A social psychological critique of the Saudi terrorism risk reduction initiative

Of great concern to policy makers and detention system administrators who face the need to release detainees suspected of terrorism is how to do so in ways that minimize risk to national security. Among responses taken by detention system administrators is the establishment of so-called ‘deradicalization’ (or ‘disengagement,’ or ‘terrorism risk reduction’) programs in which select detainees may participate to promote their own release. The present analysis critiques the Saudi terrorism risk reduction initiative in accord with two social psychological theories that are especially pertinent to the topic – identity theory and frame alignment theory – and offers policy suggestions based upon the theoretical strengths and weaknesses of the Saudi model.     

Progress and challenges of consolidating the African state: “consolidation indicators” and the African Charter on Democracy,Elections and Governance

Since independence, there have been some improvements in political development in African states in respect to the prevalence of democracy, recognition of the rule of law, reduction in unconstitutional changes of governments, regular, transparent, free and fair elections, and a conducive environment for doing business. This article proposes a range of “consolidating indicators” that can be used to measure the consolidation of the African State in light of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG). Consolidation indicators examined include the level of internal integration/disintegration of the state, the degree and nature of peace, the nature of democracy and elections and of governance systems, levels of capacity, the social fabric of the state as well as issues concerning women and youth. The use of consolidation indicators is a new effort to address issues of contingency and preventive planning, with the aim of having more peaceful and progressive African states. Characterising African states, based on various consolidation indicators, is an important and relevant endeavour, especially because the concept of the “consolidation of the African State” is under-researched, with a paucity of a clear assessment. The discussion highlights the importance of the ACDEG and notes the increasing recognition by African states of the importance of democratic values and practices to the continent. Understanding the progress and challenges of consolidating the African State will help policy makers to strengthen the implementation of ACDEG, in pushing African states towards realising the African Union (AU) Africa Agenda 2063. This article takes an Afrocentric approach by discussing the positive role of regional and continental institutions in promoting and strengthening democracy and governance in Africa.     

The calculus of corruption: a paradox of ‘strong’ corruption amidst ‘strong’ systems and institutions in developing administrative systems

Without the right political will to battle corruption, systems and institutions are put in place and tend to be façade and window dressing. Ghana, especially, in the new millennium has seen the proliferation of various institutions ostensibly to curb the phenomenon of corruption, yet its impact has only been marginal. This study adopts two models of corruption to critically assess the institutional development of Ghana since the Fourth Republican Dispensation and how these institutions have impacted the fight against corruption. The study adopts mainly secondary data and resources from the 1992 Republican Constitution, Acts of Parliaments and Legislative Instruments relevant corruption combat. An analysis of the corruption perception index of Ghana from 2000 to 2014 and other data portrays poor performance. What accounts for this phenomenon? Are there really demons who obstruct the spirit and letter of the institutions? Are the systems weak or the human elements (demons) rather stronger in adapting and outsmarting the institutions? Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sexual orientation,political trust,and same-sex relationship recognition policies: evidence from Europe

Public Choice - This study uses data from the European Social Survey to analyze the impact of same-sex relationship recognition policies on the political trust of sexual minorities. We exploit...     

A road map for universal coverage: finding a pass through the financial mountains

Government already pays for more than half of U.S. health care costs, and nearly all universal health insurance proposals assume continued government involvement through tax subsidies and other means. The question of what specific taxes could be used to finance universal coverage is, however, seldom carefully examined, in part due to efforts by health care reform proponents to downplay tax issues. In this article we undertake such an examination. We argue that the challenges of relying on taxes for universal coverage are even greater than is generally appreciated, but that they can nevertheless be met. A proposal to fund a universal health insurance voucher system with a value-added tax illustrates issues that would arise for tax-financed plans in general and provides a broad framework for a bipartisan approach to universal coverage. We discuss significant problems that such an approach would face and suggest solutions. We outline a long-term political and legislative strategy for enacting universal coverage that draws upon precedents set by comparable legislative initiatives, including tax reform and Medicare. The results are an improved understanding of the relationship between systemic health care finance reform and taxation and a politically realistic plan for universal coverage that employs undisguised taxes.     

Does Enhanced Veto Authority Centralize Government?

Previous theoretical and empirical research findsenhanced veto authority has little systematic effecton level of spending. This paper takes a new tact,examining the effect of veto power on thecentralization of governmental services. It proposesand tests a model of federalism in which differenttypes of veto authority lead to differing degrees ofcentralization when the executive and legislature havedisparate preferences over the level of governmentthat should provide services. Empirical resultsindicate governors in the United States use enhancedveto authority to centralize state and localgovernment spending.     

Judicial Self-Governance Index: Towards better understanding of the role of judges in governing the judiciary

The aim of this article is to introduce a novel view on how to evaluate the share of power held by judges in judicial governance. Its contribution to court administration and the regulation of judges is three-fold. First, it provides a novel empirically tested conceptualization of judicial governance that includes 60 competences grouped into eight dimensions (ranging from selection and education of judges to case allocation and publication of judicial decisions). Second, it proposes a new Judicial Self-Governance (JSG) Index that measures how much power domestic judges hold in these eight dimensions of judicial governance. Third, by applying the JSG Index to the longitudinal data for Germany, Italy, Czechia, and Slovakia this article demonstrates that the Judicial Council model is not the only institutional model of judicial governance leading to the empowerment of judges. This means that judges can hold many powers without the existence of judicial councils and even in the Ministry of Justice model.     

Assimilation and contrast effects in voter projections of party locations: Evidence from Norway,France, and the USA

Abstract. In the standard Downsian model, voters are assumed to choose parties based on the extent of ideological proximity between the voter's own position and that of the party. Yet it is also well known that there are rationalization and projection effects such that voters tend to misestimate the policy platforms of candidates or parties to which they are sympathetic by overstating the correspondence between those positions and the voter's own preferences (see, e.g., Markus & Converse 1979; Granberg & Brent 1980; Granberg & Holmberg 1988; Merrill & Grofman 1999). Here we follow insights in the psychological literature on persuasion (Sherif & Hovland 1961; Parducci & Marshall 1962) by distinguishing between assimilation and contrast effects. Assimilation refers to shortening the perceived ideological distance between oneself and parties one favors; contrast refers to exaggerating the distance to parties for which one does not intend to vote. Using survey data on voter self–placements and party placements on ideological scales for the seven major Norwegian parties, five major French parties, and two major American parties we show that both assimilation and contrast effects are present in each country to a considerable degree.We also investigate the possible effects of randomness in party placement and scale interpretation – effects that can easily be confounded with assimilation but not so easily with contrast.     

Insurance Subsidies,the Affordable Care Act,and Financial Stability

This paper measures the effects of subsidies in the Affordable Care Act on adverse financial outcomes using administrative tax data and credit data on financial outcomes. Using a difference-in-differences design with propensity score reweighting, I find that at $100 per capita, ACA premium tax credits and cost-sharing reduction subsidies reduced consumer bankruptcies and severe auto delinquency by 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively, and substantially reduced right-tail delinquent debt and third-party collections. The value of recipients’ risk protection against medical debt payments amounts to approximately 16 to 21 percent of the cash costs of the subsidies, while the subsidies provided substantial indirect transfers to external parties.