A Leadership Selection Index for multi-ballot political party conventions in Canada

Eugene McGregor (Journal of Politics 35, 459–478, 1973) recognized a regularity in multi-ballot leadership conventions in the United States. He hypothesized that the change in absolute votes between the first and the second ballot could be used to forecast the eventual winner of a leadership race. When the McGregor model is applied to the Canadian multi-ballot conventions the prediction rate is only 57 per cent. This paper seeks first to discuss the qualitative similarities found between these Canadian conventions and then use this as a basis to develop and to apply a model that extends on McGregor's work. The developed model is called the Leadership Selection Index (LSI). We find that the winner of most Canadian multi-ballot conventions (86%) could be forecasted after the second ballot by using the LSI method of analysis. Based on the evidence from the literature and a survey of Canadian political conventions, we develop a hypothesis of ‘two critical conjunctures' for multi-ballot leadership conventions. This hypothesis provides a suitable theoretical framework to interpret the performance of our empirical model.     

The Political Potential of Mindful Embodiment

This article argues that the emerging literature on mindfulness tends to de-emphasize embodiment, both in how it theoretically defines mindfulness, as well as in terms of the practices it tends to study. Alternatively, the article argues that a focus on embodiment is key to articulating the political potential of mindfulness. An emphasis on mindful embodiment, both in theory and in practice, can issue a challenge to the latent mind–body dualism of much of the theoretical discourse on mindfulness and highlights the capacities of relationality, empathy, and attunement, capacities which are the foundation of the political significance of mindfulness. Practices of mindful embodiment provide a counterpoint to the focus upon contemplation in the mindfulness literature and help to refute the concern that mindfulness practice is solipsistic and apolitical. The article concludes by exploring the Occupy Wall Street movement as illustrative of the significance of mindful embodiment to contemporary social movements.