scholarly journals Shot in the Foot: Unintended Political Consequences of Electoral Engineering in The Turkish Parliamentary Elections In 2018

Decyzje ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (34) ◽  
pp. 49-65
Author(s):  
Uğurcan Evci ◽  
◽  
Marek Kamiński ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Coalition Partner ◽  
Opposition Party ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Alternative Scenarios ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
Ruling Party ◽  
Do So

Before the parliamentary elections in 2018, the ruling party in Turkey, AKP, introduced a new apparentement provision in the electoral law, which allowed parties to make electoral alliances in order to meet the electoral threshold. We claim that this was an ex post mistake. AKP’s electoral engineering was motivated by their fear that its coalition partner, MHP, would not exceed the 10% threshold. While MHP actually met the threshold in the election, the opposition party, İP, failed to do so. Thanks to the new law, the votes for İP were not wasted, as would have happened under the old law. AKP less than 50% of seats and it consequently lost the parliamentary majority. Under the old electoral law, AKP would have won the majority. We use four alternative scenarios in order to estimate the seats and evaluate the political consequences of the unsuccessful electoral manipulation

Elections in Poland 2001: electoral manipulation and party upheaval

2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Millard
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Coalition Partner ◽  
Electoral Support ◽  
Party Development ◽  
The Social ◽  
Electoral Law ◽  
The Impact

The Polish parliamentary elections of 2001 took place in a context of fresh upheavals in the configuration of political parties. The architects of the new electoral law aimed to reduce the seats gained by the social democrats and increase their own. They succeeded in the first aim by a change of electoral formula, forcing the victorious social democratic electoral coalition to seek a third coalition partner. They did not achieve the second aim, as their own failures in government drastically reduced their electoral support and facilitated the breakthrough of populist formations. The result had implications for party development and the composition and workings of both parliament and government. While representation was enhanced by a parliament more accurately reflecting the voters’ choice, the impact appeared potentially harmful to Polish democracy as a whole.

YOUTH AND INDIGENISATION IN THE ZIMBABWEAN PRINT MEDIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-53
Author(s):  
Washington Mushore
Keyword(s):  
Political Discourse ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Framing Theory ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Real ◽  
Disadvantaged Groups ◽  
Opposition Party ◽  
Nationalist Government ◽  
Ruling Party

The main purpose of the indigenisation policy in Zimbabwe, according to Masunungure and Koga (2013), was to empower the historically disadvantaged groups in Zimbabwe after the nationalist government had recognised that the inherited colonial systems were unsustainable and a sure recipe for future social and political instability. Although the indigenisation policy was a very noble idea, there was no consensus – especially at the political level – on how empowerment was going to be achieved. The ruling party (ZANU-PF) saw empowerment as being best achieved through the compulsory takeover of foreign-owned businesses in order to benefit the indigenous blacks, and the main opposition party (MDC-T) perceived empowerment as the creation of more jobs for the multitudes of unemployed Zimbabweans, especially the youth. This article, however, argues that the use of nationalistic language, such as ‘the black majority’, in political discourse by politicians in most cases obscures who the real beneficiaries are or will be. In view of the above, the aim of this study is to critically explore, with the aid of framing theory, how the Zimbabwean print media have reported on the issue of youth and indigenisation in stories purposively sampled from The Herald, The Zimbabwean and The Standard newspapers.

Essebsi’s death leaves Tunisia elections in limbo

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Money Laundering ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
The Face ◽  
Electoral Law

Significance As prime minister and later president, Essebsi played an important role in the early stages of Tunisia’s peaceful transition to democracy, but failed to deliver any real programme to transform the country’s ailing economy. He leaves behind a country which has shown resilience in the face of many domestic and regional challenges, but in which political infighting and a lack of economic progress means trust in the political class is low. Essebsi’s death so close to an election he had promised not to contest means the Tunisian state was already prepared for a transition. Impacts Signing the electoral law will open the political class up to criticism that it is self-serving. Not signing the law could see a candidate under investigation for money-laundering win the presidency. Essebsi's Nidaa Tounes party has largely collapsed thanks to infighting, and is unlikely to do well in the parliamentary elections.

Slovakia’s Oversized Cabinet after the 2020 Parliamentary Elections: Barrier against Extremism Vol. II, or Protection of Its Own Stability?

