Political Competition Research Articles

Elections, governance, and polarization in Indonesian villages

ABSTRACT This article explores the deepening of affective polarization in rural Indonesia after the Village Law. The 2014 Village Law was envisioned as an essential way for promoting rural decentralization to fostering collaborative governance. Nevertheless, this article finds that there has been a deepening of polarization in rural communities after Village Law. Through an everyday political approach, the study employs qualitative research to provide a more tangible picture of the depth of polarization. This article examines three ways of affective polarization in rural communities: intense political competition, disaggregated voting patterns, and selective handing out of government benefits. We conclude that the dynamics of the village head election, built on ethnic and religious lines, generate an intense political competition and segregated voting patterns. Furthermore, affective polarization ultimately affects the selective distribution of government benefits. This article offers new insights into the aftermath of the Village Law dynamics from village head elections to village governance, focusing on how polarization in rural Indonesia is deepening.

Political competition and representation in municipal councils

ABSTRACT I study whether the numbers of high- and low-social status-individuals in French municipal councils are affected by the level of political competition. I argue that because the most-eligible positions within lists of candidates are obtained by high-social-status persons, political competition increases the number of high-status municipal councilors and is thus detrimental to the election of low-social-status candidates. Using the elections of 2008 and 2014, I provide suggestive evidence that the socioeconomic status of individuals is indeed correlated with their position within lists of candidates. Moreover, I show that the presence of an additional competing list during an election is associated with 0.2 additional high-social-status individuals within the municipal councils. I also observe that those additional municipal councilors are males, which is a result that might have been caused by the gender quota policy implemented in French local elections.

Building of Brazilian Party System

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon of the formation and success of new parties in the period of redemocratization and the return of Brazilian multipartyism (1979-2018). Although the phenomenon is recurrent in Brazil, few studies have looked more directly at the subject in Brazil. What are the determinants of the ongoing formation of new parties? Our hypotheses are that the permissiveness of the electoral system loses effect when actors adapt to it and that factors endogenous to political competition increase the likelihood of new parties emerging. We use previous methodologies and conceptualize new parties as those that are organizationally new (obtain a new registration) and win at least one seat in the Chamber of Deputies. We divided the parties into contestation or coaptation parties to assess the impact of institutional and economic variables on them. Our results indicate that parties that are totally "outside the system" (those of contestation) have more difficulty in becoming competitive, demonstrating that the phenomenon of the appearance of new acronyms is more linked to a strategic reorganization of the elites than to a demand from voters.

Anti-corruption campaign and economic growth in Chinese cities: The dichotomous mechanism of network-based political competition

I study how economic growth in Chinese cities responds to the recent anti-corruption campaign, focusing on a novel mechanism of network-based political competition, whereby the removal of investigated officials creates job vacancies and triggers promotion competition within the social network of the investigated officials for the vacancies. Such a network-based competition hinges on the premise that (1) some positions are persistently occupied by certain networks, and (2) high-ranked officials help low-ranked ones to achieve promotion within the network, two facts that are well supported by the evidence. Using a difference-in-differences and an instrumental variable approach, I find that cities’ GDP growth rate registers a 2.5-percentage-point increase following the investigation of the city leader’s connected officials. City leaders create a healthier business environment, attract investments, and increase government spending, while some long-term issues, including innovation, education, and environmental protection, are compromised, indicating the dichotomous nature of political competition.

Editorial: Policy Framing and Branding in Times of Constant Crisis

This editorial serves as an introduction to <em>Media and Communication</em>’s thematic issue Policy Framing and Branding in Times of Constant Crisis. Crises cast challenges for political actors and concurrently create opportunities for policymaking, public reflections, and political competition. In times of crisis, when it comes to communicating policymaking but also framing the crisis itself, issues close to political communication (including political marketing and political branding) become of paramount relevance. The eight articles of this issue cover a broad array of subjects, expanding the understanding of the relevance of communication when it comes to policymaking in times of crisis, through the lens of policy framing and policy branding.

