PETRO SHELEST'S ACTIVITIES TO PRESERVE THE MEMORY OF THE COSSACKS

The purpose of the article is to cover Petro Shelest's activities to preserve the memory of the Cossacks. I aimed to cover the political path of Petro Shelest. What he was guided by when he was first secretary. What cultural monuments he reconstructed and restored during his reign.The article clarifies the features of socio-political activity of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. The set of documents used in the work makes it possible to objectively assess the activities of Petro Shelest. The use of historical-systematic method of research made it possible to reproduce the main character of the hero.The article also identifies the main architectural complexes that were reconstructed during the reign of Petro Shelest. What historical sculptures have been completely restored. What Petro Shelest paid attention to when he was in power and what bothered him about the history of Ukraine. The activity of the Ukrainian party leadership, which was aimed at preserving the memory of the Cossacks is considered.

ESTABLISHMENT OF SOVIET AUTHORITY IN HRODNA AND HRODNA COUNT (SEPTEMBER 1939 - NOVEMBER 1939)

The purpose of the study is to reveal the process of formation of Soviet power in Hrodna and Hrodna Count during the period, the chronological framework of which is determined by the direct transition of the territories of Hrodna and Hrodna region under the control of the Red Army in September 1939, on the one hand, and their official incorporation into the BSSR in November 1939, on the other. This period, which preceded the formation of full-fledged Soviet authorities in the region, is defined in the article as transitional. The paper shows the process of forming interim administrations, notes the practice of sending civil servants, party and military figures from the regions of the BSSR and other regions of the USSR to Hrodna and Hrodna Count to recruit new local authorities and organize elections to the People's Assembly of Western Belorussia (PAWB), notes the goals and objectives of the PAWB activities set before it by the party leadership, reveals the specifics of organizing elections of deputies to the PAWB from Hrodna and Hrodna Count. The scientific contribution of the study was manifested in the coverage of the process of the initial stage of the formation of Soviet authorities on the territory of Hrodna and Hrodna county in the period preceding their official incorporation into the BSSR (September 1939 - November 1939). As a result, the dates of formation of interim administrations in Hrodna and Hrodna Count, the principle of recruitment of new government institutions, the undemocratic nature of the elections of deputies of the People's Assembly of Western Belorussia were determined. The assessment of the inclusion of Hrodna and Hrodna Count into the BSSR is given.

VOX Spain: The Organisational Challenges of a New Radical Right Party

This article examines the organisation of VOX, a new radical right party in Spain. It shows that the party has taken early and uneven steps to build a mass organisation and initially opted for open membership recruitment with participatory organisational elements. Also, the party’s rapid growth and quick entrance into political institutions at different state levels led the party leadership to establish more centralised control and limit members’ prerogatives, though recruitment continued. Centralisation in part responds to organisational needs given the party’s quickly acquired political relevance, but also to the desire of the central party leadership to forestall the articulation of territorial interests, or prevent them from escaping their control. Today, VOX exhibits elements of mass party organisation and highly centralised decision-making in the hands of national party leaders.

Legislative Decision-Making

Chapter 4 examines the logic used by moderates in determining how to vote on legislation. Using interview data from six retired senators, Chapter 4 examines the pressures they face, both within the chamber with party leadership and outside the chamber with constituents and interest groups. While conventional wisdom would dictate that moderates vote only for legislation that they find palatable, and vote against all else, using data collected by Project Vote Smart capturing the issue positions of many senators, we see that all too often this is not the case—centrists get “railroaded” by leaders and vote with the majority, even when the legislation goes against their stated position. Using voting decisions on key votes and publicly stated positions by senators, the chapter then creates a logic model that illustrates how moderates decide how to vote on legislation.

