Policy Appeals Research Articles

THE CONCEPT OF SECURITY IN GERMAN FOREIGN POLICY

The Ukrainian crisis escalation in February 2022 became an impetus for securitizing German foreign and domestic policies. An appeal to the notion of security is present in most significant discussions on the state development. Germany’s national security strategy securitized all major spheres of life in German society, making security a universal and comprehensive concept. This is also reflected in other guiding documents, such as the White Paper of the Bundeswehr, the Guiding Principles of Feminist Foreign Policy, the Cybersecurity Strategy. The «change of eras» concept announced by Olaf Scholz updated the security debate by addressing traditional military threats, launching a general revision of the security concept in German politics. Consequently, the boundaries of use of the security concept have expanded, making it commonly used by all participants of domestic political debates and, at the same time, significantly relativizing it. An illustrative example is the migration crisis, where both supporters and opponents of Berlin’s liberal migration policy appeal to German security interests. The further development of the security concept in German foreign policy will be determined by the development of the party-political system of the country, Berlin’s role in key international crises (Ukrainian conflict, Palestinian-Israeli conflict), and processes within German society.

Promising links: how parties combine policy issues with group appeals

Despite growing interest in how parties use social group appeals to reach out to different groups within society, the combination of policy issues and social groups in parties’ campaign strategies remains poorly understood. Building on existing theories of issue competition, this study develops and tests new hypotheses about the relationship between policy appeals and group appeals. It proposes that the use of group appeals in policy communication depends on parties’ perceived issue competence and the public salience of the issue. It is hypothesised that parties frequently employ appeals to social groups to improve the communication about their owned issues and about issues that are important to voters. However, if their best issues lack public salience, parties will link them with appeals to related groups to increase their relevance. Conversely, when parties lack competence for salient issues, they will try to reframe these weaker issues using appeals to unrelated groups. These expectations are tested by combining new data on issue emphasis and social group appeals from election manifestos (1990–2019) with public opinion data on public issue salience and perceived party competence in Austria. The results confirm that group appeals in party communication about policy issues are shaped by issue salience and competence perceptions. These findings have key implications for our understanding of issue competition and voter representation.

The Group Appeal Strategy: Beyond the Policy Perspective on Party Electoral Success

Political parties use policy appeals to change their policy images and increase electoral support. Building on the idea that parties’ group images also matter to voters, this article shows that group appeals can benefit parties as well. Combining manifesto data on policy and group appeals covering 50 years, we revisit the shift from class to catch-all politics in Britain and present three findings. First, a vote share analysis shows that the Labour Party benefited from using not just policy but also group appeals to downplay its class image. Second, consistent with a catch-all strategy, survey evidence shows that this boost in Labour support was most prominent outside the traditional base. Third, while group appeals had independent effects, we show how group and policy appeals also interact and reinforce each other. This suggests that non-policy strategies matter to parties’ electoral success on their own but also in combination with policy strategies.

Is it Up to Me or Them? Insights from an Experimental Study on Psychological Reactance Towards Climate Change Mitigation Appeals

ABSTRACT This study posits the hypothesis that the lack of an individual’s engagement in mitigating climate change might be due to reactance, a motivational psychological state that occurs when one’s perceived freedom to think or act is being threatened. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects experimental design (N = 623), we varied how mitigation recommendations for transportation were communicated (individual vs. policy appeal) in an online article. Additionally, we manipulated how directly the need to act was stressed (high- vs. low-controlling language). Outcome measures to capture reactance were perceived threat to freedom, counterarguing, and support for recommended mitigation efforts. Participants in the individual condition reported higher perceived threat to freedom, counterarguing, and showed lower support for the recommendations compared to those in the policy condition. In addition, high-controlling language increased perceptions of freedom threat. Results help clarify public responses to climate change mitigation appeals and offer insights about people’s perspectives on climate change mitigation.

Bank lending and macroprudential policies: are Islamic banks differentially affected?

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to study the relevance of macroprudential policies (MPPs) in influencing bank lending in small open economies with dual banking systems.Design/methodology/approachIn the analysis, the author employed the dynamic panel data methodology as compared to alternate techniques since it is able to address potential endogeneity challenges.FindingsUsing quarterly data from the period 2002–2020, the author finds that MPPs are highly effective in containing the growth of public credit, whereas its impact on private credit is much less effective. The disaggregated findings reveal that macroprudential measures are less effective in containing the growth of private credit by Islamic banks.Originality/valueThe majority of studies on MPPs are focused on emerging and advanced economies, limiting their policy appeal from the standpoint of small open economies. In this connection, this paper contributes to the literature on the relevance of such policies for a small open economy with a dual banking system and significant hydrocarbon exports. The paper's analysis therefore holds relevance for similar economies, both in the region and elsewhere, on the role and relevance of MPPs with emphasis on Islamic banks.

