Electoral Contests Research Articles

Women Regional Heads and Gender-Responsive Policies in Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia

This study examined the contribution of women's government heads to gender-responsive policies at the local level. It was carried out due to the increase in the number of women leaders in various countries as heads of government at the national and local levels in the 21st century, which contributed to the realization of gender-responsive policies. This paper argues that the social capital owned by women regional heads contributes to realizing gender-responsive policies. This study was carried out using the focus group discussions (FGD) methodology, with data collected from 19 key informants through in-depth interviews and documents. The result showed that the success of women regional heads in realizing gender-responsive policies is influenced by their social capital in the form of material capital, access to information with organizations and public officials, and the provision of a network capital that is bonding, bridging, and linking. Furthermore, there are other factors, namely personal capacity related to knowledge and understanding of gender-responsive policies, involvement and experience of women regional heads in organization activities, and support politics of the regional parliament/DPRD. This study provides insight for women willing to advance in the election contestation process by considering their previous experience and involvement in political activities as essential factors in realizing gender-responsive policies.

Women Regional Heads and Gender-Responsive Policies in Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia

This study examined the contribution of women's government heads to gender-responsive policies at the local level. It was carried out due to the increase in the number of women leaders in various countries as heads of government at the national and local levels in the 21st century, which contributed to the realization of gender-responsive policies. This paper argues that the social capital owned by women regional heads contributes to realizing gender-responsive policies. This study was carried out using the focus group discussions (FGD) methodology, with data collected from 19 key informants through in-depth interviews and documents. The result showed that the success of women regional heads in realizing gender-responsive policies is influenced by their social capital in the form of material capital, access to information with organizations and public officials, and the provision of a network capital that is bonding, bridging, and linking. Furthermore, there are other factors, namely personal capacity related to knowledge and understanding of gender-responsive policies, involvement and experience of women regional heads in organization activities, and support politics of the regional parliament/DPRD. This study provides insight for women willing to advance in the election contestation process by considering their previous experience and involvement in political activities as essential factors in realizing gender-responsive policies.

Patterns of Islamist violent mobilization in the context of Islamist party politics

ABSTRACT Over the last three decades both Islamist political parties and Islamist terrorist organizations have proliferated across the Muslim-majority world. Non-democratic regimes often argue that restrictions on Islamist political parties are necessary to curtail levels of Islamist violence, while Islamist parties argue that without opportunities to participate, Islamist supporters may be more likely to turn to violent forms of mobilization. Scholars generally agree that the freedoms of association granted under political democracy will facilitate the organization of violent groups, but electoral contestation should provide opportunities to redress grievances without turning to violence. By drawing on data from states where Islamist parties are organized, I find that when there are not opportunities for subnational governance (both regional and local) levels of free association rights are associated with increasing levels of violence. When there are opportunities for subnational governance, there is no relationship between free association rights and levels of violence. These findings highlight the demands of Islamist parties and the potential of subnational governance as a means of disincentivizing Islamist violence.

Can we learn from 2012? Priming and abortion’s influence on voting decisions

With abortion regaining attention in national media due to recent court cases and legislation, this study assesses evidence of the potential impact of abortion on voting behavior when the issue becomes especially salient in the campaign information environment. The study utilizes two-wave panel data from the 2010–2012 Cooperative Congressional Study and compares the effect of lagged abortion attitudes on vote choice in the Missouri and Indiana U.S. Senate elections in 2012 to other electoral contests where abortion was less salient. The findings suggest abortion influenced vote choice through the process of learning and priming after abortion unexpectedly became salient due to comments from Republican candidates that revealed extreme conservative positions on the issue. While substantial research suggests that voters often learn and then follow the issue preferences of their preferred party’s candidates, these results point to conditions where the information environment can serve a potentially more normatively desirable role of informing and activating the electorate’s pre-existing preferences.

