Political Participation Online: The Replacement and the Mobilisation Hypotheses Revisited

This article discusses the state of political participation online more than ten years after the Internet's great popular breakthrough as an everyday medium. Denmark is used as a case study to critically re‐examine the frequently discussed replacement and mobilisation hypotheses on behalf of the Internet. The pure replacement hypothesis is rejected. Instead, it is found that the Internet still supplements rather than replaces other media, even among heavy Internet users. The Internet is one among several media used by ‘media omnivores’, and political participation online supplements rather than substitutes offline participation. More interesting, the mobilisation hypothesis is partly confirmed. Even though some online participation patterns resemble traditional ones, it seems as if the Internet finally is starting to mobilise younger generations. Further, traditional predictors behind political participation, efficacy and social capital seem to have less impact on online political participation. In the end, these findings are related to more overall discussions on the democratising potential of the Internet.     

Fictitious Issues Revisited: Political Interest, Knowledge and the Generation of Nonattitudes

It has long been suspected that, when asked to provide opinions on matters of public policy, significant numbers of those surveyed do so with only the vaguest understanding of the issues in question. In this article, we present the results of a study which demonstrates that a significant minority of the British public are, in fact, willing to provide evaluations of non-existent policy issues. In contrast to previous American research, which has found such responses to be most prevalent among the less educated, we find that the tendency to provide 'pseudo-opinions' is positively correlated with self-reported interest in politics. This effect is itself moderated by the context in which the political interest item is administered; when this question precedes the fictitious issue item, its effect is greater than when this order is reversed. Political knowledge, on the other hand, is associated with a lower probability of providing pseudo-opinions, though this effect is weaker than that observed for political interest. Our results support the view that responses to fictitious issue items are not generated at random, via some 'mental coin flip'. Instead, respondents actively seek out what they consider to be the likely meaning of the question and then respond in their own terms, through the filter of partisan loyalties and current political discourses.     

Political Mobilisation,Political Participation and the Power of the Vote

This article proposes a framework to recast our thinking about political participation. The approach adopted insists on the role of collective actors and their agents – the political elites – in the democratic process and, by implication, in determining the amount and forms of individual political participation. The proposed framework builds on a simple model of representative government and introduces some major changes in the political context which have become ever more conspicuous in the course of the last 30 years, and which are substantially modifying the conditions for conventional (electoral) and unconventional political participation. Prominent among these changes are the increasing role of the media in politics, and the decline of party control over the voters. These changes tend to enhance both electoral and non-electoral forms of participation. Another set of contemporary institutional changes reduces the electoral accountability of political decision-makers, with expected consequences that are more ambiguous for both electoral and non-electoral participation.     

试论政治学研究中的利益分析方法

政治学研究中的利益分析，是以公共利益为分析对象，把政治看作是体现了权威、交换、说服三个特征的利益活动，结合人性化与科学化判断的一种研究视角，它包括利益主体、利益目标、利益观念、利益分配机制等多种分析标准。作为一种分析方法，它是对传统政治学研究中的经济分析法和阶级分析法的发展，并日益成为一种综合性分析方法。     

The Scandinavian Model and Women's Interests: The Issues of Universalism and Corporatism*

Theorizing about women and politics and discussions of women and the welfare state have often neglected contextual factors, such as institutional and country-specific variables. By problematizing the following three concepts—the Scandinavian model, universalism, and corporatism—this article seeks to focus attention on system variations and their possible consequences for women.     

"党的利益"问题研究综述

近年来,国内学术界开始关注“党的利益”问题,探讨了关于“党的利益”的内涵、承认“党的利益”的意义、防止党内出现既得利益集团、“党的利益”与人民利益的关系、“党的利益”实现路径等方面的问题,取得了初步的研究成果。但是,也还有一些值得进行深入研究的地方。     

After the Public Interest Prevails: The Political Sustainability of Policy Reform