Discussion on Digital Transformation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Post-epidemic Era

Driven by digital technology, China's digital economy is developing rapidly, and its position in the economy and society is getting higher and higher. As the main force of China's economy, employment and GDP, SMEs have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic. It is of great practical significance to study the digital transformation of SMEs for the relief and development of SMEs after the epidemic and to promote the development of China's digital economy. A questionnaire survey was conducted on the status quo, problems and policy appeals of China's small and medium-sized enterprises' digital transformation. The survey object was the principals of 925 small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises. The survey questions included 11 issues such as difficulties faced by enterprises in business operation, application of digital technology, effectiveness of digital transformation, and driving factors of digital transformation. On this basis, the study was carried out. The survey results show that SMEs in China generally have problems such as lack of digital transformation thinking, weak digital foundation, and large obstacles to digital transformation. The vulnerability of SMEs themselves and the differences between different types of SMEs increase the difficulty of digital transformation. The classified statistics of SMEs based on different dimensions such as the development stage, location, and scale of enterprises show that there are significant differences between different types of SMEs and the total sample, as well as between different types of SMEs in terms of difficulties faced in operation, effectiveness of digital transformation, status quo of digital transformation, application of digital technology, driving factors of digital transformation, and policy appeals; Meeting market demand, improving production efficiency and significantly reducing costs are the driving factors for SMEs to carry out digital transformation, but there are differences between different types of SMEs. In order to effectively promote the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in China, it is suggested to give full play to the guidance and policy support of government departments based on the policy demands of small and medium-sized enterprises for digital transformation, accelerate the construction of new infrastructure, and provide more solid digital transformation foundation for small and medium-sized enterprises; Take multiple measures to eliminate the shortage of digital talents, improve and innovate the talent training mechanism, and provide talent support for digital transformation; Build a digital platform and network, build a cross industry and cross link digital collaboration system, open up the digital transformation path of SMEs, and boost their digital transformation and development.

Only Right Makes Might? Center-Right Policy Competition Among Major Japanese Parties After Electoral Reform

The effects of the 1990s reforms to the electoral system of Japan's House of Representatives have been among the most frequently discussed topics in political science research on the country. These reforms saw the replacement of a hitherto single nontransferable vote (SNTV) system by a mixed-member majoritarian (MMM) system with a strong Single Member District (SMD) and a weaker Proportional Representation (PR) component. Many studies have suggested that the reforms may have had significant impact on the strategies of political parties. Generally, SMD systems have been widely thought to favor larger parties, while PR systems are more beneficial to small and medium-sized parties. On the content side, larger parties seeking control of the government would try to win the support of large numbers of floating voters by campaigning on universal/programmatic policy appeals, as opposed to particularistic interests. In contrast, smaller parties would cater towards their core supporters’ preferences. Previous studies have noted that the old SNTV system in Japan had produced results similar to PR systems (Reed 2003). Japan's electoral reform may have thus changed the strategy of large parties, which would need to win more seats in the SMDs to gain (or hold onto) power, while smaller parties have continued to try and win seats via the PR tier. Therefore, the reform provides valuable research material in so far as we can simultaneously observe different effects by the SMD and the PR systems on parties of different sizes.

Parties’ group appeals across time, countries, and communication channels—examining appeals to social groups via the Parties’ Group Appeals Dataset

While policy appeals receive the bulk of scholars’ attention, recent studies show that group appeals are prevalent in parties' election campaign materials to voters over time. Yet, few studies to date focus on group appeals as a distinct concept, and little data is available to support longitudinal and cross-national examinations. Aiming to better understand group-based appeals’ role in political processes, this article introduces new and unique data using a concise definition of group appeals, contributing to this growing literature. The Parties’ Group Appeals Dataset (PGAD) provides text-as-data from manual analyses of 69 parties' names, 249 manifestos, and 2772 print campaign advertisements in Israel and the Netherlands between 1977 and 2015, offering one of the first opportunities to compare parties' group appeals over time, between countries, and across communication channels.

