Electoral Reform and electoral Behaviour in Belgium: Change within Continuity... or conversely

Res Publica ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-278
Author(s):  
Benoît Rihoux
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Political System ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Federal State ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Electoral Behaviour

Since the November 1991 elections, it has become a common statement to argue that Belgium has entered a -possibly unprecedented- period ofchange and instability. This article focuses on the evolution of the electoral system and electoral behaviour, in order to test this widely agreed-upon judgement.  All things considered, one observes that the electoral system has not been radically modified since World War II. In spite of the transformation of the country into a federal state and several severe conflicts, political decision-makers have opted for the 'fine-tuning" of the electoral system instead of radical reforms.As far as electoral behaviour is concerned, the picture is less clear. On one hand, relying on various indicators, one does observe that the early 1990s were characterised by change and transformation. On the other hand, one cannot conclude that the amplitude of change or instability in the early 1990s has been "exceptional" or "unprecedented" as compared with earlier periods.Building upon this ambiguous diagnosis, the author speculates on the probability of a major breakdown of the Belgian political system at the turn of the century.

scholarly journals Ukrainian Hybrid War – Quo Vadis?

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-159
Author(s):  
Carmen Rotărescu
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Political ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The World ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Quo Vadis ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
World War Iii

Abstract Although it is known for a long time, hybrid war taken place in Ukraine under the umbrella of Russian Federation surprised the whole world and produced the greatest worry for humankind’s fate since the World War II. The political and military analysts appreciate if the World War III does not come will at least follow a long time of a new cold war. Remembering the hybrid war is not declared, can be prolonged in time and the adversary is unknown, thus neither the aggressor state, it is hard to settle which are the countermeasures and how should be act when this clever adversary attacks you using hostile propaganda, to the limit of trick and war perfidy (the first is allowed as method of war, the latter is not), influences the political decision-makers by blackmail, military, economic and energetic deterrence or nuclear bombardments and undergoes subversive, clandestine actions and particularly it is hard to predict their consequences.

scholarly journals Produkcija diplomatskega védenja v jugoslovanski in poljski povojni diplomatski praksi (1945–1947)

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2020) (3) ◽  
pp. 735-771
Author(s):  
Maja Lukanc
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Production Of Knowledge ◽  
Post War ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Shed Light

Diplomacy provides a unique insight into the socio-political circumstances of individual countries. Through their reports, analyses, and interpretations, diplomats shape a modicum of knowledge about the state in which they operate. Based on Yugoslav and Polish archival materials and memorial literature, the following contribution explores how diplomats from both countries contributed to the knowledge about Yugoslavia and Poland in the first years after World War II. The article takes into account the factors that influenced the production of knowledge in diplomacy and answers the question of whether the Yugoslav and Polish political decision-makers applied the newly acquired knowledge and how. The first post-war elections in both countries serve as a case study: they allowed diplomats to gain an insight into the operations of the local political elites; shed light on the attitude of the population towards the new authorities; and answered the question of how far the communists were willing to go in their struggle for power.

scholarly journals Niemiecka droga do demokracji i gospodarki rynkowej jako przykład dla państw Europy Wschodniej

2017 ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Martin Dahl
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Political System ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
World War ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Democratic Political System

The German experience with democracy and the market economy can be particularly valuable for other European countries for at least two reasons. Firstly, after World War II, the Germans effectively and permanently managed to enter the democratic political system based on the market economy. Initially, the economy was implemented only in the western part of the country and since 1990 all over the country. Secondly, after the collapse of the former Soviet bloc, Central European countries greatly benefited from German political solutions. This means that in favourable conditions, these experiences can be a valuable source of inspiration for other countries, especially those in Eastern Europe.This study is a result of research conducted in 2016 as part of the project ‘Germany and Russia in a multipolar international order. Strategic vision and potential alliances’ with the support of the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation. It consists of four parts. Part I is an introduction to the issues analysed. Part II shows the genesis and characteristics of the democratic political system of Germany. Part III contains an analysis of the German experience with the implementation of the market economy. In Part IV, the author presents his conclusions of how and to what extent Eastern European countries can use the German experience in reforming their political systems and what conditions they would have to meet.

You're a Better Filipino than I Am, John Wayne: World War II, Hollywood, and U.S.-Philippines Relations

2002 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles V. Hawley
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Power Relationship ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
World War ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

Between 1939 and 1945 several Hollywood studios produced significant films set in the war-torn Philippines, including Bataan (MGM, 1943), So Proudly We Hail (Paramount, 1943),and Back to Bataan (RKO,1943). Although these films immediately preceded Philippines independence in 1946, they do not position the Philippines as a soon-to-be autonomous nation. Instead, these films reaffirm, and even celebrate, the unequal colonial power relationship that marked the history of U.S. occupation of the archipelago. A careful reading of these films, which is the subject of this article, reveals the stamina of this colonial ideology (colonial uplift, tutelage, and nation-building) that legitimized U.S. colonial rule in the Phillapines and dates back to the turn of the century. What the perpetuation of this ideology suggests is the postwar neocolonial relationship between the two nations that U.S. government officials anticipated. This revised neocolonial ideology is expressed through the racialized and gendered images of Filipino characters and their interaction with U.S. American characters. The U.S. government attempted to control such images as part of its wartime propaganda, but had to rely on the voluntary compliance of the major Hollywood studios. While the Filipinos in films like Back to Bataan, made at the war's end, appear to challenge the racist stereotypes of prior films, they are re-inscribed by a neocolonial form of U.S. supremacy—— framed as wartime U.S. guidance and Filipino dependency.

