Electoral engineering in Chile: the electoral system and limited democracy

On the eve of Chile's transition from military to elected government, the outgoing regime enacted an electoral engineering project intended to conserve the constitutional order it encoded in 1980. An analysis of 1989 and 1993 general elections shows that the way votes are translated into seats favors, as intended, the second largest electoral block, the Chilean Right. This bias, along with the number of appointed senators and the special majorities required for constitutional amendments, gives the Right a minority veto power on any reform initiative. Moreover, the electoral system produces incentives for parties, candidates and voters that enhances this balance of power. The role that the electoral system plays in Chile therefore consolidates a limited form of democracy, rather than a liberal one.     

Electoral Reform and Party Adaptation: The Introduction of the Single Transferable Vote in Scotland

The 2007 Scottish Local Government Elections saw the first large scale use of the Single Transferable Vote (STV) in a mainland election in Britain. This presented a range of challenges for Scotland's political parties, more familiar with campaigning under first-past-the-post or the Scottish parliament's semi-proportional Additional Member System (AMS). Most crucially, STV meant the parties had to come to terms with multi-member wards and the transferral of votes between parties. Following a short discussion of the results of the STV elections, this article assesses evidence on how the parties adapted to the new electoral system, focussing particularly on candidate and campaign strategies. The article argues that Scotland's parties showed some, but limited, signs of adapting to new electoral conditions. Rather than strategic adjustment, an element of 'hoping for the best' was evident in all parties.     

Politicians,voters and democracy: The 2011 UK referendum on the Alternative Vote

At the 2010 UK election, Labour proposed a referendum on changing the House of Commons electoral system from single member plurality to the Alternative Vote. Subsequently, a coalition was formed between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, yet it was Labour's policy on electoral reform that was implemented. The paper explains why this proved to be politically convenient for Labour's opponents. At the same time, however, holding the referendum reflected an emergent de facto convention that significant constitutional change should only be introduced after it has secured popular endorsement. The paper assesses whether the dynamics of public opinion during the AV referendum suggests that voters' eventual decisions about constitutional questions reflect their views about the merits of the relevant arguments.     

It's Only Made Things Worse: A Critique of Electoral Reform in Britain

Since it came to power, New Labour has introduced a range of new electoral system into the British political system, implicitly accepting the argument that Britain's traditional electoral system - first-past-the-post (FPTP) - has been a cause of voter disenchantment with Britain's representative democracy. In this article, it is asserted that Labour's reforms have merely compounded this problem, while demonstrating that all electoral systems have significant flaws. Indeed, it is argued that the flaws of the new systems are more serious than those of FPTP and threaten an even greater disconnection between UK politicians and the people they represent."     

The impact of electoral reform at the local level in Africa: the case of Senegal's 1996 local elections

Local electoral systems in transitional polities can play a critical role in the growth and development of democratic governance. In this study, the impact of electoral system change at the subnational level in an African nation, Senegal, is examined. Senegal recently altered the electoral system it employs for the selection of its local and municipal councils. The mixed plurality-proportional system, favors the largest parties. It clearly introduced distortions between the distribution of voter support and seats on councils. These distortions are modified by the proportional part of the vote which provides opportunities for smaller parties to obtain seats. The presence and impact of strategic entry and strategic voting, both in rural and urban areas is assessed.     

Security Sector Reform from a Policy Transfer Perspective: A Comparative Study of International Interventions in the Palestinian Territories,Liberia and Timor-Leste

Security sector reform (SSR), targeting security forces and their management and oversight institutions, has become a major feature of international peace- and statebuilding activities. The article draws on policy transfer research to assess substantive and procedural changes in how international actors intervene in the security governance of fragile or post-conflict states. By comparing transfer processes in Liberia, Timor-Leste and the Palestinian Territories, the article shows that despite variations across political, economic and strategic factors in each domestic context, external SSR interventions showed distinct similarities. SSR interventions expanded their substantive scope over time; less directly coercive mechanisms of persuasion and socialization increasingly replaced the direct imposition of external models of security governance; and the influence of domestic elite actors on transfer processes increased over the duration of interventions.     

从一次调查问卷看公安院校英语教学改革

本文从一次铁警校学生英语学习状况调查问卷入手 ,分析了公安院校英语教学中在教学设备、考试制度、教师素质及授课方式等方面的不足之处 ,提出公安院校的英语教学改革应针对这些不足 ,发展高科技教学手段 ,建立严格有效的考试制度 ,培养高素质的教师队伍 ,并在具体的教学活动中以有效的课堂互动激发学生的学习兴趣。     

Support for the Far Right in the 2014 European Parliament Elections: A Comparative Perspective

The May 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections were characterised by the success of far‐right Eurosceptic parties, including the French Front National, UKIP, the Danish People's Party, the Hungarian Jobbik, the Austrian FPÖ, the True Finns and the Greek Golden Dawn. However, a closer look at the results across Europe indicates that the success of far‐right parties in the EP elections is neither a linear nor a clear‐cut phenomenon: (1) the far right actually declined in many European countries compared to the 2009 results; (2) some of the countries that have experienced the worst of the economic crisis, including Spain, Portugal and Ireland, did not experience a significant rise in far‐right party support; and (3) ‘far right’ is too broad an umbrella term, covering parties that are too different from each other to be grouped in one single party family.     