The prevailing political science wisdom is that narrow interests regularly triumph over the general public. Yet the stunning passage of broad-based policy reforms in the face of intense clientele opposition suggests that the U.S. political system has a greater capacity to serve diffuse interests than has often been thought. Some of the most provocative policy-oriented political-science research during the 1980s and 1990s examined how these surprising reform victories occurred. Unfortunately, general-interest reforms do not always stick; reforms may be corrupted or reversed after their enactment. The long-term sustainability of any given policy reform hinges on the successful reworking of political institutions and on the generation of positive policy-feedback effects, especially the empowerment of social groups with a stake in the reform&s maintenance. This paper explores the postenactment dynamics of three canonical instances of general-interest reform legislation: tax reform, agricultural subsidy reform, and airline deregulation. Only in the airline-deregulation case has the self-reinforcing dynamic required for political sustainability been unmistakably evident. For analysts and advocates of general-interest reform measures alike, the clear lesson is to attend far more closely to what happens after reforms become law.     

The Temporary Importance of Role Models for Women's Political Representation

This article investigates the supply side of women's political representation by focusing on how the election of female politicians affects the motivation of women to run for office in other units. The analysis relies on an original data set of over 1,500 municipal elections in Switzerland, starting with the first election after the introduction of women's suffrage. In the first election in which women could participate, the election of a woman in a given municipality was associated in the next election with an additional female candidate in 10% of its neighbors. The relationship decreases over time, fades away after 16 years, and is driven primarily by new female candidates in units where no female incumbents are running for reelection. These findings suggest that role models are important for improving women's representation, but only in its early stages. This conclusion could be relevant for understanding the political representation of other underrepresented groups.     

The Political Economy of State Failure: A Social Contract Approach

By employing the contract approach of state theory, this article provides a conceptual framework for the analysis of state failure phenomena which puts the emphasis on structural conditions as the root cause of state fragility and state failure. The article argues that the deep social fragility of some post-colonial societies, augmented by self-serving external interventions by foreign powers, is at the heart of their failure. Deep social fragility makes societies unable to cooperate and thus renders them powerless to discipline their leaders. Meanwhile, by linking leadership survival to the decisions and policies of a self-serving foreign power, intervention provides flawed incentives to the state leaders, which increases their predatory behaviour. In such situations, state leaders, rather than strengthening formal state institutions, again intensify the collective action problem and increase social fragility as mechanisms for survival.     

Mobilisation and legitimisation: The political ambiance of plan implementation

The paper examines the structure of political decision-making which forms the context of regional plan generation and implementation in inchoate states. The established ideas of political science are built upon to suggest a three-tiered structure of power brokerage in which the planner as bureaucrat and technocrat functions in the middle tier. The constraints and opportunities which affect the functions of planning are related to the priorities of government and political elites. The regional planning paradigm is highlighted as an example of the problems of the conflicting interests of professional planners and the state. Whereas regional planning is directed at spatial equity and local development, states are preoccupied with political legitimacy and the spaljialisation of power. Further, the regional paradigm does not recognise that the way in which a state derives its ideology and development strategy impinges on the political interpretation of the aims of planning. The paper concludes that planning and implementational mddes need to make explicit recognition of the political conditions in inchoate states and develop more realistic forms of action.     

The Effect of Political Science Education on Political Trust and Interest: Results from a 5-year Panel Study

Citizenship education has evolved substantially in recent decades, with a rapid proliferation of education forms and approaches. The currently available evaluation studies, however, do not allow us to determine what kind of approach can be considered as a best practice for schools and education systems. In this article, we rely on the results of a 5-year panel study to investigate the long-term effects of various forms of citizenship education. Using the Belgian Political Panel Survey (n = 3,025), a three-wave longitudinal panel survey of 16-, 18- and 21-year-old Belgian late adolescents and young adults, we determine which citizenship education effort (i.e., classroom instruction, being a member of a school council, and an open-classroom climate) has a long-term effect on political trust and political interest. The results suggest that classroom instruction, the presence of an open-classroom climate, and being a member of a school board are positively related to political trust. We also find that classroom instruction and being a member of a school board are significantly associated with higher levels of political interest. We close with some observations on what these findings imply for citizenship education policies.     

