Activities Of Political Parties Research Articles

Consider the Base for Representation at the Top: Political Parties and Women’s Parliamentary Representation in Ghana’s Fourth Republic

Abstract: In a democracy, political parties play significant roles in candidate recruitment and selection. While several activities of political parties focusing on boosting women’s representation in Ghana’s Fourth Republic have been examined in the literature, this study expands that discussion. It notes that political parties have pursued various strategies to increase women’s political representation; however, after three decades of Ghana’s Fourth Republic, parliamentary seats occupied by women fall short of the minimum 30 percent level suggested by the UN Economic and Social Council resolution 1990/15. This suggests that perhaps Ghana is not doing enough. Using a qualitative research approach, this study argues that political parties must pursue women’s recruitment with greater proactiveness from the basic unit of their political structure, the polling station or branch executives’ level. This could encourage more female participation and influence the outcome of primary elections.

Features of the legal status of political parties as legal entities: comparative-legal characteristics

In the article, the author examines political parties as subjects of civil relations. The characteristics of political parties as legal entities are analyzed: organizational unity, which is expressed in the fact that parties, as organizations, have a certain structure and a system of bodies; the sign of separate property of political parties has a certain specificity, with peculiarities in the ways of acquiring ownership rights over the property of political parties. Political parties, as legal entities, bear civil liability, and they can independently appear in court as defendants.
 The author also examines the doctrine and legislation of Western countries regarding the concept, creation, and activities of political parties in Germany, the United States, Great Britain, and Serbia. The concept of a political party in Western countries is considered, with a political party in Serbia, understood as a voluntary association of citizens, created with the aim of achieving political goals through the democratic formation of the political will of citizens and participation in elections. A political party in Serbia is granted the status of a legal entity from the date of its entry into the register of political parties.
 A distinctive feature of political parties in Germany is their ambiguous legal status. By their legal nature, they are private organizations, created in accordance with the norms of private law; however, they also possess a public character due to certain constitutional privileges, granted to them.
 The article explores the issue of the legal nature of political parties in Ukraine and the features that distinguish political parties from other public associations. The author examines the issue of the legal personality of political parties and points out that they possess two components - social and political.
 Furthermore, the article analyzes the criteria for categorizing legal entities as either private or public law entities in the law of Ukraine and in the law of France. In French law, such criteria include the following: the establishment of a legal entity originating from public or private initiative, the rules governing its creation, operation, and oversight by public authorities, the method of financing (public subsidies or mandatory payments), and the presence of public authorities

ETHNOPOLITICAL PROCESSES IN SLOVAKIA (1989-1995)

This article provides the first overview in Ukrainian historiography of the preconditions, emergencу, establishment and initiation of the activities of a political entity representing the Ukrainian population of the Slovak Republic – the Podduklianske Democratic Community (hereinafter referred to as the PDC, original name: Podduklianske Civic Forum). The PDC collaborated with the Regional Government in Prešov, primarily in the socio-economic sphere, and outlined the party’s objectives. The PDC is aimed to address political, economic, social, and national-cultural issues of the Ukrainian population in the Prešov region. At the same time, there is a recognition of the increased political activity of representatives of the Hungarian national minority in Slovakia, resulting in the formation of Hungarian political parties in Slovakia, which emerged immediately after the collapse of the communist regime. It is noted that Hungarian political entities in Slovakia had their representatives in Parliament as a result of the elections in 1990, 1992, and 1994, which allowed them to actively participate in the political life of the state. The positive aspect of the activities of Hungarian political parties in Slovakia was that different party platforms did not prevent them from creating an electoral coalition. It is mentioned that the Roma community was also represented at the level of the Slovak national and regional political arena. However, Roma political parties failed to gain significant electoral support and representation in the Slovak Parliament.

Menakar Transparansi Keuangan Partai Politik Pada Pelaksanaan Pemilihan Umum

To support the implementation of the implementation of political party activities cannot be separated from the existence of large financial support. In the process of traveling political parties, political party funds come from contributions from party politicians, legitimate contributions in accordance with legal provisions; as well as financial assistance from the APBN and APBD from the government. Through the funds generated, an accountable and transparent report is needed to the public in order to create legal certainty and prevent acts of corruption originating from the party's funds. So through this research the authors underline the 2 (two) formulation of the problem that is important to be discussed. First, what is the urgency of disclosing political party financial information in preventing cultural practices of corruption in Indonesia? And Second, how is the accountability of political party financial funds sourced from APBN and APBD funds in Indonesia? This research uses the type of normative juridical research. The data used in the research comes from primary legal materials, secondary legal materials and literature studies from various literatures. The results of this study note that the form of political party financial reporting must record all sources of receipt of funds for the party and not only be accountable for funds originating from the APBN and APBD, then with regard to sanctions there must be strict action taken by the government not only the imposition of administrative sanctions imposed against a party.

