The campaign dynamics of economic voting

This paper considers the relationship between election campaigns and the impact of economic evaluations on vote choice. The motivation is the standard expectation that the campaign generally serves to amplify the significance of economic considerations in the voter's calculus—to focus his/her attention on this “fundamental” element of the electoral decision. Drawing on survey data from ten national elections across four countries (Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) and applying both parametric and semi-parametric statistical techniques, the paper finds no support for this proposition. The paper reflects on the significance of this conclusion for work on political learning during election campaigns, the literature on economic voting, and the study of electoral behaviour more generally.     

Thailand today

Mervyn Matthews, retired, was formerly Reader in Soviet Studies at the University of Surrey, Guildford. Since 1996 he has been resident for part of the year in Thailand, where he writes and pursues research interests.     

The Question of Political Responsibility and the Foundation of the National Transitional Council for Libya

In March 2011 Jean-Luc Nancy published an article entitled ??What the Arab Peoples Signify to Us?? in the Libération newspaper. The article supported the NATO-led military intervention in Libya that followed the anti-government protests of 15?C16 February 2011. It is in the name of ??political responsibility?? that Nancy makes his intervention. I want to explore the question of ??political responsibility?? in light of Nancy??s work, and his Libération article in particular. I do this by first assessing one of the distinguishing features of the uprising in Libya: the emergence of the National Transitional Council (NTC). By setting Nancy??s response against Derrida??s work on spectrality and his critique of the founding declaration (in ??Declarations of Independence??) we can more clearly appreciate the scope that Nancy??s account of responsibility entails. I suggest that Derrida??s logics of spectrality help not only critique Nancy??s response but also understand the conditions that make his account of political responsibility possible.