How do coalition signals shape voting behavior? Revealing the mediating role of coalition expectations

Existing empirical research suggests that there are two mechanisms through which pre-electoral coalition signals shape voting behavior. According to these, coalition signals both shift the perceived ideological positions of parties and prime coalition considerations at the cost of party considerations. The work at hand is the first to test another possibility of how coalition signals affect voting. This coalition expectation mechanism claims that coalition signals affect voting decisions by changing voters' expectations about which coalitions are likely to form after the election. Moreover, this paper provides the first integrative overview of all three mechanisms that link coalition signals and individual voting behavior. Results from a survey experiment conducted during Sweden's 2018 general election suggest that the coalition expectation mechanism can indeed be at work. By showing how parties' pre-electoral coalition behavior enter a voter's decision calculus, the paper provides important insights for the literature on strategic voting theories in proportional systems.     

Building socialism: from ‘scientific’ to ‘active’ Marxism

Abstract

Historical materialism envisages law-like tendencies (‘scientific’ Marxism) promoting the development of productive forces and, concurrently, a political praxis (‘active’ Marxism) requiring human intervention. These positions give rise to conflicting interpretations of Marxism: first to understand society, second to change it – to abolish economic exploitation. The twentieth century witnessed a shift in the locus of the contradictions of capitalism to the economically dependent territories of the imperial powers. Socialist parties, when in power and adopting a Leninist political praxis, furthered modernisation and were successful in reducing economic exploitation. The paper addresses the relationship between the scientific and praxis components of Marxism in contemporary global capitalism. It considers post-Marxist interpretations of the changing class structure, the rise of identity politics and the evolving nature of capital. Forms of domination, oppression and discrimination (bureaucracy, patriarchy, racism, militarism and credentialism) give rise to their own distinctive forms of power relations. It is contended that they should not be equated with Marx’s crucial insight into the nature of economic exploitation. Many current Marxist (and ‘post-Marxist’) writers adopt a ‘scientific’ position emphasising the inherent contradictions of capitalism. The author claims that without appropriate political praxis, the resolution of such contradictions is unlikely to transcend capitalism.     

Efficiency over generosity? Evidence of electoral accountability from typhoon dayoff in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Even though voters may irrationally blame the incumbent for natural disasters, democratic accountability can still hold if voters also reward the government for good responses. This article approaches the response-reward question by exploring the election impact of typhoon dayoff decisions in Taiwan. County mayors are responsible for deciding the dayoffs before a typhoon, so voters can easily and immediately observe the quality of the mayor's decision and fully attribute the outcome to him. Results combining 2005–2014 weather, election, and ten survey datasets show that a correct dayoff, which a dayoff was announced and the storm was tomorrow is harmfully strong, can significantly increase the incumbent's vote share. The effect is larger in the election year. Meanwhile, Taiwanese voters also slightly reward the incumbent for a bonus dayoff, which the storm is unexpectedly weak. Evidence also shows that mayors exploit the incumbent advantage by announcing more correct and bonus dayoffs.     

工会学一级学科建设刍议

习近平总书记关于工人阶级和工会工作的重要论述,为新时代新征程我国的工运事业和工会工 作提供了根本遵循,也对将工运事业和工会工作作为研究对象的工会学学科建设提出了时代要求。建设工会学 一级学科直接关系到工运事业、工会工作的高质量发展和中国特色哲学社会科学体系的构建,是组织动员亿万 职工为强国建设、民族复兴伟业贡献力量的战略需求。中国共产党领导下的百年工运史、长期以来的工会学人 才培养和理论研究积淀以及丰富多彩的工会工作实践,为工会学一级学科的设置提供了历史积淀、学术积累与 实践基础,也决定了工会学区别于其他学科的独特气质。建设好工会学一级学科,要从学科定位、学科交叉、 学科体系等方面完善学科顶层设计。可将工会学一级学科置于法学门类进行建设,不断推动其与社会学、政治学、 法学、经济学、马克思主义理论等学科的交叉融合,并遵循科学性、逻辑性和可持续性的建设原则,构建由理 论工会学、劳动科学与技术、应用工会学和劳动教育等四个二级学科构成的学科体系。行业高校是特色学科建 设的主体,特色学科建设的提质升级也将引领行业院校的高质量发展。     

中国马克思主义工会理论的百年演进与成果

中国的马克思主义工会理论是在近代中国的社会条件下,在马克思主义传入中国的影响下,在中国共产党和党领导的工会与工人阶级进行的伟大斗争实践中产生、形成和发展的。它百年的演进及其成果,既是马克思主义理论包括其中的工运理论中国化的过程和成果,也是党和党所领导的工会、工人阶级进行伟大探索和奋斗的过程和成果。这一理论成果极大地丰富和发展了马克主义理论包括工运理论的宝库,为工会和工人阶级提供了新的理论武装。这一探索和奋斗还将继续进行下去,中国马克思主义工会理论必将在创新中走向更高阶段,并以其强大的理论力量,照耀着新时代的工运在中国大地上演出生动活泼的景象。     

我国理论界社会分层理论的历史演进

建国后,我国社会分层的理论研究经历了五个阶段。新中国成立至1957年是阶级分层阶段;1957－1978年是政治分层阶级;1978至80年代中期,政治分层又向“客观的阶级结构”回归;80年代中期至90年代初,我国社会出现了贫富差距的大讨论,90年代至今,我国分层研究分析模型具有了明显的多元化趋势。     

Culture Wars,Secular Realignment,and the Gender Gap in Party Identification

Changes in the U.S. partisan balance over the past decade are often attributed to the enhanced political salience of cultural issues. Yet as white men have continued to become more Republican in recent years, white women increasingly identify with the Democrats. To the extent that cultural issues are influencing this partisan change, men and women must be responding differently to this cultural agenda. Using a pooled ANES data set from 1988 through 2000, I explore the extent to which cultural values are responsible for this gender realignment. Findings suggest that salient cultural issues influence the partisan choices of both men and women, however in somewhat different ways. For women, the issues themselves—reproductive rights, female equality, and legal protection for homosexuals—have become increasingly important determinants of party identification. For men, the influence of cultural conflict on partisanship is argued to be equally pervasive, albeit less direct.