journals Electoral Democracy – 2020 in the Light of Public Choice Theory: Lessons in Institutional Design for Russia

Federalism ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 62-79
Author(s):  
P. A. Orekhovsky
Keyword(s):  
Public Choice ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Behavior ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left Wing

2020 was marked by major landmark events. First of all, there is the political crisis in the United  States  related  to  the  presidential  elections.  Secondly,  there  is  the  UK’s  secession from the EU. Finally, there is the unexpected return to power of left-wing forces in some Latin American countries. This forces us to return to the foundations and conclusions of the theory of public choice – a tool that allowed us to analyze and predict the political and economic behavior of modern electoral democracies.The paper states that the erosion of the middle class leads to the dominance of minorities and their priorities. The position of the median voter is losing its former significance. As a result, the political duopoly becomes unstable, in contrast to the model of political pluralism (oligopoly). The desire of middle-income countries with a high degree of social differentiation to  adopt  a  bipartisan  system  in  the  hope  that  this  will  ensure  political  stability  must  be mistaken. In contrary to what was said, the construct of American federalism, which many scholars  consider  archaic,  effectively  defends  horizontal  democracy  and  discourages  the imposition of values by aggressive minority coalitions. The use of one or another modification of the «electoral colleges» in the presidential and parliamentary elections would strengthen the federal principles of horizontal democracy in Russia. The article presents an analysis of two main approaches to the analysis of corruption – as «opportunistic behavior of an agent in the principal-agent model», and as «status rent». Criticism of the latter approach reveals the view of Russia as an «institutional mutant». Authors who interpret corruption as «status rent» tend to ignore the rent-seeking behavior of actors in rich countries. The article substantiates the idea of transferring to Russia the American legislation regulating the  behavior  of  lobbyists,  the  contribution  of  funds  to  the  electoral  funds  of  parties  and politicians. Such a transplant will dramatically reduce the volume of domestic corruption, while at the same time making the «electoral machines» much more transparent.

Book Reviews

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-367
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Exchange Rates ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Currency Crises ◽  
The United States ◽  
Exchange Rate Policy ◽  
Monetary Integration ◽  
The Political ◽  
Currency Policy

Benjamin J. Cohen of University of California, Santa Barbara reviews “Currency Politics: The Political Economy of Exchange Rate Policy”, by Jeffry A. Frieden. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Analyzes the politics surrounding exchange rates, including the influence of industries on the political process. Discusses the political economy of currency choice; a theory of currency policy preferences; the United States─from greenbacks to gold, 1862-79; the United States─silver threats among the gold, 1880-96; European monetary integration─from Bretton Woods to the euro and beyond; Latin American currency policy, 1970-2010; the political economy of Latin American currency crises; and the politics of exchange rates─implications and extensions.” Frieden is Professor of Government at Harvard University.

