scholarly journals Party Competition and Policy Liberalism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Zachary D. Baumann ◽  
Michael J. Nelson ◽  
Markus Neumann

Abstract Party competition is foundational to the study of modern politics, affecting outcomes as varied as policy choices, political participation, and the quality of representation. Scholars have long argued that increased levels of party competition are associated with more liberal policy making. By this logic, parties in close competition with one another try to expand their bases of support by catering to the desires of those who tend to abstain from the political process—the “have-nots.” We extend this classic hypothesis by examining the relationship between competition and policy liberalism over several decades, articulating and testing a theory that suggests that party competition relates differently to social and economic policy liberalism. We find robust evidence that increased competition has a positive relationship with economic policy liberalism, weaker evidence for a negative relationship between competition and social policy liberalism, and suggestive evidence that the direction and magnitudes of these relationships have changed over time.

2021 ◽  
pp. 157-170
Author(s):  
Carew Boulding ◽  
Claudio A. Holzner

Political participation is frequently taken as an indicator of how well a democracy is working. Chapter 7 considers the relationship in reverse: what impact does quality of democracy have on the ability of poor people to participate in politics? It argues that declines in the quality of democracy have a disproportionately negative effect on the capacity of poor citizens to participate in the political process. The erosion of political rights, attacks on associations, and the erosion of political competition create barriers to participation that are more difficult for low-resource actors to overcome. As a result, where democracy is in trouble, poor people often opt out of politics at higher rates than everyone else.


Author(s):  
Shaun Bowler

This chapter analyzes to what extent variation in political institutions affects political support. The chapter observes that the existing research is not always clear on which institutions should produce what kind of effect, although a general expectation is that institutional arrangements improve political support when they give citizens an increased sense of connection to the political process. In general then, we should expect institutions that strengthen the quality of representation to strengthen political support. This general expectation is specified in six hypotheses that are tested using data from the ESS 2012. The chapter demonstrates that electoral systems that provide voters with more choice about candidates, multiparty governments, and “responsive” legislatures, correlate positively with political support. However, compared to other macro-level factors and individual characteristics, the effects of political institutions on political support are modest. The chapter concludes that the prospects for institutional reform to strengthen political support are limited.


2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Clark

While much is known about the micro-level predictors of political knowledge, there have been relatively few efforts to study the potential macro-level causes of knowledge. Seeking to improve our understanding of country-based variation in knowledge, this article demonstrates that individuals have an easier time finding and interpreting information in political environments that provide the public with greater opportunities to engage, observe, and learn about the political process. To investigate that possibility, the article analyzes how the procedural quality of the political process affects political knowledge. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and the Worldwide Governance Indicators Project, survey analyses show that the transparency and responsiveness of a political system indeed influence the public’s information about political parties and, to a lesser extent, the amount of factual knowledge retained by survey respondents. In other words, the quality of democratic governance affects how much individuals know about the political process.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naama Spitzer ◽  
Dikla Segel-Karpas ◽  
Yuval Palgi

Abstract Loneliness is considered a major issue, often negatively influencing the quality of life of individuals of all ages, and of older adults, in particular. The aims of this study are: (1) to assess the association between close social relationships and loneliness; and (2) to examine the moderating role of subjective age in this association. Married or cohabiting community-dwelling Israelis in the second half of life (N = 360) were interviewed and reported on their close social relationships, their level of loneliness, and their subjective age. The number of close social relationships was found to have a negative relationship with loneliness. Moreover, subjective age was found to moderate the relationship between close social relationships and loneliness, such that the association was weaker for those with older subjective age. Those with older subjective age are often not able to benefit from close social relationships to alleviate loneliness as much as their younger-subjective-age counterparts. Efforts to address older adults’ loneliness should consider focusing on older adults’ perceptions of aging.


