Search results for "Political sociology"
showing 10 items of 29 documents
Aesthetic Political Thought: Benjamin and Marker Revisited
2003
The complexity of contemporary political life has challenged traditional political theory in several Western democracies. With the emergence of new approaches to the interpretation of political praxis, we are forced to confront issues such as the New Right, the Christian Right, communitarianism, post-liberalism, post-colonialism, post-Marxism, feminism, globalization, and green thought. Many of these approaches continue to both reflect and critically challenge major ideological movements dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century. Since alterations to earlier theories are commonly the result of changes in political, cultural, and social conditions, new approaches to understanding…
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…
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.
Formation of Professional Ethos of Executive Public Officials in Latvia, Denmark and Finland
2013
Doktora darba priekšmets ir valsts pārvaldes amatpersonu profesionālā ētosa veidošanās Latvijā, Dānijā un Somijā. Valsts pārvaldes amatpersonu ētoss ir definēts kā šai profesionālai lomai specifiskas normatīvas orientācijas, kas tiek brīvprātīgi pieņemtas kā uzvedības imperatīvi. Valsts amatpersonu profesionālā ētosa veidošanās izpēte ir svarīga, jo tādā veidā var izskaidrot valsts sektora pakļautību korupcijas riskam vai imunitāti pret to. Izpētes mērķis ir bijis identificēt profesionālā ētosa veidošanās sociālos mehānismus uz trīs valstu – Latvijas, Dānijas un Somijas – piemēriem. Darbā tiek pielietota vēsturiskās socioloģijas pieeja un kvalitatīvo pētījumu metode. Pētījuma rezultātu anal…
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' …
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…
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 …
How do Members of Parliament View the Public Value of Public Service Media? The Case of Latvia
2013
Abstract The Development of public media in Latvia as a post-communist country has essentially been influenced by politicians. The political community has had consensus that certain reforms are necessary to ensure the development of public media given the changes in the communication space and its role in the facilitation of the strengthening of democracy, yet during the last fifteen years the political elite has not been able to come to a common agreement and to make decisions on systemic reforming and the development of public media. Since the communication environment has changed post digitalisation of television, the question about public media development and legitimisation has become …
From equilibrium to chaos and back : methodological evaluation of research of the majority rule
2000
According to the canonical model situated at the heart of the " economic " - or, as the political scientists prefer to call it, rational-choice - theory of (democratic) politics, whenever the matter to be decided raises, or consists of, at least two distinct issues, it is generally impossible to reach a determinate decision by using the majority rule. This problem, referred to as that of disequilibrium, equilibrium instability, or even"chaos", was first underplayed and then deemed ominous to the point of seriously undermining the development prospects of the whole theory. However, more recently, the concern it was the source o f until the 1980s has given way to a state of renewed confidence…