The Role of Malay Culture in Maintaining the Neutrality of the Civil Servants: A Case Study of Local Election in Riau, Indonesia

Local election contestation has caused various problems of violating the neutrality of the bureaucracy in the public domain. Multiple types of regulations have proved unable to comprehensively maintain the principle of neutrality. Thus, it is necessary to instil a bureaucratic character supported by local values so that the Civil Servants can carry out their primary duties and functions optimally. This study aims to explain the role of Malay culture in maintaining the neutrality of the bureaucracy in the local election in Riau Province. This study uses a qualitative research method that explores various phenomena of violations of the neutrality of the bureaucracy in the 2018 Riau Governor Election. Data analysis was carried out through the Nvivo 12 Plus software sourced from the online news media content and interviews with Riau Province figures. The study found several causes influencing non-neutral Civil Servants in the Riau Governor election. They are dominated by personal closeness (21.74%), primordial relationship factors (20.29%), society passivity (18.84%), weak law enforcement (11.59%), regulatory ambiguity (11.59%), lack of understanding of regulations (8.70%), and job ambition (7.25%). Then to minimize the various factors of violations that occur, Malay cultural values can be an additional guideline in dealing with various dynamics that occur in political contestation in Riau Province. Every civil servant at the local level must re-recognize and understand the important principles of Malay culture, namely principles of justice, courage, shame, hard work, self-sacrifice, and honesty.

Do voting and election outcomes predict changes in conspiracy beliefs? Evidence from two high-profile U.S. elections

Despite widespread recognition that conspiracy theories carry the potential for serious harm, relatively little research has investigated possible antidotes to conspiracy beliefs. Previous theorizing posits that belief in conspiracy theories is driven in part by existential motives related to a sense of control and social motives aimed at maintaining a positive image of oneself and one's ingroup. Using electoral contests as the context, we investigated whether the act of voting (i.e., addressing existential motives) and seeing one's preferred candidate win (i.e., addressing social motives) were associated with a reduction in conspiracy beliefs. In two two-wave studies of high-profile U.S. elections, we measured endorsement of conspiracy beliefs before the election and after the results were known, thereby tracking change in conspiracy belief endorsement over time. Both Study 1 (2020 U.S. Presidential election) and Study 2 (2021 Georgia Senate runoff election) showed a significant decrease in conspiracy beliefs among people who supported the winning candidate, consistent with the importance of social motives. The findings highlight the merits of one's political ideology receiving support and recognition for potentially abating conspiracy beliefs.

Doing Good Better: Limitations of Firm-Led Social Impact Efforts and Solutions Moving Forward

There has been growing scholarly interest in the role and responsibility of firms in addressing societal problems. Prior work has shown that there can exist an economic case for firms’ pursuit of social objectives and that firms possess capabilities that make them better suited to address certain societal issues compared to other organizational forms. However, even though companies are increasingly tackling societal grand challenges, corporate involvement in addressing social problems does not necessarily achieve the desired social outcomes. Realities like tensions between stakeholders of different power or tradeoffs between the pursuit of financial and social objectives can lead to social-oriented efforts that are temporary or that are decoupled from on-the-ground impacts. This symposium takes the position that there is great potential for for-profit firms to further social goals. However, we also posit that there is still much to learn about how companies can do good better. We focus on firms operating in weak institutional contexts, which create problems of economic and human development while also making it more difficult for companies to address them. Through their presentations, our scholars characterize firm-level efforts to address social problems in low- and middle-income economies, theorize the mechanisms for why firms’ efforts do not necessarily achieve desired social outcomes, and ascertain strategies for the improvement of firms’ participation in creating better outcomes, from the perspectives of both managers and policymakers. Pathways to Progress: Product- and Operation-Level Integration of Social Objectives Presenter: Tobias Bünder; Hertie School of Governance Presenter: Nikolas Rathert; Tilburg U. Presenter: Johanna Mair; Hertie School of Governance Getting in the Set: The Counterintuitive Effects of Impact Investing in Global Microfinance Presenter: Tyler Wry; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania Presenter: Eric Y.-F. Zhao; Indiana U., Bloomington Presenter: Jaeho Kim; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania How Electoral Contests Impact Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from India Presenter: Christiane Bode; Imperial College Business School Presenter: Aline Gatignon; The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania How Firms can Bring Efficiency and Innovation in the Provision of Public Goods Presenter: Luis Ballesteros; Boston U. Questrom School of Business

Patterns of Democracy over Space and Time

Abstract Unidimensional measures of democracy fail to account for the complex and varied nature of political systems. This article disaggregates the concept of democracy and proposes a multidimensional conceptualization to account for this variation in institutional configurations. Three theoretically informed dimensions are featured: participation, electoral contestation, and constraints on the executive. The three dimensions constitute a cube covering all regime types, in which we place countries using V-Dem data from 1789 to 2019. This cube of democracy patterns reveals several interesting observations. We trace historical patterns of democratization and discuss how countries across the world have taken different paths at different times. Our conceptualization shows that political systems with a similar score along a unidimensional scale are often quite distinct. In addition, across the globe for 200 years, certain configurations of political institutions rarely occur. Furthermore, our approach reveals interesting patterns of regime convergence and divergence over time. Finally, we show that the typical pathways to democracy have changed since 1789. This multidimensional conceptualization ultimately opens up new avenues for research in which institutional variation and change can be studied in greater detail.