From Dissent to Democracy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan C. Pinckney
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
World War ◽  
Authoritarian Rule ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Scholarly Literature ◽  
Nonviolent Resistance ◽  
Successful Resolution ◽  
Positive Effect

Under what conditions will successful nonviolent revolutions lead to democratization? While the scholarly literature has shown that nonviolent resistance has a positive effect on a country’s level of democracy, little research to date has disaggregated this population to explain which cases of successful nonviolent resistance lead to democracy and which do not. This book presents a theory of democratization in transitions initiated by nonviolent resistance based on the successful resolution of two central strategic challenges: maintaining high transitional mobilization and avoiding institutionally destructive maximalism. I test the theory, first, on a data set of every transition from authoritarian rule in the post–World War II period and, second, with three in-depth case studies informed by interviews with key decision-makers in Nepal, Zambia, and Brazil. The testing supports the importance of high mobilization and low maximalism. Both have strong, consistent effects on democratization after nonviolent resistance.

Gender, Politics, and the Emerging Cold War

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Castledine
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
The Political ◽  
World War ◽  
Concerted Effort ◽  
Nineteenth Amendment

This chapter discusses how Americans debated regarding women's right to vote, even before the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. By the presidential election of 1936, most agreed that women had failed to organize in numbers large enough to provide them with an effective voice in the political system. However, World War II would create opportunities for women's political activism. As men joined the service, women replaced them not only in the industrial workplace but also in political organizing. Americans concerned with dramatic shifts in gender roles then engaged in a concerted effort to remasculinize U.S. culture after the war. In need of strategies to lessen their apparent threat to American masculinity, Progressive women, led by Women for Wallace chair Elinor Gimbel, introduced various tactics to calm fears about the supposed dangers of leftist women.

Political Dislocation in a Technical Universe

1980 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Menninger
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Political System ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
Public Opinion Polls ◽  
Opinion Polls

One clear fact emerging from current public opinion polls is that most Americans have little confidence in both political leaders and the political system. At the time of this writing, the president's approval ratings have slipped to the lowest mark for any president since World War II – just above 25 percent, according to one poll. Members of Congress have hardly been faring better. Throughout 1977, even as the president's popularity began to slide down, approval ratings for Congress never went above 40 percent, ending the year at just above 30 percent. Indeed, all politicians have suffered from severely diminished status in the public eye. In one recent survey on occupational prestige, they were rated next to last among fifteen occupations listed, a step above salesmen and one below skilled workers.

Tatarstan: Adjusting to life in Putin's Russia

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Graney
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Soviet Rule ◽  
Interesting Aspect ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Autonomy ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Republic

A little-noted but interesting aspect of the Russian annexation of Crimea in March 2014 was Vladimir Putin's government's attempt to enlist officials from the Republic of Tatarstan to smooth the transition of Crimea back to Russian rule. It makes sense — the Crimean and Volga Tatars are ethnic, linguistic, and religious kin, and both trace their history of statehood back to the Golden Horde successor khanates of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Crimean Khanate maintained its independence far longer than Kazan was able to; while the defeat of Kazan in 1552 marked the beginning of the expansion of the modern Russian Empire under Ivan IV, the Crimean Khanate retained some form of autonomy until nearly the end of the eighteenth century. During the ensuing years, the fortunes of the two peoples and their states reversed yet again; Tatarstan emerged from Soviet rule as a powerful actor determined to make the new Russian Federation truly a federal state in practice as well as on paper (in part by invoking the heritage of the Kazan Khanate). In contrast the Crimean Tatars, never having recovered demographically or politically from their forced exile to Central Asia by Stalin during World War II, struggled to establish some form of cultural and political autonomy as part of a newly independent Ukraine.

The N.C.N.C. and Ethnic Unions in Biafra

1969 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Chapman Smock
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
World War ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
First Republic ◽  
Ethnic Factors

The omnipresence of ethnic factors as a determinant in Nigerian politics during the first republic appears almost as a truism for Africansts today. The fragmentation of Nigeria into two units with the secession of Biafra on 30 May 1967 constitutes the most tragic and vivid manifestation of the consequences of ethnic confrontation. But in addition to these well-known ethnic-bloc politics at the macropolitical— Federal—level, competition based on ethnic groups also characterised the regional and local political systems. After all, the separate identities of such ethnic groups as the Ibo, the Yoruba, and the Hausa—Fulani only became relevant and generally accepted subsequent to the Introduction of a representative political system after World War II.

scholarly journals Valuch, Tibor. 2013. Magyar hétköznapok. Fejezetek a mindennapi élet történetéből a második világháborútól az ezredfordulóig ('Hungarian Everydays – Chapters of Everyday Life from World War II to the Turn of the Century'). Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó. 347 pp.; Valuch, Tibor. 2015. A jelenkori magyar társadalom ('Contemporary Hungarian Society'). Budapest: Osiris. 296 pp.

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 242-244
Author(s):  
Tamás Bezsenyi
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
World War ◽  
Hungarian Society

Valuch, Tibor. 2013. Magyar hétköznapok. Fejezetek a mindennapi élet történetéből a második világháborútól az ezredfordulóig ('Hungarian Everydays – Chapters of Everyday Life from World War II to the Turn of the Century'). Budapest: Napvilág Kiadó. 347 pp.; Valuch, Tibor. 2015. A jelenkori magyar társadalom ('Contemporary Hungarian Society'). Budapest: Osiris. 296 pp.

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