What do Irish voters want from and think of their politicians?

2018 ◽  
pp. 190-208
Author(s):  
David M. Farrell ◽  
Michael Gallagher ◽  
David Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Irish Case ◽  
Strong Attachment ◽  
Elected Representatives

This chapter assesses how the record-breakings levels of electoral flux in 2016 may have impacted on attitudes towards representative politics in Ireland. First, it examines voter attitudes to the role of TDs (MPs) in 2016. The Irish tradition of high degrees of localism in representative politics is based on the strong attachment of Irish voters to a constituency orientation from their politicians. The analysis shows that this remains as strong as ever. There are, however, some changes in how voters make contact with their elected representatives – the second theme dealt with in this chapter. The intensity (or degree) of contact is resilient, but its form is shifting to more impersonal or virtual means of contact (especially among younger voters): the days of the ‘weekly clinic’ – that classic mainstay of representative politics in Ireland – may be numbered. Finally, the chapter examines what Irish voters thinks of their politicians overall – this latter theme referencing ongoing international debates about the emergence of populist attitudes. The evidence from the Irish case is a pretty positive one, with many voters indicating a favourable disposition towards their politicians – though this is not universal.

scholarly journals ZAINTERESOWANIA JĘZYKOZNAWCZE ZYGMUNTA KRASIŃSKIEGO

2020 ◽  
pp. 93-101
Author(s):  
TADEUSZ LEWASZKIEWICZ
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
Strong Attachment ◽  
The 19Th Century

Zygmunt Krasiński devoted much if his attention to the “philosophical” essence of the language and the origins of various tongues. His conjectures, based on speculative and mystic philosophy, are of no scientific importance; rather, they reflect the author’s strong attachment to religion. While not original, his views on the role of a mother tongue in preserving national identity are correct. The writer was interested in spelling and correct grammatical usage of the Polish language. He also focused on assessing the style of texts written in Polish and French. His views were hardly innovative, offering some value in comparison with the 19th century theory of style. Other language-related mentions: the sophistication of Juliusz Słowacki’s language and proposals of baby names based on “inspired” etymological ideas, are inconsequential.

A Case Study of Public Servants Engaged in E-Consultation in Australia

2011 ◽  
pp. 759-772
Author(s):  
Lucas Walsh
Keyword(s):  
The Internet ◽  
Local Form ◽  
Political Democracy ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
The Public ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Elected Representatives

This article examines some of the challenges faced by local government during the development and implementation of a relatively new area of e-democratic innovation in Australia: e-consultation. E-consultation is seen as a valuable way through which a two-way relationship can be developed and enhanced between citizens and elected representatives. It involves the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet, to extend and/or enhance political democracy through access to information, and to facilitate participation in democratic communities, processes, and institutions. Drawing on a case study of the Darebin eForum in Victoria, Australia, this article focuses on the role of public servants as moderators of this local form of e-consultation. The discussion has three parts: online policy consultation is defined within the context of e-democracy; some of the ways that e-consultation challenges the roles of the public service, elected representatives, and citizens are outlined; and the author then argues for an e-consultation strategy that is situated within a continuum of citizen engagement that is ongoing, deliberative, educative, and inclusive.

scholarly journals Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh: Roles and Functions of Elected Representatives and Bureaucrats

2012 ◽  
pp. 100-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sayadur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
Advisory Role

This study explores whether democratic Upazila Parishads in Bangladesh have become more responsive to those who elected them and whether people's expectations about their elected representatives and their functions to their elected have changed. The study carried out in eight Upazilas from seven Divisions in Bangladesh. The study has found that Upazila Parishads in Bangladesh with democratically elected representatives have largely failed to enhance their rapport with people. The recently implemented mandatory advisory role for the members of the parliament (MPs) has complicated the role of the local government and the interference by MPs in local government affairs has weakened the independence of local government. The findings of this study reveal that awareness is low, and that only 30% of respondents were concerned about the roles and functions of the Upazila Parishad. The data reveals that though the local citizens think that they are knowledgeable about the roles and functions of elected representatives and bureaucrats in reality many remain unaware of the roles and functions.