ISSUES OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF ELECTORAL LAW IN TERMS OF MODERNIZATION OF KAZAKHSTAN

The article examines some issues of the implementation of the principles of electoral law and modernization of the Kazakh legislation in this area. The purpose of this work is to analyze the problems of the content and implementation of election legislation, as well as to determine effective ways to improve it based on the study of the fundamental principles of the electoral process. The relevance of the topic is justified by the social and political value of the right to vote for society and the country in the light of its recognition as a necessary factor in the development of democracy in the state. The implementation of systematic and statistical methods is relevant to achieve the goal of the work, supporting the reasoning with practical data. The article examines the content of the principles of electoral law and issues of practical implementation, taking into account their features. The compliance of the principles of electoral law enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan with international standards and obligations of the state is indisputable. The article raises the problem of their interpretation and observance in the process of election campaigns. Recommendations on improving the electoral process in the state are being considered. In particular, special attention is paid to the stages of registration and implementation of election activities by candidates, as well as the issue of accreditation of observers. In addition, the article says that the possible inequality among the candidates may lead to difficulties in applying the capabilities of the media, namely, an unlimited number of paid speeches. With regard to the activities of political parties in the process under study, the dynamics of the distribution of votes and mandates shows the presence and preservation of multiparty system in the legislative body of the state. It is necessary to improve legislative activities to increase the number of mandates for each political party in order to reduce the monopoly of one political party over the others. The paper analyzes the conduct of elections for various historical periods, including recent ones.

THE LEGISLATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN ON THE STATE YOUTH POLICY: ANALYSIS, PROBLEMS AND IMPROVEMENT

The article is devoted to the legislative foundations of the state youth policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter – GMP), which are the most important component of the system of measures aimed at the participation of young people in state decision-making and further development of the country, as well as the moral, cultural, professional, spiritual, educational, political and physical development of young people. The article analyzes the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On State Youth Policy» (hereinafter – the Law). Based on its results, legal problems are identified and ways to solve them are proposed. It is noted that further improvement of the legal regulation of GMP is associated with a more active representation of young people in local authorities. It is proposed to divide the quotas of young people from the quotas of women at the legislative level. Attention is drawn to the expediency of amending this Law, in terms of legalizing as a principle of GMP - ensuring the representation of young people in political parties. It is proposed to define the concept of «youth representation» as a numerical goal established by the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan (minimum or maximum) of youth participation in socio-political activities, including the activities of political parties, elections. It is also proposed to amend the Law to coordinate it with the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On Volunteer Activity», regarding the definition of the concept of «volunteer activit».

Problems of legal regulation of prohibition of political parties in Ukraine

The article is devoted to certain legal aspects of the regulation of the ban on the activity of political parties in Ukraine, and considers the theoretical and practical problems of its application. The Constitution of Ukraine provides 11 separate grounds for banning political parties, the list of which is exhaustive.The Law of Ukraine “On Political Parties in Ukraine” provides additional grounds for banning political parties that are not established by the Constitution. In 2022, the list of reasons for the termination of the activities of political parties was expanded, the specified changes were introduced by the Law of Ukraine “On the prohibition of propaganda of the Russian Nazi totalitarian regime, armed aggression of the Russian Federation as a terrorist state against Ukraine, symbols of the military invasion of the Russian Nazi totalitarian regime in Ukraine” No. 2265-IX dated 05/22/2022 [3] and the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Prohibition of Political Parties” No. 2243-IX dated 05/03/2022 The practice of banning political parties is not widespread in European countries and has its own characteristics.On the basis of the analysis of the legislation of Ukraine, including taking into account the changes introduced during the martial law, the legislation of certain foreign countries, taking into account the relevant European standards regarding the prohibition of political parties, the shortcomings of the current legislation were determined and relevant conclusions were drawn regarding possible ways of its improvement, in particular , the following issues should find normative regulation: each individual case of banning the activity of a political party must correspond not only to official legal grounds, but must also encompass historical prerequisites, political traditions, and constitutional doctrine; improvement of the mechanism of state control over the activities of political parties, which will include the rules of representativeness of political parties and criteria for the legality of identification of a member of a political party with the corresponding political party in connection with the illegal actions of some of its members; the possibility of extrajudicial forced suspension of the activities of political parties during the war; consolidating the institution of suspending the activities of parties in martial law conditions, placing on the competent body of state power the obligation to raise the issue of the banning of a political party before the court in the future. At the same time, consideration of the military and political situation and compliance with the guarantees of a fair trial should be noted as a necessary condition for consideration of the specified cases; expansion of the list of entities that will have the right to initiate the procedure of banning the activity of a political party.

