Social networks and mass media as mobilizers and demobilizers: A study of turnout at a German local election

This paper explores the impact of informal communication in voters’ social networks and the formal communication of the mass media on individuals’ propensity to take part in elections. Analyzing survey data from a recent local election in Germany it shows how both forms of communication may not only mobilize, but also demobilize voters. On the whole, personal communication appears more influential than mass communication. The media’s effects are generally weaker than those of social networks. Moreover, they are mediated by attitudes, while social networks have strong direct effects. These originate mainly from information conveyed through personal contact with voters and abstainers in one’s immediate social environment. Social voting norms are only influential, if they originate from persons’ families and are in favor of electoral participation.     

试析20世纪80年代以来马来西亚华人总会组织的发展——以吉隆坡暨雪兰莪中华大会堂为例

马来西亚华人社团数量众多,发展迅速,是马来西亚华人社会的重要支柱之一.总会组织是华社力量的凝聚者与组织者,在华社发挥着不可替代的作用.作为总会组织典型代表的隆雪华堂,在历史进程中不断地演变与创新,管理日益科学化与制度化.华堂注重华社与社会民生问题,倡导公民社会,在传统中华文化的传承、促进中马关系的发展中发挥着重要作用.     

关于GATT1994第20条一般例外适用的思考

中美出版物市场准入世界贸易组织案提出了GATT1994第20条一般例外的适用性问题.专家组和上诉机构推翻了以往案件采用的“假设”分析方法,转而个案分析是否可以援引第20条例外.尽管上诉机构的结论还有很多不确定性,但也给出了指导性意见,并对类似问题的解决具有一定借鉴意义.     

The power of proximity: A concept of political party strategies applied to Burkina Faso

Recent publications suggest that exclusively ethno-regional parties are as rare in sub-Saharan Africa as elsewhere. At the same time, the idea that ethnicity is a very special feature of African party politics persists. This article acknowledges the general relevance of ethnicity in party competition but emphasises the level at which it becomes important. It develops a micro-behavioural approach that pays particular attention to the strategic choices of party elites in order to supplement the dominant structuralist thinking in party research on Africa. An in-depth evaluation of detailed election data from Burkina Faso shows strategies that rely on personal proximity between the voter and the candidates influence the parties' success to a great extent. Parties maximise their chances of winning seats if they concentrate their limited resources on the home localities of leading party members. Hence, African party politics are less dependent on ethnic demography than is often implied but more open to change through elite behaviour.     

INDONESIA’S 2019 ELECTIONS: A FRACTURED DEMOCRACY?

In April 2019, Indonesia carried out simultaneous presidential and legislative elections. With an estimated 192 million voters acceding to 800,000 polling stations, this was the world's largest direct presidential election. Barring some dispersed claims of irregularities, the mammoth task of electing public representatives at the national as well as provincial and local levels was successfully carried out. Indonesia's voters had to decide on the 575 members of the national parliament, as well as some 20,000 seats in the country's many provincial and local legislatures, including 2,207 provincial level MPs from 34 provinces and 17,610 local councillors from more than 500 local authorities. Voter turn-out was an estimated 81.9 percent, the highest yet since Indonesia's transition to full democracy. Thus, at first blush, this electoral exercise can be seen as a logistical and political achievement, and an addition to Indonesia's track record of successfully-held elections. Yet, despite its technical proficiency and solid participation, the 2019 polls highlight pervasive societal and geographic fault-lines and raise questions about the strength of Indonesia's democratic institutions.

In order to analyse the importance of these elections, this article is comprised of six parts. Following this introduction, the second section briefly discusses the salient aspects of Jokowi's first administration. The subsequent part sets out the run-up to the presidential campaign, paying particular importance to changes in ‘rules of the game’ that altered the structural dynamics of the elections. The fourth section compares and contrasts the campaigns of the two opposing coalitions and the fifth analyses the electoral results. The final section concludes by discussing the denouement of the elections before looking forward.     

论涉外婚姻关系的法律适用——兼评《涉外民事关系法律适用法》的相关规定

2010年10月28日通过的《涉外民事关系法律适用法》,于2011年4月1日起开始施行。在该法颁布实施之前,我国涉外婚姻家庭案件适用的法律主要是我国《民法通则》第八章:涉外民事关系的法律适用。该法实施之后,我国涉外婚姻家庭案件将以该法为基本的依据。因此,该法的实施,对我国涉外婚姻家庭案件的处理具有重大理论和实践意义。     

从大治安看家庭教育理念的创新

家庭教育，此老话题如今遏上新问题。社会化、全球化、市场化、数字化，已使家庭教育逐步陷入困境。大治安，必然要求家庭教育理念的创新。即：既要淡化家庭观念，又要强化家庭教育；既要重智育，又要重德育；既要谈雷锋，又要谈利益；既要讲目标，又要讲方法；既要唱白脸，又要唱红脸；既要做老师，又要做学生；既要富孩子，又要穷孩子；既要学，又要做；既要收，又要放；既要赢得起，又要输得起。     

论保证贷款的担保方式

作为担保贷款的一种,保证贷款具有自己的特点。保证方式可分为一般保证和连带责任保证。在保证期间,与债权人的诉讼保护时效问题和无效保证合同民事责任问题等方面,保证贷款也有自己的特殊规定。我国的保证贷款制度还存在一定的问题,需要采取相应的对策予以完善。     

The nature of economic perceptions in mass publics

Voters who believe that the nation's economy has been worsening are more inclined to vote against the incumbent president than are those who believe it has not been getting worse. This relationship could be present because voters condition their support for the incumbents upon their perceptions of the economy, or, alternatively, because they condition their perceptions of the economy upon their underlying, partisan-based support of the incumbents.     

Campaigning on an upper level? Individual campaigning in the 2009 European Parliament elections in its determinants

Election campaigns are not only party campaigns, but depend to a significant degree on the efforts and activities of individual candidates. While some country-specific analyses of candidate campaigning have been done, large-N comparative studies are missing. The 2009 European Election Candidate Study, conducted in all 27 EU countries, does allow for such a comparative analysis. On the basis of this data, the article takes a closer look at three core components of individual campaigns and their respective determinants: duration, intensity, and the use of different campaign tools. Our findings show that only a combination of factors on the individual, party, and country level is able to explain significant amounts of the observed variance in each of the core components.