Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400842549
Total Pages : 235 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy by : J. Eric Oliver

Download or read book Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy written by J. Eric Oliver and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-22 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local government is the hidden leviathan of American politics: it accounts for nearly a tenth of gross domestic product, it collects nearly as much in taxes as the federal government, and its decisions have an enormous impact on Americans' daily lives. Yet political scientists have few explanations for how people vote in local elections, particularly in the smaller cities, towns, and suburbs where most Americans live. Drawing on a wide variety of data sources and case studies, this book offers the first comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities. Arguing that current explanations of voting behavior are ill suited for most local contests, Eric Oliver puts forward a new theory that highlights the crucial differences between local, state, and national democracies. Being small in size, limited in power, and largely unbiased in distributing their resources, local governments are "managerial democracies" with a distinct style of electoral politics. Instead of hinging on the partisanship, ideology, and group appeals that define national and state elections, local elections are based on the custodial performance of civic-oriented leaders and on their personal connections to voters with similarly deep community ties. Explaining not only the dynamics of local elections, Oliver's findings also upend many long-held assumptions about community power and local governance, including the importance of voter turnout and the possibilities for grassroots political change.

Small Power

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0197605036
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (976 download)

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Book Synopsis Small Power by : David Doherty

Download or read book Small Power written by David Doherty and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-12-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insider's look into the largely anonymous volunteers in local party organizations who make decisions in elections with profound implications for American democracy. Although scholars have long recognized that local American parties play an important role in elections, surprisingly little is known about the individuals who lead these typically small, volunteer-based organizations. As David Doherty, Conor M. Dowling, and Michael G. Miller show in Small Power, local party leaders influence the electoral process in myriad ways: They recruit and support candidates, interface with state-wide and federal campaigns, and get out the vote in their communities. Drawing from a survey of over 850 Democratic and Republican local party chairs, a nationally representative sample of voters, and dozens of in-depth interviews, the authors describe how parties are organized, who party chairs are, and how they serve the party. Leveraging novel experiments that illuminate how chairs make choices about which individuals to recruit as candidates--as well as whether those choices reflect voters' preferences--Small Power sheds new light on how seemingly mundane local decisions can shape party goals, influence candidate pipelines, and affect who ends up winning elections. The book therefore offers unprecedented insight into the substantial influence that local parties and their chairpersons are positioned to wield and how they shape American politics.

Size and Local Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1783478241
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (834 download)

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Book Synopsis Size and Local Democracy by : Bas Denters

Download or read book Size and Local Democracy written by Bas Denters and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2014-09-26 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How large should local governments be, and what are the implications of changing the scale of local governments for the quality of local democracy? These questions have stood at the centre of debates among scholars and public sector reformers alike fro

Democracy and Political Ignorance

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Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0804789312
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (47 download)

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Book Synopsis Democracy and Political Ignorance by : Ilya Somin

Download or read book Democracy and Political Ignorance written by Ilya Somin and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2013-10-02 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the biggest problems with modern democracy is that most of the public is usually ignorant of politics and government. Often, many people understand that their votes are unlikely to change the outcome of an election and don't see the point in learning much about politics. This may be rational, but it creates a nation of people with little political knowledge and little ability to objectively evaluate what they do know. In Democracy and Political Ignorance, Ilya Somin mines the depths of ignorance in America and reveals the extent to which it is a major problem for democracy. Somin weighs various options for solving this problem, arguing that political ignorance is best mitigated and its effects lessened by decentralizing and limiting government. Somin provocatively argues that people make better decisions when they choose what to purchase in the market or which state or local government to live under, than when they vote at the ballot box, because they have stronger incentives to acquire relevant information and to use it wisely.

Democracy for Sale

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Author :
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501732994
Total Pages : 327 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (17 download)

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Book Synopsis Democracy for Sale by : Edward Aspinall

Download or read book Democracy for Sale written by Edward Aspinall and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-15 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Democracy for Sale is an on-the-ground account of Indonesian democracy, analyzing its election campaigns and behind-the-scenes machinations. Edward Aspinall and Ward Berenschot assess the informal networks and political strategies that shape access to power and privilege in the messy political environment of contemporary Indonesia. In post-Suharto Indonesian politics the exchange of patronage for political support is commonplace. Clientelism, argue the authors, saturates the political system, and in Democracy for Sale they reveal the everyday practices of vote buying, influence peddling, manipulating government programs, and skimming money from government projects. In doing so, Aspinall and Berenschot advance three major arguments. The first argument points toward the role of religion, kinship, and other identities in Indonesian clientelism. The second explains how and why Indonesia's distinctive system of free-wheeling clientelism came into being. And the third argument addresses variation in the patterns and intensity of clientelism. Through these arguments and with comparative leverage from political practices in India and Argentina, Democracy for Sale provides compelling evidence of the importance of informal networks and relationships rather than formal parties and institutions in contemporary Indonesia.

