The effects of campaign finance spending bans on electoral outcomes: Evidence from the states about the potential impact of Citizens United v. FEC

This paper seeks to understand the effect of campaign finance laws on electoral outcomes. Spurred by the recent Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), which eliminated bans on corporate and union political spending, the study focuses on whether such bans generate electoral outcomes that are notably different from an electoral system that lacks such bans. We look to two key electoral dynamics that such bans might influence: the partisan balance of power and the success of incumbents. Using historical data on regulations in 49 American states between 1968 and 2009 we test alternative models for evaluating the impact of corporate spending bans put in place during this period. The results indicate that spending bans appear to have limited effects on election outcomes.     

Political participation in Africa: The role of individual resources

This paper aims to examine the role of individual resources in explaining African political participation. If political participation is costly and requires inputs in terms of individual resources, and citizens in young developing country democracies face comparatively high participation costs and have more limited individual resource endowments than citizens in more established democracies, a resource approach to political participation should be particularly relevant in the African setting. On the contrary, however, empirical findings drawing on recent data for more than 27,000 respondents in 20 emerging African democracies suggest weak explanatory power of the resource perspective. Often, the relatively resource poor actually participate to a greater extent than the more resource rich. The results are encouraging in that they suggest fairly broad-based political participation, but also call attention to the need to evaluate the motivational forces behind the decision to take part.     

增强社会主义意识形态的吸引力和凝聚力——基于高校思想政治教育工作的考量

增强社会主义意识形态的吸引力和凝聚力，是党的十七大提出的文化建设的重大战略任务。当代大学生是我国青年人中知识较丰富、思想较敏锐的群体，是祖国的未来、民族的希望。在社会思想大活跃、观念大碰撞、文化大交融的背景下，如何保证和增强社会主义意识形态对大学生群体的吸引力和凝聚力，这是社会主义意识形态领域中备受关注的内容之一，也是大学生思想政治教育中遇到的一个重大课题。积极探索增强社会主义意识形态对大学生吸引力的有效途径，对于在全社会开展社会主义核心价值体系的宣传教育，增强社会主义意识形态的吸引力和凝聚力大有裨益。     

试论中国特色政党制度功能与价值的变动规律

中国特色政党制度的功能与价值在不同的历史时期呈现出不同的特点，在同一历史时期不同功能发挥的强弱也有较大差异。这表明：政党制度的功能与价值在特定的历史阶段有主导与非主导方面，但随着社会政治生态和社会结构的变迁其主导与非主导方面也是变动不居的。对中国特色政党制度功能与价值的主导与非主导方面及其变动规律进行研究，明确现阶段我国政党制度功能与价值建设的着力点，可以为推进中国特色政党制度发展提供必要的目标指向。     

全球化视野中的国家主权

在新世纪人类面临的各种问题与挑战中 ,全球化与国家主权的冲突具有特别重要的意义。全球化对国家的经济主权、政治主权和文化主权造成了不同程度的冲击与影响 ,导致传统的国家主权理论遭受侵蚀。发展中国家在全球化浪潮中不仅应反对西方国家干涉主权的各种企图 ,而且还要摒弃传统的绝对主权观念。     

论人民政协的政治资源

人民政协政治资源是人民政协事业发展的根本基础。人民政协政治资源已经形成一定的规范和特色,但还存在着配置不足、运作不好和作用不够等问题。建设人民政协政治资源,需要遵循资源要素发育规律、质量规律和作用规律,健全政治资源生成机制、作用机制和管理机制,全方位加以推进,实现体系健全、结构合理、功能完善的发展目标。     

新生代农民工政治参与意识的现状及对策探析

新生代农民工是我国城市化进程中的主要力量,他们的政治参与则是其顺利融入城市的重要保障。目前,这一特定阶层的政治参与意识呈现出:政治参与知识水平普遍较低、政治参与态度基本处于冷漠、政治参与能力感比较弱和政治参与意愿比较强的现状。究其原因是长期的历史积淀与文化熏陶等诸多因素所致。当前,要增强新生代农民工政治参与意识,关键要从他们自身意识的改变出发,最根本的就是要培育他们的公民意识。     

基于政治现代化的角度看新时期党的执政能力建设

中国共产党自成立起就有着鲜明的政治现代化导向,并一直在为实现中国社会的政治现代化进行着理论探索和实践活动。作为中国政治现代化的领导者,中国共产党只有不断加强执政能力建设,才能适应政治现代化的要求,并推进中国政治现代化的进程。与时俱进,实现党的政治现代化是顺应时代的历史要求,是执政党执政能力建设的根本问题;政治现代化的首要问题是政策现代化,需要有干部队伍和思想理论现代化的有效支持;执政体制改革是党的政治现代化建设的关键,它须以党的组织制度的民主建设为前提。     

Expected utility or learned familiarity? The formation of voters' coalition preferences

In most modern parliamentary democracies, it is unlikely that single party governments will be formed, meaning that a voter's preferred party presumably has to share cabinet offices and negotiate policy compromises in a coalition government. This raises the question of how voters evaluate potential (coalition) governments, especially since recent studies have shown that coalition preferences influence voting behaviour. In this paper, we combine theories of voting behaviour, government formation and political learning to derive expectations regarding the factors that may impact voters' coalition preferences. We test our hypotheses by analysing survey data from the German federal and state levels. The results of a mixed logit regression analysis support our arguments: Voters' coalition preferences not only depend on the perceived policy distance between the positions of voters and the most distant party within combinations of parties, but also on predominant patterns of government formation.