Search results for "Political Process"
showing 10 items of 25 documents
How representative are referendums? Evidence from 20 years of Swiss referendums
2017
Direct democracy allows citizens to reverse decisions made by legislatures and even initiate new laws which parliaments are unwilling to pass, thereby, as its proponents argue, leading to more representative policies than would have obtained under a purely representative democracy. Yet, turnout in referendums is usually lower than in parliamentary elections and tends to be skewed towards citizens of high socio-economic status. Consequently, critics of direct democracy argue that referendum outcomes may not be representative of the preferences of the population at large. We test this assertion using a compilation of post-referendum surveys encompassing 148 national referendums held in Switze…
Attracting Major Sporting Events: The Role of Local Residents
2006
Abstract The decision where to host major sports events is the result of a political process, involving local and national politicians as well as national and international sport governing bodies. Politicians and local/national sport governing bodies decide whether to apply for an event, while international sports governing bodies select the host cities (nations). Local and national residents play an important role in this process as their opinion will influence whether the political system supports the application and is willing to fund the event. Many event impacts have characteristics of public goods and externalities. This represents a potential welfare economic rationale for the public…
Journalists’ Associations as Political Instruments in Central and Eastern Europe
2017
This editorial provides the overall context for the five cases—three national and two international—covered in this thematic issue. While the cases are from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), they highlight fundamental questions of journalism everywhere, including contradictions between freedom and control, professionalism and politics, individual and collective. The associations of journalists serve as very useful platforms to study these questions, especially at historical turning points when the whole political system changed, as happened twice in CEE after World War II.
The micro-politics of parliamentary powers : European parliament strategies for expanding its influence in the EU institutional system
2018
The European Parliament (EP) has gained considerable new powers since it was first established in 1952. Why has this happened, and how should the powers the EP possesses be assessed? This article suggests a novel approach that focuses on inter-institutional micropolitics and the processes in which the EP obtained its powers rather than treaty changes at IGCs. Interinstitutional micropolitics are carried out by institutions and their members who act politically and shape the EU’s system from within. The EP’s successes in interinstitutional micropolitics are shaped by (1) its existing powers that need to be assessed in their differentiation; (2) the interparliamentary setting and the power co…
Debating Europe: Effects of the “Eurovision Debate” on EU Attitudes of Young German Voters and the Moderating Role Played by Political Involvement
2016
In the run-up to the elections to the European Parliament in 2014, EU citizens had the unprecedented opportunity to watch televised debates between the candidates running for president of the European Commission. The most important debate was the so-called "Eurovision debate", which was broadcasted in almost all EU member states. In this study we explore the responses of a sample of 110 young German voters, who watched this debate, to the candidates' messages and whether exposure to the debate caused a shift in the respondents' attitudes towards the EU. Combining data from a quasi-experiment, real-time response data, and data from a content analysis of the debate, we find that respondents' …
Constitutional Implications of electoral assumptions
2001
International audience
Identity, Instrumental Self-Interest and Institutional Evaluations: Explaining Public Opinion on Common European Policies in Foreign Affairs and Defe…
2008
This paper addresses public opinion on common European policies in foreign affairs and defence. It proposes three models of support for common policies in these fields. Drawing on Eurobarometer data, the analysis shows that instrumental self-interest and territorial identities contribute considerably to explaining support for common foreign affairs and defence policies. Moreover, support for common policies is strongly driven by domain-specific evaluations of the European Union's performance. These findings suggest that popular support for common European policies in foreign affairs and defence has an experiential base. Thus, elites have an incentive to respond to public opinion when makin…
Participación política, partidos y nuevos movimientos sociales
2005
En estas páginas se presenta un recorrido por diversas cuestiones relacionadas con la participación y la representación políticas en los sistemas políticos contemporáneos, tratando de recoger las aportaciones clásicas así como las más recientes que puedan resultar relevantes para la reflexión sobre la evolución de los modos y los mecanismos a disposición de los ciudadanos para integrar, articular, canalizar, movilizar y representar su participación política. La conclusión es un esperanzador saludo a las nuevas formas y mecanismos de participación diferenciados, así como a la diversificación de espacios y ámbitos para la acción política, cuya concurrencia no supone un cuestionamiento ni un r…
Don't tell us: the demand for secretive bahaviour
2009
International audience
La sociedad multicultural. Democracia y derechos
1997
En este artículo, el autor parte de un hecho sustancial: las sociedades multiculturales constituyen un fenómeno característico de nuestro tiempo. Es decir, en las sociedades actuales conviven códigos e identidades culturales diversos como consecuencia de diferencias étnicas, lingüísticas, religiosas o nacionales. En Europa, este fenómeno responde a la fragmentación de sociedades altamente homogéneas, a la crisis de consensos internos y del modelo del Estado social, a los flujos migratorios, etcétera. Ciertamente, la complejidad de las sociedades multiculturales plantea desafíos a la democracia: ¿cómo conciliar la unidad política con la diversidad social? El autor analiza el debate generado …