Why and when democracies ban political parties: a classification of democratic state orientations to party bans

AbstractDefending democracy requires undemocratic steps; one of the most radical is the prohibition of political parties. The functioning of political parties is fundamental to healthy and pluralistic democracies. Thus, their exclusion from the political process raises a severe dilemma for a democratic society, which has to address sufficiently why and when a political competitor can legitimately be kicked out of the political arena. The latter is crucially important because of the rise of far-right parties and attempts by authoritarians to infiltrate the domestic political competition of democratic countries. The approaches of various national courts in cases concerning the prohibition of political parties are far from uniform. Experiences in Spain, Ukraine, the UK and, eventually, Germany demonstrate significant contrasts regarding the political theory and legal rationale for prohibition. While democracy is a universal value for a pan-European context, the courts set different limits of democratic tolerance for guarding it. The paper offers a new paradigm that explains why and when democracies ban political parties. The classification of democratic state orientation to party bans consists of liberal, institutional and militant models, which illustrate different concepts around finding the balance between personal rights on the one hand and the interests of a democratic society on the other.

The Perception of Fascist and National Socialist Ideologies During the Second World War in Albania

The Albanian Communist Party was born as a Bolshevik-style party, endowed with a non-Bolshevik but social democratic program, such as popular democracy. To shed light on the factors that determined the arrival of the communist regime in Albania, it is necessary to start the analysis from its roots, that is, since the establishment of the communist regime in Albania. For his part, although the communist regime was established in Albania immediately after the end of World War II, the roots of the phenomenon must be sought from the beginning of the war, even a few months earlier when Albania was invaded on April 7, 1939, by fascist Italy. When Albania was invaded by fascist Italy, no one inside or outside the country predicted, nor could have predicted, that at the end of World War II, the Albanian Communist Party would take power into its own hands. There were subjective and objective reasons for this. First of all, when World War II broke out, Albania was the only country in the Balkans that did not have a Communist Party. However, the absence of the Communist Party was largely a subjective factor. The establishment of the communist regime in Albania was for objective reasons a completely paradoxical phenomenon. Albania, the youngest state in Europe, at the same time its most backward state, with a population of one million and forty thousand inhabitants, had no developed industry, ie no working class in the eyes of the proletariat, as conceived by Marxist doctrine. According to Marxist definitions, Albania was a micro-bourgeois country, that is, without capitalist owners and capitalist institutions, to the extent that they justified the socialist revolution. In addition, the Albanian population was overwhelmingly still illiterate. There were only a few isolated nuclei or communist groups with few members composed mainly of artisans and students, who were further characterized by ideological perversion and worse still by political rivalries between them. The question before historians is this: How can it be explained that despite all these disadvantages, the Albanian Communist Party, which was founded two and a half years after the occupation of the country by fascist Italy, on November 8, 1941, managed to face the war against the occupiers within three years. Nazi fascists and against internal nationalist factors, to take political power in Albania at the end of the Second World War? In addition, how is it that the Albanian Communist Party, unlike its Eastern European counterparts, seized political power on its own, without the presence of Soviet armies, which are not known to have invaded Albania? Albania's position during the Second World War and especially the National Liberation War must be judged by ourselves, regardless of who led it. We must judge it as we do in every historical event. The communist dictatorship that was established in Albania should not blind us to the judgment we give in the national liberation war. The communist regime is not a necessary offspring of the National Liberation War. In my opinion, the establishment of the communist regime is the result of mistakes made during the national liberation war, it is a consequence of the poverty of the political culture of the Albanian people, the lack of traditional political parties, the naivety of the Communist Party leaders, the illusions of united nationalists with the National Liberation Front, of myopia, of the leaders of the National Front, which were used by Enver Hoxha to realize under the umbrella of patriotic war his dictatorial ambitions. Received: 25 December 2023 / Accepted: 25 February 2024 / Published: 23 April 2024

Political Power, Elite Control, and Long-Run Development: Evidence from Brazil

Abstract This paper analyzes how changes in the concentration of political power affect long-run development. We study Brazil’s military dictatorship whose rise to power dramatically altered the distribution of power of local political elites. We document that municipalities that were more politically concentrated prior to the dictatorship in the 1960s are relatively richer in 2000, despite being poorer initially. Our evidence suggests that this reversal of fortune was the result of the military’s policies aimed at undermining the power of traditional elites. These policies increased political competition among traditional elites, leading to better governance, more public goods, and higher income levels.

