A model of preferences evolution

2020 ◽  
pp. 82-94
Author(s):  
K. A. Bukin ◽  
M. I. Levin
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Relative Number ◽  
Initial Distribution ◽  
The Political ◽  
Stationary Mode ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Political Groups

The paper examines the evolution of individual political preferences under the influence of the parties and political groups of which they are members. Individual preferences are considered in terms of proximity to political doctrines of the political institutions in question. The change in political views can be considered as a combination of a steady trend with the imposition of random change, and in this sense it is similar to mutations in biology. The paper shows that stationary distributions of individuals on the political spectrum scale are defined by their utility functions and initial numbers. While the initial distribution was generated by membership of the central party and two groups conventionally called “left” and “right”, the stationary distribution has the form of three narrow peaks, the maximums of which are at the points characterizing political doctrines on the political spectrum scale. In addition, it is shown that in the stationary mode, the relative number of members of the “center” party will increase as compared to the initial period, and vice versa, the total share of “left” and “right” will decrease.

Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Fabio Wolkenstein
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
The State ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Academic Interest ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Western Democracies

In addition to summarizing the book’s main themes as described, this Introduction places special emphasis on connecting the problem animating the book—the apparent incapacity of contemporary parties to mediate between citizens and the state—to current political developments in established Western democracies, showing that the issues the book addresses are not only of academic interest but also directly relevant to ongoing public debates about the state and health of representative democracy. Chief amongst the themes foregrounded here is the rise of so-called ‘populist’ parties on the left and right of the political spectrum, as well as the re-branding of established political actors as ‘movements’ (think, e.g. of Emmanuel Macron’s La République en Marche). These phenomena are interpreted as part of a larger ‘revolt against intermediary bodies’—meaning first and foremost a rebellion against political parties. The Introduction suggests that this ‘revolt’ brings with it only a temporary shift in how representative politics looks, without actually reversing the disconnect between parties and voters or compelling established political parties to give up their privileges and de-colonize the institutions of the state. This argument sets the stage for the book’s core contention that more thought has to be put into finding ways to reconnect political parties with society.

scholarly journals Izquierda peronista: una categoría útil para el análisis histórico / Peronist Left: A Useful Category for Historical Analysis

2017 ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Valeria Caruso ◽  
Esteban Campos ◽  
Mariano Vigo ◽  
Omar Acha
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
1960S And 1970S ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Analytical Category

El presente trabajo examina la utilidad de la categoría analítica “izquierda peronista” para caracterizar las tendencias anticapitalistas y socialistas del peronismo surgidas en la Argentina de los años 1960 y 1970. Estudia los usos de la categoría en las investigaciones sobre el tema, en las que coexiste con nociones alternativas tales como “peronismo revolucionario”. Aunque el peronismo en general se ha (auto)percibido como un movimiento ajeno a las clasificaciones modernas del espectro político en términos de izquierda-derecha, el estudio de los usos de esas clasificaciones, en ocasiones empleadas por los propios actores, sugiere la relevancia analítica del término “izquierda peronista” en clave politética.Palabras clavePeronismo, izquierda peronista, historiografía, clasificación politética.AbstractThis article examines the usefulness of the analytical category “Peronist left” to characterize the anti-capitalist and socialist tendencies of Peronism that emerged in Argentina in the 1960s and 1970s. It discusses the uses of the category in different works of research, where is coincidental with alternative notions such as “revolutionary Peronism”. Although Peronism in general has been (self)perceived as a movement strange to modern classifications of the political spectrum in terms of left and right, the study of the uses of these classifications, sometimes employed by the actors themselves, suggests the analytical relevance of the term “Peronist left” in polythetic inquiry.Key WordsPeronism, peronist left, historiography, polythetic classification.