Electoral appeal of climate policies: The Green New Deal and the 2020 U.S. House of Representatives elections

Climate issues widely feature in policy discussions, but it is not clear if voters reward politicians who champion climate policies. In some countries, candidates and parties with an explicit climate agenda have done well in elections (Switzerland and Germany being recent examples) while in other cases, voters have either ignored climate issues or punished candidates/parties for their climate positions (Australia, the U.K., and Canada). Focusing on the U.S. as a case study, we examine the electoral appeal of the Green New Deal (GND) legislative proposal which outlined a vision for a sustainable and equitable economy. Different versions of the GND policy idea have been adopted across the world. The GND was introduced in the US Congress in 2019 and was endorsed by 102 of the 232 House Democrats, but not by a single Republican. Our analysis finds an association between Democrats’ endorsement of the GND and a 2.01 percentage point increase in their vote share, even after controlling for the 2018 vote share. Unlike most western democracies, the U.S. is a laggard on climate issues. Yet, we find that U.S. voters reward legislators who advocate an ambitious climate policy agenda.

Towards spatializing consumer energy sustainability. Empirical findings about the policy and practice of energy conservation and poverty in Barcelona and North Macedonia

ABSTRACT The way citizens make meaning, take decisions, and act differs from expert-informed expectations encapsulated in policies. Inspired by spatial theory, we explore the divide between official and everyday framings of consumer energy sustainability that is potentially limiting citizen engagement. Our argument draws from contrasting official and everyday framings encountered in narratives and practices related to (a) energy conservation in commercial buildings in Barcelona, and (b) household energy poverty in North Macedonia. Our interpretation reveals a major difference between official and everyday framings, whereby the former decontextualize practices and the latter knock down spatial borders to engage with energy through a wide array of material interventions and social structures that are not specific to intervention sites and policy matters. Everyday narratives reveal a spatial critique of the inconsistencies in official policy and practice that highlights the existence of systemic unequal participation, inequalities, and injustice. The appraisal of these inconsistencies limits the legitimacy of government and corporations, as well as the appeal of official policies and practices. The spatialization of energy consumption according to everyday epistemologies, whereby practices are appraised in their socio-material context calls for re-politicizing energy consumption in accordance with conceptions of energy citizenship – i.e. embracing its original grounding on bottom-up knowledge formation and political struggle.

Whose policy is it anyway? Public support for clean energy policy depends on the message and the messenger

ABSTRACT Environmental policy advocates are increasingly proposing ‘bundled’ clean energy policies to combat climate change while also creating jobs and transforming the economy. While such strategies may broaden the appeal of climate policies, these broad constituencies create challenges for policy communicators – how do messages about different aspects of the policy, coming from different messenger groups, influence public support for clean energy policies? This study uses a modified conjoint survey experiment (n = 2145) to test how the interaction between message frames (addressing climate change vs. creating jobs) and sources (business, environmental, or labor groups) influenced policy support for clean energy policies. Results show that job creation frames from business or environmental groups were most effective. We find evidence that certain message/source combinations work across partisanship divides: messages that were effective for one partisan group did not backfire – and often also increased policy support – when presented to the other group.

In the Name of the President

Presidents often make references to their predecessors in their oral remarks—a rhetorical tool that can advance support for their policies, define their presidency, and achieve political gains. And yet, despite the frequency that this rhetorical tool is used and its possible impact, references to former presidents have so far defied a systematic empirical research. To fill in this void in the literature, we examine the frequency of references to presidents, the identity of referenced presidents, and the policy context of each reference in all oral references made by presidents Reagan through Trump. We demonstrate that mentioning former presidents is a political tool that presidents use routinely in their public speeches. We find that presidents use this tool strategically—controlling the timing and identity of references and in connection to their policy appeals.

Assessing Land Use Planning Tools to Mitigate Odour and Lighting Nuisance Related to Cannabis Production

Cannabis production has expanded significantly across southern Ontario with the legalisation of theindustry. Much of this expansion has occurred within the rural countryside, through the utilisation of existinggreenhouse infrastructure. While the growth of this sector provides economic benefits to rural communities, complaints from adjacent residents related to lighting and odour issues are common and mitigation of such issues is complex. Land use planning policies have been established across southern Ontario to manage the development of cannabis greenhouses; however, policies vary by region and countyand the appropriateness of these policies have not been tested. This study seeks to analyse municipalplanning policies that regulate cannabis production and understand the impacts of these policies on sector,adjacent land owners and rural communities. Planning policies will be analysed at the municipal, regional orcounty level, with the creation of a database to highlight consistency and differences between communities. Case studies will be utilised to gain better insights into the challenges and opportunities related to cannabis production and planning mitigation. This presentation will provide a summary of current research findings, including highlights of a municipal scan of zoning by-law policies and informalinsights into policy appeals in southern Ontario.

