Electoral infidelity: Why party members cast defecting votes

Party politics and electoral research generally assume that party members are loyal voters. This article first assesses the empirical basis for this assumption before providing individual‐level explanations for defection. It combines prominent theories from party politics and electoral behaviour research and argues that internal disagreement and external pressure can each bring about disloyal voting. The hypotheses are motivated with multi‐country European survey data and tested on two sets of party‐level national surveys. The results show, first, that, on average, 8 per cent of European party members cast a defecting vote in the last election, and second, that dissatisfaction with the leadership is the strongest predictor of defection. Additionally, internal ideological disagreement is associated with higher probabilities of defection, whereas the effects of pull factors in the form of contentious policies are rather limited. These findings emphasise the importance of testing scientific assumptions and the potential significance of party leadership contests.     

Clarity of responsibility and foreign policy performance voting

Do voters’ assessments of the government's foreign policy performance influence their vote intentions? Does the ‘clarity of responsibility’ in government moderate this relationship? Existing research on the United States demonstrates that the electorate's foreign policy evaluations influence voting behaviour. Whether a similar relationship exists across the advanced democracies in Europe remains understudied, as does the role of domestic political institutions that might generate responsibility diffusion and dampen the effect of foreign policy evaluations on vote choice. Using the attitudinal measures of performance from the 2011 Transatlantic Trends survey collected across 13 European countries, these questions are answered in this study through testing on incumbent vote the diffusion‐inducing effects of five key domestic factors frequently used in the foreign policy analysis literature. Multilevel regression analyses conclude that the electorate's ability to assign punishment decreases at higher levels of responsibility diffusion, allowing policy makers to circumvent the electoral costs of unpopular foreign policy. Specifically, coalition governments, semi‐presidential systems, ideological dispersion among the governing parties and the diverse allocation of the prime ministerial and foreign policy portfolios generate diffusion, dampening the negative effects of foreign policy disapproval on vote choice. This article contributes not only to the debate on the role of foreign policy in electoral politics, but also illustrates the consequential effects of domestic institutions on this relationship.     

Pushed by national politics or pulled by localism? Voting for independent local parties in the Netherlands

This study examines why citizens in the Netherlands vote for independent local parties. These are parties that run in municipal council elections, but do not run in elections at higher levels. This article examines a number of expectations: namely that voters vote for these parties out dissatisfaction with established parties, that they do so because they have a 'localist' political orientation or that they do so because their own national party is not running in the municipal elections. More support is found for the idea that voters vote for local parties because they are pushed away by national parties (either because they do not participate in some municipalities or because voters distrust them) than for the idea that voters vote for local parties for positive reasons, such as a localist political orientation. This article examines two surveys concerning voting behaviour in the 2014 Dutch municipal elections.     

Gender,populist attitudes,and voting: explaining the gender gap in voting for populist radical right and populist radical left parties

Empirical studies have demonstrated that compared to almost all other parties, populist radical right (PRR) parties draw more votes from men than from women. However, the two dominant explanations that are generally advanced to explain this disparity – gender differences regarding socio-economic position and lower perceptions regarding the threat of immigrants – cannot fully explain the difference. The article contends that it might actually be gender differences regarding the conceptualisation of society and politics – populist attitudes – that explain the gender gap. Thus, the gap may be due, in part, to differences in socialisation. The article analyses EES 2014 data on voting for the populist radical right and the populist radical left in nine European countries. Across countries, the gender gap in voting for the PRR is indeed partly explained by populist attitudes. For populist radical left parties, the results are less clear, suggesting that populism has different meanings to voters on the left and on the right.     

唐宋时期政府商业政策的变化

唐宋处于中国封建文明史的转型时期,包括封建经济在内的社会生活的各个方面都发生了前所未有的深刻变化.与繁荣兴旺的商品经济相适应,唐宋政府的商业政策亦随之进行了调整.概而言之,主要是由专卖榷利制度向注重征商转变,商税逐渐制度化、规范化,扶商政策出现并付诸实施.     

对警察权规制路径的思考

警察权是国家权力的重要组成部分,警察权的运行状态在一定程度上标志着一个国家法制文明的发展水平。在社会主义初级阶段的社会转型时期,警察权的运行状态引起了学术界和公共管理部门的高度重视。警察权的配置是根据国家政治制度和权力组织形式而界定的,研究警察权的治理问题必须基于国家政治制度的框架,坚持从现实社会的需要与可能出发,才能解决问题。     

浅谈科技传播与知识产权的关系

在知识经济和全球化的背景下,综合国力竞争已转变为软实力竞争。知识产权作为软实力的重要组成部分,与科技信息传播交流活动密不可分,两者都是知识经济时代促进科技发展的重要因素,相互促进、相互依赖。因此从科技传播与知识产权关系的角度来探讨科技传播应遵循的知识产权相关规则等问题,能够有效地规范传播行为、提高传播效能、扩大传播影响,并且促进知识产权制度的完善和发展。     

非法证据排除中的“实质说理”与改革建议

关于非法证据排除规则,我国2012年《刑事诉讼法》确立了“非法言词与实物区别排除”,或者说,“强制排除与裁量排除相结合”的模式。当前,非法证据排除说理是整个刑事裁判文书说理的一个“短板”。在司法实践中,许多瑕疵证据、非法证据通过“补正”、“合理解释”被采纳,但缺乏“实质说理”。强化以审判为中心的诉讼制度改革,需要强化非法证据排除的“实质说理”。这一完善过程是艰巨的,涉及实体规则、程序规则、配套制度等方面的综合改革。从长远来看,有必要建构一独立自洽的针对证据合法性调查的“诉中诉”程序。     

决议行为效力规则之构造

社团决议行为并非法律行为,无法直接适用法律行为规则.物权法、公司法虽设有特别规则,但二者关于决议行为效力类型及瑕疵事由的规定均不周延且相互冲突,无法满足司法需求.非公司法人等的决议行为更面临法律规制漏洞.未来民法典总则亟需增设决议行为规则.规制决议行为的伦理基础并非程序正义,而系社团自治,应围绕社团自治建构规则.应区分决议成立认定与效力判断,经有召集权者召集会议作出多数决,方形成决议.已成立的决议需满足有决议权限、真实性、合法性、合理性要件,方具有法律效力.与之对应,无决议权限、程序瑕疵、表决瑕疵、内容违法、违反规约及侵害成员合法权益将导致决议效力待定、可撤销或无效.     

公安机关文职雇员制度探析

自从2003年上海浦东分局作为首个试点文职制度的公安机关以来，公安文职制度已经走过了8个年头。作为旨在扩充基层警力、提高警察专业性的措施之一，公安文职制度日益发挥着巨大的功效。将警力置换出来投入到执法一线，提高非执法工作的专业化水平，公安文职制度担负着巨大使命。我国公安文职制度起步晚，理论基础十分薄弱，加强相关研究实为当务之急。