Book Reviews: Political Ideas, Hobbes's Science of Politics, Adam Ferguson: The History of Civil Society, The Works of Joseph De Maistre, Rosa Luxemburg, Marxism in Modern France, Marxist Ideology in the Contemporary World, The Moral Challenge of Communism, The Principles of Politics, Pacifism: An Historical and Sociological Study, The Pacifist Conscience, Pacifisme Et Internationalisms, Non-Violent Action: Theory and Practice, The Mafia and Politics, The Honoured Society, The Foundations of Freedom, The Real World of Democracy, The Left in Europe since 1789, Conflict in Society, The Study of Society, Communication and Political Power, Greater London: The Politics of Metropolitan Reform, Guide to Decision: The Royal Commission, Tizard, A Peril and a Hope, The Scientific Estate, Cases and Materials on Constitutional and Administrative Law, Occasional Papers on Social Administration: No, Land Values, Pensions and Public Servants, Public Sector Pensions, The Responsible Society: The Ideas of Guild Socialism, The Growth of the British Party System, The Government of Northern Ireland: Public Finance and Public Services 1921–1964, An Atlas of European Affairs, Nordic Cooperation: Conference Organised by The Nordic Council at Hasselby, 2–4 June 1965, L'Union Economique Belgo—Luxembourgeoise: Experiences Et Perspectives D'Avenir, Western European Integration, Walter Hallstein: Bibliographie Seiner Veroffent-Lichungen, Europäische Gegenwart: Schriften Zur Europapo-Litik, Columbia Essays in International Affairs, European Challenge. Tuairim Pamphlet No. 11, The Uneasy Entente, The European Idea, Atomic Energy Policy in France under the Fourth Republic, Private Interest and Public Policy, Verbände Und Gesetzgebung, Wohin Treibt Die Bundesrepublik?, The Germans and their Modern History, Wirtschaft Und Politik in Deutschland, Demogratic Parties in the Low Countries and Germany, The Political Vocation, Private Power and American Democracy, The National Guard in Politics, Envoy Extraordinary, Nehru: A Contemporary's Estimate, The Philosophy of Mr. Nehru, Nehru: The Years of Power, Apprentice to Power: India, 1904–1908, Dawn of Renascent India, The Congress Ideology and Programme, 1920–47, South Asian Affairs, Number Two: The Movement for National Freedom in India, The Political Philosophy of M. N. Roy, Sarojini Naidu: A Biography, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi (1884–1911), Conquest of Violence: The Gandhian Philosophy of Conflict, Gandhi and the Nuclear Age, Research on the Bureaucracy of Pakistan, Political Development in Pakistan, Buddhism or Communism, Religion and Politics in Burma, Communism in Africa, African Powder Keg, The Political Awakening of Africa, Pan-Africanism and East African Integration, Britain and the Commonwealth, Governments of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth for a Colour-Blind World, Unscrambling an Empire, A Decade of the Commonwealth, 1955–1964, The Establishment of the Department of Trade: A Case-Study in Administrative Organization, Administrative Questions and Political Answers, Planning and Forecasting in New Zealand, Decisions: Case Studies in Australian Administration, Economic Development, Politics of the Developing Nations, The Rise and Fall of Western Colonialism, The Political Basis of Economic Development, Political Oppositions in Western Democracies, Mathematics and Politics, The New Utopians, Symbols of American Community 1735–1775, The Case of Richard Sorge, An Instance of Treason, The Roots of Appeasement, Silesia, Yesterday and Today, Teuton and Slav, The Transfer of the Sudeten Germans, The Reluctant Ally, Rumania: Russia's Dissident Ally, The New Eastern Europe, Problems of National Strategy, Decision-Making for Deffnce, International Political Communication, Propaganda and the Cold War, The Effect of Independence on Treaties, United Nations and Domestic Jurisdiction, Cambridge Essays in International Law, The Inductive Approach to International Law, Politics and Power, Eine Welt Oder Keine?, The Dynamics of International Organization: The Making of World Order, International Behaviour: A Social-Psychological Analysis, Diplomatic Investigations, Theory and the International System, Annihilation and Utopia, The State of War, Nationalism Old and New, Dimensions Du Nationalisme, Protest in Tokyo: The Security Treaty Crisis of 1960, Soviet Strategies in South-East Asia, Defeating Communist Insurgency, towards Peace in Indo-China, South Vietnam: Nation under Stress, Communism in North Vietnam, Vietnam: History, Documents and Opinions on a Major World Crisis, Vietnam and the United States, Thailand and the Struggle for South-East Asia, Thailand and the United States, South-East Asia's Second Front, South Asia, International Economic Integration, Communist Economic Challenge, The Third World, The Economics of Competitive Coexistence, U.S, The Western Hemisphere Idea: Its Rise and Decline, American Support of Free Elections Abroad, The United States and Latin American Wars 1932–1942, The Unwritten Alliance, The Pan-American Federation of Labor, A Latin American Common Market?, Proceedings of a Seminar on Commonwealth Responsibilities for Security in the Indo-Pacific Region. Australian Institute of International Affairs and the Australian National University Defence Studies Project, The Anzus Treaty Alliance, Australian Policies and Attitudes Towards China, World Politics in the General Assembly, The United Nations in the Balance, United Nations: Then and now, The Glasshouse: The United Nations in Action, The Trauma of Decolonization: The Dutch and West New Guinea, De L'Impérialisme À La Décolonisation, Self-Determination Revisited in the Era of Decolonisation, The Elephants and the Grass, Afro-Asia and Non-Alignment

1967 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-289
Author(s):  
Michael Levin ◽  
J. W. N. Watkins ◽  
A. S. Skinner ◽  
Alan Ryan ◽  
John Plamenatz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
United Nations ◽  
East Asia ◽  
International Law ◽  
Latin American ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
International Affairs

Public Choice Theory and the Politics of Urban Containment: Voter-Centred versus Special-Interest Explanations

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Pennington
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Public Choice ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Environmental Concern ◽  
Planning System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Choice Theory ◽  
Urban Containment ◽  
British Planning

