The Europeanization of national elections. The role of country characteristics in shaping EU issue voting

Research has shown that voting in European elections is affected by domestic politics. However, in the last years, and particularly after the European debt crisis, also the EU has gained relevance and salience in national politics. In this paper we address the Europeanization of national elections and assess to what extent the characteristics of countries condition the intensity of EU issue voting. Using data from the European Election Studies and the Comparative Manifestos Project, our results demonstrate the importance of congruence between citizens' and parties’ positions on the EU for the individual vote on the national level and show how this varies across countries. We provide evidence that EU issue voting is more intense in countries with more political influence in the EU as well as in countries that are net contributors to EU funds.     

Issue ownership attack: how a political party can counteract a rival’s issue ownership

Abstract

A central part of representative democracy is that voters evaluate political parties based on how competently they handle issues, so-called ‘issue ownership’. Since issue ownership is a central ingredient in the vote choice, rival parties often try to influence how voters evaluate a competing party. This is an issue ownership attack. However, despite intense scholarly interest in issue ownership, the understanding of how parties shape issue ownership is very limited. Therefore a new theoretical model is tested here to understand issue ownership attack. Using several survey experiments, the analysis shows that a mainstream party can counteract another mainstream party’s issue ownership by reframing the issue and by blaming the party for its performance, but not by changing its own position on the issue. Hence, the study not only advances the understanding of issue ownership stability and change but also brings important insights on how parties influence voters.     

Issue yield,campaign communication,and electoral performance: a six-country comparative analysis

Abstract

This article develops and tests a model that explains election outcomes on the basis of party strategy. It employs a new comparative dataset linking representative mass surveys from six European countries with Twitter analysis of campaign activity. The expectation is that parties whose issue agendas exploit electoral opportunities while avoiding risks will be rewarded at the polls. These risks and opportunities are modelled using issue yield, a general framework summarising public support, electoral alignments, and party credibility. Empirically, the article traces a three-step process: (1) the configuration of electoral risks and opportunities (which is captured through public opinion surveys) guides party communication (measured with Twitter data), and to the degree that (2) parties design their campaigns strategically (identified through issue yield), this in turn (3) improves their electoral performance (measured using official statistics). The analysis explains some of the most salient election outcomes of recent years.     

调解的比较优势与法院调解制度的改革

调解、仲裁与诉讼，是现代各国解决民事纠纷普遍采用的方式，每一种方式都有自己的鲜明特色和比较优势，正是比较优势的存在是纠纷当事人可以选择适合于自己的方式，与判决相比，调解具有自愿性，和解性，协商性，开放性，灵活性，保密性等八个方面的比较优势，我国现行调审合一的诉讼体制妨碍了法院调解发挥其比较优势，应当改革我国法院调解制度，实行诉讼内调审分离。     

The Role of Perpetrator Alcohol Use in the Injury Outcomes of Intimate Assaults

Little research has been conducted on the role of perpetrator alcohol use in the injury outcomes of intimate assaults, although alcohol use by an intimate partner may be related to more severe assault outcomes (physical injury and need for medical attention) than is no alcohol use. The role of perceived perpetrator alcohol use in the injury outcomes of intimate assaults (N = 909) was analyzed using 1992–1996 National Crime Victimization Survey data. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated that perpetrator alcohol use was associated with increased likelihood of physical injury and marginally associated with more medical attention seeking by the victim when demographic variables and assault characteristics were controlled. Suggestions for future research on the relationship between alcohol and intimate assault outcomes are presented.     

中国-东盟自由贸易区内毒品问题现状与发展趋势

进入新世纪,毒品犯罪在整个中国-东盟自由贸易区内仍然呈上升趋势,成为非传统安全领域中的新型威胁,成为中国-东盟自由贸易区经济建设的一大毒瘤,也成为区域内各国政府首当解决的问题之一.因此,研究中国-东盟之间毒品问题的现状和发展趋势,对于中国-东盟自由贸易区建设的顺利进行有着重要的现实意义.     

Issue framing and electoral violence in Ghana: a conceptual analysis

Ghana has conducted several successful elections since 1992, but the country continues to face many threats of widespread violence due to the recurrent nature of micro-level electoral violence and the existence of vulnerabilities such as political patronage, politics of exclusion, winner-takes-all electoral system and ethnic cleavages. While these factors have been used to explain the causes of electoral violence, issue framing by political elites and its connection to electoral violence have not been adequately examined. To better understand this phenomenon, this article draws on the concept of framing to underscore the argument that issue framing and reframing by political elites tend to shape micro-level electoral violence in Ghana.     

A Comparative Study of Nonprofit and For-Profit Web-Based Issue Advocacy

Abstract

Using the Web to advocate positions and actions on public issues is an emerging and potentially powerful means of shaping public opinion and action. Building on studies of Web advocacy in the political sector, this research employs content analysis to examine Web-based advocacy by U.S. for-profit and nonprofit organizations. For-profit organizations were found to engage in much more Web advocacy than nonprofit organizations. Those organizations that did engage in extensive advocacy, or were committed to multiple social values, appear to have come to adopt these postures or activities consistent with what a cost-benefit analysis of the impact on their enterprise would predict. With respect to region, the Northeast and South evidenced a higher and lower pattern of advocacy, respectively. Finally, greater financial resources predicted more extensive advocacy content generally; the particular issue areas this study examined were community focus, charitable causes, environmental issues, and diversity.     

警察执法安全问题分析及应对策略

目前,警察执法安全问题复杂而尖锐,其中一个重要的原因就是警察面对的执法环境业已发生变化,区域经济发展状况、社会公平正义、立法与法律实践、地方政策因素等对警察执法安全的影响正在与日剧增,因此,有关警察执法安全研究必须从执法者人身安全现状出发,以多元视角揭示问题根源,掌握有效降低执法安全问题的策略。     

论科学发展问题的“课题化”

在21世纪初期的中国,科学发展问题之所以被课题化,主要是由以下三方面因素决定的：从客观上来讲,解决21世纪初期我国经济社会发展中出现的新问题要求实现科学发展;从内在的逻辑要求来讲,新中国成立以来我国三个历史阶段发展主题的转换正好聚焦于科学发展;从主观上来讲,新一届党的领导集体执政思维方式的转变使科学发展问题被课题化具备了认识基础。