Resurgent Remain and a Rebooted Revolt on the Right: Exploring the 2019 European Parliament Elections in the United Kingdom

The 2019 European Parliament (EP) election took place against the backdrop of the vote for Brexit and the failure of Parliament to agree on a withdrawal agreement. Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party topped the poll and the pro‐Remain Liberal Democrats, which called for a second referendum on EU membership, returned from electoral obscurity to take second place, while other pro‐Remain parties similarly performed well. In sharp contrast, the two main parties, Labour and the Conservatives, recorded their lowest combined vote share since they became the main representatives of the two‐party system. In this article, we draw on aggregate‐level data to explore what happened at the 2019 EP election in Great Britain. Our evidence suggests Labour suffered from a ‘pincer movement’, losing support in its mainly white, working class ‘left behind’ heartlands but also in younger cosmopolitan areas where Labour had polled strongly at the 2017 general election. Support for the new Brexit Party increased more significantly in ‘left behind’ communities, which had given strong support to Leave at the 2016 referendum, suggesting that national populists capitalised on Labour’s woes. The Conservatives haemorrhaged support in affluent, older retirement areas but largely at the expense of the resurgent Liberal Democrats, with the latter surging in Remain areas and where the Conservatives are traditionally strong, though not in areas with younger electorates where the party made so much ground prior to the 2010–2015 coalition government. Lastly, turnout increased overall compared with 2014, but individuals living in Leave areas were less motivated to vote. Overall, our findings suggest that those living in Remain areas were more driven to express their discontent with the Brexit process and more inclined to support parties that offer a second referendum on Britain’s EU membership.     

新世纪以来中国共产党的干部制度改革:基于制度文本的研究

本文从制度文本角度,对过去十多年中国共产党的干部制度改革进行了梳理,重点考察了"党管干部"原则的调整、干部选拔任用改革、干部监督管理改革。这些改革和调整是作为执政党的中国共产党面对新挑战、新问题所做出的,具有较强的针对性,但是,就制度的实际效力而言,还需要进一步的观察。     

公共政策绩效损失的实证分析--以G省农业水价综合改革政策为例

绩效管理的核心目的是改进绩效,而绩效损失这一分析视角业已成为审视绩效生产与绩效提升的一个重要维度。以G省农业水价综合改革政策为例,对“治理缺陷型”和“价值偏离型”两类绩效损失的生成机理与影响因素进行分析。研究发现:两类绩效损失是在公共政策组织管理系统和公共价值建构系统中交互形成的,其公共价值因素与组织管理因素相互影响,共同作用于整体绩效损失的生成;其中,社会价值建构缺失构成了整体绩效损失生成的逻辑起点。此外,在绩效损失的生成过程中,经济发展水平和自然区位要素与其他影响因素耦合互动,并对绩效损失产生“放大效应”。未来应进一步开展相关的定量研究以探索绩效损失形成的关键区域,并提出具有针对性与可行性的矫正策略和治理路径。     

Graduates' Views on Working in the Public Sector: A Comparative Analysis of the Three Tiers of Government

Why do university graduates choose to work for one level of government but not the others? This article examines the comparative appeal of government jobs across the three tiers of government – federal, state and local – in Australia. When asked to indicate their employer of choice, a majority of graduates in this case study ranked the federal and state governments close to each other. This article also compares and analyses the pre‐employment views and motivations of the graduates with varying interests in working for the different tiers of government.     

男性光棍构成差异的地域性解释——基于凤城和新县两个村庄的比较分析

以往对光棍问题的讨论要么集中在宏观的经济和社会层面,要么集中在光棍个人的心理和身体特征上,对光棍的研究缺乏区域比较的视野,更没有对光棍生成原因或是归因类型的深入分析。建立于村庄个案对比基础上的光棍问题研究,可以让我们看到光棍成因的复杂性及其类型的层次性,而地域比较的视野则利于我们更准确地认识光棍问题,如可以看到光棍形成的阶段性因素和特殊的地域因素。如此,我们也就扩宽了光棍研究的口径,也深入了对该主题的研究,并有利于认识光棍现象的未来发展趋势。     

解构与重构：行业协会商会脱钩改革的政会关系变迁研究

作为中国现代社会组织体制改革的突破口,行业协会商会与行政机关脱钩改革从试点进入到全面推开阶段。考察脱钩改革的历史变迁,“去行政化”的核心目标和“推行政会分开”的改革方式一以贯之,政府对行业协会商会既培育发展又规范管理、秩序优先于活力的价值排序,构成中国行业协会商会管理体制改革的逻辑起点。脱钩改革带动政会关系从“行政主导”的解构转向“政治领导与合作共治并进”的重构,为此,需要从政治领导关系和合作共治关系两方面对构建适应于后脱钩时代的新型治理制度框架和整合机制提出完善建议。