Artificial multi-verse optimisation for predicting the effect of ideological and political theory course

Enhancing teaching sufficiency is crucial because low teaching efficiency has always been a widespread issue in ideological and political theory course. Evaluating data on the course is obtained from a freshmen class of 2022 using questionnaires. The data is organised and condensed for mining and analysis. Subsequently, an intelligent artificial multi-verse optimizer (AMVO) method s developed to predict the effect of ideological and political theory course. The proposed AMVO approach was tested against various cutting-edge algorithms to demonstrate its effectiveness and stability on the benchmark functions. The experimental results indicated that AMVO ranked first among the 23 test functions. Furthermore, the binary AMVO enhanced k-nearest neighbour classifier had excellent performance in the art ideological and political theory course in terms of error rate, accuracy, specificity and sensitivity. This model can predict the overall evaluation attitude of freshmen towards the course based on the dataset. In addition, we can further analyse the potential correlations between factors that enhance the intellectual and political content of the course. This model can further refine the evaluation of ideological and political courses by teachers and students in our school, thereby achieving the fundamental goal of moral cultivation.

Beyond Words

Beyond Words

Geopolitics in the Maldives: Intersection of Foreign Relations and Internal Political Rivalries

This article connects the political science literature on small states and the historical coverage of trade in the Indian Ocean to identify a remarkable pattern in foreign relations management of Maldivian geopolitics. The long history of interaction with foreign powers since at least the fifteenth century shows how this small state has, historically as well as now vis-à-vis India, China and the Middle East, managed well to retain control and sovereignty as an independent nation. Rich experience in handling the challenges posed by competing geopolitical interests in the wider region partly explains this Maldivian success story. However, this article also brings out the role of constant internal political rivalry within the Maldivian elites. The resulting highly dynamic intersecting pattern identifies how different parties, fractions and certain strong personalities as competing stakeholders constantly attempt to retain or grab power through strategic alliances with foreign powers. Identifying this underlying pattern allows deeper analysis of the unique, literally liquid characteristics of Maldivian geopolitics and similar small-state scenarios.

The public provision of goods in democracies: Do age and inequality matter?

AbstractWe build a multi-dimensional model of political decision-making with endogenous political parties to analyse the effect of inequality and demography on public spending. Voters differ in terms of income and age. Political competition determines in equilibrium the tax rate and the allocation of revenue between income redistribution and two forms of public spending—a capital good and a neutral good. All agents value the neutral good equally but the young like capital spending more than the old do. We show that the effect of age (resp., inequality) on equilibrium public spending can go in any direction based on the underlying level of inequality (resp., age). Our findings reconcile a large body of seemingly contradictory stylised empirical findings in public economics.

The Political-Administrative Nexus in Sub-National Governance: Exploring the Lack of Independent Administration in Poland

The main problem addressed in the paper is the relation between politics and administration. The authors try to answer if independent administration exists at the sub-national level in Poland. In a more detailed manner, the question is whether an acceptance of independent administration has been fostered by the dispersion of political power and the experience of participation in important decision-making processes. The data used in the article come from a survey of councillors and in-depth interviews with councillors and clerks. The analysis proved that the councillors’ opinions as to the independence of administration are influenced by their participation in the ruling majority. Opposition members support stricter, more stringent legislative oversight. Majority members, on the contrary, accept greater independence of administration. The result of the study leads also to a conclusion about the importance of monopolization and the influence on administration by the executive and the majority councillors. Administration becomes perceived as a functional part of the majority. A more fundamental conclusion is when there is no programmatic competition between political groupings of councillors, there are no conditions for establishing an administration independent of politics. This outcome completes the relationship noted by Miller and Whitford with the programmatic dimension of political competition.