The Rejected Threat of Corporate Vote Suppression: The Rise and Fall of the Anti-Activist Pill

As disciplinary takeovers are replaced by activist shareholder campaigns, managements may well want to turn to the “anti-activist pill” as shelter from the storm. The economic shock from the widespread shutdown to combat the Covid-19 pandemic produced dozens of so-called “crisis pills.” The defense of these pills as avoiding “disruption” and “distraction” of managements can be seen as a test run for broader use of poison pills to fend off shareholder activism. The Delaware courts, first Chancery and then the Supreme Court, rejected this managerial defense tactic in a way that clarifies the role of the poison pill in corporate governance. In the context of a hostile tender offer, the pill may be legitimated as protecting the statutory “two-step” for a merger: first, screening and negotiating by the board, followed by a shareholder vote on a proposed merger. Delaware’s board-centric model relies on another statutory mechanism—a director election contest—as the appropriate avenue for managerial accountability. Various elements of the poison pill—the cap on share ownership and a definition of “beneficial owner” that goes beyond “record owner”—have unfortunate side effects on election contests but are necessary to prevent unvetted shifts in control via tender offer or the gradual accumulation of stock (a “creeping tender offer”) either directly or with confederates. An anti-activist pill converts these side effects into its very mechanism, precisely to block a successful director election contest. An election contest is different from a tender offer in this critical respect: Success requires persuasion of a shareholder majority who will remain shareholders after the event. A low pill trigger reduces the activist’s economic incentives and can reduce its credibility; a capacious definition of beneficial ownership burdens its task of persuasion. The Delaware Courts’ reaffirmation of the legitimating role of the shareholder franchise is particularly important now, as the set of shareholder activists expands to include ESG activists who will use director election contests to propose broader conceptions of corporate purpose and shareholder value pursuit.

Governance in the COVID -19 era: Expectations on water services

The system of co-management and co-administration of public services known as governance has been widely discussed in terms of its dimensions, but so far, no analysis of the process has been established. This is the case of the relationship between governance and elections. It is in the electoral contest where the conflict between the parties begins due to the preferences, intentions to vote and votes of the electorate. The rulers propose increases in rates for those who can pay them, but suggest subsidies and forgiveness for vulnerable sectors. The differences between the rulers and the ruled reveal a governance expected by the parties involved. The objective of this work has been to confirm the factorial structure reported in the literature. Two studies, one exploratory and one confirmatory, were conducted during the 2021 elections in the context of the Mexico City pandemic. The factorial structure of the Expected Governance Scale of Carreón (2020) was established, establishing three factors: expected resolution, perceptions of agreements and expectations of responsibilities, although the research design limited the findings to the analysis sample, suggesting the extension of the model to other moderating factors such as leadership.

Political party financing and the ineffectiveness of the-not-too-young-to-run act (NTYTRA) in Nigeria

This paper examined the link between political party financing and the ineffectiveness of the NTYTRA in Nigeria and contends that the poor regulation of party financing, which is one of the features of the post-colonial state of Nigeria, not only led to certain alterations in the age reduction bill but also undermined the purpose of the final act. While our analysis is based on the framework provided by the post-colonial state theory, a mixed method of data collection was adopted for the study. The paper argued that the continuous overbearing influence of party financiers on electoral outcomes is a possible cause of alienation of young political aspirants from electoral positions. We therefore recommend the need for effective regulation of relevant laws on party financing and a review of the identified provisions in the NTYTRA that undermine the fair participation of young political aspirants in electoral contests.

