Elections and Activist Coalitions in the United States

Formal models of voting have emphasizd the mean voter theorem , that all parties should rationally adopt identical positions at the electoral mean. The lack of evidence for this assertion is a paradox or contradiction in need of resolution. This article attempts to resolve this paradox by considering an electoral model that includes "valence" or nonpolicy judgements by voters of party leaders. The theorem is used to suggest that Republican success depends on balancing the opposed demands of economic and social conservatives. Democrat success in future elections resides in overcoming the policy demands of economic liberals and gaining support from cosmopolitans—the socially liberal but economically conservative potential supporters of the party .     

Government policy for dangerous inventions in the United States and Great Britain

This study compares British and United States policy-making for nonmilitary dangerous inventions. It focuses on nine twentieth century invention groups ranging from electricity to biotechnology. Public policy for all nine dangerous inventions was very similar between the two countries. When inventions appeared, policy-makers in and out of government attempted to apply analogies of two types between existing technologies and the inventions: (1) the use to which an invention was put; and (2) the techniques used to achieve the invention's objective(s). Early societal formulations of these analogies set the stage for an unending iterative policy process. Components of this process included: technical progress toward an invention's power and effectiveness; technical progress toward an invention's safety; the number of innocent victims who might be hurt by an invention; the volume of government regulations; the degree of government rational-comprehensive decision-making with regard to the invention; and the degrees of centralization of government responses to the invention.     

Expenditures and votes: In search of downward-sloping curves in the United States and Great Britain

An earlier paper showed a negative relation between increases and accelerations in F, the ratio of federal expenditures to GNP and E, the reelection or defeat of the incumbent party in the White House over the last 100 years. This paper argues that there also exists a negative relation between V, the percentage of the popular vote cast for the incumbents, and F. This function is displaced by wars and depressions and can drift over time, making it difficult to discover negative curves in the data. Dividing British and US data for the last 50 years into party periods yields clearly discernable negative functions for F and V for the incumbents.     

Understanding recent trends in central-local relations: centralisation in Great Britain and decentralisation in the United States

Abstract. This article starts by noting that, whilst Mrs Thatcher and President Reagan apparently share similar conservative objectives, their policies differ radically with respect to intergovernmental relations. The author briefly reviews the trends towards centralisation and decentralisation in Britain and America respectively and suggests that the difference is because both leaders see 'intergovernmental relations' as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves. Both leaders share the same objectives of reducing tax levels and the amount of government expenditure and of rewarding their supporters: objectives which, at least in part, both have achieved. But both have used different means, reflecting the different structure of government with which both leaders have to work. This view is supported by a brief review of policy on intergovernmental grants in both countries.     

Advancing E-Governance: Comparing Taiwan and the United States

Can e-governance fulfill the ideal of citizen-centric government around the world? This comparative study examines Taiwan and the United States and offers PAR readers relevant management and policy lessons. The research utilizes a framework that captures the institutional, organizational, and technological drivers of e-governance performance. The results indicate that the United States and Taiwan excel in different areas, but could improve in others and thereby learn from each other.     

Political efficacy: A comparative study of the United States, West Germany, Great Britain and Australia

Abstract. Although political efficacy is a key concept in theories of political participation and democratic governance, different studies have conceptualised and operationalised efficacy in different ways. Using comparable survey data from the United States, West Germany, Great Britain and Australia, this study builds upon previous research in an attempt to clarify our understanding of the dimensions of political efficacy and their relationship to socio-demographic factors. The results suggest that 'internal efficacy' and 'external efficacy' are distinct attitudinal dimensions which are comparable in all four nations, and that each is related to certain socio-demographic characteristics.     

The continued salience of religious voting in the United States, Germany, and Great Britain

Conventional wisdom on party systems in advanced industrial democracies holds that modern electorates are dealigned and that social cleavages no longer structure party politics. Recent work on class cleavages has challenged this stylized fact. The analysis performed here extends this criticism to the religious-secular cleavage. Using path analysis and comparing the current electorates of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain with the early 1960s, this paper demonstrates that the religious-secular cleavage remains or has become a significant predictor of conservative vote choice. While the effects of the religious-secular cleavage on vote choice have become largely indirect, the total of the direct and indirect effects is substantial and equivalent to the effects of class and status.     

Managing Collaborative Service Delivery: Comparing China and the United States

Successful adoption of collaborative service delivery requires that governments develop better capacity to handle potential pitfalls. In this essay, Yijia Jing of Fudan University and E. S. Savas of the City University of New York provide a framework that compares and contrasts the management practices in China and America. Both nations favor collaborative service delivery and engage in it extensively. Can China's state-affiliated strategy and the United States' competition-oriented strategy both work effectively? Such distinct systems, embedded in vastly different socioeconomic and political institutional environments decisively influence the effectiveness of collaborative service delivery management in the two countries.     

Comparing Implementation Processes in Sweden and the United States

This article attempts a systematic comparison of how policy is implemented in Sweden and the United States. We suggest that differences might be explained by examining policymaking processes, policy content, and governmental structure. The comparison reveals differences in 'incentive structure'. Both Sweden and the U.S. have responded to the complexity and uncertainty that accompanies increased demands on central government by adopting 'softer' mechanisms for implementation. The effect of these shifts in both systems is to devolve important decisions to lower levels of government. In Sweden, this devolution is still accompanied by strong incentives for national policymakers to undertake implementation, although the incentives may not be as strong as they were in the past. In the U.S., it is accompanied by a radical weakening of incentives to carry out implementation and increasing instability in policy content and relations among key actors.     

Measuring Party Identification: Britain, Canada, and the United States

The article proposes an empirically based reflection on how to measure party identification cross nationally, using data from the 1997 Canadian Election Study, the 1997 British Election Study, and the 1996 American National Election Study. These studies included both traditional national questions and a new common one, which allows for an assessment of the effects of question wording on the distribution and correlates of party identification. We show that the distribution of party identification is strongly affected by question wording and that the relationship between party identification and variables such as party and leader ratings, and voting behavior does not quite conform to theoretical expectations. We point out problems in the wording of party identification questions and propose an alternative formulation.     

The State of the State: Comparing Governance in China and the United States

How do two world powers with starkly different governing systems share common accountability problems, and why? Does the cycle of administrative reform produce additional need for reforms that come full circle, eventually exacerbating problems without solution? Yongfei Zhao and B. Guy Peters of the University of Pittsburgh examine governance in the United States and China and point out that conflicts in government functions unique to each country result in strikingly similar accountability issues.     

Patterns of Disagreement in Democratic Politics: Comparing Germany, Japan, and the United States

An important ingredient in democratic politics is the experience of disagreement through social communication and political discussion. If people fail to encounter contrary viewpoints, their own views are never challenged, they are never forced to reconsider initially held opinions, and they are effectively excluded from democratic deliberation. This article examines patterns of political agreement and disagreement within the communication networks of citizens in Germany, Japan, and the United States. Several questions are addressed. Are there cross‐national differences in patterns of agreement and disagreement among citizens? To what extent are these patterns subject to individual attitudes, to the structure of communication networks, and to levels of aggregate support for particular preferences and opinions? Finally, what are the implications of disagreement for civic capacity and political engagement? Empirical analyses are based on cooperative election surveys conducted in each country during the early 1990s.