How legitimate are Russia’s parliamentary elections?

Author(s):  
Derek S. Hutcheson

How legitimate is the electoral process in post-Soviet Russia, and to what extent do reported electoral statistics reflect the actual will of the voters? It is not contended that we should regard all Russian election results with suspicion, nor that electoral malfeasance is unique to the country. Nonetheless, misgivings about the electoral process are voiced often enough that we cannot ignore them. The chapter provides an assessment of the legitimacy of the Russian electoral process through two perspectives. The first part examines the evidence of falsified results and major electoral rights violations in Russian elections, via observer reports, statistical analysis and analysis of official complaints. The second and third parts look at the question of external validity. Regardless of the actual evidence of electoral fraud, to what extent does the international community, and the Russian electorate, perceive the electoral process to be legitimate? Using survey and focus group materials, these questions – and the trends in public opinion over time – are examined.

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 983-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pellumb Kelmendi ◽  
Andrew Radin

Public opinion in postconflict societies toward international missions is widely believed to be important. We offer a theory that local satisfaction critically depends on an individual’s perception of whether the mission is furthering the wartime political agenda of his or her social group. To test this theory and competing hypotheses, we examine Kosovo Albanian satisfaction with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). We use data from seventeen different representative surveys conducted in Kosovo from 2002 to 2007 as well as focus group and other primary and secondary sources. Consistent with our theory, we find that aggregate satisfaction over time reflected UNMIK’s growing acceptance of Kosovo’s independence and individuals with more radical views tended to be less satisfied with UNMIK. Our analysis implies that missions can achieve greater local satisfaction by doing what is possible to be responsive to, or at a minimum recognize, the wartime political agendas of the key social groups.


Author(s):  
Derek S. Hutcheson

This chapter examines Russians’ voting behaviour over the seven State Duma elections so far. It begins from a spatial perspective, by examining the changing geographical bases of support for the parties over time. Thereafter, it takes a more sociological viewpoint, examining the profile of the typical Russian voter, and each party’s electorate, using survey and focus group data. Over time, some sense of party affiliation has started to build up amongst the voters of the established parties. Finally, it looks at the extent to which Russians have been able to register their discontent with the system through the medium of elections – in particular, prior to 2003, by voting ‘against all’ candidates or parties.


Politik ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Gahner Larsen ◽  
Simon Grundt Straubinger

This article examines the information the Danish news media provide when reporting public opinion polls. e study has been done through quantitative content analysis of 424 newspaper and Internet articles from four major Danish dailies during the last three parliamentary elections. e study found that only about half of the seven ESOMAR/WAPOR-requirements included here were reported. e results from the estimated regression show that the media in general provides more methodological information in newspaper articles than on the Internet, and that the media becomes better at reporting public opinion polls over time. Com- pared with studies conducted in other countries we nd no systematic deviation in how public opinion polls are reported in Denmark. 


Diogenes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Stoyanova-Encheva ◽  
◽  
◽  

The present article analyzes the correlation between democracy, public opinion and the electoral process. For this purpose, it explores and presents the events in the Republic of Tunis witch lead to the parliamentary elections in 2019. The difficult negotiations to form a government, as well as the status of the country in relation to the world freedom index are further explored.


Author(s):  
Ivan Skripka ◽  

The article examines results of the parliamentary elections in Norway on September 13, 2021. The author analyses the changes in electoral process in Norway, compares results of the leading political parties in 2017 and 2021, and studies their pre-election programs, discusses possible options for formation of a government based on results of the elections, forecasts how the election results might affect further development of party and political system of Norway and relations with Russia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (188) ◽  
pp. 495-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Syrovatka

The presidential and parliamentary elections were a political earthquake for the French political system. While the two big parties experienced massive losses of political support, the rise of new political formations took place. Emmanuel Macron is not only the youngest president of the V. Republic so far, he is also the first president not to be supported by either one of the two biggest parties. This article argues that the election results are an expression of a deep crisis of representation in France that is rooted in the economic transformations of the 1970s. The article analyses the political situation after the elections and tries to give an outlook on further political developments in France.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-377
Author(s):  
Lydia A. Nkansah ◽  
Delali A. Gawu