Systematic review: Effects of sustained nurse home visiting programs for disadvantaged mothers and children.

To systematically evaluate published experimental studies of sustained nurse home visiting (SNHV) programs. This review summarizes the evidence and identifies gaps in the literature to inform practice, policy, and future research. Restricted systematic review with narrative summary. Databases searched were Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Year of publication was originally restricted from 2008 to the date of search (13 February 2018, with supplementary searches conducted to identify more recent publications (up to 2019). Several reputable evidence clearinghouses were also searched. Studies were included if they used a randomized or cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate a home visiting program that: (a) targeted disadvantaged mothers; (b) commenced during pregnancy or prior to the child's first birthday; (c) had an intended duration of at least 12months from the time of enrolment; and (d) was substantively delivered by nurses or midwives. Meta-analyses and reviews of studies meeting these criteria were also included. A quality appraisal was conducted for all studies. Of 1,393 total articles, 30 met inclusion criteria. Seven specific SNHV programs were identified. Each demonstrated evidence of a positive statistical effect on at least one child or maternal outcome. Sustained nurse home visiting programs benefit disadvantaged families, though effects vary across outcomes and subgroups. Further research is needed to discern the critical components of effective programs. As SNHV programs have gained policy appeal, the need to evaluate the evidence-base supporting such interventions has become imperative. The findings of this review will assist policy-makers and practitioners in high-income countries to make evidence-informed decisions about which programs are best suited to addressing specific maternal and child outcomes for disadvantaged families. This should in turn ameliorate some of the inequalities in child development that have significant social and economic costs.

Political parties and social groups: New perspectives and data on group and policy appeals

This article contributes to the literature on party appeals to social groups by introducing a new dataset on group and policy appeals in Scandinavia (2009–2015). In addition to coding to what social groups parties appeal, we collected information on what policies parties offer for the groups they mention and what goals and instruments they specify for such policies. The latter advance makes it possible to present new insights on the extent to which group appeals are actually substantial and meaningful. We find that left, centre and right parties appeal to broad demographic categories rather than class. There are almost no appeals to the middle class, although the frequent reference to a category ‘all’ can be interpreted as a functional equivalent for middle-class appeals. Finally, parties clearly still make substantial policy proposals and address concrete policy problems, but with only small differences in such appeals across the left–right spectrum.

Second Amendment Sanctuaries

The term “sanctuary” has long expressed a sympathy for immigrants’ rights and resistance to federal immigration enforcement. Recently, the word has become associated with another divisive political topic, as local governments have begun declaring themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuaries” in defiance of statewide gun control measures they deem unconstitutional. This gun rights resistance movement not only flips the political script on the nature of sanctuaries but presents important and challenging questions about local-state power sharing, the proper scope of “subfederal commandeering,” and the role of coordinate branches in constitutional decision making. This Article provides the first scholarly treatment of Second Amendment Sanctuaries. In doing so, it explores both the unique facets of this new localism and the broader implications for sanctuary movements generally. Most early commentary on Second Amendment Sanctuaries dismisses them as purely symbolic and presumptively invalid pursuant to state preemption principles and the judicial supremacy model of constitutional interpretation. This Article challenges that narrative and articulates a theory of limited viability for these and other local intrastate resistance movements. The theory proceeds in three parts, with each part presenting a novel approach to local-state governmental conflict that contributes to the existing literature. First, localities can resist broad state preemption in limited circumstances via the state’s “home rule” provisions when local regulation of a particular issue is rooted in history and has normative policy appeal. Second, localities may passively resist statewide regulation through a form of “subfederal anticommandeering” analogous to the Tenth Amendment’s anticommandeering principles protecting states from federal overreach, so long as the locality takes no affirmative steps to frustrate state enforcement. Third, local enforcement officers may defend their resistance on substantive constitutional grounds when the right at issue is not settled firmly by the judiciary. This “first impression departmentalism” reflects the proper role all coordinate branches of government have in defining the contours of constitutional provisions when emerging doctrine remains in a state of flux. These principles counsel in favor of the viability of at least some Second Amendment Sanctuaries as currently constructed, as well as sanctuaries resisting firearm deregulation and other statewide policy initiatives.