2020 ◽  
pp. 003232172092325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arndt Leininger ◽  
Maurits J Meijers

While some consider populist parties to be a threat to liberal democracy, others have argued that populist parties may positively affect the quality of democracy by increasing political participation of citizens. This supposition, however, has hitherto not been subjected to rigorous empirical tests. The voter turnout literature, moreover, has primarily focused on stable institutional and party system characteristics – ignoring more dynamic determinants of voter turnout related to party competition. To fill this double gap in the literature, we examine the effect of populist parties, both left and right, on aggregate-level turnout in Western and Eastern European parliamentary elections. Based on a dataset on 315 elections in 31 European democracies since 1970s, we find that turnout is higher when populist parties are represented in parliament prior to an election in Eastern Europe, but not in Western Europe. These findings further our understanding of the relationship between populism, political participation and democracy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEONARDO WELLER

The London House of Rothschild depended on Brazil to maintain its reputation. This became a problem in the 1890s, when the Brazilian government almost defaulted on its sovereign debt after a change of regime had made politics unstable and economic policy unorthodox. This article shows how the relationship between the bank and the state developed to the point that Rothschilds was forced to rescue its client. Exposure enabled Brazil to implement policies designed to defend the regime at the expense of payment capacity without defaulting. The debt crisis ended only after the political situation stabilized toward the close of the century, when the bank pressured the government to tighten economic policy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Spirova ◽  
Boyka Stefanova

The political integration of ethnic minorities is one of the most challenging tasks facing the countries of post-communist Europe. The roads to their political representation in the mainstream political process are numerous and diverse. The EU accession of the Central and East European countries has expanded the scope of the political participation of minorities by adding an electoral process at the regional level: the elections for members of the European Parliament. This article presents a comparative study of the ways in which EU-level electoral processes affect the scope and quality of minority representation on the example of the participation of ethnic political parties in Bulgaria and Romania in the 2007 and 2009 electoral cycles of the European Parliament.


Author(s):  
Alyssa W. Chamberlain ◽  
Matthew Gricius ◽  
Danielle M. Wallace ◽  
Diana Borjas ◽  
Vincent M. Ware

Parole officers are an integral part of parolees’ reentry process and success. Few studies, however, have examined whether the quality of the relationship between parolees and their parole officer influences outcomes such as recidivism. This study assesses how recidivism is affected by the quality of the relationship that parolees have with their parole officers. Using the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) dataset, we use parolees’ perceptions of their relationship with their parole officer to determine whether they have established a positive or negative relationship, and whether these types of relationships differentially affect recidivism. Results show that parolees who have a negative relationship with their parole officer have higher rates of recidivism, while a positive relationship lowers parolees’ likelihood of recidivating. An implication of this study emphasizes parole officer training that develops positive, high-quality relationships with parolees. Further implications are discussed below.


Asian Survey ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Saich

China's new development strategy seeks to combine populist authoritarianism in the political realm with a shift in economic policy that focuses more on the sustainability and quality of economic growth rather than its speed. Rising social tensions have fed into tightening party control over state and society.


Author(s):  
Khadijah Alavi ◽  
Noraini Che’ Sharif ◽  
Ponnusamy Subramaniam

This study aims to identify the relationship between anxiety and depression with quality of life among the elderly with dementia living in institution. This study also propose reminscence group therapy in reducing depression and anxiety among residents in institutions. This cross sectional study was conducted at Rumah Seri Kenangan Cheras. A total of 58 elderly with mild to moderate demensia were selected through a series of screening process by a qualified clinical psychologist. Several instruments has been used including Quality of Life-AD (QoL-AD) Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) to investigate the relationship between anxiety and depression with quality of life among the elderly with dementia. This study shows that there is a negative relationship between the level of anxiety and quality of life among the elderly with dementia. Meanwhile, the relationship between depression and the quality of life of elderly with dementia in RSK Cheras shows that there is a significant relationship. The application of reminiscene group therapy as one of the effective intervention to improve quality of life and reduce anxiety and depression among the elderly with dementia in institution were discussed.


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