Ефективність заборони діяльності проросійських політичних партій: досвід та реалії

The legal regulation of the prohibition of political parties in Ukraine and foreign countries in the article is examined. The key issue in the issue of banning political parties is the mechanism of this ban and its effectiveness in protecting fundamental human rights, national security of Ukraine and protection of the democratic constitutional order. Since information security is an important front line, Ukraine is defending its independence and democracy in this area. In this regard, it is of particular relevance to improve national legislation and state policy in the field of information space protection and restriction of the activities of pro-Russian political parties. It is emphasized that the right to freedom of association of citizens into political parties is a reflection of the pluralistic nature of a democratic political regime. The activities of political parties allow for the real influence of various social groups on the political life of the State. At the same time, the need to ensure this pluralism and other constitutional values requires the legislator to introduce special mechanisms to protect the democratic constitutional order, in particular, by establishing special restrictions on the activities of public associations. The key issue in the prohibition of political parties is the mechanism of this prohibition and its effectiveness in protecting fundamental human rights, national security of Ukraine and protection of the democratic constitutional order. The main models of banning political parties are analyzed. The practice of banning political parties in Ukraine since 2014 in the context of Russia's hybrid aggression against Ukraine is considered. A mechanism for improving the legal regulation of the ban on the activities of pro-Russian political parties in Ukraine is proposed based on the experience of countries with stable democracies and taking into account the challenges facing Ukraine's national security today.

Pillarized Networks in a Polarized Civil Society: A Structure of Far-Right Networks in Poland

AbstractThe goal of this exploratory article is to examine the specifics and networks within and between conservative organizations at the local, regional, and national levels in Poland. By investigating these connections in 2016 using social network analysis and interviews, we contribute to a better understanding of the growth and structure of these groups, which created the base for right-wing organizations as well as led to the success of right-wing parties in Poland and vice versa. We expect to find that the majority of far-right organization networks is vertically structured, linking those organizations at the local level with national organizations; those at the top sustain them financially and offer popularity, access to politics, and other opportunities. However, although right-wing organizations care more about the linkages with their national counterparts, we expect to find that those few local organizations that form links with like-minded local organizations emphasize grassroots activities unrelated to participation in political party activities and are less radical and more civil in their behavior and attitudes.

New old ways of financing the party: exploring the commercial activities of modern political parties

AbstractThe party–money nexus has long excited concerns about corruption and undue influence. However, much of the scholarship in this area has focused on the funding parties receive from external donors or the state. One area of party financing that is underexplored is that of party-controlled commercial enterprises. We examine the nature and scale of the commercial activities engaged in by the two major governing Australian parties: Labor and the Liberals. We find that while commercial activities are long-standing practices, they have diversified over time, becoming more sophisticated and professionalized. Importantly, some of these activities have become decoupled from the proper purposes of parties. The upscaling of party fundraising practices introduces new tensions for parties – both normatively and practically.

Peculiarities of the activities of Russian political parties in the context of the special military operation in 2022

This article analyzes the positioning of political parties in the current political realities. The special military operation in Ukraine is considered as a significant internal political and geopolitical event, which to one degree or another affected almost all socio-political institutions of Russia, including political parties. In this article the parties are classified into new ones, that are those which created after 2015 and participating in federal election campaigns, and those parties that managed to take a firm place in the political system and form fractions in the Parliament. The purpose of this study is to determine whether new political parties in 2022 were able to take advantage of the current period of instability to strengthen their position in the political space and to which extent. Analyzing the legislative, media and public activities of such parties as “United Russia”, the Communist party, the Liberal-Democratic party, “Just Russia – for the Truth”, “New People”, “Green Alternative” and the “Party of Growth” in 2022 it was concluded that among the new political parties only "New People" are relatively active in the framework of the agenda of a special military operation. Other new political parties, except for minor actions, projects and other activities, almost do not use special operations in their activities to promote their party brand and attract new supporters. At the same time, almost all the parties under consideration integrated the agenda of the special military operation into their activities, but this had a very small impact on the electoral sympathies of the population.

