Direct Political Participation Research Articles

More than Money: Political Participation by Elite Business Families

Business families directly participating in political roles have considerable influence in various countries. We explore political business families’ unique economic and social characteristics through a social embeddedness lens. We build a comprehensive dataset of Chilean business families and identify their direct political participation from 1989 to 2020. We find limited support for economic features tied to political participation, whereas social characteristics, such as nationally rooted origins, religious affiliations, and family generation, are shared features of political business families. We extend the literature by analyzing how business families with greater social embeddedness act as legitimate representatives of the big business class in the state.

Blockchain and digital governance: Decentralization of decision making policy

AbstractBlockchain is gaining popularity as a potential solution for the decentralized management of public information. A number of interesting solutions have been proposed by independent developers around the world to promote blockchain as a promising platform to potentially accelerate democratic processes and achieve certain public values in reforming digital governance. This could be reflected in facilitating direct citizen participation in digital politics, promoting greater civic cooperation and engagement in political discussions, boosting the role of civic commentary and even collaborative decision‐making in e‐government. In this regard, the article critically elaborates on the potential of this technology to promote political dimensions of public sector reforms in a post‐positivist manner, resorting to the analysis of concrete e‐participation cases in a number of public areas where the potential has already been realized and the opinions of professional software developers who are currently engaged in building various blockchain‐driven data management solutions in the e‐government area. This paper identifies, debates, and draws on what benefits and risks public policy can yield from the implementation of blockchain governance.

Libertanska politika, građanstvo i sloboda: politički izazovi direktne demokratije

Libertarian politics in pluralistic democracies should be implemented within the constitutional-democratic framework of government, which is based on the constitutional logic of rights and obligations. Without this, libertarian politics cannot fulfill its fundamental political purpose in democratic regimes of government. There are several modalities by which it is possible to produce politics with libertarian elements in contemporary polyarchies, and most often this is achieved through different forms of direct political participation. Citizens can thus expand the milieu of participation in politics, at least when the unhindered use of the instruments of direct democracy or the autonomous gathering and non-violent protest of individuals against the government is ensured, but the key problem is that often different political actors and state power manipulate the practical use of the institute of direct democracy and so deliberately destroy their libertarian potential. Since contemporary government regimes have an emphasized representative, pluralistic, and democratic nature, in political freedom, equal political treatment, and the rights of citizens are normatively ensured by the policy of constitutionalism, while the disadvantages of representative government are tried to be prevented, reduced and eliminated through the supplementary application of different forms of direct democracy or direct political participation. However, it is not always easy to ensure that all individuals and target groups feel protected, satisfied and equal in modern states, primarily due to the contingent nature of polycentric politics. Keywords: libertarian politics, citizenship, freedom, direct democracy, participation, referendum populism, emancipation, manipulation. Literatura

La práctica de la iniciativa legislativa en el constitucionalismo español reciente

El modelo de democracia que se deriva de la Constitución española aprobada en 1978 se ha intentado definir a través del uso de instrumentos de participación electoral/representativos e instrumentos de participación directa. No obstante, el vértigo de un constituyente timorato, una interpretación restrictiva de la jurisprudencia constitucional y una práctica perezosa han convertido en marginales los instrumentos de participación política semidirecta. Con este complicado marco de partida, el presente trabajo intenta describir los problemas con los que se ha encontrado el reconocimiento constitucional de la iniciativa legislativa popular, valorar cómo se ha gestionado en la vida política ese instrumento de participación ciudadana y, por último, hacer propuestas que pudiesen revitalizar el ejercicio popular de ese mecanismo para que el Cuerpo Electoral pueda colaborar efectivamente en el proceso legislativo junto con las Cortes y el Gobierno.

Algeria: Political Participation During the Transformation of Political Regime after 2019

The article focuses on the issues of political regime transformation in Algeria after the overthrow of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Describing the dynamics of Algerian political life, the author points out that the country's current regime can be characterised as hybrid and authoritarian. Nevertheless, the prospects for its further evolution remain unclear. The author opines that these prospects would be determined by the ability of the system to overcome the alienation between the public and the authorities. With this in mind, two key linking mechanisms need be analysed: electoral and direct political participation. When analysing electoral processes, the author compares the events and results of the 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2021 parliamentary campaigns, concluding that the mutual distrust between the public and the government constantly affects the social life of Algeria. Looking at direct forms of participation, he focuses on the “Hirak” Movement, which made the 2019 power transition possible. Indication of its specific traits shows why it did not facilitate the creation of a new social contract. The author concludes the article with the assumption that the alienation between the government and society has not been overcome because Algerian political culture was formed in the colonial and post-colonial periods. The article’s methodology is based on the hybrid regime and social orders theories. Furthermore, the author uses the typology of political parties proposed by Maurice Duverger. The sources and materials used for the study include official documents, media publications and results of the author’s field research.

