It’s the emotion, stupid! Emotional responses to televised debates and their impact on voting intention

rT -HE IMPORTANCE of metaphorical language in structuring a political theory, though generally recognized, is a subject little discussed in the literature of political science.' Virtually every history of political philosophy cites Plato as an illustrative example of this relationship. His references to the expertise of the ship captain, the physician, the horse trainer, etc., are but poetic expressions of basic presuppositions about political reality which characterize Plato's substantive political thought. Yet, while the role of metaphor finds an established place in the history of political thought, its applicability as a way of understanding contemporary political thought is much more suspect. Doubtless, the roots for this negative attitude toward the use of metaphorical language to support or express political ideas extends at least as far back as Hobbes. Metaphors, he proclaimed in the Leviathan, are to be utterly excluded from all rigorous search of truth.2 Despite the fact that Hobbes himself made extensive use of metaphor in the elaboration of his own political theory, he maintained that the application of the principles of science to politics did not require the use of deceptive language, which he attributed to the theologically centered political theories advanced by his contemporaries.3 More recently, of course, the application of positivistic standards to the use of language, the influence of Ayer, Weldon, and others have continued the effort to circumscribe the employment of metaphors within political science. It is not part of my purpose in this essay to provide even the briefest history of this methodological attitude with respect to metaphorical language. I mention it only to indicate its general predominance within the discipline and as part of any explanation as to why a relationship so obvious to understanding the meaning of a political theory receives so little attention in the literature of contemporary political science. In addition to the philosophical criticism of metaphorical language as a way of formulating a political theory, there is a recognition that language is or can be a persuasive instrument for mobilizing people to take political action. This is a much-discussed issue in the history of political philosophy, and constitutes one of the major points of Socrates' critique of the Sophists. But here again, Hobbes is a figure of some importance, since he associates the tendency to employ metaphorical language not only with political deception, but, more importantly, with the making of a revolution.4 This tendency, to link metaphor, ideology, and revolutionary political objectives, which, I believe, constitutes the ultimate sociopolitical standard for the modern negative attitude toward such language, has its origins

movements remains a question in considerable dispute in both the political science and sociological literatures. Traditional sociological approaches, which focus on the external conditions necessary for the development of such movements, are unable to account for variations in the fates of similar movements in similar societies.1 In the political science literature, on the other hand, the prevailing assumption that making is an incremental process provides no theoretically compelling rationale for why some social movements are, in fact, capable of producing policy spirals (Lindblom 1959; Jones 1974, 1975). A relatively new perspective in sociological research offers some promise in this regard. Resource mobilization literature stresses the

This article theorises the national implementation of European and international decisions on environmental conflicts, integrating both judgments from courts and so-called managerial decisions from (non-)compliance mechanisms in multilateral environmental agreements. Starting from the observation that the impact of climate change is increasing with backlash from populist governments and political regimes against its mitigation, implementing legal obligations in the absence of specialised environmental courts is crucial to protect the environment from harm. However, systematic insights on the national implementation of judgments and managerial decisions made beyond the nation state are underexplored. Following a political science perspective, this article conceptualises the conditions explaining this phenomenon by making use of existing research from various disciplines including political science and law on policy implementation to enable systematic comparisons. For this purpose, the article outlines a concept structural approach based on two hypothesised explanations: one based on the mechanisms used to solve conflicts, and another relating to the legitimacy of relevant institutions and processes of conflict resolution. These explanatory pathways reflect the existing management and enforcement approaches from the political science literature on implementation and follow a conjunctural logic. The theoretical approach developed in this article enables systematic comparisons across decisions and thus accounts for a variety of separate but equally valid explanations. Future research and empirical analysis will directly feed back into the concept structure for further theoretical development and lead to generalisable insights on the national implementation of court judgments and managerial decisions on environmental conflicts. In this way, the aim is to contribute to both political science and legal literature regarding European and international environmental law, environmental politics, and judicial governance.

