Independent expenditures in congressional primaries after Citizens United: Implications for interest groups, incumbents and political parties

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert G Boatright ◽  
Michael J Malbin ◽  
Brendan Glavin
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Citizens United ◽  
Independent Expenditures

Trends in Michigan Supreme Court Elections 2000–2012

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN S. KLEMANSKI
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Campaign Spending ◽  
Distinct Difference ◽  
Independent Expenditures ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Negative Tone ◽  
Electoral Competitiveness

ABSTRACT This article explores various trends in Michigan Supreme Court elections from 2000 through 2012. Within the backdrop of the structure of Court elections, dimensions such as incumbency, electoral competitiveness, the role of parties, and campaign spending are examined. This study finds that while incumbents still retain some important advantages, incumbents are no longer automatically re-elected. Moreover, Supreme Court elections are becoming increasingly competitive, as the margins of victory have been reduced substantially in the most recent elections. Even though Supreme Court general elections are officially non-partisan, political parties play a major role, with a formal role in the nominations process, but also through independent expenditures and issue advertising on television. Interest groups and parties both have been outspending candidates in recent elections, and thus have added to the negative tone of Court campaigns. An overall trend of increased campaign spending has been found during the period investigated. In addition, a distinct difference in the level of electoral competitiveness and overall campaign spending was identified when comparing the 2000 through 2006 elections with the 2008 through 2012 elections.

Political Economy and Partisan Government

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zaad Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Class Analysis ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Business Support

This is one of key chapters of the book presenting the argument of partisan government. This chapter interrogates the subnational variation in labour reforms through partisan governments and suggests regional political economy as critical to shaping orientation of partisan governments. It critically analyses the existing party-based interpretation of reform and shows that it is the instrumental interest assuaging the interests of support base that explain government orientation to labour reform. Through a caste/class analysis of political parties, the chapter highlights that significant business support and socio-economically homogeneous dominant support base characterize states with greater market flexibility. In contrast, when the dominant support base of party is heterogeneous and wide, the pace of reform is significantly muted. Partisan configuration—the socio-economic support base of government—determines not only the orientation of policies but also the interrelation between government and various interest groups in society.

The Persuasion Effects of Political Endorsements

2019 ◽  
pp. 223-242
Author(s):  
Cheryl Boudreau
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Observational Study ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Political Information ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Political Persuasion

Political endorsements (recommendations about which candidate or policy to support) are ubiquitous in political contexts. They may come from political parties, interest groups, politicians, or even celebrities. Can uninformed citizens identify endorsers who share their interests and use their recommendations as substitutes for detailed political information? This chapter surveys the literature on the persuasion effects of political endorsements. It first provides an overview of theoretical models that examine how political endorsements affect citizens’ choices. Then, it describes a seminal observational study of how endorsements affect political persuasion. It next discusses experimental research that assesses the effects of endorsements. It emphasizes that experiments are particularly useful for identifying when political endorsements will persuade citizens because they allow scholars to manipulate the conditions that theoretical models identify in a carefully controlled environment. It concludes by discussing open questions about the effects of political endorsements and describing how ongoing research addresses them.

scholarly journals Campaign Finance Regulations and Public Policy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
MARTIN GILENS ◽  
SHAWN PATTERSON ◽  
PAVIELLE HAINES
Keyword(s):  
Government Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Control Method ◽  
Synthetic Control ◽  
Synthetic Control Method ◽  
Citizens United ◽  
Independent Expenditures ◽  
American Elections ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Despite a century of efforts to constrain money in American elections, there is little consensus on whether campaign finance regulations make any appreciable difference. Here we take advantage of a change in the campaign finance regulations of half of the U.S. states mandated by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. This exogenously imposed change in the regulation of independent expenditures provides an advance over the identification strategies used in most previous studies. Using a generalized synthetic control method, we find that after Citizens United, states that had previously banned independent corporate expenditures (and thus were “treated” by the decision) adopted more “corporate-friendly” policies on issues with broad effects on corporations’ welfare; we find no evidence of shifts on policies with little or no effect on corporate welfare. We conclude that even relatively narrow changes in campaign finance regulations can have a substantively meaningful influence on government policy making.

Interest Groups and Elections

2019 ◽  
pp. 339-357
Author(s):  
Jeffrey M. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Organizational Forms ◽  
Super Pacs ◽  
New Organizational Forms ◽  
Winner Take All ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Take All

The relationships between interest groups, political parties, and elections have always been dynamic, but in recent years change has accelerated in ways that have favored some interests over others. This chapter considers these developments as the result of a variety of factors, the most critical of which are the growth of polarization, a new legal landscape for campaign finance, and new organizational forms. The chapter goes on to suggest, that as bipartisanship has ebbed, elections have become winner-take-all affairs and interest groups are pushed to choose sides. The chapter further suggests that the rise of super PACs is especially notable as wealthy individuals have become increasingly important, single sources of campaign money, supplanting in part traditional interest groups, especially conventional PACs. It concludes that even as sums spent by super PACs and other interest groups have skyrocketed, the impact of their direct spending on persuading voters remains uncertain.

scholarly journals The birth of minority legislation in the newly independent Finland and Estonia (1918–1920): a comparative analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-84
Author(s):  
Kari Alenius
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Trends ◽  
The Relationship

This article analyzes how ethnic minorities were taken into account in the Finnish and Estonian constitutions, and why account was taken precisely in a certain way. At the same time, it approaches what kinds of views were presented by different political parties and interest groups, what kind of debate was being held in Parliament and how the matter was dealt with in the leading media. The outcome of the process in both countries was that exceptionally broad linguistic and cultural rights were given to minorities if the situation was compared with the rest of Europe. There were several factors behind the process. One factor was the relationship between ethnic groups in Finland and Estonia in the historical perspective. Another factor was each country's internal debate on what kind of social order in general was to be built. The third factor was how the politics in Finland and Estonia was influenced by international trends and theories about how ethnic minorities should have been treated.

The Concept of Social Movement

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Diani
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Specific Area ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Cultural Conflicts ◽  
New Synthesis ◽  
Recent Developments

Recent developments in social movement research have evidenced a greater underlying consensus in the field than one might have assumed. Efforts have been made to bridge different perspectives and merge them into a new synthesis. Yet, comparative discussion of the concept of ‘social movement’ has been largely neglected so far. This article reviews and contrasts systematically the definitions of ‘social movement’ formulated by some of the most influential authors in the field. A substantial convergence may be detected between otherwise very different approaches on three points at least. Social movements are defined as networks of informal interactions between a plurality of individuals, groups and/or organizations, engaged in political or cultural conflicts, on the basis of shared collective identities. It is argued that the concept is sharp enough a) to differentiate social movements from related concepts such as interest groups, political parties, protest events and coalitions; b) to identify a specific area of investigation and theorising for social movement research.

Conflict Displacement and Dual Inclusion in the Construction of Germany

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Obert ◽  
John F. Padgett
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
German History ◽  
German State ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Multiple Network

This chapter focuses on the nineteenth-century formation of Germany. Organizational innovation was the assembly by Prussia of geographically disparate German principalities under the new constitutional umbrella of Reichstag, Bundesrat, and chancellery. Organizational catalysis was the emergence of political parties and interest groups—and underneath those, of German nationalism—to manage the constitutional core. The multiple-network invention was dual inclusion: namely, the stapling together of the deeply contradictory principles of democracy and autocracy through “Prussia is in Germany, and Germany is in Prussia.” This deep contradiction built into the heart of the German state generated a sequence of new political actors in German history.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document