Peculiarities of Legal Regulations of Financing Political Parties in Foreign Countries (Comparative-legal aspects)

Political parties are important and indispensable subjects of modern political life, which play an essential role in functioning of democratic political system. Increasing the role of political parties in political processes made such unions face new challenges, think about institutional strengthening and perfecting consistently, develop effective mechanisms to overcome the confrontations related to the organization of a complex and multifaceted election campaign, as well as their participation in other aspects of political life. The increased role of political parties, in turn, has a significant impact on the issues of financial support of parties. The new functions and tasks require additional financial resources to ensure the capacity and sustainability of parties. The specifics of financing political parties, keeping healthy competition, fairness and transparency in the mentioned process, force the states to implement the regulation of financing parties on the basis of a special legislative norm. 
 The presented article reviews the features related to the legal regulation of financing political parties in foreign countries. The article also discusses the issues concerning the publicity and transparency of the financial activities of political parties and the mechanisms of supervision and responsibility for the financial activities of political parties.

US-Canada Relations in the 1950s - 1980s: Consensus or Disagreement?

The purpose of the article is to finalize the impact of the relationship between the USA and Canada on the Canadian foreign policy in 1957-1984. The author focuses the reader’s attention on analysis of trends in the relations between USA and Canada, as well as the identification of the patterns of their further development. Based on the use of an appropriate historical sources and scientific literature, the article gives an idea of the characteristic features of the relationship between the USA and Canada during the premierships of John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau. When writing an article, the author uses a comparative historical method, as well as an interdisciplinary approach. The first allows us to compare the development of the relations between USA and Canada in 1957-1984. The latter shows the influence of the relationship between USA and Canada on the activities of political parties in Canada. The scientific contribution of the author of the article is that for the first time in Russian historiography, he considers not just the general directions of Canada’s foreign policy, but analyzes the key of them - the relationship between USA and Canada, its evolution and dynamics. The author comes to the conclusion that the periodization of the relationship between USA and Canada reflected the complexity of their development, and the anti-americanism of Diefenbaker and Trudeau had no deep foundation. Firstly, it was the result of Diefenbaker’s personal grievances against Kennedy. Secondly, Trudeau demonstrated that Canada’s foreign policy has an independent character. However, this did not mean his departure from the relationship between USA and Canada as a major.

The administrative-procedural component of banning a political party in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of the issue of the administrative-procedural component of the ban on political parties in Ukraine. The full-scale invasion of Russia became the point of extremum for intensifying measures to ensure the state and national security of Ukraine, including by disabling the activities of pro-Russian political forces. The practice of banning the functioning and activities of political parties is one of the mechanisms for protecting sovereignty and traditionally belongs to the toolkit of militant democracy.
 It was emphasized that the legal basis of the procedure for banning political parties was formed relatively recently and under the influence of martial law (Law of Ukraine No. 2243-IX dated 03.05.2022 «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Banning of Political Parties»).
 It is summarized that due to the great political and social significance that administrative cases on the banning of a political party belong to the jurisdiction of the appellate administrative court in the appellate district, which includes the city of Kyiv.
 It was established that currently the legal nature of the procedure under consideration remains ambiguous in many respects, in particular, in terms of the grounds for opening proceedings and filing an administrative lawsuit to ban a political party, as well as the mechanisms of judicial review and the powers of the court when deciding such a case (regarding the ban and transfer of party property owned by the state). Administrative proceedings regarding the banning of a political party are specific and characterized by a number of various differences compared to the general principles of administrative proceedings in court. Prohibition of a political party during a court proceeding is a public process with the mandatory involvement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in the legalization of this administrative proceeding.

Standardy delegalizacji partii politycznych w świetle orzecznictwa Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka — zagadnienia wybrane

The article presents selected issues related to delegalization of political parties. The political parties are indispensable institutions in the systemic life of a democratic state. The authors analyze selected judgments of the European Court of Human Rights related to the standards of delegalization of political parties. The authors conclude that in the existing case law of the ECHR, the main focus is on the external activities of political parties. In determining whether a political party is undemocratic, the focus is primarily on the aims and practices of the party.