Tracing the Roots of the Protest State in Argentina

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mason W. Moseley
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Count Data ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Spectrum

The fifth chapter introduces the case of Argentina, a country where protest has taken root as a common characteristic of everyday political life over the past two decades. The chapter begins by analyzing the history of protest from Carlos Menem’s election in 1989 to the current Fernández de Kirchner government, arguing that it has indeed crystallized as a routine form of political participation in this regime. I attribute this trend to the weakness of political institutions and strength of Argentine civil society: the two pillars of the protest state. I then proceed to utilize survey data and protest events count data to support this argument, demonstrating that not only has protest become more common over the past two decades, but that it has consolidated as a common mode of political voice for Argentine citizens across demographic groups and the political spectrum.

Voters’ Left–Right Perception of Parties in Contemporary Japan: Removing the Noise of Misunderstanding

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
HIROFUMI MIWA
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
The Political ◽  
Opinion Poll ◽  
New Parties ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Survey Design And Analysis ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Survey Responses

AbstractThe prevailing theory states that either Japanese voters have stopped ideologically distinguishing parties or that the main political parties in Japan have become more centrist in recent years. These arguments are based on survey questions asking citizens to locate parties on an ideological scale. However, these questions may suffer from noise caused by respondents who misinterpret the question wording or answer the questions inappropriately to mask their misunderstanding of the terms ‘left’ and ‘right’. To address this problem by extracting only the views of those who know the meaning of left–right terms, this article develops a mixture model. Applying the model to an opinion poll conducted after the 2012 Japanese general election, I confirm that those who comprehend the left–right terminology – slightly over half of all voters – largely perceived parties’ ideologies in the same way as experts. Additionally, I find that even these voters face difficulties in placing ambiguous or new parties on the political spectrum. This study has implications not only for understanding trends in Japanese political ideology, but also for survey design and analysis of heterogeneous survey responses.

scholarly journals The Ideological Orientations of Canadian University Professors

1969 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Reza Nakhaie ◽  
Robert J. Brym
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
The Political ◽  
University Professors ◽  
Considerable Heterogeneity ◽  
The North ◽  
Self Selection ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Political Spectrum

This paper analyzes the ideological orientations of Canadian university professors based on a unique 2000 study of a representative sample of Canadian academics (n=3,318). After summarizing methodological problems with extant research on this subject, and tentatively comparing the political views of Canadian and American academics, the paper demonstrates that Canadian academics fall to the left of the political spectrum but are not hugely different in this respect from the Canadian university-educated population. Multivariate analyses reveal considerable heterogeneity in the ideological views of Canadian professors, suggesting that contemporary characterizations of the North American professoriate as left- or right-leaning tend to be overdrawn. Multivariate analyses demonstrate the importance of disadvantaged status and disciplinary socialization in shaping professors’ ideological views, although self-selection processes are not discounted.  

scholarly journals Reaching out to the voter? Campaigning on Twitter during the 2019 European elections

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 205316802091725 ◽  
Author(s):  
William T. Daniel ◽  
Lukas Obholzer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
The Political ◽  
Electoral Institutions ◽  
European Elections ◽  
Standard Tool ◽  
Lead Candidate ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Twitter Activity

This article draws upon the literature on comparative political institutions in order to re-examine the logic of Twitter usage during campaign periods, now that social media has become a standard tool that is used across the political spectrum. We test how electoral institutions and individual characteristics shaped Twitter activity during the 2019 European elections cycle and compare the nature of this usage with the previous 2014 campaign. Our findings allow for an evaluation of social media campaigning against the backdrop of its dynamic evolution, while also confirming its normalisation in the European elections’ revival of the Spitzenkandidat process. Rather than seeking to differentiate themselves from party-internal and external competitors or highlighting their own qualities, our findings suggest that Members of the European Parliament used Twitter in 2019 to emphasise the lead candidate that they have in common.

scholarly journals ‟Rotalia” – Estonian corporation in St. Petersburg (1913–1918)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
Dmitriy A Barinov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Common Goal ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Or Methodology ◽  
Life Path ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Russian Empire

