Ticket-splitting in mixed-member systems: on the importance of seat linkage between electoral tiers

Abstract

In mixed-member electoral systems, voters usually have two votes: a nominal and a list vote. According to some studies, voters are increasingly using them to cast a split-ticket vote. However, very little is known about whether the type of mixed-member system, and in particular whether the allocation of seats across tiers is linked or not, creates different sets of incentives for this behaviour. This article provides new insights into the topic by analysing survey data from seven countries and 18 elections since 1990. It is found that the proportion of split-ticket votes is greater in mixed-member proportional than in mixed-member majoritarian systems. The results suggest that voters understand the operation of the electoral system and its consequences for the distribution of seats among parties, and adapt their behaviour accordingly.     

Interests,passions and politics: business associations and the sovereignty dispute in Turkey

This paper examines business associations in a context where the state is being contested from below, focusing on Diyarbak?r, a major Kurdish city in Turkey. Against the backdrop of armed conflict, reform processes triggered by the country’s EU candidacy and socio-economic change, Diyarbak?r has become a contested zone over which the Turkish government and the Kurdish movement have been competing for control. Local business associations have also been implicated in such contestation. Considering the situation of dual power and moral economy at the local level, the paper examines how these associations deal with an adverse situation that is characterized by political instability and uncertainty. The analysis shows that business leaders have been able to make the ‘best’ of the situation.     

中国南海安全战略思维:内涵、演变与建构

学术界关于南海争端与中国国家安全的研究,大多基于对象国政策、南海地区权力格局以及中国政策的动态分析,缺乏对于中国南海战略思维和政策的系统梳理。中国南海战略思维包括搁置、大局和寻求共识等多维度的内容,同时对于争端本质倾向于和平的看法。它经历了从基于战略理性的单边默契到文化认同的单边默契的演进,体现了螺旋式变化的特点。中国南海战略思维的固化受到特定政策效果的正反馈、道德正义性以及政治文化习惯等因素的影响,而在力量与实力对比发生变化,外生环境的震动与刺激和领导集体的战略决心增强的情况下,它会发生积极的调整与变化。剖析中国南海战略思维的内涵、特性及其演变,能为理解中国外交的微观基础以及处理好中国的相关争端提供理论启示和实践价值。     

Public Value in Politics: A Legislative Budget Office Approach

We use Legislative Budget Offices (LBOs) as both a lens and a test of “public value in politics,” a facet of Moore’s original framework that remains its most contested. We identify two public value roles for LBOs: (1) as a normative-advisory institution, and (2) as a mechanistic-costing one. Through Moore’s Strategic Triangle, we contrast the higher public value contribution of the advisory role, as manifested in the United States, with the costings role as manifested in Canada. Our findings suggest that LBOs enhance both democracy and efficiency and thus show how “public value in politics” can be achieved.     

Public Value as Rhetoric: A Budgeting Approach

The public value theory has been accused of serving as a “rhetorical device” for public managers to advance their interests and influence vis-à-vis politicians. This article uses Legislative Budget Offices (LBOs) as a lens to re-examine the theme of “public value as rhetoric”. It examines how an LBO can relegate itself to a lower public value-creating position that avoids conflict with politicians, which then allows politicians to employ rhetoric such as fiscal “sustainability” and “responsibility”, without making actual budget choices that incur political costs. The findings of the article suggest that the use of public value as rhetoric is a function of contradictory values held by citizens, which politicians and public managers must reconcile by choosing to divert either resources or rhetoric. Furthermore, rhetoric is bidirectional, and employable not just by public managers, but by politicians as well.     

低碳经济：我国经济社会可持续发展的战略选择

低碳经济是以低能耗、低污染、低排放为基础的经济模式,其实质是提高能源利用效率和创建清洁能源结构。发展低碳经济、开发清洁能源是实现我国经济社会可持续发展的必然选择。因此,在探索我国工业化、城市化和低碳化并行发展的模式时,要考虑我国的国情,在转变经济发展方式的前提下,提高能源利用效率,着力构建节约型的产业结构;在调整能源消费结构中,要提高优质能源比重,促进中国经济社会的可持续发展。     

少数民族地区可持续发展的法律环境浅析

西部大开发给西部少数民族地区经济发展带来了机遇,也相应对这些地区提出了加强相关法律建设的现实要求.探讨少数民族地区可持续发展的法律环境问题,对完善有关法律,依法保障少数民族地区的可持续发展具有重要意义.     

国际变局下日本智库和主流媒体对中国形象的建构

国际秩序的变动、突发的新冠疫情和中美战略竞争的加剧等因素促使日本的中国形象正在发生重要而深刻的变化。日本智库和主流媒体更多地把中国放在国际秩序变动的语境中来认知中国,比起双边,更多是在多边框架内来感知中国。在多种因素的综合作用下,日本形成了“崛起的强国”“国际秩序改写者”、疫情下“坚韧”而“强硬”的中国、带有不确定性的美国“假想敌”等多层次中国形象。日本智库和主流媒体对中国形象的塑造未必是客观的,是基于在国际秩序转型期对自身认同的建构,那就是现行国际秩序维护国和中美之间的“非等距离”协调者。应该对日加强沟通宣介工作,充分调动其对华战略认知中的建设性因素,消解不利因素,防止其固化为刻板印象。     

现代领导的战略思维与构建和谐社会的领导力提升

现代领导者要适应形势和环境的变化,运用战略思维应对各种挑战,提高构建和谐社会能力,因此,要实现思维方式六个方面的拓展。