Political world within the parameters of SABC politics

Political events are crucial in the political resocialisation of the youth. In this article the impact of the political unrest in the mid-1980s on the political consciousness of the Afrikaner student youth is investigated. Through a panel study of students of the Rand Afrikaans University in Johannesburg, South Africa, trends in exposure to political events were established. Exposure occurs through direct political participation, political discourse or through the mass media. The important role of the mass media for exposure of these youths is illuminated. Attention is also focused on which media are utilised for obtaining political information. The political implications of this exposure are considered. A political world within the parameters of SABC politics: the case of Afrikaner students.

Beleidsdiskriminasie, verandering en entrepreneurskap: Beperkte politieke regte vir "Kleurlinge" in Suid-Afrika tot 1979

Hierdie artikel kontekstualiseer, verduidelik en beoordeel die ontwikkeling van politieke regte vir "Kleurlinge" in Suid-Afrika, tot 1979. Dit word gedoen vanuit die teoretiese perspektief van beleidsentrepreneurs wat verskillende persoonlike, professionele en ander sosiale netwerke tot hulle beskikking gebruik om direkte beleidsbeïnvloeding te doen. Die artikel skets eers kortliks die teoretiese uitgangspunte en kenmerke van beleidsentrepreneurskap en -netwerkbeïnvloeding en som dan die ontwikkeling van politieke regte vir die "Kleurlingge-meenskap" in die land op, tot PW Botha die leierskap van die Nasionale Party oorgeneem het. Die artikel kontekstualiseer en fokus veral op die aanloop tot en die afloop van die Erika Theron-kommissie, wat 'n direkte rol gespeel het by die uiteindelike instelling van 'n fun-damentele nuwe staatsbestel in die land. Die ondersoek illustreer die toepassing en impak wat doelgerigte individuele beleidsentrepreneurskap en -netwerkbeïnvloeding deur strategies geposisioneerde individue, groepe en netwerke op fundamentele samelewingsverandering kan hê. Dit illustreer en staaf verder die belangrike kumulatiewe effek wat beide interne en eksterne politieke druk op beleidsverandering kan hê. Dit het belangrike implikasies vir huidige en toekomstige beleidsaanpassings in Suid-Afrika en in ander demokratiese beleidsveran-deringsprosesse.

Blogging as Digital Citizen Participation

Abstract This article analyses the political blogging of the Malagasy diaspora as part of their transnational political participation. It focuses on three aspects of the blogs: the most frequent topics addressed, how are the topics addressed, and the political bloggers. To do this, a Thematic Content Analysis based on four categories (‘soapboxes’, ‘transmission belts’, ‘conversation starters’ and ‘mobilisers’) of four of their most active and influential political blogs was conducted. The analysis revealed that (i) the blogs are mostly “soapboxes” that consist of commenting the political issues in Madagascar, (ii) their contents were mostly focused on the coup d’ état in 2009, and (iii) the bloggers are involved in direct political participation in parallel offline. This paper shows the role of the studied blogs as tribunes of opinions that gather a partisan audience discussing the Malagasy political issues, and as judgment tools contributing to the braking or fuelling of Madagascar’s international relations.

Explaining presidential instability in Latin America: evidence from Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador

PurposeThis study attempts to figure out the factors that contributed to deposing certain elected presidents before the end of their constitutional terms, alongside tracing the new political context that prevailed in Latin America since 1978 and its impact on direct political participation and military behavior during presidential crises.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the comparative method to investigate the causes of presidential instability in three case studies.FindingsThe likelihood of presidential instability increases when a president enacts austerity economic policies that marginalize large sectors of the citizenry, becomes implicated in acts of corruption and develops a hostile relationship with members of the ruling coalition.Originality/valueThis study integrates the social movement theory with analytical perspectives from parliamentary behavior to explain presidential instability. It attempts to investigate the dynamics of interaction between the acts of furious citizens and disloyal legislators through the in-depth analysis of three case studies.

Editorial Introduction: Exploring policy diffusion, collaborative governance, and policy conflict

Editorial Introduction: Exploring policy diffusion, collaborative governance, and policy conflict

PARTISIPASI DAN KOMUNIKASI POLITIK PEREMPUAN DI LEGISLATIF MENURUT KACAMATA POLITISI PEREMPUAN DI INDONESIA

Today, women political participation is still low in number. It causes the shortness of women representation in policy and decision making. In fact, the representation of women has not been heard fully in the public space. Many women's voices have not been conveyed. This article examined woman’s political participation and communication in the political area in Indonesia. The main problems of this research were why the participation of women in politics in formal institutions relatively low and how the communication role in that matter. This research used descriptive qualitative method by interviewing 18 women politicians in legislative on June 26th until July 4th online. The research findings show the lack of women participation as the representative. The low representation of women in direct political participation was influenced by various internal and external factors. They included women’s unwillingness to plunge directly into the world of practical politics, patriarchy cultural factors, and incapability of women to solve lots of real-problems. It is why we still need the right step to create equality and access to women in the political scope.