Self-breeding Fake News

Studies have found that artificial intelligence (AI) bots and cookies automate fake news in zones of social conflict such as race, religion, gender, and class. In this background, this paper investigates whether fake news is automated with the social structure unique to India. The research collected campaigning activities of political parties and politicians on the Internet but was limited to a select number of Facebook profiles, websites, hashtags, and Twitter profiles during India’s 2014 and 2019 general elections. Politicians and political parties on Twitter, Facebook and other websites formed the contact points where empirical data were collected in the research design. By reviewing hashtags such as #Nationwantsrammandir; #NaamVaapsi; #RamMandir; #AntiNationals; #caste; and #Hindutva, as well as fake social media accounts; discussion forums; and profiles of followers of politicians, the paper corroborated that bots, AI, and trolls serve fake news in the conflict zones of India and some forces are using it to perpetuate social divisions based on caste, class, religion, gender, and region. This paper argues that automated social media accounts spread false information that likely polarizes social conflicts in India. 

THE 2019 ELECTIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF EVOLUTION OF THE WOMEN's AGENDA IN BRITISH POLITICAL PARTIES

The article attempts to determine the role of the women's agenda in the activities of political parties and the place of women in the parliamentary factions of the leading parties of Great Britain. Based on the analysis of the policies of Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to the problem of women's promotion in politics, the role of gender quotas as a tool for attracting the female electorate is analyzed. The 2019 General Elections and the tasks political parties were faced with in terms of women's agenda are described in the broad historical context of the evolution of women's politics of the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democratic parties in the late 20th – early 21st centuries. The author analyzes the election manifestos of the parties in the 2019 elections and concludes about the differences in the approaches to solving women's problems by the right and left parties. In addition, the author reveals the relationship between the women's agenda in the manifestos, the participation of women in the parliamentary factions of parties and women's voting in General Elections.

The Ethnic Factor in the Activities of African Political Parties

The article summarizes the characteristics of the active influence of the ethnic factor on political processes in some African countries, where this phenomenon is among the most difficult to solve intra-national problems. The reasons for its persistence include state borders artificially created in colonial times without considering the interests of ethnic groups living in specific territories and inequal opportunities for the representatives of large and small ethnic groups to participate in the socio-political and other spheres of life of African states. Examples of the formation of power structures based on the belonging of statesmen to a certain ethnic group are given in the paper. The authors draw attention to the fact that ethnic ties often permeate all social relations, especially clearly manifested in state administration and the activities of opposition structures, as well as playing an important role in the life of the army. To date, there are long-established mutual negative perceptions and stereotypes in interethnic contacts, which make it extremely difficult for representatives of different ethnic groups to have a dialogue. In addition, traditional relations, which are primarily based on ethnicity, do not fit well into the framework of Western socio-political standards. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing general instability in the majority of multi-ethnic states of the African continent, leading to the aggravation of long-standing problems of the socio-political spectrum. The authors conclude that the role of ethnic ties in the formation and activity of political structures in different regions of Africa is currently very significant.

Formation and development of the multiparty system of Uzbekistan

The article discusses the formation and development of a multi-party system in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The state and problems of the formation and development of a multiparty system are analyzed. The practice of consistent improvement of the national electoral legislation and a new level of election conduct is reflected. The process of democratic transformations is considered, which has an impact on the political parties of the country and is constantly deepening as the political and legal culture increases, the socio-political activity of the population increases. The author has put forward proposals and recommendations to activate the activities of political parties and strengthen the multi-party system.

Городской активизм в структуре гражданского общества Хабаровска: социально-политические аспект

Social activity of the city residents, aimed at changing in the different spheres of their life, implemented both in the structures of civil society and in the political organizations, has acquired a sound in scientific discourse as «urban activism.» This term does not have an unambiguous definition, which makes it difficult to operationalize it for sociological measurement, but allows using a number of methodological approaches to study this phenomenon in the structure of civil society in the city of Khabarovsk. Based on the sociology of «social movements» (G. Bloomer) and the analysis of collective actions from the standpoint of frame theory (I. Hoffmann), the article attempted to analyze the results of sociological studies of public opinion of citizens, reflecting indicators of their social activity, involvement in the socio-political sphere and actions of the local authorities. It has been shown that the origins of the low civic and socio-political activity of the citizens are rooted in a state of their concern about the urgent life problems that require their solution. They serve as a driving force, on the one hand, due to dissatisfaction with the real form of life, and on the other, out of desires and hopes for some new structure of their existence. It is noted that the semantic framework and value guidelines in the collective actions of the city community, authorities and activists of political parties are often contradictory and paradoxical, giving rise to indifference and alienation from the population from involvement in collective social activities to change life for the better. Strengthening of the position of civil activism aimed at the development of the city's civil society can be facilitated by targeted information and communication activities and demonstration of the successful initiative projects not only in the improvement of the urban environment, but also in formation of responsible political consciousness and behavior of the citizens.