Media Discrimination and Gender Differences in Political Ambition in a Laboratory Experiment

Very little research has considered how media discrimination could impact men and women’s political ambition. Yet, media discrimination could impact both beliefs about gender roles and political competence, and beliefs about voter bias, both of which could decrease women’s political ambition and increase men’s. Alternatively, media discrimination could lead women to react against discrimination and be motivated politically. This study tests how political ambition of men and women is impacted by media discrimination in a campaign and election lab experiment. Media discrimination in this experiment under-reports on women and uses traditional, stereotypical depictions of men and women. The results suggest that in certain conditions, media discrimination in political news may lead to a reactance or positive challenge effect for women, increasing their political ambition. Men, instead, may feel an aversion to entering politics, lowering their political ambition.

This One’s for the Boys: How Gendered Political Socialization Limits Girls’ Political Ambition and Interest

This article develops and tests a new theoretical framework, gendered political socialization, which offers important insights into how children perceive gender in politics and the consequences of these perceptions on sex differences in political interest and ambition. Based on data from 1,604 children who live in four different regions across the United States, we find that children not only perceive politics to be a male-dominated space, but with age, girls increasingly see political leadership as a “man’s world.” Simultaneously, as children grow older, they internalize gendered expectations, which direct their interests toward professions that embody the gendered traits that fit with their own sex. One result of this mismatch between women and politics is that girls express lower levels of interest and ambition in politics than do boys.

Are There “Sources of Resilience” When the Separation of Powers Breaks Down?

Jacob Levy describes three variants of the separation of powers in the 31st Annual McDonald Lecture in Constitutional Studies, only one of which is germane to this reflection. The first variant he describes is based solely on the independence of the judiciary from both the executive and legislative branches of governments; consequently, this variant encompasses both presidential and parliamentary systems under its conceptual ambit. Another variant, which Levy attributes to Montesquieu, envisages the separation of powers between executive, judicial, and legislative branches as a way of allowing for the “pooled”1 rule of “the one” (i.e. monarch), “the few” (i.e. aristocrats), and “the many” (i.e. the people). Levy also describes a distinctly American variant of the separation of powers undergirded by a system of checks and balances. This variant was designed to ensure “mutual monitoring between executive and legislative”2 and it vests the legislative branch with the power to impeach the executive in order to “maintain effective limits on the political power and the political ambition of the president.”3

TENDENCIES IN POLITICAL BEHAVIOR OF MEN AND WOMEN – A STUDY ON THE BEHAVIOR OF VIETNAMESE POLITICAL ELITES TOWARD THEIR PROMOTION OPPORTUNITIES

Purpose of the study: This paper aims to explore some of the crucial reasons limiting the contemporary participation of Vietnamese women in political leadership by reviewing the attitudes of male and female political elites toward opportunities for political promotion Methodology: The population of this research is the leaders and potential leaders of the Vietnamese political system. The purposive sampling method was used, resulting in 324 respondents. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 government officials. Quantitative data resulting from questionnaires were processed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software for Windows, version 19. Qualitative data were processed manually. No discussion or explanation. Main Findings: The study results show that the majority of Vietnamese political elites are willing to take up opportunities for promotion. However, women's readiness to accept opportunities for promotion is often lower than that of men, due to social expectations on their traditional gender roles. Besides, improper legal frameworks and policies significantly contribute to women having less political ambition and giving up on their dreams earlier than their male counterparts. Applications of this study: The results of this study are useful for the Vietnamese Government to develop measures for removing the obstacles that hinder women’s political participation. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study uses data from the author’s original survey.

The China Syndrome: The Impact of China's Growing Economic and Political Influence in the South Pacific

The People's Republic of China in the past decades has experienced dynamic and accelerative growth. Its activities the world over, particularly in the South Pacific is a projection of its foreign policy as well as its economic and political ambition. While its growing power remains progressive, the dominant explanation for this trend is its desire to attain the hegemonic status that is unrivalled.

Koloniale Fesseln brechen. Afrikanische Dekolonisierungsprozesse auf sowjetischen Plakaten der 1960er-Jahre

Breaking Colonial Shackles. African Decolonization Processes on Soviet Posters of the 1960sSince its beginnings, the Soviet Union has emphasized its anti-colonial solidarity. This paper examines how this political ambition was displayed on soviet posters during African decolonization processes in the 1960s. Combining the graphic analysis by Panofsky and the analytical focus on physical representations, it will be shown how the depiction of a strong, young man was used to create an ideal picture of an emancipated African freedom fighter who opposes western colonial powers.

Men and women candidates are similarly persistent after losing elections

Are women more likely to quit politics after losing their first race than men? Women’s first-time candidacies skyrocketed in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. Yet we have little sense of the long-term impact of this surge in women candidates on women’s representation writ large: Inexperienced candidates are more likely to lose, and women might be especially discouraged by a loss. This might make the benefits of such a surge in candidacies fleeting. Using a regression discontinuity design and data that feature 212,805 candidates across 22,473 jurisdictions between 1950 and 2018, we find that women who narrowly lose these elections are no more likely to quit politics than men who narrowly lose. Drawing on scholarship on women’s lower political ambition, we interpret these findings to mean that women’s decision-making differs from men’s at the point of entry into politics—not at the point of reentry.

The Dark is Rising: Contrasting the Dark Triad and Light Triad on Measures of Political Ambition and Participation

A growing body of research suggests a significant relationship between dark personality traits and political behavior. While the personality characteristics of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (labeled the Dark Triad) are associated with a range of political attitudes, research has not tested the Dark Triad in combination with the emerging use of the comparable Light Triad of personality. This paper sets up an exploration of the competing influences of light and dark personality traits on political participation and ambition. Our analyses corroborate that Dark Triad traits are significantly related to ambition and political participation. Consistent with prior research, the dark personality traits remain predominant. However, there are significant effects for some Light Triad traits as well. Our findings have implications for a deeper understanding of the mix of personality traits that drive political behavior and expand upon the normative discussion of who is, in fact, political.

Introduction

Chapter 1 begins by presenting an overview of the vicissitudes of descriptive representation in state legislatures for women and men from the four largest racial groups in the United States, from 1996 to 2015. The chapter then previews the book’s main finding: factors related to representation and candidate emergence, such as the relationship between district populations and descriptive representatives or political ambition, are shaped by race and gender simultaneously. To account for the persistence of underrepresentation among women and minorities, Chapter 1 then advances the intersectional model of electoral opportunity. The model accounts for external and internal, multilevel pressures that constrain and facilitate the realistic candidacy opportunities for white women, white men, men of color, and women of color. The chapter closes by discussing the necessity of studying Asian American women and men, and Latinas and Latinos, in order to better understand representation in a nation shaped by immigration and immigrant communities.