scholarly journals Are citizen juries and assemblies on climate change driving democratic climate policymaking? An exploration of two case studies in the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Wells ◽  
Candice Howarth ◽  
Lina I. Brand-Correa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Elected Representatives ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In light of increasing pressure to deliver climate action targets, and the growing role of citizens in raising the importance of the issue, deliberative democratic processes (e.g. Citizen Juries and Citizen Assemblies) on climate change are increasingly being used to provide a voice to citizens in climate change decision-making. Through a comparative case study of two processes that ran in the UK in 2019 (the Leeds Climate Change Citizens’ Jury and the Oxford Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change), this paper investigates how far Citizen Assemblies and Juries on climate change are increasing citizen engagement on climate change and creating more citizen-centred climate policy-making. Interviews were conducted with policy-makers, councillors, professional facilitators and others involved in running these processes to assess motivations for conducting these, their structure and the impact and influence they had. The findings suggest the impact of these processes is not uniform: they have an indirect impact on policymaking by creating momentum around climate action and supporting the introduction of pre-planned or pre-existing policies rather than a direct impact by being truly being citizen-centred policymaking processes or conducive to new climate policy. We conclude with reflections on how these processes give elected representatives a public mandate on climate change, that they help to identify more nuanced and in-depth public opinions in a fair and informed way, yet it can be challenging to embed citizen juries and assemblies in wider democratic processes.

scholarly journals The Quest for Legitimacy: A Comparative Constitutional Study of the Origin and Role of Direct Democracy in Switzerland, California, and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mark W. Gobbi
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Cultural Expectations ◽  
Elected Representatives

<p>This thesis is a comparative constitutional study of the origin and role of direct democracy in Switzerland, California, and New Zealand. It reveals that the direct democracy systems in these jurisdictions came into being as a consequence of sustained periods of economic turmoil which coincided with widespread disillusionment with the performance of elected representatives. Constitutional reformers in these jurisdictions embraced direct democracy as a means of improving, not displacing, representative democracy. Their aim was to restore the legitimacy of their constitutional systems. The study also demonstrates that the majoritarian potential of the direct democracy devices in Switzerland, California, and New Zealand is limited. It is limited to the extent that is consistent with the constitutional principles underlying representative democracy in these jurisdictions, particularly those designed to protect minority rights. This reconciles the competing philosophical traditions on which most of the arguments for and against direct democracy are based. Provided minority rights are protected sufficiently, Jeffersonian-inspired advocates of direct democracy should not offend adherents of representative democracy, whether Burkeian or Madisonian in its conception. This thesis concludes that the direct democracy systems in Switzerland, California, and New Zealand are not the same, nor could be, given the unique forces that contributed to the formation and practice of constitutional law in these jurisdictions. They are different primarily because direct and representative democracy coalesced differently in Switzerland, California, and New Zealand due to variations in the constitutional principles underlying representative democracy in these jurisdictions. These principles vary because constitutional law in each jurisdiction is a unique and intricate confluence of law, politics, history, economics, and cultural expectations. This study also fills a void in the literature on direct democracy, primarily by documenting the origin of New Zealand's direct democracy system, analysing its possible role, and comparing it to the origin and role of the systems in Switzerland and California. In doing so, it provides a detailed examination of the origin and role of direct democracy in Switzerland and California, topics that have previously escaped comprehensive treatment.</p>

The Origins of Ethnic Consciousness

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Lange
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Violence ◽  
Imagined Communities ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Ethnic Consciousness ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The World ◽  
Strong Attachment

This chapter examines the origins of ethnic consciousness, with particular emphasis on the rise of powerful ethnic consciousnesses shared by large numbers of strangers. It first considers the propensity to categorize people into ingroups and outgroups as well as factors that contributed to the rise of new and abstract conceptualizations of community, including citizenship. It then explores the role of the states, education, and religion in creating imagined communities of strangers and in molding and popularizing ethnic consciousness. It also discusses the micro-dynamics and context of ethnic frameworks and concludes with the argument that ethnic consciousness is a necessary condition for ethnic violence because it divides the world into ethnic categories and fosters strong attachment to ethnicity.

“The Past Is Never Dead”

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Jasiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Voting Behavior ◽  
First Century ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Traditional System ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Strong Attachment ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

This article presents a summary of analyses addressing the changing patterns of voting behavior in post-communist Poland as a context for examination of the issue of the relationship between regions defined by history (eighteenth-century partitions, border shifts after WWII) and contemporary forms of voting behavior. In the 1990s, the dominant cleavage in Polish politics was the one between the post-Solidarity and post-communist camps, and the best predictor of voting behavior was one’s religiosity. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, this cleavage has been replaced by another, between the liberal, pro-European orientation and the more Euro-skeptic, populist attitudes. The empirical evidence seems to suggest that one end of the populist—liberal continuum is relatively well defined and represents the traditional system of values, which defines Polish national identity in terms of ethnic nationalism, strong attachment to Catholic dogmas, and denunciation of communism as a virtual negation of those values. The other end of this continuum is defined more by rejection of this nationalistic-Catholic “imagined community” than by any positive features. This article examines the relative role of identity-related factors (e.g., religiosity or region) and determinants based on one’s socioeconomic (class) position in shaping voting patterns in the 2007 elections to the Polish Sejm and Senate. The empirical data come from a postelection survey, the Polish General Election Study 2007.

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