Humanizing Work Requirements for Safety Net Programs

This Article explores the political and policy appeal of work requirements for public benefit programs and concludes that inclusion of such requirements can be a reasonable design choice, but not in their current form. This Article’s proposals attempt to humanize these highly controversial work requirements while acknowledging the equity concerns they are designed to address. Drawing on expansive definitions of “work” found in guidance published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (“CMS”) and in various state waiver applications, this Article proposes that work requirements be approved for Medicaid (as well as other benefit programs) only if they encompass various forms of unpaid but intrinsically valuable activities. This Article also proposes that the requirements be converted from a punitive eligibility precondition that can result in the termination of Medicaid coverage into an incentive program. To incentivize people to engage in “work” activity, this Article proposes that any activity engaged in for purposes of Medicaid (or any other benefit program that utilizes similar work requirements) count as earned income for purposes of the Earned Income Tax Credit (“EITC”) and also count toward quarters of coverage for purposes of the Social Security and Medicare programs. This design would incentivize lower income individuals to work or engage in socially-valuable activities, could strengthen popular support for Medicaid by incorporating social insurance features, and would help address the longstanding problem of valuing socially important unpaid work such as caregiving.

Between strategy and protest: how policy demand, political dissatisfaction and strategic incentives matter for far-right voting

AbstractWhat attracts voters to far-right parties? Emphasizing the repercussions of far-right parties' past achievements on the mobilization of voters' electoral demand, this paper develops an argument of context-dependent strategic far-right voting. Far-right parties seek to mobilize on a combination of demand for nativist policies and anti-establishment protest sentiment. Their capacity of doing so, however, critically depends on the strategic incentives they supply. My findings from a comparative analysis based on six waves of the European Election Study show that far-right parties' past attainment of legislative strength boosts the credibility of their policy appeal and broadens the scope of their protest appeal whereas their participation in government jeopardizes their capacity to mobilize on popular discontent.

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of antimicrobial usage at farm and flock level on 181 broiler farms in nine European countries.

To control the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance, international policy appeals for appropriate monitoring of antimicrobial usage (AMU) at supranational, species and farm level. The aim of this study was to quantify AMU in broilers at farm and flock level in nine European countries. Antimicrobial treatment data of one flock and purchased antimicrobials over one year were collected at 181 European broiler farms. Afterwards AMU was quantified using treatment incidence (TI) per 100 days based on Defined Daily Dose (DDDvet), Defined Course Dose (DCDvet) or Used Daily Dose (UDDvet) values. Total AMU at flock level was obtained by summing the TIDDDvet of all treatments in the sampled flock (TIDDDvetFl*). The median TIDDDvetFl* was 9.0 (95% CI 5.5-10.8), meaning that broilers were treated with antimicrobials during 9% of their rearing period. TIDDDvetFl* varied considerably within and between countries. However, in every country at least one untreated flock was present. Average TIDDDvetFl* at country level ranged from 3.3 to 36.7. Polymyxins, extended-spectrum aminopenicillins and fluoroquinolones were the most used antimicrobials, accounting for 26%, 26% and 18% of total AMU, respectively. Twenty-six percent of the farms started a treatment on day 1 of production, and 49% of overall AMU was administered within the first week. Results show that rearing broilers without AMU is feasible. However, a huge variation in AMU in terms of amount, moment of administration and antimicrobial classes was observed. This shows that there is still ground to be covered when it comes to AMU on broiler farms.

Galvanising political support through resource nationalism: A case of Tanzania's 2017 extractive sector reforms

Resource nationalism has become a fashionable approach to resource governance in many countries across the world. Motivated by the desire to make resource governance deliver to socio-economic development, governments in resource-rich countries have exploited resource nationalism to achieve their populist socio-economic goals. In 2017, the government of Tanzania instituted a strong resource nationalist governance regime. This paper examines Tanzania's re-adoption of resource nationalism to understand how the government was able to institutionalise the reforms. The paper draws on secondary scholarly sources and primary materials such as President Magufuli's speeches during his presidential campaigns in 2015 and afterwards during his government clampdown on Acacia. Like studies on neo-extractivism in Latin America have shown, President Magufuli used resource nationalism as a political strategy to both secure a stronghold in party and national politics and legitimise his economic policy. Faced with a strengthening opposition politics and competitive elections, President Magufuli exploited public dissatisfaction with a liberal resource governance approach and a popular appeal of socialist policies to re-introduce resource nationalism as a strategy not only to re-legitimise extractivism but also to delegitimise the opposition and multinational corporations.