The Press and Its Influence on British Political Attitudes under New Labour

To explore the impact of the press in Britain during the first New Labour administration, we used aggregate-level analysis to assess the relationship between the economic content of press and changes in the public's political and economic attitudes. We examine the effects on attitudes of economic coverage in the broadsheets, 'black top' and tabloid newspapers. The results suggest that the broadsheets and 'black tops' do exert an influence on voters' views, whereas the tabloids do not. The impact is, however, not global, but confined to particular segments of the population. The modest effects we have charted, nevertheless have important cumulative political significance in the medium- to long-term, and they put press influence into sharper and more realistic perspective than many current accounts. Methodologically our results suggest the need for further work to focus on press effects on specific groups of voters.     

Using the State for Change: Towards an Effective Labour Government

The capacity of the state to deliver transformative social and economic change appears more limited today than since Labour was last in government. A future Labour government will therefore need to reckon with the challenges this presents when it comes to harnessing the power of the state to distribute power, wealth, and opportunity, effectively. This article considers two aspects of state power. The first is the ability of the state to enforce laws, and in doing so shape social and economic norms. With reference to past successes and failures, there is discussion of how laws and regulations could be made more effective. The second aspect is state intervention in the economy, and the circumstances in which it is possible and desirable to nationalise key industries. The case is made for a thorough assessment of the efficiency and efficacy of such interventions in the economy, especially when weighed against other policy priorities.     

The death of security sector reform? The South African exemplar revisited

ABSTRACT

Security sector reform (SSR) or transformation in South Africa has until recently almost universally been regarded as a success. While achievements have been real and many are enduring, under the presidency of Jacob Zuma a creeping effort by corrupt parvenu elites to capture the state for personal enrichment has become evident. The impact of this on the SSR project has not been sufficiently analysed. This article does not deal with state capture per se, which would be massive task and for which evidence is still emerging. It limits itself to the impact of state capture on the SSR project, examining the hollowing out of the defence function, as well as the corruption and factional politicisation of the intelligence, policing and prosecutions functions (it does not deal with the capture of state-owned enterprises, which would require a study in its own right). It concludes that SSR has been significantly undermined. The question is asked whether a resurrection is possible or desirable.     

The use of referendums in Ireland: an analysis

The referendum is a phenomenon which is becoming increasingly normalised in the constitutional practice of many countries. Ireland is an EU member state with particularly extensive experience of the referendum as a decision-making tool. To date, it has held 39 referendums on a variety of issues – ranking it among the top four states in Western Europe in this regard.

This article seeks to review the emergence of referendums in Ireland as a decision-making instrument and to ask what constitutional, legal or institutional factors have led to referendums enjoying such comparatively extensive use there. It seeks to examine which political issues have formed the subject of referendums in Ireland, and to investigate what kinds of issues have succeeded in gaining electoral approval and what kinds have not. The extent of electoral participation in (and thus representativity of) Irish referendums is also scrutinised, and factors affecting participation rates examined.