The Time Path of Legislative Party Switching and the Dynamics of Political Competition: The Italian Case (1996–2011)

Political competition is more realistically described as a dynamic process rather than as a series of static stages in which parties compete over policy and government formation. This paper focuses on legislative party switching as the main manifestation of this endogenously evolving process, linking individual switching behaviour to policy and office incentives that are assumed to evolve throughout the life of the entire legislature. Using a new data set tracking the timing of MPs’ changes in party affiliations between 1996 and 2011 in Italy, it is found that switching is mainly motivated by policy reasons and that it is more likely during government formation periods and budget negotiations. These results are a consequence of the interplay between MPs’ ambition and the alternation of key phases in the legislative cycle.     

The Role of Marketing in Politics

ABSTRACT

Political marketing is an exciting new area. Research produced over the last decade has been pioneering in showing the applicability of marketing to politics. However, this article argues that the field now needs to move in a different direction if we are to reach political marketing's full potential. Political marketing needs a comprehensive approach: it can be applied not just to party-electoral behaviour but also legislatures, local government, the media, and public services, with both concepts and techniques from marketing, and an understanding from political science literature as well as management studies. The article, therefore, maps out the route to be taken to reach the end of the rainbow and the pot of gold that the political marketing field potentially offers.     

Political Marketing and Professionalized Campaigning

Abstract

During the last decade a number of scholars have argued that political campaigning has become professionalized, and that political marketing has become the new dominant campaign paradigm. However, the conceptual relationship between political marketing and the professionalization of political campaigning is unclear. Furthermore, the distinction between political marketing, market orientation, and marketing techniques is often blurred. At the same time, most of the literature is dominated by either an American or British perspective. This makes it unclear as to whether these concepts should be viewed as general concepts, or as concepts relevant primarily for countries that share some specific set of political institutions.

In this backdrop, the purpose of this article is to analyze (1) the conceptual relationship between political marketing, market orientation, marketing techniques, and professionalization of political campaigning, and (2) whether contemporary concepts of political marketing and the professionalization of political campaigning are equally applicable to all modern democracies regardless of, for example, political system and other country-specific factors. It also outlines a theory of strategic party goals for multiple arenas.     

我国发展独立第三方公共政策评估机构论析

发展独立第曼方政策评估机构是对公共政策公平与效率两大价值追求的必然要求。相比国外而青,当前我困独立笫三方政策评估机构的发展尚不健全,究其原因主要受限于内外两方面因素制约,文章对如何促进我国独立第三方政策评估机构发展展开研究。     

入党积极分子培养工作研究

入党积极分子培养是发展党员工作的重要环节,是保证党员发展质量的基础。如何抓好入党积极分子培养工作,对于提高党员队伍素质,保持党的先进性,具有十分重要的意义。针对胜利油田海洋采油厂各基层党组织在入党积极分子培养方面存在的问题,从采油厂、基层党组织和培养联系人三个层面,提出了加强改进入党积极分子培养工作的建议。     

Film Reviews

Relying on experimental methodology, we find that positive and negative reports of specific aspects of the economy influence the audience's assessments of political responsibility for the state of the economy. In addition, whether the president actively attempts to take credit (in the case of positive economic news) or attempts to avoid blame (in the case of negative economic news) also influences assessments. Finally, we find that effects are largely dependent on individual levels of partisanship.     

中国共产党的组织结构与党内民主的关系

中国共产党的组织结构是党的各项工作顺利进行的组织基础,以党内民主带动人民民主是我国民主政治建设的重要步骤。中国共产党的组织机构与党内民主之间存在关联,党内民主对中国共产党组织结构提出了新的要求。     

关于毕业生“流动党员”网络之家建设的一点思考

毕业生"流动党员"主要是指其组织关系未转出而暂留学校,而本人在就业转移和地区间流动的过程中,外出务工、考研、创业的毕业生党员。面对此种特殊情况,对于高校党组织而言,加强流动党员的管理,使其在流动中及时参加党组织生活,接受党组织监督、教育和管理,发挥党员先锋模范作用,是加强党的建设的新任务。大学毕业生流动党员网络之家应结合毕业生实际情况,本着有利于党员的发展与管理、有利于党组织生活的开展、有利于促进党员发挥实际作用的原则,积极运用互联网、手机网络等现代信息载体,创新"流动党员"管理模式,建立由"网上党支部"、"党支部共享邮箱"、"党员QQ群"、"党员飞信群"、"党支部博客、论坛"等内容构成的流动党员"网络之家",实现对"流动党员"的高效管理目的。     

The Rise of the Novice Cabinet Minister? The Career Trajectories of Cabinet Ministers in British Government from Attlee to Cameron

Some commentators have observed that today's Cabinet ministers are younger and less experienced than their predecessors. To test this claim, we analyse the data for Labour and Conservative appointments to Cabinet since 1945. Although we find some evidence of a decline in average age and prior experience, it is less pronounced than for the party leaders. We then examine the data for junior ministerial appointments, which reveals that there is no trend towards youth and inexperience present lower down the hierarchy. Taking these findings together, we propose that public profile is correlated with ‘noviceness’; that is, the more prominent the role, the younger and less experienced its incumbent is likely to be. If this is correct, then the claim that we are witnessing the rise of the novice Cabinet minister is more a consequence of the personalisation of politics than evidence of an emerging ‘cult of youth’.     

When a pariah party exploits its demonised status: the 2019 Finnish general election

Abstract

The governing Centre and Conservative parties played the ‘economy’ card – we’ve got Finland ‘back into shape’; the green parties, the Greens and Left Alliance, played the ‘climate change’ card, demanding action to go with the talk; the Social Democrats played the ‘caring’ card and the need for a Finland that cares for the elderly, the low-paid and young persons; the Finns Party in contrast played the ‘no one likes us, we don’t care’ card, seeking to exploit its pariah status for electoral gain. The adoption of a siege mentality strategy, designed to capitalise on its ostracised position, served to mobilise protest support and the Finns Party came within a whisker of beating the Social Democrats into second place. The Social Democrats then turned the clock back and put together the type of left?centre (‘red mud’) coalition that had characterised Finnish governments for half a century from the mid-1930s onwards.