The Karzai Administration: Challenges, Achievements, and Controversies

In October 2004, Karzai assumed the presidency through a constitutional mandate, raising hopes for political stability, ethnic reconciliation, and effective governance. However, his tenure was marred by entrenched political rivalries, ethnic tensions, governance challenges, military escalations, and rampant corruption, which overshadowed his ability to fulfill the promises of his presidency. This article aims to analyze the political legacy of Hamid Karzai's thirteen-year rule, shedding light on his governance approach and unmet commitments. Despite initial expectations of strong leadership, Karzai's tenure was marked by persistent political discord, ethnic fragmentation, and governance deficiencies. While his presidency achieved significant milestones, such as constitutional reforms and electoral processes, it fell short in addressing systemic issues, including corruption and security concerns. Through an examination of Karzai's political trajectory, this article seeks to illuminate the complexities of governing Afghanistan amidst formidable challenges, ultimately evaluating the effectiveness of his leadership during a tumultuous era of transition and turmoil.

Hidden contestation: valence issues, methodological blindness and the politics of development in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Political competition in Africa is often characterized as suffering from a number of deficiencies at the level of political discourse and electoral campaigns, which together paint a picture of an essentially vacuous political life. This article contends that these absences are to some degree methodologically generated. If African political actors appear to have little substance to say about the most pressing social and economic issue of the day, then perhaps as scholars of politics we are looking at what they say in the wrong way? This article points to the limitations of an increasingly popular method of discourse analysis in African politics based on coding political statements within a framework that contrasts valence politics with a position-based appeals framework. It argues for an alternative more contextualized, inductive method of analysing political discourse as the struggle to control the meaning of key terms, using the example highly contested gubernatorial election in Nigeria’s southwest. Debates over “stomach infrastructure” and a “hierarchy of needs” reveals the possibility that political discourse and electoral campaigning that on more mechanistic methodologies look devoid of substantive political contestation in fact contain competing conceptions of development and what the state should do.

The (new) Democratic Party: ideology, values and strategies of sympathizers, members and delegates

ABSTRACT The PD has always been a composite and complex party, where different and sometimes opposing political cultures converge. The 2023 primary elections overturned the predictions by handing over the party leadership to Elly Schlein, interpreted by many as the beginning of a renewal process. However, it is precisely the logic of open primaries that brings into play different actors, bearers of values and strategies that are not always congruent. Will the PD be able to build a more homogeneous political culture and a coalition capable of facing the centre-right in the upcoming internal challenges? Does the change in the PD’s internal balances complicate or facilitate the formation of a competitive political offer? To answer these questions, we will investigate the differences between members, sympathisers and delegates to the National Assembly according to three analytical dimensions - self-placement on the left-right axis, value positioning with respect to some relevant issues, and the party’s coalitional perspectives - on the basis of the data collected during the 26 February 2023 primaries and in the context of the National Assembly on 12 March. First, we will deal with the process of selecting the PD leadership, discussing the rules of competition, the specificities of the two main candidates, and reconstructing the results obtained at the regional level during the phase of the democratic militants’ vote and that of the open primaries. The analysis of the data will provide us with solid elements on which we can then offer an overall discussion of the main results that emerged to understand, in terms of ideological orientations, values, and expectations on the party’s coalitional strategies, whether and to what extent Schlein’s election might be the prelude to an internal renewal or whether it might prefigure a new season of divisions.

Dynamics and Challenges of Democracy in Local Elections in Indonesia and the Netherlands

Introduction: Elections for regional heads and heads of government are one of the important aspects in building a democratic system that encourages citizen participation in the political process.Purposes of the Research: This study aims to describe the dynamics and challenges of democracy associated with the implementation of regional elections in several countries. Local elections are a major test of a country's democratic health, and a variety of factors can affect the outcome and integrity of the process.Methods of the Research: This research is legal research using two legal approaches, namely the statute approach and the comparative approach.Results of the Research: The results showed that regional elections have complex dynamics and several significant challenges in the context of democracy. These dynamics include intense political competition, increased public participation, and changes in political communication through social media. While the challenges that need to be faced in regional elections include contests involving incumbents, fraud in elections, political money, voter participation, political polarization, and the integrity of organizers that occur in Indonesia and in the Netherlands. Thus, this study shows that regional elections are not only a political event, but also a test of the quality of a country's democracy. Concerted efforts to address these challenges will play a key role in maintaining and strengthening democratic systems that are healthy and responsive to people's needs.