ОСЕДЛЫЕ БАНДИТЫ И ПОЛИТИКИ НА ПОДРАБОТКЕ: ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ БИЗНЕСА И ВЛАСТИ В РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНАХ

Business plays a big role in politics all over the world due to its special interests, possession over autonomous resources, and importance for economic development and social stability. Russia and its regions are not an exception, business actors and the state are connected in a complex system of interactions and neopatrimonial exchange. In many regions, local business is a powerful political actor which is able to lobby its interests and influence regional electoral outcomes. The article reviews the research on business and politics in Russian regions. The research on Russia contributed considerably to our understanding of business actors’ direct political participation. It was made possible by the unique constellation of political and institutional factors. Moreover, the existing body of research demonstrates a complex picture of state-business interdependence that transcends the simplified models of state-business relations in authoritarian regimes.

Uticaj odnosa između države, državnih institucija i poreskih obveznika na spremnost plaćanja poreza

There are several economic models in the literature that seek to correlate between human behaviour patterns, attitudes, tax evasion and its risk, also their institutional background. The values, the societal norms and attitudes differ from country to country, and these differences have a measurable effect on economic manners. Unethical business behaviour and the reasons of hidden economy are widely examined by more kinds of research methods. According to the results of many studies, we can assume that the trust in government, the stability of the tax system, and treating taxpayers as partners and with respect have positive effect on willingness to pay tax. Apart from this, direct political participation of the citizens and their involvement in political decisions and democracy have significant positive effect on tax morals as well. The aim of present study is to support these statements based on a questionnaire survey among the competent managers of small and medium-sized enterprises in Hungary and with the help of in-depth interviews - from an economic psychological perspective - with some interviewees present in several countries as taxpayers.

Accounting for power in transnational civic tech activism: A communication-based analytical framework for media practice

This article examines the need for an explicit conceptualisation of communication in the field of social movement research in order to grasp power dynamics within transnational civic tech activism communities. Civic tech activism is an instance of organised collective action that acts on institutionally regulated governance processes through the crafting of technologies and tactics supporting citizens’ direct political participation. The article suggests a theoretical lens that introduces the de-westernisation discourse of communication scholarship to the theorising of media as practice in social movement research. This allows, I argue, revealing power asymmetries within civic tech activist communities, with respect to decision-making involving technology. Emphasising the need to account for these exclusionary dynamics, the analytical lens here suggested will introduce the concept of ‘acting within’ transnational civic tech activism.

Speculators and specters: Diverse forms of second homeowner engagement in Boston, Massachusetts

ABSTRACTDrawing on interview data with second homeowners, this article identifies and explains diverging modes of second homeowner engagement in Boston, Massachusetts. Though recent scholarship suggests that second homeowners’ primary form of engagement is through financial transactions in real estate, this analysis uncovers 2 kinds of second homeowners—whom I call city speculators and city specters—who engage with the city in other, yet consequential ways. City speculators engage in city-building projects through direct civic and political participation and place-entrepreneurial activities and are motivated to do so by the pursuit and promise of economic capital. City specters more inconspicuously shape the contours of urban life through donations to and participation in elite, high cultural institutions. Specters suggest that they are not motivated by economic capital but by the high cultural value that their second home engagements afford. Documenting these differences sheds light on a growing group of urban dwellers, demonstrates and explains the heterogeneity of affluent in-migrants’ practices and variable place-making projects, and underscores the complex set of challenges that cities face today.

Activismo, movimientos y participación social de las personas con diversidad funcional durante la transición a la democracia

Las personas con diversidad funcional sufrieron con mayor incidencia las limitaciones y las carencias del sistema dictatorial y sus políticas sociales. Sin embargo, al igual que ocurrió en otros puntos del mundo, a mediados del siglo se fue gestando un importante cambio de consciencia y un espíritu crítico que se consolidó a la muerte de Franco. De hecho, la transición política a la democracia fue entendida como una oportunidad de cambio y un momento histórico clave para la consecución de la igualdad de derechos. Este texto, basado en una investigación mucho más amplia, analiza la participación de las personas con diversidad funcional en la construcción de la democracia. Para ello nos acercamos tanto a la participación directa en la política como, sobre todo, al activismo específico que consideramos colaboró en la evolución social de la naciente democracia. Además, sin ser el objetivo principal de esta aportación, hacemos referencias a las numerosas dificultades que afrontaban estas personas y sin las cuales no se podría entender el significado de estos movimientos sociales. Debido a la práctica ausencia de bibliografía secundaria hemos utilizado principalmente fuentes hemerográficas y orales, además de testimonios escritos rescatados de bibliografía divulgativa de la época.

