Balanced-budget redistribution as the outcome of political competition: A comment

This comment is concerned with the relation between the basic model of elections and income redistribution in Lindbeck and Weibull (1987) and the model in Coughlin (1986a). Its purpose is to (i) isolate the (small set of) assumptions that separate these closely related models, (ii) identify a special case of the Lindbeck-Weibull model where their results immediately provide direct extensions of four of the results in my paper, and (iii) point out that one of the lemmata in my paper identifies the precise location of the equilibrium income distribution for this important special case of the Lindbeck-Weibull model. The comment also relates these observations to Lindbeck and Weibull's example of familiar assumptions that satisfy their sufficient conditions for the existence of a political equilibrium.I gratefully acknowledge (i) some helpful comments that Peter Ordeshook made as a discussant for Coughlin (1986a) (when I presented it at the 1986 Public Choice Society Meeting), which got me to start thinking about the issues that are addressed in this comment and (ii) some helpful suggestions provided by Peter Aranson.     

The future of political campaigning: the American example

The Internet will provide a way to force direct democracy to the fore, replacing many of the prerogatives now reserved for representative democracy. This is especially true in Europe where the continental integration of the economy has not been matched by integrated political democracy. Lobbying in the UK will become less relevant as the EU comes to predominate. Lobbying in the future will have to be directed downward — to mobilise the public — rather than upward, attempting to influence the Parliament. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

新时代背景下党内政治生态建设路径探析

习近平总书记在十九大报告中充分肯定全面从严治党成效卓著。党领导人民迎接实现伟大梦想的社会主义新时代,建设社会主义伟大事业的政治前提是深入推进党的建设新的伟大工程。党内政治生态是党的建设新的伟大工程的根基。党内政治生态建设既要遵循与时俱进的党建规律,还要实施全面从严治党的战略布局,实现路径为加强党内思想建设、制度建设、组织建设、纪律建设。     

加强制度建设营造良好政治生态的思考

良好的政治生态系统应具备平衡性、动态性、开放性和民主性的特点。根据政治生态理论的相关理论总结了当前我国政治生态建设存在的主要问题,提出了加强制度建设营造良好的政治生态,为全面提高政治生态建设水平提供现实依据。     

改革以来中国社会政治生态分析

社会政治生态指政治系统中的诸要素在运行和互动中所形成和显示出来的整体状态.公共权力是政治系统的核心要素,公共权力的运行模式和配置结构对于政治生态的形成具有决定性影响,就此而言,中国社会政治生态表现为权力主导下的渐进改革.渐进改革在历史行进中所展示出来的是国家释权与社会增权的一般过程,在这一过程中逐渐形成的国家与社会的互促型均衡结构构成了改革以来中国社会政治生态的内在规定性.     

In search of reliable results: Socialist values and political trust in unified Germany – A comment on Campbell's analyses and conclusions

In a recently published article in this journal, Ross Campbell argues that adherence to socialist values establishes a hitherto neglected factor when it comes to the explanation of differences in East and West German citizens’ political trust. As the results of his study indicate, adherence to socialist values impacts negatively on citizens’ political trust, this effect is more pronounced and more stable over time for East German as compared to West German citizens and is sufficiently strong to eliminate aggregate‐level differences in political trust between East and West Germany. However, this research note suggests that Campbell's article contains several substantial inconsistencies and obscurities that question the reliability and validity of the empirical findings presented. It provides a re‐analysis of Campbell's main arguments and shows to what extent his initial conclusions can be upheld after the shortcomings have been remedied. The results of this re‐analysis suggest that socialist values indeed exhibit a negative impact on German citizens’ political trust, which is relatively stronger for East as compared to West German citizens. However, contrary to Campbell's initial results, the negative effect of socialist values on political trust is robust over time for both East and West German citizens. What is more, there is no empirical evidence confirming that differences in adherence to socialist values between East and West German citizens are sufficiently strong to account for aggregate‐level differences in political trust. In light of these findings, two of Campbell's three main conclusions are dubious and call for further examination.     

政治心理视角下的网络政治参与

网络政治参与在我国已成峰火燎原之势.在网络政治参与众语喧哗的背后,蕴藏着我国公民对廉洁政府、服务型政府和社会公平正义的诸多期待.这种期待是网络政治参与动机的重要构成部分.网络政治参与动机主要有三种:经济利益动机、伦理道德动机、归属和成就动机.在多种动机驱动下的网民,通过网络上的学习、交流和强化,最终形成网络"群体极化"现象."群体极化"现象的形成,客观上要求政府对网络政治参与心理进行调适和疏导.