Irrelevant Elections?

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Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Irrelevant Elections? by : William Lockley Miller

Download or read book Irrelevant Elections? written by William Lockley Miller and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1988 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, the most elaborate survey of its kind ever carried out in Britain, examines the controversy surrounding the political and electoral basis for local government. Drawing on extensive interviews with 1100 electors in November 1985 and follow-up interviews with 745 of them just after the local elections of 1986, Miller documents the many factors influencing voter participation and choice in local elections, and their implications for the continued existence of elective local democracy.

Finding Common Ground

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Author :
Publisher : Public Policy Instit. of CA
ISBN 13 : 1582130337
Total Pages : 85 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (821 download)

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Book Synopsis Finding Common Ground by : Zoltan Hajnal

Download or read book Finding Common Ground written by Zoltan Hajnal and published by Public Policy Instit. of CA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 85 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Local Elections and the Politics of Small-scale Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691143560
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (911 download)

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Book Synopsis Local Elections and the Politics of Small-scale Democracy by : J. Eric Oliver

Download or read book Local Elections and the Politics of Small-scale Democracy written by J. Eric Oliver and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2012-07-22 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in America's municipalities. Arguing that explanations of voting behavior are ill suited for local contests, the author puts forward a theory that the differences between local, state, and national democracies.

Is Democracy Possible?

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Author :
Publisher : Sydney University Press
ISBN 13 : 1920898425
Total Pages : 163 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (28 download)

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Book Synopsis Is Democracy Possible? by : John Burnheim

Download or read book Is Democracy Possible? written by John Burnheim and published by Sydney University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Is Democracy Possible? John Burnheim presents bold and original proposals for the working of a new democracy. In particular he provides a radical reinterpretation of the concept and mechanics of representation and a structure that is designed to avoid concentrations of power and powertrading at any level. Among other points, he argues that we must abandon mass voting in favour of statistical representation. For the second edition of this important work, Burnheim reflects upon the impact of the book and upon his current thoughts on the primary issues he raised when it was first published in 1985. Despite a generation of dramatic historical change and intense theoretical interest in issues of global democratisation since then, the problems raised remain unsolved. Is Democracy Possible? remains a distinctive and provocative discussion of the possibilities for the democratic reorganisation of modern society. 'Is Democracy Possible? should ... be widely read. It is a clear and freshly written statement of an unconventional and provocative thesis which will stimulate the jaded and annoy the complacent.' Vernon Bogdabor, Times Literary Supplement

Sub-National Democracy and Politics Through Social Media

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Author :
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319733869
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (197 download)

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Book Synopsis Sub-National Democracy and Politics Through Social Media by : Mehmet Zahid Sobacı

Download or read book Sub-National Democracy and Politics Through Social Media written by Mehmet Zahid Sobacı and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-02-27 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the impact of social media on democracy and politics at the sub-national level in developed and developing countries. Over the last decade or so, social media has transformed politics. Offering political actors opportunities to organize, mobilize, and connect with constituents, voters, and supporters, social media has become an important tool in global politics as well as a force for democracy. Most of the available research literature focuses on the impact of social media at the national level; this book fills that gap by analyzing the political uses of social media at the sub-national level. The book is divided into two parts. Part One, “Social Media for Democracy” includes chapters that analyze potential contributions of social media tools to the realizing of basic values of democracy, such as public engagement, transparency, accountability, participation and collaboration at the sub-national level. Part Two, “Social Media in Politics” focuses on the use of social media tools by political actors in political processes and activities (online campaigns, protests etc.) at the local, regional and state government levels during election and non-election periods. Combining theoretical and empirical analysis, each chapter provides evaluations of overarching issues, questions, and problems as well as real-world experiences with social media, politics, and democracy in a diverse sample of municipalities. This volume will be of use to graduate students, academicians, and researchers, in several disciplines and fields, such as public administration, political science, ICT, sociology, communication studies and public policy as well as politicians and practitioners.

