Political Star Power and Political Parties

Abstract

Political parties, and more specifically public interest groups, budget extensive amounts of time and money to use celebrity endorsers for their candidate. Do celebrities bring forth enough value to warrant the time, effort, and money expended to make their endorsements public? Using a sample of first-time voters from the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, the authors examine the extent to which celebrities influence voting while specifically assessing whether celebrity influence is greater for Republicans or Democrats. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Beyond left and right: the eclectic populism of the Five Star Movement

Abstract

Born in 2009, the Five Star Movement (FSM) has been one of the most electorally successful European populist parties since 2013. While its classification as a populist party is unanimously accepted, some have considered it close to left-libertarian positions, others as an anti-immigrant far right party, and still others have simply deemed it as unclassifiable. This article sets out to shed light on this question, using the official documents issued by the party since 2009, posts retrieved from Grillo’s blog during three electoral campaigns, and the opinions of the party’s supporters as expressed in three surveys in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Although displaying a clear anti-establishment identity, in economic terms it presents left-of-centre positions inconsistently mixed with more conservative proposals, while on the issues of citizenship and immigration, it has an elusive positioning, mixing national securitisation and international humanitarianism. The conclusions highlight the eclectic nature of FSM’s populism.     

The Emergence of a New Party in the Italian Party System: Rise and Fortunes of the Five Star Movement

This article examines the fortunes of the recently created Five Star Movement, a party that at its first general election in February 2013 became the most voted for party in Italy. It explains the success of this new party through citizens’ demands, patterns of party competition and institutional rules. Building on the interplay between popular demands and party supply, the study examines the overall political stance of this party and how it fits the policy priorities of citizens. By comparing it with other parties, the article investigates how the Five Star Movement distinguished itself from its competitors. Finally, the article examines how the electoral system has limited its emergence.     

Diffusion Processes and Discussion Networks: An Analysis of the Propensity to Vote for the 5 Star Movement in the 2013 Italian Election

The article aims to analyze the development of the propensity to vote for a new populist party, Movimento 5 Stelle (the 5 Star Movement, M5S), during the campaign for the 2013 Italian general election. The party, headed by a former comedian, Beppe Grillo, gained 25% of valid votes in the election, thus becoming the largest party in the Italian political landscape. Using rolling cross-sectional, pre-election data from the Italian National Election Study (ITANES), we show that the propensity to vote for the M5S is boosted by voters’ exposure to discussions on political matters with discussants from non-cohesive social groups (especially acquaintances). We also show that, together with the spread of support for this party, this effect increases during the campaign.     

Salem with and without witches,and also Geneva and Berlin

Public Choice - Peter Bernholz’s cases of supreme values exhibit authoritarianism, totalitarianism and terror. Supreme values are, however, a necessary, but not sufficient condition for...     

Homeownership and Nontraditional and Subprime Mortgages

This article documents the growth and geographic distribution of nontraditional mortgages (NTMs) and subprime mortgages during 2000-2006, and examines the association between these products and homeownership at the county level between 2000 and 2012. It finds a significant relationship between the origination of NTM and subprime mortgages during the boom and changes in the number of homeowners (positive during the 2000-2006 period and negative during the 2006-2012 period) but no significant relationship with the change in the homeownership rate. Looking at specific categories of the population, the results indicate a positive relationship between the presence of NTMs and subprime mortgages and increased numbers of homeowners for young households as well as for low income and minority households, but the relationship is smaller than for the general population. Overall, the relationship between NTMs and homeownership is stronger than the relationship between subprime mortgages and homeownership during the boom and it is less negative during the bust.     

资本主义和社会主义两种现代化、全球化的消长

资本主义现代化、全球化在历史上具有巨大的进步作用 ,同时也造成了重大的灾难。资本主义现代化、全球化的第一个浪潮产生了马克思主义 ,第二个浪潮形成了列宁主义和毛泽东思想 ,第三个浪潮产生了邓小平理论。从世界历史进程来看 ,存在着资本主义和社会主义两种现代化、全球化的对接、对应和对比、对立的消长关系 ,我们只有坚持“一个中心 ,两个基本点”的基本路线 ,对内改革僵化的权力过度集中的体制 ,对外向资本主义世界开放 ,参与全球化进程 ,才能实现对接和对应。     

科技文化与人和自然的和谐

科技文化是科学技术社会功能的理性结晶.人与自然关系的演化存在着科技文化的重要作用.人类一定时期认识的有限性、科技文化系统的复杂性以及近代偏颇的科技社会价值观是人与自然关系失衡的重要原因.在当代、科技文化在实现人与自然和谐共生中发挥着极为重要的作用.     

高校档案管理和提供利用中存在的问题与对策

高校档案是一种重要的文献信息资源,是一个集多种门类于一体综合性档案体系。它不仅客观真实地反映了学校发展的历程,也为学校的持续发展提供了历史依据,是衡量教学质量和管理水平的一个重要尺度,同时也是推进和发展学校教育事业的宝贵财富。     

Civic engagement and participation among Ghanaian and Kenyan students and their correlates

This article examines levels of civic engagement among university students in Ghana and Kenya and identifies factors that may account for their civic engagement. Overall, the students reported low civic engagement, with the Kenyans reporting higher engagement. Demographic factors (gender and age) and personal values hardly contributed to the students’ civic engagement. Political interest and attentiveness, barriers and motivation towards participation made a consistent and significant contribution to political participation and future participation. Furthermore, trust, social endorsement and social efficacy showed a consistent and significant contribution to civic engagement. The findings underscore the need to work towards getting the youth more engaged.     

高新科技与价值创造

在高新技术迅猛发展的今天,我们一定要坚持按严格的、科学的态度来发展马克思的劳动价值论。先进的高新科技本身并不会、也不能创造出新的价值,能创造新价值的唯一源泉仍然是人的活劳动。只有能使新产品价值量大幅度降低的科学技术,才是真正的高新科技。