There have been seven general elections, under Ghana's Fourth Republic, to elect presidents and members of parliament. There are laws regulating the electoral process and election results have generally been accepted and, in a few cases, challenged through the laid-down process. Elections in Ghana are nonetheless reportedly flawed with irregularities tainting the outcome and creating tensions and sometimes pockets of violence. This article examines the electoral process under Ghana's Fourth Republic, namely the adoption of regulations for each electoral cycle, voters’ registration and the voters’ register, nomination of aspirants, voting, counting of votes and declaration of the results. To ensure the integrity of the electoral process, the laws regulating elections should comply with the dictates of the procedural requirements of the rule of law and the Electoral Commission's actions must be consistent with these laws.


Author(s):  
Dov H. Levin

This book examines why partisan electoral interventions occur as well as their effects on the election results in countries in which the great powers intervened. A new dataset shows that the U.S. and the USSR/Russia have intervened in one out of every nine elections between 1946 and 2000 in other countries in order to help or hinder one of the candidates or parties; the Russian intervention in the 2016 U.S. elections is just the latest example. Nevertheless, electoral interventions receive scant scholarly attention. This book develops a new theoretical model to answer both questions. It argues that electoral interventions are usually “inside jobs,” occurring only if a significant domestic actor within the target wants it. Likewise, electoral interventions won’t happen unless the intervening country fears its interests are endangered by another significant party or candidate with very different and inflexible preferences. As for the effects it argues that such meddling usually gives a significant boost to the preferred side, with overt interventions being more effective than covert ones in this regard. However, unlike in later elections, electoral interventions in founding elections usually harm the aided side. A multi-method framework is used in order to study these questions, including in-depth archival research into six cases in which the U.S. seriously considered intervening, the statistical analysis of the aforementioned dataset (PEIG), and a micro-level analysis of election surveys from three intervention cases. It also includes a preliminary analysis of the Russian intervention in the 2016 U.S. elections and the cyber-future of such meddling in general.


Author(s):  
Catherine E. De Vries

This chapter introduces a benchmark theory of public opinion towards European integration. Rather than relying on generic labels like support or scepticism, the chapter suggests that public opinion towards the EU is both multidimensional and multilevel in nature. People’s attitudes towards Europe are essentially based on a comparison between the benefits of the status quo of membership and those associated with an alternative state, namely one’s country being outside the EU. This comparison is coined the ‘EU differential’. When comparing these benefits, people rely on both their evaluations of the outcomes (policy evaluations) and the system that produces them (regime evaluations). This chapter presents a fine-grained conceptualization of what it means to be an EU supporter or Eurosceptic; it also designs a careful empirical measurement strategy to capture variation, both cross-nationally and over time. The chapter cross-validates these measures against a variety of existing and newly developed data sources.


Author(s):  
Therese Hellman ◽  
Fredrik Molin ◽  
Magnus Svartengren

Background: The aim is to explore how an organisational work environment support model, the Stamina model, influences employees’ work situations and the development of sustainable work systems. Methods: It was a qualitative study with semi-structured, focus-group interviews, including 45 employees from six work groups. Eighteen focus group interviews were conducted over a period of two years. Data were analysed with constant comparative method. Results: The core category, shifting focus from an individual to an organisational perspective of work, illustrated how communication and increased understanding of one’s work tasks changed over time and contributed to deeper focus on the actual operation. These insights were implemented at different time points among the work groups during the two-year process. Conclusions: Our results indicate that working with the model engages employees in the work environment management, puts emphasis on reflections and discussions about the meaning and purpose of the operations and enables a shared platform for communication. These are important features that need to continue over time in order to create a sustainable work system. The Stamina model, thus seems to have the potential to promote productive and healthy work places.


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