The China Model

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 1400883482
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (8 download)

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Book Synopsis The China Model by : Daniel A. Bell

Download or read book The China Model written by Daniel A. Bell and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How China's political model could prove to be a viable alternative to Western democracy Westerners tend to divide the political world into "good" democracies and “bad” authoritarian regimes. But the Chinese political model does not fit neatly in either category. Over the past three decades, China has evolved a political system that can best be described as “political meritocracy.” The China Model seeks to understand the ideals and the reality of this unique political system. How do the ideals of political meritocracy set the standard for evaluating political progress (and regress) in China? How can China avoid the disadvantages of political meritocracy? And how can political meritocracy best be combined with democracy? Daniel Bell answers these questions and more. Opening with a critique of “one person, one vote” as a way of choosing top leaders, Bell argues that Chinese-style political meritocracy can help to remedy the key flaws of electoral democracy. He discusses the advantages and pitfalls of political meritocracy, distinguishes between different ways of combining meritocracy and democracy, and argues that China has evolved a model of democratic meritocracy that is morally desirable and politically stable. Bell summarizes and evaluates the “China model”—meritocracy at the top, experimentation in the middle, and democracy at the bottom—and its implications for the rest of the world. A timely and original book that will stir up interest and debate, The China Model looks at a political system that not only has had a long history in China, but could prove to be the most important political development of the twenty-first century.

Politics Meets Policies

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Author :
Publisher : International Idea
ISBN 13 : 9789187729423
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (294 download)

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Book Synopsis Politics Meets Policies by : International Idea

Download or read book Politics Meets Policies written by International Idea and published by International Idea. This book was released on 2014-05-15 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Politicians tied to a set of policies provide people with actual choices. They attract like-minded activists, campaign in more focused ways, and build an attractive party label. Last but not least, they are more likely to succeed in public office. Political parties in many countries are struggling to shift from personality-based or clientelistic-focused approaches -- to more programme-based strategies as they reach out to voters. What features do successful programmatic parties exhibit that others lack? How is their success related to the quality of their leadership, the prosperity of the country, or the capacity of the state? What impact do economic or political crises exert on how politicians behave? Why must programmatic parties be considered together with citizens demanding better services? This book is based on the work carried out by three teams of political scientists who examined what drives and strengthens programmatic politics, even under unlikely conditions. The authors draw lessons from Brazil, Bulgaria, the Dominican Republic, India, South Korea, Ukraine, Taiwan, Turkey, and Zambia, and uses the most up to date and comprehensive research on democratic accountability and citizen-politician linkages.

Democracy in Suburbia

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Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 069122336X
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

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Book Synopsis Democracy in Suburbia by : J. Eric Oliver

Download or read book Democracy in Suburbia written by J. Eric Oliver and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suburbanization is often blamed for a loss of civic engagement in contemporary America. How justified is this claim? Just what is a suburb? How do social environments shape civic life? Looking beyond popular stereotypes, Democracy in Suburbia answers these questions by examining how suburbs influence citizen participation in community and public affairs. Eric Oliver offers a rich, engaging account of what suburbia means for American democracy and, in doing so, speaks to the heart of widespread debate on the health of our civil society. Applying an innovative, unusually rigorous mode of statistical analysis to a wealth of unique survey and census data, Oliver argues that suburbs, by institutionalizing class and racial differences with municipal boundaries, transform social conflicts between citizens into ones between political institutions. In reducing the incentives for individual political participation, suburbanization has negated the benefits of ''small town'' government and deprived metropolitan areas of valuable civic capacity. This ultimately increases prospects of serious social conflict. Oliver concludes that we must reconfigure suburban governments to allow seemingly intractable issues of common metropolitan concern to surface in local politics rather than be ignored as cross-jurisdictional. And he believes this is possible without sacrifice of local government's advantages. Scholars and students of political science, sociology, and urban affairs will prize this book for its striking findings, its revealing scrutiny of the commonplace, and its insights into how the pursuit of the American dream may be imperiling American democracy.

