scholarly journals The Case Against Leaders: A Moral Reading of Geir Haarde's Conviction for Negligence of Ministerial Duties

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jón Ólafsson
Keyword(s):  
Public Support ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Government ◽  
Coming Crisis ◽  
Public Reaction ◽  
Head Of Government ◽  
Opinion Polls

In the aftermath of the Icelandic economic crisis of 2008 Iceland's former Prime Minister Geir Haarde was convicted for negligence of his constitutional duty to consult with his ministers on measures to prepare for the coming crisis. The court ruled that there was sufficient information available to the government to conclude that there was real danger of a major banking crisis in the months preceding the crisis. Mr. Haarde was the only head of government to be convicted in the aftermath of the Financial crisis. His indictment and conviction was hotly debated in Iceland where many people considered the process unfair, primarily because Mr. Haarde was the only minister indicted by Parliament for negligence of duties although a Special Investigative Commission appointed by Parliament had recommended indicting other ministers and officials as well. The paper reviews the case against Haarde and the public reaction to it. It is argued that the majority of judges on the special court which convicted Mr. Haarde used the constitutional clause on the duty to conduct ministerial meetings to present a more wideranging condemnation of Haarde's failure to deal with and acknowledge the threats Iceland was facing. Public opinion changed over time: When the Parliament began its consideration of whether to indict former ministers surveys showed an overwhelming majority favoring indictments, but limited confidence that anyone would actually be indicted. When proceedings against Mr. Haarde started public support was much less. After the conviction opinion polls have shown growing doubts about the special court itself. The whole case is an interesting example of the elusiveness of accountability: The paper argues that a thoroughgoing moral reading of Mr. Haarde's conviction reveals a more damning analysis og his actions (and lack of actions) than has generally been acknowledged by political leaders and in public debates.

The Relationship Between Government Popularity and Approval for the Government's Record in the United Kingdom

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hudson
Keyword(s):  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
State Of The Economy ◽  
Degree Of Stability ◽  
Key Variables ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Opinion Polls

The past decade has seen the growth of a considerable literature on the link between government popularity, as reflected by the proportion of the public indicating their intention to vote for the government in opinion polls, and the state of the economy, as represented by certain key variables. The work began in the early 1970s with articles by Goodhart and Bhansali, Mueller, and Kramer. It continued through the decade; some of the more recent contributions can be found in a set of readings edited by Hibbs and Fassbender. However, despite the amount and quality of this work, problems remain. Principal amongst these, as Chrystal and Alt have pointed out, is the inability to estimate a relationship which exhibits any degree of stability either over time or between researchers. Nearly all the studies have been successful in finding a significant relationship for specific time periods, but when these are extended, or when the function is used to forecast outside the original estimation period, the relationship appears to break down.

Discursive Democracy and New Labour: Five Ways in Which Decision-Makers Manage Citizen Agendas in Public Participation Initiatives

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Williams
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
New Labour ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Labour Policy ◽  
The Government

New Labour's conceptualisation of public participation in local government creates a tension in public participation practice. Government legislation and guidance require local authorities to develop and provide citizen-centred services, engage the public in policy-making and respond to the public's views. Seen in this light, New Labour policy draws from radical democratic discourse. However, local authority staff are also expected to act in accordance with the direction set by their line managers, the Council and the government and to inform, engage and persuade the public of the benefit of their authority's policies. In this respect, New Labour policy draws from the discursive model of civil society, conceptualising public participation as a method for engendering civil ownership of the formal structures of representative democracy. Tension is likely to arise when the ideas, opinions and values of the local authority differ from those expressed by the participating public. This paper uses a local ‘public participation’ initiative to investigate how the tension is managed in practice. The study shows how decision-makers dealt with the tension by using participatory initiatives to supply information, understand the views of the public and encourage public support around pre-existing organisational agendas. Problems occurred when citizens introduced new agendas by breaking or manipulating the rules of participation. Decision-makers responded by using a number of distinctive methods for managing citizens’ agendas, some of which were accompanied by strategies for minimising the injury done to citizens’ motivations for further participation. The paper concludes that New Labour policy fails to deal with the tensions between the radical and discursive models of participation and in the final analysis draws mainly from the discursive model of participation. Furthermore, whilst New Labour policy promotes dialogue between the public and local authority, it does not empower local authority staff to achieve the goal of citizen-centred policy-making.

