Crafting consensus

The paper analyzes the problem of a committee chair using favors at her disposal to maximize the likelihood that her proposal gains committee support. The favors increase the probability of a given member approving the chair’s proposal via a smooth voting function. The decision-making protocol is any quota voting rule. The paper characterizes the optimal allocation of any given level of favors and the optimal expenditure-minimizing level of favors. The optimal allocation divides favors uniformly among a coalition of the committee members. At a low level of favors, the coalition comprises all committee members. At a high level, it is the minimum winning coalition. The optimal expenditure level guarantees the chair certain support of the minimum winning coalition if favors are abundant and uncertain support of all committee members if favors are scarce; elitist or egalitarian committees are compatible with a strategic chair. The results are robust to changing the chair’s objectives and to alternative voting functions, and reconcile theoretical predictions with empirical observations about legislative bargaining experiments, lobby vote buying and executive lawmaking.     

VAAs as sources of volatility and fragmentation: self-selection effects and genuine effects

ABSTRACT

Recent studies show that using Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) affects party preferences of voters, and hence leads to party switching. Party switching is a necessary but insufficient condition for volatility (a net switch of voters to other parties) and fragmentation (more parties gaining seats) at the aggregate level of electoral constituencies. The research question addressed here is whether the availability of VAAs in electoral constituencies weakens or strengthens trends towards greater volatility and fragmentation as observed in western democracies in the last decades. The data come from 380 Dutch municipalities during the 2014 Dutch municipal council elections. In 133 of them a VAA was available. Using a moderated mediation model that controls for the municipal self-selection of a VAA, we find that a VAA by itself leads to higher levels of volatility and fragmentation. However, VAA availability has a dampening effect in municipal constituencies with characteristics (e.g. population size, ethnic diversity, young average age) that would otherwise make them more susceptible and prone to volatility and fragmentation.     

Factors affecting access to primary health care services in Pakistan: a gender-based analysis

This article explores access to primary health care (PHC) services and associated factors in Pakistan. Data were collected from 302 respondents. The findings revealed that women accessed PHC services more than men due to their greater health needs. However, a large proportion of both genders did not access any PHC services. Besides general weaknesses, gender-related barriers were found in basic health unit locations, distance, transport, staff availability, income, service hours, and service organisation, confirming gender issues in access to PHC services. Policymakers are recommended to take measures to improve access to PHC services through the formulation of gender-responsive policies and strategies.     

Balancing friends and foes: Explaining advocacy styles at global diplomatic conferences

The growing attempts by non-state interests to influence global policy processes has attracted much scholarly interest in recent years. One important question thereby is what characterizes and explains the interactions of non-state advocates with policymakers. In order to clarify this matter, we analyse the advocacy strategies of non-state actors, more precisely whether and why they address opponents instead of more like-minded policymakers. For this purpose, we analyse evidence collected through 228 interviews with advocates who attended the WTO Ministerial Conferences (Geneva 2012) and the United Nations Climate Conferences (Durban 2011; Doha 2012). Our results show that transnational advocates predominantly target like-minded policymakers and that their activities are much less focused on their opponents. Variation in advocacy towards opponents or like-minded policymakers is explained by the alignment of non-state actors with policymakers, the salience of topics on the political agenda, group characteristics, and whether or not advocates hail from democratic countries.     

Constitutional Dynamics in the European Union: Success,Failure, and Stability of Institutional Treaty Revisions

ABSTRACT

Despite high institutional hurdles for constitutional change, one observes surprisingly many EU treaty revisions. This article takes up the questions of what determines whether a treaty provision is successfully changed and why provisions are renegotiated at subsequent Intergovernmental Conferences. The article presents an institutionalist theory explaining success and renegotiation and tests the theory using all core institutional provisions by means of Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The causal analysis shows that low conflict potential of an issue is sufficient for successfully changing the treaties. Furthermore, high conflict potential of an issue and its fundamental change are sufficient for it to be renegotiated.     

TWO CITIES Urban Migration and Settlement in Nineteenth-Century Sweden

This article examines how migrants settled and formed families in two Swedish towns—Linköping and Sundsvall—with different occupational structures during industrialization. Sex- and socio-economic differentials in the rural–urban and urban–urban migration are discussed, as well as persistence rates in the new urban environment among different social groups. Analysis of in-migration and marriage patterns shows that social and geographical endogamy are equally significant in the two towns. Migrants tended primarily to marry migrants and town-born primarily to marry town-born. Moreover, relatively closed marriage boundaries were found among the in-migrants: those that came from an urban background tended to find an “urban partner.”     

Forensic Significance of Gunshot Impact Marks on Inanimate Objects: The Need for Translational Research

Wherever an impact mark is found, either on the surface or on the recovered projectile, it is important for forensic investigators to extract useful information in solving shooting-related cases. This article reviews a collection of works on examination of impact marks upon striking of projectiles on inanimate objects, emphasizing on the retrievable information from a shooting scene and their forensic significance in shooting event reconstruction. Literature suggested that impact marks on target surfaces and the degree of deformation on striking projectiles vary according to different combinations of ammunition and surface materials. It was noted that conditions in real-case scenarios further differed unpredictably in comparison with controlled studies, where forensic investigation should be treated as case-specific basis. Furthermore, the way forensic science is researched and applied operationally has to be reconsidered to reduce the gap via translational approach for more effective use of forensic evidence.     

Cross‐border analysis of China– Pakistan Economic Corridor development project and local residence quality of life

China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a megaproject, which directly and indirectly benefits the local community of two countries, namely, Peoples' Republic of China and Pakistan. The purpose of current research is to investigate the impact of CPEC development on the quality of life of local residents in China and Pakistan. We intend to investigate the perceptions of local community related to CPEC development, as policymakers of both countries argue the CPEC to be equally beneficial for the people of China and Pakistan. To test the proposed hypotheses, we collected primary data through a research survey conducted in Pakistan and China. In total, 410 Chinese respondents and 480 Pakistani respondents were included in the study. Most of the hypotheses were supported in both studies showing the positive attitude of the people of both communities towards CPEC project. Specifically, the perceived impact of CPEC has shown a significant effect on employment and quality of life in both samples. This research provides important suggestions and recommendations.     

India and the US as enduring global partners: An assessment

This paper examines the nature of India and the US relations. The relations between two the states have improved in the post?/11 era. The willingness of the US to provide India political support at the regional and global level is one aspect that resulted in changing the nature of that relationship. Second, growing defense ties both in conventional and nonconventional sectors fundamentally galvanized the nature of that relationship. This paper further analyzes the geopolitical compulsion of both states to counter various state and non‐state actors' threats such as China's increasing maritime presence in the Indian Ocean region and terrorism. Moreover, this discussion argues about the political, strategic, commercial aspects of the strategic partnership till date. Much part of this paper analyzes what is the nature of this relationship and how it developed?     

Predicting attitude of young Indian consumers toward brand pages over social media: A structural equation modeling approach

With the growth in the number of Internet and social media users, marketers have analyzed the potential and have started using the platform to interact, reach, and target consumers all around the world. Marketers must ensure that they get a positive attitude of the social media users toward their promotional activities on social media. The researcher in the present study attempts to explore the factors that help in building a positive attitude toward brand pages over social networking sites. To gauge the attitude of the social media users toward brand pages over social media, the researcher in the present study has adapted a research instrument comprising perceived usefulness, informativeness, trust, and hedonism that together result in a positive attitude. The present study explores the understanding of the role of perceived usefulness, informativeness, trust, and hedonism in the formation of a positive attitude of the social media users toward brand pages over the platform.