The Impact of Devolution on Women's Political Representation Levels in Northern Ireland

Historically, Northern Ireland women have been severely under-represented in the formal political arena. Despite the main parties having failed to address this issue, women have notably increased their presence in elected positions since the establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998. In the absence of any initiatives undertaken specifically to improve women's political status, it appears that the opportunities of devolution have facilitated these recent achievements. Specifically, the new political landscape has become more open and conducive to promoting women into positions of political power, and it is the impact of these developments that this article explores.     

Racial Disparities in Political Participation Across Issues: The Role of Issue-Specific Motivators

Research documenting disparities in political participation across racial and ethnic groups (in particular lower levels of participation for Blacks and Latinos, compared to Whites) has primarily focused on broad explanations for racial and ethnic differences in participation (e.g., socio-economic status, social, or psychological resources). There is little research that links racial and ethnic differences in participation across issues to the literature on issue publics and issue-specific factors that may motivate participation. In this study, we examine racial and ethnic differences in participation for a variety of issues and test a model in which issue-specific motivators of participation (self-interest, racial or ethnic group interest, attitude importance, and policy change threat) and general explanations for participation differences (e.g., socio-economic status, political knowledge) account for these racial and ethnic differences. In particular, the results of a survey of Chicago residents show that Blacks, Latinos and Whites demonstrate significant differences in political participation across five issues (affirmative action, immigration, school funding, gentrification, the Iraq War), but that the specific pattern of racial and ethnic differences in participation varies across issues. Issue-specific factors help to explain why racial and ethnic differences in participation vary across issues above and beyond variables shown to be associated with participation more generally (e.g., political efficacy, education). This model has the potential to be expanded and applied to help explain other types of disparities in political participation.     

Political participation and parliamentary careers: Women's quotas in West Germany

Drawing on a survey of women candidates and parliamentary handbooks, this article examines the effects of women's quotas in West German political parties. Since the mid‐1980s, the number of women members in Land parliaments and in the Bundestag increased sharply, in particular for the SPD and Greens. In the CDU and SPD, women require a track‐record of office‐holding before their nomination, while the party organisation carries little weight in FDP and Greens. CDU and FDP women tend to link political success to personality while women in the SPD and Greens look for an end to a male‐dominated party culture. The focus on women appears to favour the academically qualified, especially in the Greens and in the SPD.     

浅论民生问题与思想政治教育的关系

民生问题是人们的基本生存问题和人本身的社会发展问题,包含了物质、政治和精神三个层面。思想政治教育从现实的人出发,以人的物质需要和精神需要为起点,通过思想政治教化,来推行统治阶级的思想意识。两者关系密切,相互促进,民生问题的解决需要思想政治教育理论的指导,思想政治教育的内容与形式也要随着民生问题的发展而改变、调整和创新。     

Military Intelligence and Controversial Political Issues: The Unique Case of the Israeli Military Intelligence

Contrary to intelligence services in other democracies worldwide, the activity of the Israeli Directorate of Military Intelligence, AMAN, is not merely centered around collection and research regarding military intelligence matters. Instead, AMAN covers the majority of intelligence activity arenas, including intelligence regarding state-related issues. This field of activity presents a situation where AMAN's officers, and predominantly, its research division, are compelled to deal with sensitive issues embedded well within Israeli political and public controversy. This is commonly illustrated in the field of ‘Intelligence for Peace’ in general and more specifically in the Palestinian arena. Intelligence research surrounding the question of Palestinian commitment to peace throughout the Oslo Process and following the onset of the al Aqsa Intifada – activity classified as ‘Intelligence on Intentions’ – placed AMAM at the heart of political debate in Israel and resulted in bitter internal disagreements in AMAN as well as tensions between the intelligence service and the political leadership. Throughout the years, numerous recommendations have been repeatedly voiced to end AMAN's monopoly over Israel's national intelligence assessment (including aspects of intelligence regarding state-related issues). These recommendations were based predominantly on hindsight evaluations, such as AMAN's repeated failures in intelligence assessments. This paper calls for gradual termination of AMAN's activity of intelligence regarding state-related issues, in light of its contradiction with the appropriate military–political separation in a democratic society. Moreover, it places AMAN at the heart of the political debate dividing Israeli society.