How much do the performances of top candidates in televised debates affect vote intentions in parliamentary democracies? The article addresses this question and disentangles the effects of predisposition and performance in televised debate reception. Drawing on a large-N field study of the 2017 chancellor duel in Germany, which contains survey and real-time response data for 5660 participants, we identify debate-induced determinants of shifts in voting intention and assess their relative effect sizes on such changes. Our analysis shows, first, that out-party identification is an effective barrier against shifts in voting intentions. However, we find that viewers’ real-time performance perceptions of the candidates show strong effects. Third, we demonstrate that these real-time evaluations can breach the predisposition’s barrier particularly when the intensity of out-party identification is less than very strong. Fourth, we find verdicts on the debate winner as an additional short-term factor that can foster shifts in voting intentions in the course of debate reception. Overall, our results indicate that pre-dispositions may hinder rational updating of electoral behaviour but that debate performance can actually make a difference by altering the formation of voting intentions.

Using the Label Wisely: A Fresh Take on Political Sophistication and Partisan Cues

Based on an interdisciplinary synthesis of the literature in political science and social psychology, this chapter emphasises that the issue of identity is critical in the pursuit of peace. The chapter attempts to discuss dual identities, which in the case of Afghanistan allow for both singular identities and a new overarching identity (to be formed in the peace process). The question of how to transform conflicts peacefully is the common point of intersection between theory and practice in the field of peace studies. If conflict, as a never-ending phenomenon, can be transformed into a peaceful perspective, then peace has a chance of becoming permanent on the ground and in the minds. In this regard, the issue of identity occupies an important place in the context of sustainable peace. Because identity affects almost all peace processes in a heard or unheard tone. This chapter will examine the identity issues within the framework of Afghanistan over the social identity theory and the common in-group identity model. Using the example(s) of Afghanistan (in addition Northern Ireland and South Africa), this chapter argues that a new and inclusive identity that does not assimilate individual identities (dual identity) has the capacity to enable sustainable peace.

This article develops a provocative approach for thinking about the role of race in democratic politics. I identify the Supreme Court's descriptive and normative struggles with racial identity, which have led many on the Court to question the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. I rely upon the social identity literature in social psychology, as well as the race and politics literature in political science, to demonstrate empirically the relationship between racial and political identity. I then use the right of assciation, particularly as developed by the Supreme Court in the party and ballot access cases, to argue that the First Amendment protects the right of votes of color to associate as voters of color where race and political identity are correlated. In so doing, I characterize the Court's attempt to grasp the proper role of race in democratic politics as a deeper struggle between equality and liberty values. I conclude by suggesting a framework for balancing liberty and equality concerns in the design of electoral institutions.

This article develops a provocative approach for thinking about the role of race in democratic politics. I identify the Supreme Court's descriptive and normative struggles with racial identity, which have led many on the Court to question the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. I rely upon the social identity literature in social psychology, as well as the race and politics literature in political science, to demonstrate empirically the relationship between racial and political identity. I then use the right of assciation, particularly as developed by the Supreme Court in the party and ballot access cases, to argue that the First Amendment protects the right of votes of color to associate as voters of color where race and political identity are correlated. In so doing, I characterize the Court's attempt to grasp the proper role of race in democratic politics as a deeper struggle between equality and liberty values. I conclude by suggesting a framework for balancing liberty and equality concerns in the design of electoral institutions.

We analyze the relationship between party campaigning on social media and the voting intentions voiced by respondents in a large representative survey in the German federal election campaign in 2021. We argue that online campaigns spread through the online and offline networks of the initial recipients – thereby influencing substantial parts of the electorate. We exploit inter-temporal, inter-regional, and inter-party differences in the intensity of campaigning by parties and candidates on Facebook and Twitter. In addition, we control for the respondents’ choice in the previous federal election and a number of other personal characteristics. Using a multinomial logit model with alternative-specific constants, we find the probability of a respondent’s intention to vote for a party to increase in the state-specific campaigning activities on social media of this party the days before. While the literature suggests that especially populist right-wing parties will benefit from campaigning on social media, we find the marginal impact to be significantly higher for Christian democrats, Social Democrats, and Greens than for the right-wing “Alternative für Deutschland”. • We analyze the impact of social media campaigns on voting intentions in the German federal election 2021. • Voting intentions are taken from the representative FORSA survey (n > 14.000). • We use a multinomial logit model with alternative-specific constants to model voters’ choice. • We exploit inter-temporal, -regional and -party differences in campaigning intensity on Facebook and Twitter. • Respondents’ intention to vote for a certain party increase in the party’s state-specific campaigning intensity the days before. • The marginal impact is lower for the right-wing “Alternative für Deutschland” than for other parties.