Corruption and the Public Service Ethos in Mid-Victorian Administration: The Case of Leonard Horner and the Factory Office*

2020 ◽  
Vol 135 (575) ◽  
pp. 860-891
Author(s):  
Ian Cawood
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
The Public ◽  
Victorian Britain ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Changing Attitudes

Abstract While the problem of political corruption in mid-nineteenth century Britain has been much studied, the experience of corrupt behaviour in public bodies, both new and long established, is comparatively neglected. This article takes the example of one of the first inspectorates set up after the Great Reform Act, the Factory Office, to examine the extent of corrupt practices in the British civic state and the means whereby it was addressed. It examines the changing processes of appointment, discipline and promotion, the issues of remuneration and venality, and the relationships between inspectors, workers, factory owners, the government and the wider civil service, and the press and public opinion. The article argues that the changing attitudes of the inspectors, especially those of Leonard Horner, were indicative of a developing ‘public service ethos’ in both bureaucratic and cultural settings and that the work of such unsung administrators was one of the agencies through which corrupt behaviour in the civic structures of Victorian Britain was, with public support, challenged. The article concludes that the endogenous reform of bureaucratic practice achieved by the factory inspectorate may even be of equal significance as that which resulted from the celebrated Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854.

scholarly journals Responsibilization and Sexual Stigma Under Austerity: Surveying Public Support for Government-Funded PrEP in England

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-653
Author(s):  
Timothy Hildebrandt ◽  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Jessica S. C. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sexual Stigma ◽  
The Government ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Media Narratives

Abstract Introduction Under austerity, governments shift responsibilities for social welfare to individuals. Such responsibilization can be intertwined with pre-existing social stigmas, with sexually stigmatized individuals blamed more for health problems due to “irresponsible” sexual behavior. To understand how sexual stigma affects attitudes on government healthcare expenditures, we examine public support for government-provisioned PrEP in England at a time when media narratives cast the drug as an expensive benefit for a small, irresponsible social group and the National Health Service’s long-term sustainability was in doubt. Methods This paper uses data from an original survey (N = 738) conducted in September 2016, when public opinion should be most sensitive to sexual stigma. A survey experiment tests how the way beneficiaries of PrEP were described affected support for NHS provision of it. Contrary to expectations, we found that support was high (mean = 3.86 on a scale of 1 to 5) irrespective of language used or beneficiary group mentioned. Differences between conditions were negligible. Discussion Sexual stigma does not diminish support for government-funded PrEP, which may be due to reverence for the NHS; resistance to responsibilization generally; or just to HIV, with the public influenced by sympathy and counter-messaging. Social policy implications Having misjudged public attitudes, it may be difficult for the government to continue to justify not funding PrEP; the political rationale for contracting out its provision is unnecessary and flawed. With public opinion resilient to responsibilization narratives and sexual stigma even under austerity, welfare retrenchment may be more difficult than social policymakers presume.

scholarly journals Sontaku and political scandals in Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
Matthew M. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Japanese Politics ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Scandals ◽  
Specific Construction

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explain a new scandal ingredient in Japanese politics called sontaku. This word refers to cases when officials grant special treatment to a project because they believe they are acting in accordance with the wishes of an associated powerful person.Design/methodology/approachThis paper describes the specific construction of major scandals involving sontaku from 2017 based primarily on newspaper accounts, examines the consequences of these scandals for politicians and bureaucrats, and discusses their implications for combating corruption in Japan.FindingsThe scandals after 2017 damaged to some extent the public support for the current Japanese administration and influenced the prime minister's decision to call a snap election. The scandals also highlighted systematic problems in the bureaucracy and motivated the government to reform laws concerning the management of public documents.Originality/valueThis paper will be useful to scholars and policy makers interested in studying the causes and consequences of scandals and political corruption in Japan.