After defeat: how governing parties respond to electoral loss

How do governing parties respond in terms of ideological positioning when voted out of office? We study both theoretically and empirically the factors that shape parties’ responses following a loss. Studying national elections in advanced industrialized democracies over the past 70 years, we show that parties tend to counter their pre-election shifts, and do so particularly strongly following defeat. The extent of these ideological shifts is more limited in parties with a larger selectorate voting on the party leadership. Moreover, we find that subsequent to loss, parties are less likely to run on a centrist platform. Notably, shifting away from the center is associated with a higher probability of returning to power. We then introduce a dynamic model of party leadership selection and platform positioning. The model produces patterns of ideological positions over time that are consistent with our empirical findings.

Synthesis of Arts in Soviet Architecture: stages of development, main directions, causes of their occurrence

The history of the Soviet Union, its socio-economic, socio-political and socio-cultural life is unique in comparison with other countries. The USSR was created on the model of social development, expressed by European and Russian Utopian socialists and was grounded in the classics of Marxism-Leninism. So, the system of government, economic conditions and cultural activities of a society built on the hegemony of the proletariat was a long-running social experiment that conditioned the life of the Soviet people and influenced other countries as well. The experiment of a country with total state property envisaged that the party leadership assumed responsibility for defining all spheres of political life - both internal and interstate relations - and inevitably formed unified programs of cultural activity and social development, managed them, and financed and tightly controlled their implementation. The Soviet people, the so-called "working masses", were forced to live and act under uniform rules. Depending on the planning of the political, economic and social life of the party leadership throughout the existence of the USSR, the country went through several stages, which differed in the directions of forming an architectural and urban planning environment that had to meet the tasks of state and ideological character. Familiarizing yourself with this unique experience and finding the reasons for its formation is important for understanding the trends of social development in the twentieth century.

Ghana

This chapter investigates the politics of parliamentary debates in Ghana, a country that combines a hybrid presidential regime with a candidate-centered electoral system. Although these features place Ghana as a typical case in which parliamentary rules grant more leeway to individual MPs, our analysis reveals a more complex scenario that defies conventional wisdom. The partial linkage between the legislative and parliamentary branches gives the executive strong agenda-setting powers; moreover, party leadership’s marked influence in the way business in the House unfolds means that there is a skewed playing field, which curtails individual MPs’ access to the floor. The empirical section draws on an original dataset of legislative debates from 2005 through 2019 to examine the determinants of floor access in the Ghanaian parliament. Three findings merit highlighting. First, female MPs are less likely to be selected to speak, and their speeches are significantly shorter when compared to those of male MPs. Second, seniority and exposure to parliament increase the chances of participating in a debate. Third, party leaders have most access to the floor, followed by committee chairs and ministers. However, female MPs who are members of the party leadership speak significantly less than their male counterparts.

United States

This chapter analyzes the trends in speaking behavior in the United States Congress from 1921 to 2010 in the House and Senate. We find that key determinants of political behavior from the existing American and comparative literature (seniority, committee leader, party leadership, ideological extremism, and majority party membership) correspond to more floor speeches by members. Senators deliver more speeches per member than their counterparts in the House, although the determinants of activity are broadly similar. Splitting the results by historical period and examining the relationship by the polarization of the chamber show that the effects of certain variables have changed considerably over time. In the House, in particular, the effects of committee leader, extremism, and majority party status have increased over time while the effect of seniority has noticeably decreased in the post-Gingrich period.

Denmark

The Danish Parliament, the Folketing, is elected through a highly proportional electoral system, which places a substantial value on personal votes. Despite this, access to the floor is not controlled by the party leadership, but rather party spokespersons are privileged. The average size of parliamentary party groups is relatively small, which limits the need for hierarchy to coordinate and restricts the ability of party leaders to prevent some MPs from taking the floor. Analyzing speeches given from the start of the 2011–2015 parliamentary term to the end of March 2020, it is found that female MPs are consistently under-represented in terms of parliamentary speeches in the Danish Folketing, and MPs from smaller parliamentary party groups speak significantly more often. No significant effects on the number of words spoken are found. Despite the highly personalized electoral system, access to the floor is neither influenced by electoral vulnerability nor by electoral success.