This paper analyzes the application of the biopolitical perspective to explanations of gender differnces in political participation. Using the heuristic device of a causal model, two endocrine-based mechanisms proposed in political science literature are examined: 1) the linking of male androgens with more assertive kinds of political involvement; and 2) the linking of menstruation with cyclical mood changes and political behavior and attitudes. After a review of pertinent biological, psychological and political science literatures, both explanations are rejected. In the concluding section, an interactive biobehavioral paradigm is outlined, and several examples are suggested for further exploration of biological factors in political behavior and gender.

Socio-economic interdependence and supranational integration are not linear processes in the recent European experience. Similarly, responses in terms of de-bordering and re-bordering, including those influenced by national-populist stances, are not necessarily univocal. Dealing with a relevant strand of literature in psychology and political science, the chapter stresses ambivalent perceptions of cross-border relations. In particular, the analysis focuses the opinions by citizens towards cross-border workers. Using an original survey data, it shows how a relevant part of citizens support the idea that cross-border workers reduce prosperity and exacerbate unfair competition at the expense of residents, and, at the same time, make an important contribution to regional economy. The ambivalence reflects the awareness, also among national-populist supporters, that without cross-border workers, it is impossible to the defend the regional prosperity of a strongly integrated border region.

In Left and Right in Global Politics, which was published in 2008, we argued that the divide between the left and the right occupied a unique place among global ideologies. This opposition explained more than any other ideological division and it provided a powerful connection between domestic and world politics, giving meaning to an increasingly integrated global arena. We concluded that the left-right cleavage is one of many global ideological fault lines, but arguably the most ubiquitous and encompassing one. This chapter revisits this argument. We first restate the original thesis succinctly and update the perspective in light of the recent literature in psychology and political science. Second, we consider challenges coming from comparative politics, to explain how, at least in democracies, the left-right division still plays a pivotal role in framing political life. Turning specifically to international relations, the last section then shows how the politics of left and right continues to permeate a wide range of international issues. The conclusion summarizes the reasons explaining the persistence of the left-right framework in global ideological debates and discusses the future of this political distinction.

The role of causal beliefs in political identity and voting

This article argues that a common pattern and set of dynamics characterizes severe political and societal polarization in different contexts around the world, with pernicious consequences for democracy. Moving beyond the conventional conceptualization of polarization as ideological distance between political parties and candidates, we offer a conceptualization of polarization highlighting its inherently relational nature and its instrumental political use. Polarization is a process whereby the normal multiplicity of differences in a society increasingly align along a single dimension and people increasingly perceive and describe politics and society in terms of “Us” versus “Them.” The politics and discourse of opposition and the social–psychological intergroup conflict dynamics produced by this alignment are a main source of the risks polarization generates for democracy, although we recognize that it can also produce opportunities for democracy. We argue that contemporary examples of polarization follow a frequent pattern whereby polarization is activated when major groups in society mobilize politically to achieve fundamental changes in structures, institutions, and power relations. Hence, newly constructed cleavages are appearing that underlie polarization and are not easily measured with the conventional Left–Right ideological scale. We identify three possible negative outcomes for democracy—“gridlock and careening,” “democratic erosion or collapse under new elites and dominant groups,” and “democratic erosion or collapse with old elites and dominant groups,” and one possible positive outcome—“reformed democracy.” Drawing on literature in psychology and political science, the article posits a set of causal mechanisms linking polarization to harm to democracy and illustrates the common patterns and pernicious consequences for democracy in four country cases: varying warning signs of democratic erosion in Hungary and the United States, and growing authoritarianism in Turkey and Venezuela.

The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretically grounded instrument to measure the construct nonviolence at workplace. The academic discourse on psychological mechanism underpinning nonviolence is meager. Relying on extant literature in psychology, sociology, and political science in the field of violence and nonviolence, we have identified four dimensions to capture the measurable features of nonviolence. Next, we developed items to measure these dimensions. Professionals from private organizations in India answered the 32-item scale. The scale was tested for its factor structure, reliability, and validity. The instrument can be used by behavioral scientists and industry practitioners to assess the level of nonviolence among professionals as pre-screening and for academicians to further test and develop theoretical insights of this construct. The unique contribution of this study is that it challenges the basic assumption that nonviolence is absence of violence. The results indicate that nonviolent personalities are active agents in breaking the cycle of violence.