Relevance. At the end of 19th – beginning of 20th centuries there was a new rise in the national movement in the Russian Empire. The increase of number of organizations struggling for political independence and / or cultural identity was also echoed in higher education. Student national societies were created in large university cities. Despite their common goal (the struggle for national autonomy) they could hold differ-ent political views: from revolutionary to deemed “apolitical” i.e. conservative ones. A striking example of the latter was the Estonian corporation ‟Rotalia”. Method or methodology. To bridge the existing historiographic gap, we will resort to the historical and biographical method. Through the memories and life path of the most famous members of the corporation, the main stages of the organization's activities will be restored. Results. The method we have chosen made it possible to supplement the poor archival evidence of the organization's activities, expand the understanding of the customs, life and traditions of the Estonians in St. Petersburg. It also allowed to determine the place of ‟Rotalia” in the political spectrum of student self-organizations. Conclusions. The material we worked out allowed us to highlight in more detail the St. Petersburg / Petrograd period of the existence of ‟Rotalia” and at the same time to re-veal the political views of its participants. The leaders of this corporation adhered to conservative views and tried to stay away from active political life, being concentrated on educational activities and organizing mutual assistance. At the same time they con-sistently and consciously distanced themselves from the socialist Estonian societies.

Image of a President: Some Insights into the Political Views of School Children*

1968 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 216-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta S. Sigel
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Political World ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Political Principles ◽  
Political Figure

The map of the child's political world is slowly beginning to be filled in. The areas best filled in so far are his view of certain government officials (President, judges, policemen, etc.) and his understanding (or lack of understanding) of the operation of specific political institutions (legislatures, parties, etc.). Of all persons in government none is as well known as the President of the United States. Even at an early age children know his name and even his party affiliation. Best documented so far is the nature of the child's affection for the President. Apparently he enjoys the child's deep respect, admiration, loyalty, and even love. Some scholars have gone so far as to imply that he symbolizes nation, leadership, and father all in one. This being the case, it seems imperative that we ask: Is the President merely a symbol of leadership who will be loved irrespective of the political stands he takes, or is he seen as a genuine political figure who stands for specific political principles, legislation, etc.?

scholarly journals Brazil’s ‘lost decade’ in education, 1985-1994: how to account for the lack of reform in the New Republic?

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Burton
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Education System ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Military Regime ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
The Political ◽  
Reform Period ◽  
Lost Decade ◽  
Left And Right

Brazil’s education system is seen as having undergone substantial reform since 1995, ten years after the country returned to democracy.  What were the reasons for the delay in reform during this ‘lost decade’ in education between 1985 and 1994?  The paper identifies the reasons, including the educational legacy left by the outgoing military regime (including commitments it was unable to achieve, distortions in its spending allocation and the relative absence of control over the private sector); the political instability of the new republic’s first governments and increasing decentralisation of its political institutions; and the development of the education sector as an increasingly politicised arena of contestation between  left and  right, which would persist into the reform period after 1995.  The paper concludes by questioning whether this cycle of political instability and contestation in education has reached an end with the entry of the PT into government in 2003.

scholarly journals Does the Apple Fall Far from the Tree?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-80
Author(s):  
Željko Boneta ◽  
Marko Mrakovčić
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Political Socialization ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Political Center ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

The paper presents the results of a survey that assessed the impact of informal and formal agents of the political socialization (PS) process on a sample of students enrolled at the University of Rijeka (N = 635). The correlation between the participants' ideological self-identification (PIS) and the assessed ideological orientation of their parents (PIO) was analyzed. Students believe that no agent of socialization has even moderately influenced the formation of their political views and assess the weakest influence of the formal PS agent – teachers in primary and secondary schools. The participants believe that parents have influenced their political attitudes more than other agents, but assess this influence on average as weak, regardless of whether they place their parents in the same or different positions on the ideological orientation (IO) scale. Left- and right-oriented participants admit a somewhat stronger influence of their parents' informal PS than those who rank themselves in the center. Statistically significant correlations between PIS and the perceived PIO were obtained. A small share of participants does not perceive a similarity between their own and their parents' IO and there is a negligible share of those who place their parents in diametrically opposed positions on the scale. The participants who have a greater interest in politics and those from a more politically stimulating environment are more inclined to move away from the political center and their parents' IO. Concordance between family IOs increases with the perception of better relationships with parents.

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