Dynamics and Challenges of Democracy in Local Elections in Indonesia and the Netherlands

Introduction: Elections for regional heads and heads of government are one of the important aspects in building a democratic system that encourages citizen participation in the political process.Purposes of the Research: This study aims to describe the dynamics and challenges of democracy associated with the implementation of regional elections in several countries. Local elections are a major test of a country's democratic health, and a variety of factors can affect the outcome and integrity of the process.Methods of the Research: This research is legal research using two legal approaches, namely the statute approach and the comparative approach.Results of the Research: The results showed that regional elections have complex dynamics and several significant challenges in the context of democracy. These dynamics include intense political competition, increased public participation, and changes in political communication through social media. While the challenges that need to be faced in regional elections include contests involving incumbents, fraud in elections, political money, voter participation, political polarization, and the integrity of organizers that occur in Indonesia and in the Netherlands. Thus, this study shows that regional elections are not only a political event, but also a test of the quality of a country's democracy. Concerted efforts to address these challenges will play a key role in maintaining and strengthening democratic systems that are healthy and responsive to people's needs.

Addressing complexity and diversity in the sustainable transitions of spiny lobster fisheries in Quintana Roo, Mexico

This study articulates five dimensions of territorial governance (social capital, leadership, transparency, accountability, socioenvironmental innovations, and commercialization routes) to construct a tripartite typology that helps explain the diverse sustainable transitions of small-scale fisheries in specific territorial contexts. The types are: 1) participative-inclusive governance expressed in solid institutions dedicated to environmental conservation; 2) exclusive-conflictive governance which generates institutions that are fragile for environmental conservation; and 3) transitional governance toward inclusion and responsible fishing, seen in communities that are implementing social and organizational changes to reduce overexploitation of fishing resources. Intensive fieldwork was conducted in localities devoted to spiny lobster fishing along the coast of Quintana Roo. We also held 106 interviews with key actors in governance. Results show that articulating intra- and extra-territorial networks is vitally important in developing the kinds of socioenvironmental innovations that can help local fishermen respond to the multiple environmental, economic, and political contingencies that affect their territories. We conclude that it is necessary to articulate institutional changes on various territorial scales to propel sustainable transitions that are realistic and feasible for small-scale fishers in marginalized communities in countries of the Global South.

Analysis of Postcolonial Kazakh Poetry in the Context of Minor Literature

In the article, the characteristics and manifestations of post-colonial Kazakh poetry are analysed based on the concept of “minor literature” introduced by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to the field of social sciences and postmodern discourse. During the period of the Soviet Union, that is, in the understanding of colonialism, the literature of the colonised peoples was always considered as someone else's literature, and the author himself was excluded and considered as “another person”. Even after independence, these complexes continued on literary/cultural/political basis. As a result, the image of the typical writer in literary texts, works, language, style, political content and collective discourse has undergone significant changes. This article analyses these and other changes in post-colonial Kazakh poetry in the context of minor literature. Focusing on the works of Kazakh poets, including Turmanbay Moldagaliyev's poems written after independence, and poets such as Yesengali Raushanov, Bakhytzhan Kanapiyanov, Meirkhan Akdauletuly, Temirkhan Medetbek, Bakhyt Kenzheev, it draws attention to the deterritorialisation of the language and the transformation of the Kazakh language into a creole language and the political and collective discourse of literary works. Within the framework of these studies, the psychological impact of colonialism and emancipation tendencies in post-colonial Kazakh society and political and social issues were evaluated through literary texts.