The policy of urban containment has lain at the heart of British land-use planning for over fifty years. The author examines the political dynamics underlying the commitment to this policy through the lens of public choice theory. The analysis suggests that macroelectoral shifts in favour of environmental protection have provided a push towards restrictive land-use planning and an emphasis on urban containment in recent years. Evidence of a ‘voluntary’ approach to regulation in other areas of environmental concern, however, suggests that the peculiar focus on containment is attributable to the political power exerted by a coalition of special interests and public sector bureaucrats who benefit most from this core of the British planning system.

scholarly journals Looking Deeper at the Reform of New Zealand's Roading System: Driven by Economic Rationalism or an Example of Public Choice Theory in Action

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 781
Author(s):  
Matthew J Coull
Keyword(s):  
Public Choice ◽  
Road Network ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Law And Economics ◽  
Efficiency Gains ◽  
Public Choice Theory ◽  
Public Road ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Operational Management

Successive New Zealand governments have investigated reforming New Zealand's road network since 1994. The draft Roads Bill 1998 creates a system of road provision operated according to commercial principles. Roads remain publicly owned, but operational management passes from Transit and 74 territorial authorities to newly incorporated "public road companies". The reforms are examined from "a law and economics" perspective, which finds that while efficiency gains may be generated, the proposed institutional design may prevent these gains from being realised to the proposed extent. The reform proposal is then analysed using public choice theory. This analysis finds that while some elements of the proposal are consistent with legislator and bureaucrat self interest, it contains too many politically sensitive variables to displace the Government's stated "efficiency gains" premise as the overriding motivation for reform.  

scholarly journals Why the current Peak in Populism in the US and Europe? Populism as a Deviation in the Median Voter Theorem

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filipa Figueira
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Choice ◽  
Median Voter ◽  
The United States ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Median Voter Theorem ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
The Us ◽  
Political Spectrum

The current surge of populism in Europe and the United States calls for further analysis using public choice tools. In this article, populism is modelled as a deviation from the normal state of the median voter theorem. This study adds to the public choice literature by proposing a model of populism which is suited, not only to left-wing populism, but also to other forms of populism prevalent in Europe and the United States today. It is argued that, due to changes in the assumptions underpinning the median voter theorem, the operation of the model can be modified, and as a result surges of populism occur. Those assumptions concern: the political spectrum; the distribution of ideological preferences; sociological, psychological and historical factors; political party competition; and extreme political preferences. It is shown that the current peak of populism in Europe and the United States can be explained through a simultaneous change in all of these aspects, leading to a “perfect storm” of populism. 

Fascism and Dependency in Latin America in the Thinking of Theotônio dos Santos

2021 ◽  
pp. 0094582X2110591
Author(s):  
Maíra Machado Bichir
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
America Latina

The analysis of Theotônio dos Santos, a central reference of the Marxist theory of dependency, of the counterrevolutionary political processes in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s, reflecting what he observes as an advance of fascistization, proposes the concept of a dependent fascism to characterize some of the military governments that materialized in the region. His writings on the subject are part of a wide range of debates that took place in Latin America during the 1970s, which focused on the context of political radicalization between revolution and counterrevolution, a tug-of-war that led to a consolidation of military coups. These writings express his position on both the political crisis that took place in Latin American countries at that time and the transformations of the political regime and the state itself. Efforts to renew these debates are anchored in the expectation that they may shed light on recent Latin American history. A análise de Theotônio dos Santos, referência central da teoria Marxista da dependência, sobre os processos políticos contrarrevolucionários na América Latina nas décadas de 1960 e 1970, ao observar um avanço da fascistização, propõe o conceito de fascismo dependente para caracterizar alguns dos governos militares que se concretizaram na região. Seus escritos sobre o tema se inscrevem em um amplo campo de debates que tiveram lugar na América Latina durante a década de 1970, os quais se debruçavam sobre o contexto de radicalização política entre revolução e contrarrevolução, no qual a consolidação de golpes militares estava imersa, e expressam o posicionamento do autor em relação tanto à crise política que teve lugar nos países latino-americanos naquele então, quanto às transformações do próprio regime político e do Estado. O esforço de recuperar tal debate está ancorado na expectativa de que tais reflexões possam lançar luz sobre a história recente latino-americana.