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.

scholarly journals Komunikasi Politik dan Branding Pemimpin Politik Melalui Media Sosial: A Conceptual Paper

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-161
Author(s):  
Festy Rahma Hidayati
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
Use Of Social Media

The presence of digital media, such as social media allows us to connect without any limitations of space and time. Consumption of social media brings changes in various aspects of life, including the habits of communicating and interacting in today's network society. In the political field, social media creates opportunities for political leaders to carry out political communication. As a strategic political communication channel, social media plays a role in receiving and responding to public aspirations. In fact, the use of social media for campaigns by political leaders shows a trend of increasing popularity and electability due to the influence of branding on social media. The use of social media by political leaders in building specific branding is at the core of this article. Political leaders optimize their personal social media accounts for political communication. The positive perception of the public allows for an increase in popularity and electability which brings to the national political stage. This article is a conceptual paper that analyzes the concept of branding in politics in the era of digital political communication by utilizing social media. The author uses relevant literature reviews from previous studies. This article reveals that several political leaders that have been studied have optimized social media to carry out political communication to their citizens. They display digital content to gain public support and trust, and display branding as a populist, professional, humanist, and responsible political leader.

scholarly journals Trust in government in times of economic crisis

2016 ◽  
pp. 111-126
Author(s):  
Robert Sobiech
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Evaluation ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Government

The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the existing studies concerning the phenomenon of public trust in government. Low trust in government has been frequently defined as a key problem influencing the policy process in many countries. The economic crises reinforced the importance of trust and triggered public debates on the necessary reforms of the public sector. The paper examines the key theories and research conducted by social scientists with a particular emphasis on the role of trust in risk societies. The review of the existing literature concentrates on the drivers of trust, showing the importance of two interlinked logics: the logic of consequences (the performance approach) and the logic of appropriateness (the process approach). The first one explains trust as a result of outputs and outcomes of government policies and services. The logic of appropriateness claims that trust is built on values and identity and depends on the adoption by governments the rules of integrity, openness, responsiveness and transparency. Trust in government is also deeply rooted in a broader system of rules, norms andvalues known as the trust culture. The last part of the paper is an attempt to trace an impact of an economic crisis on public trust. Studies of public opinion do not fully confirm the opinions on low trust and a decline in trust in government and trust in public administration in times of crisis. Some studies reveal considerable fluctuations of public trust in selected countries. In other countries, the public evaluation of government and public administration is high and there are only slight modifications in citizens’ perception of the government.

Inequality and U.S. Public Opinion on Foreign Aid

World Affairs ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 182 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-295
Author(s):  
Hak-Seon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Welfare Programs ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government ◽  
American Society ◽  
Social Safety Nets

I investigate how the level of inequality affects American public opinion on foreign aid. As the level of inequality increases across the United States, the majority of the public will be more likely to demand the government implement policies that should ameliorate severe inequality in society. Assuming that government resources are limited, a greater level of inequality in American society may weaken public support for foreign aid because the public may prioritize providing social safety nets and welfare programs in domestic milieu over granting foreign aid to developing countries. In addition, as inequality widens, the public may perceive economic globalization as one of the main causes of inequality; thus, their overall support for globalization will decline. As a result, American support for global engagement will be negatively affected, and public support for foreign aid may decrease. An empirical test using public opinion data in 50 U.S. states since the 1980s confirms my theory: widening inequality both across states and within a given state does weaken public support for U.S. foreign aid.

Performing Artivism: Feminists, Lawyers, and Online Legal Mobilization in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 678-705
Author(s):  
Di Wang ◽  
Sida Liu
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The State ◽  
Legal Mobilization ◽  
The Public ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Performance Arts ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Public Sphere

In authoritarian contexts where the state is the primary performer in the public sphere and legal mobilization is constrained and repressed, activists often seek to carve out a public space to confront the frontstage and backstage of the state’s performance in order to pursue collective action. Comparing the online legal mobilization of feminist and lawyer activists in China, this article investigates how performance arts are used by activists to challenge the authoritarian state in the age of social media. Performing “artivism” is to create conspicuous spectacles in the public eye for the purposes of exposing the state’s illegal or repressive backstage actions or promoting alternative values and norms different from the official ideology. By subversively disrupting the evidential boundaries set by the state, Chinese activists have been able to gain momentum and public support for their legal mobilization. However, it was precisely the success of their artivism that contributed to the government crackdowns on both feminists and lawyers in 2015.

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