La participación política directa en el proceso constituyente español de 1977-78

In 1978, the Spanish constituent power finally opted for a restrictive regulation of direct political participation, in contrast to the broad acceptance that the first Draft of the Constitution had contemplated. An approach to the debates on this matter during the Spanish constituent process can shed light on what happened in terms of the historical circumstances of the time and the factors related to the dynamics of the constituent process itself. Observed from this historical perspective, the way in which the Constitution contemplated direct political participation was due to transitory and non-structural causes. Consequently, its adaptation to the current Spanish society should definitely be revised. Enviado el (Submission Date): 14/01/2018Aceptado el (Acceptance Date): 16/04/2018

Reforma da previdência e trabalhista no Brasil: a democracia midiatizada no pós-impeachment de 2016

From 2013 Brazil has given a new meaning to its policy in a very particular way. One of most striking consequences for country’s democracy was culmination of impeachment of twice- elected president (2010 and 2014) with more than 51 million direct votes, Dilma Rousseff, of Partido dos Trabalhadores. The new government started in 2015 was marked by intense oppositionist manifestations articulated by right-wing parties and rightwing politicians, together with conservative and neo- liberal sectors and institutions such as Federacao da Industria de Sao Paulo (FIESP) and with broad support, in an alternation of scheduling and spiral of silence, of much of traditional and corporatist Brazilian media. Parallel to this, isolation of legislative branch from one of largest investigations into corruption (which begins within Petrobras and expands to other institutions, including real estate market and political class) -the Lava Jato, which included name of most Brazilian politicians ended up generating a crisis not only of political representation, but within political system itself. President Dilma suffers a coup d’etat and leaves government in 2016. Assumes its deputy president, Michel Temer, with proposal of being the president of great In this context are inserted proposals for social security reform (PEC 287) that among other things changes minimum age required for retirement; and labor reform that dilutes some rights of formal workers in name of a generation of employment and income of productive sector, as an alternative to come out of economic crisis. However, mood of dissatisfaction and polarization between left and right did not calm down after impeachment. And since beginning of 2017, when these two reforms were put on agenda of media and Congress for voting, a series of protests, demonstrations and strikes reasserted forces of desire for direct political participation. The left, somewhat discouraged post-impeachment, saw popular dissatisfaction with two reforms, possibility of union of a large part of population in a single cause: stop dismantling of workers’ rights. Thus, some demonstrations and striking movements were carried out in first year of Temer Government, but silenced or scheduled in a distorted way by mainstream media. This article therefore proposes to analyze implementation of reforms of Social Security and Labor Legislation as mechanisms of popular cohesion around dissatisfaction with new government of Michel Temer and how this relates directly to media coverage that has made on social manifestations after impeachment of President Dilma. Qualitatively it will proceed analysis of discourse of main news made around reforms.

The Effect of Direct Democracy on Turnout

Does direct democracy lead to increased electoral turnout? Research in the United States has demonstrated this effect and proposed two reasons for it: (1) the process of being involved in direct political participation may educate citizens and lead to their increased long-term political engagement (this explanation draws on the theory of participatory democracy) and/or (2) underlying issues and competitive campaigning draw public interest and cause higher turnout, although this effect is election-specific and short term. Recent empirical findings overwhelmingly favor the latter hypothesis although both mechanisms seem to apply. However, research on this topic is made difficult by the fact that direct democracy and elections take place simultaneously in the United States, which makes it hard to disentangle the effects of each. We present a study from the Czech Republic where direct democracy is not tied to elections. We analyze the effects of local/municipality direct democracy and demonstrate that it leads to increased turnout in upcoming local and national elections. We demonstrate a strong effect sparked by competitive direct democracy campaigns as well as a relatively weak long-term institutional effect of direct democracy.

Mulheres e Poder

The discussion about women and political power in the Middle Ages is generally restricted to women of the nobility, especially those who have served as regents for their minor children or as queens. But when the analysis focuses on non-noble women, even this ephemeral political participation disappears: one of the rare cases of consensus among medievalists is that in cities the direct political participation of women was not allowed. On this subject Le Goff considers that the situation of the townswoman - in terms of independence, mobility, prestige and power - was considerably worse than that of its contemporaries of the nobility or the clergy. While not disproving this dominant interpretation, I think that - based on the data available to women of the ruling elite in the city of Cologne - can be rethink, incorporating women's participation in trade and crafts as part of the social division of labor that allowed that the men of this elite - husbands, sons, brothers - to devote themselves to their political careers, a prestigious but unpaid activity.