Reviews: Geography and Regional Administration, French Revolution 1968, The Beginning of the End: France, May 1968, The Student Revolt: The Activists Speak, Obsolete Communism: The Left-Wing Alternative, Resistance: The Political Autobiography of Georges Bidault, The New French Revolution: A Social and Economic Survey of France, 1945–1967, The Government of France, French Politics and Political Institutions, The Army of the Republic: The Role of the Military in the Political and Constitutional Evolution of France, 1871–1914, Parades and Politics at Vichy: The French Officer Corps Under Marshal Petain, La Socialization Politique Des Enfants, French Administrative Law, The French Parliament 1958–1967, Canadian Legislative Behaviour: A Study of the 25th Parliament, La Fonction Parlementaire En Belgique: Mecanismes D'Acces Et Images, Congress: Its Contemporary Role, Congress and Lobbies: Image and Reality, Congressional Ethics: The Conflict of Interest Issue, The Congressional Process: Strategies, Rules, and Procedure, Marxian Socialism in the United States, The American Party Systems, Critics of Society, American Politics: A Radical View, The Democratic Experiment: American Political Theory, The Federalists vs., The Democratic Party in American Politics, Parties and the Governmental System, Jacksonian Democracy and the Working Class, One Man, One Vote, The Art of the Possible: Government and Foreign Policy in Canada, in Defence of Canada: From the Great War to the Great Depression, Canada's Changing Defense Policy, 1957–1963: The Problems of a Middle Power in Alliance, A Samaritan State? External Aid in Canada's Foreign Policy, Canada and the Quest for Peace, The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Vols. XI-XXVI (1911–1925), Gandhi, A Study in Revolution, Non-Violence and Aggression, A Study of Gandhi's Moral Equivalent of War, Indian Administration, The Citizen and the Administrator in a Developing Democracy, States' Finances in India, The Foundations of Indian Federalism, Elite Conflict in a Plural Society, West Bengal and the Federalizing Process in India, Party Building in a New Nation, The Political Consequences of Electoral Laws, Economic Planning and Policies in Britain, France and Germany, Communism and the Politics of Development, Internationalism or Russification?, People's Democracy: A Contribution to the Study of the Communist Theory of State and Revolution, The Permanent Crisis: Communism in World Politics, Cohesion and Conflict in International Communism: A Study of Marxist-Leninist Concepts and Their Application, the Communist States and the West, the Communist World: Marxist and Non-Marxist Views, Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, 1966., Soviet Foreign Policy

1969 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 236-265
Author(s):  
B. Keith-Lucas ◽  
N. P. Keatinge ◽  
Robert S. Short ◽  
L. P. O'Sullivan ◽  
Margherita Rendel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Regional Administration

IV. Constitutional Development in Latin America: A Synthesis

1945 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell H. Fitzgibbon
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
United States Constitution ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Development ◽  
British North America ◽  
Degree Of Similarity

“Do not give to a people institutions for which it is unripe in the simple faith that the tool will give skill to the workman's hand. Respect Facts. Man is in each country not what we may wish him to be, but what Nature and History have made him.” Bryce, Modern Democracies, I, 206.With minor exceptions, the panorama of constitutional growth in the Western Hemisphere reveals two main streams. The United States Constitution, the British North America Act of 1867 (which is the Canadian fundamental law), and the organic laws of the various New World British possessions of today all stem, obviously, from English constitutional and institutional ancestry. The constitutions of the twenty Latin American states, on the other hand, all reflect in varying degree the experience and institutions of their three mother countries. These modern constitutions are, it is true, influenced by alien examples at one point or another, but the core is undubitably Latin. More narrowly, the inspiration is Hispanic; and still more narrowly, Spanish.It is not easy to explain in detail the degree of similarity between French political institutions and those of the Iberian peninsula in the centuries between the emergence of the several national states and the political revolutions in Latin America. At least, the French belonged to a not unrelated family. A much closer relationship is easily discernible among the political institutions of the three main Iberian entities that ultimately became the national states of Spain and Portugal, viz., Castile, Aragon, and Portugal. It is often forgotten that for many generations no political or constitutional “Spain” existed, that Aragon and Castile were as distinct from each other in most ways as either of them was from Portugal, that an easily possible union of the ruling houses of Castile and Portugal—supplanting the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand—might have changed the whole subsequent course of history.

The French Left and the Elections of 1968

1969 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank L. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Fifth Republic ◽  
Political Scene ◽  
General Strike

In early spring of 1968, French political observers found the most lively issue of debate in the question of whether or not the nation was bored as a result of the political and economic stability insured by the Gaullist regime. One noted French political scientist in contributing to this debate wrote: “What is certain is that the France of 1968 does not seem able to give itself the luxury of a political scene as passionate as that of Czechoslovakia, as dramatic as that of the United States, or as glorious as that of Vietnam. Neither the agitation of a minority of the students of a few universities, nor certain workers’ demonstrations, nor the discontent which reigns in Brittany affects seriously our political life.” In a few weeks student riots and a general strike provoked the most serious political crisis in the years of the Fifth Republic and brought France to the brink of civil war.

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