How Democracies Die

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Author :
Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 1524762946
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (247 download)

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Book Synopsis How Democracies Die by : Steven Levitsky

Download or read book How Democracies Die written by Steven Levitsky and published by Crown. This book was released on 2019-01-08 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Comprehensive, enlightening, and terrifyingly timely.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) WINNER OF THE GOLDSMITH BOOK PRIZE • SHORTLISTED FOR THE LIONEL GELBER PRIZE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Time • Foreign Affairs • WBUR • Paste Donald Trump’s presidency has raised a question that many of us never thought we’d be asking: Is our democracy in danger? Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, and they believe the answer is yes. Democracy no longer ends with a bang—in a revolution or military coup—but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that, by electing Trump, we have already passed the first one. Drawing on decades of research and a wide range of historical and global examples, from 1930s Europe to contemporary Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela, to the American South during Jim Crow, Levitsky and Ziblatt show how democracies die—and how ours can be saved. Praise for How Democracies Die “What we desperately need is a sober, dispassionate look at the current state of affairs. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, two of the most respected scholars in the field of democracy studies, offer just that.”—The Washington Post “Where Levitsky and Ziblatt make their mark is in weaving together political science and historical analysis of both domestic and international democratic crises; in doing so, they expand the conversation beyond Trump and before him, to other countries and to the deep structure of American democracy and politics.”—Ezra Klein, Vox “If you only read one book for the rest of the year, read How Democracies Die. . . .This is not a book for just Democrats or Republicans. It is a book for all Americans. It is nonpartisan. It is fact based. It is deeply rooted in history. . . . The best commentary on our politics, no contest.”—Michael Morrell, former Acting Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (via Twitter) “A smart and deeply informed book about the ways in which democracy is being undermined in dozens of countries around the world, and in ways that are perfectly legal.”—Fareed Zakaria, CNN

Securing the Vote

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Author :
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 030947647X
Total Pages : 181 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Securing the Vote by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Securing the Vote written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-09-30 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the 2016 presidential election, America's election infrastructure was targeted by actors sponsored by the Russian government. Securing the Vote: Protecting American Democracy examines the challenges arising out of the 2016 federal election, assesses current technology and standards for voting, and recommends steps that the federal government, state and local governments, election administrators, and vendors of voting technology should take to improve the security of election infrastructure. In doing so, the report provides a vision of voting that is more secure, accessible, reliable, and verifiable.

Introducing Democracy

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Author :
Publisher : UNESCO
ISBN 13 : 9231040871
Total Pages : 133 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Introducing Democracy by : David Beetham

Download or read book Introducing Democracy written by David Beetham and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a selection of questions and answers covering the principles of democracy, including human rights, free and fair elections, open and accountable government, and civil society.

The Politics Industry

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Author :
Publisher : Harvard Business Press
ISBN 13 : 1633699242
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (336 download)

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Book Synopsis The Politics Industry by : Katherine M. Gehl

Download or read book The Politics Industry written by Katherine M. Gehl and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading political innovation activist Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter bring fresh perspective, deep scholarship, and a real and actionable solution, Final Five Voting, to the grand challenge of our broken political and democratic system. Final Five Voting has already been adopted in Alaska and is being advanced in states across the country. The truth is, the American political system is working exactly how it is designed to work, and it isn't designed or optimized today to work for us—for ordinary citizens. Most people believe that our political system is a public institution with high-minded principles and impartial rules derived from the Constitution. In reality, it has become a private industry dominated by a textbook duopoly—the Democrats and the Republicans—and plagued and perverted by unhealthy competition between the players. Tragically, it has therefore become incapable of delivering solutions to America's key economic and social challenges. In fact, there's virtually no connection between our political leaders solving problems and getting reelected. In The Politics Industry, business leader and path-breaking political innovator Katherine Gehl and world-renowned business strategist Michael Porter take a radical new approach. They ingeniously apply the tools of business analysis—and Porter's distinctive Five Forces framework—to show how the political system functions just as every other competitive industry does, and how the duopoly has led to the devastating outcomes we see today. Using this competition lens, Gehl and Porter identify the most powerful lever for change—a strategy comprised of a clear set of choices in two key areas: how our elections work and how we make our laws. Their bracing assessment and practical recommendations cut through the endless debate about various proposed fixes, such as term limits and campaign finance reform. The result: true political innovation. The Politics Industry is an original and completely nonpartisan guide that will open your eyes to the true dynamics and profound challenges of the American political system and provide real solutions for reshaping the system for the benefit of all. THE INSTITUTE FOR POLITICAL INNOVATION The authors will donate all royalties from the sale of this book to the Institute for Political Innovation.