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-414
Author(s):  
Petr Just
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Ruling Party

This article deals with one of the major political consequences of parliamentary elections in every parliamentary regime – the process of government formation. It focuses on the formation of the coalition government following the 2020 parliamentary elections in Slovakia, in the context of both pre-election developments as well as the main challenges and appeals of contemporary politics in general – the rise of far-right political parties. Its aim is to identify the coalition strategies presented before the elections of political parties and movements that had a theoretical chance of being elected to Parliament. Special emphasis is placed on the definition by the other political parties and movements of the long-time ruling party Smer and the far-right party Our Slovakia. The analysis continues with the post-election government formation process, the classification of the established coalition, including the allocation of cabinet portfolios, assessment of the similarities and differences of coalition parties, and factors that could possibly cause both instability as well as stability. It concludes that the joint definition by the new ruling parties and movements of Smer and Our Slovakia will, at least for some time, serve as a unifying factor keeping the coalition together. However, the coalition’s stability will be under almost constant pressure coming from both relations between coalition parties and the possibility of internal conflicts within the coalition parties and movements. The article argues that the establishment of the surplus majority coalition might – besides the official justification for it – serve as a protection against government destabilization.

scholarly journals Forgiveness and politics: Reading Matthew 18:21–35 with survivors of armed conflict in Colombia

2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert W. Heimburger ◽  
Christopher M. Hays ◽  
Guillermo Mejía-Castillo
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Opportunity ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Safe Environment ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Do So

After decades of armed conflict in Colombia, how do those most affected by that conflict understand forgiveness? While others have researched Colombians’ views of forgiveness, this study is the first to do so through discussion of a narrative of forgiveness. Readings of the biblical narrative chosen for this study, the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor (Mt 18:21–35), can enable North Atlantic scholars to discover dimensions of the parable revealed by those who live lives that mirror the realities of the parable, unlike such scholars. The study aims to understand how conflict survivors, especially internally displaced persons (IDPs), understand forgiveness and its relation to politics. The study also aims to identify how these women and men read Matthew 18:21–35 differently from academics. Groups in eight locations around Colombia discussed Matthew 18:21–35. Researchers led lectura popular de la Biblia [people’s readings of the Bible], inviting participants to say how the parable related to their lives and to discuss the political consequences that would come from imitating characters in the parable. Conflict survivors said that forgiving was essential if their communities were going to be communities at all, especially communities at peace, offering freedom and economic opportunity. Unlike commentators, they read Matthew 18:21–35 as enjoining forgiveness towards those beyond their local church and for wrongs involving money and violence. As Colombian churches seek to counter resentment with forgiveness, they should be aware of the power of lectura popular, especially of this parable, to create a safe environment where conflict survivors can speak candidly.

Ein Ende mit Schrecken – Frankreich nach den Wahlen

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (188) ◽  
pp. 495-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix Syrovatka
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
Crisis Of Representation ◽  
Election Results ◽  
Deep Crisis

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.

Language Movement and Civil War in West Africa

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ericka A. Albaugh
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Language Spread ◽  
The 1960S

This chapter examines how civil war can influence the spread of language. Specifically, it takes Sierra Leone as a case study to demonstrate how Krio grew from being primarily a language of urban areas in the 1960s to one spoken by most of the population in the 2000s. While some of this was due to “normal” factors such as population movement and growing urbanization, the civil war from 1991 to 2002 certainly catalyzed the process of language spread in the 1990s. Using census documents and surveys, the chapter tests the hypothesis at the national, regional, and individual levels. The spread of a language has political consequences, as it allows for citizen participation in the political process. It is an example of political scientists’ approach to uncovering the mechanisms for and evidence of language movement in Africa.

Partisanship and Autocratization: Polarization, Power Asymmetry, and Partisan Social Identities in Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melis G. Laebens ◽  
Aykut Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Asymmetry ◽  
Partisan Identity ◽  
Political Divide ◽  
Ruling Party

Although theories of partisanship were developed for the democratic context, partisanship can be important in electoral autocracies as well. We use survey data to analyze partisanship in an electoral autocracy, Turkey, and find that partisanship is pervasive, strong, and consequential. Using the Partisan Identity Scale to measure partisanship, we show that, like in democracies, partisanship strength is associated with political attitudes and action. Unlike in democracies, however, the ruling party’s superior ability to mobilize supporters through clientelistic linkages makes the association between partisanship and political action weaker for ruling party partisans. We find that partisan identities are tightly connected to the perception that other parties may threaten one’s well-being, and that such fears are widespread on both sides of the political divide. We interpret our findings in light of the autocratization process Turkey went through. Our contribution highlights the potential of integrating regime dynamics in studies of partisanship.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document