Problematika Pendirian Rumah Ibadat Umat Minoritas di Kalimantan Selatan

This article describes how problematic the construction of houses of worship for minorities is in South Kalimantan. This article is the result of field research with a qualitative approach and used observation, interviews, and documentation as data collection techniques. This finding state that the causes of conflicts over the construction of houses of worship for minorities in South Kalimantan are motivated by several factors, namely the different interpretations of regulations and regulations that are not fully representative. Another cause is socio-religious factors, namely, the majority of people reject the existence of houses of worship of other religions in their vicinity, some even have the view that approving the establishment of houses of worship of other religions is not justified in the Islamic faith, and is not an area of tolerance. Another factor is the politicization of religion in the contestation of regional head elections (Pilkada) and legislative elections (Pileg). Another cause is marriage due to a change of religion which raises suspicion among religious communities. These factors occurred in the construction of the Indonesian Bethel Church (GBI) of Pasir Mas, Banjarmasin City, and the Guan Te Temple, Persada Mas Complex, Banjar Regency.

KUASA ETNISITAS DALAM MEREK POLITIK KONSUMEN KABUPATEN TEBO DI ERA REFORMASI

This study will examine political marketing in the electoral contestation in Tebo Regency during the Reformation Era which is then associated with the construction of the ethnicity of the people of Tebo Regency as the main force in winning the power contest. This study aims to determine the construction of political marketing on the electoral political contestation targeting populism of ethnicity in Tebo Regency. By using descriptive qualitative research methods, the results of this study answer that the real power of ethnicity is able to become a consumer political brand through political marketing carried out by candidate pairs who fight with a combination pattern of ethnicity (Javanese and Jambi Malay). Then there is a distributive populist policy that targets ethnic groups that are the basis of voters with the aim of personal political interests to be re-elected in the election. This study offers a recommendation that in the context of ethnicity, which is usually one of the topics in the theory of voting behavior, it is also packaged in a political marketing strategy which can cause several negative impacts later which causes the development process to not prioritize the principle of justice, resulting in polarization in society.

Monotone comparative statics in the Calvert–Wittman model

In this paper, we show that when policy-motivated parties can commit to a particular platform during a uni-dimensional electoral contest where valence issues do not arise there must be a positive association between the policies preferred by candidates and the policies adopted in expectation in the lowest and the highest equilibria of the electoral contest. We also show that this need not be so if the parties cannot commit to a particular policy. The implication is that evidence of a negative relationship between enacted and preferred policies is suggestive of parties that hold positions from which they would like to move from yet are unable to do so.

Calling in “Sick”: COVID-19, Opportunism, Pretext, and Subnational Autocratization

Abstract As governments sought to manage the coronavirus pandemic, many pursed temporary increases in centralized authority, a general tactic of crisis management. However, in some countries, public health was not the only motive for centralization. The COVID-19 response coincided with broader worldwide trends toward autocratization. Some of these efforts happened while the world was preoccupied with responding to the pandemic without concretely referencing coronavirus; however, in other cases, public-health rationales are clearly and explicitly invoked as a pretext for actions that instead aid the consolidation of regime authority. This has been especially pernicious in subnational politics, where efforts have been made to undermine the ability of opposition parties to fairly contest local and regional politics. This article examines four cases in which political actors either opportunistically used distraction from the COVID-19 pandemic or explicitly invoked public health while seeking to undermine long-term political contestation in their jurisdictions: Hong Kong, Hungary, Uganda, and the United States. We characterize the use of pandemic response as pretext or opportunity for undermining opposition parties, recentralizing political authority in dominant actors, and inhibiting the fair contestation of elections.

The Local Political Policies: The Dynamics of the Political Party Coalition in the Election Contestation of the Governor West Nusa Tenggara Province Indonesia

This paper analyzed political party coalitions in the 2018 West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Governor election. Research methods included in-depth interviews, observations, and review of documents. Analysis of data and information identified choice of political party coalition originated from distribution of political office positions and potential victory of political parties as two major factors in decision making. Analysis revealed in regional election contests consideration in choosing a political party coalition partner prioritizes pragmatic interest rather than the similarity of political party ideology.

Perception of Students as a Beginner Voter on General Election in Cianjur District

In this simultaneous election, legislative elections for the regions, provinces, and the center as well as the election of presidential pairs. There is an assumption that with the simultaneous implementation of legislative and executive elections (Candidates for President-Vice President), there appears to be an imbalance between the election of the Candidates for President-Vice President and the legislature so that the presidential election contest gets more attention than the legislative election. The public is quite enthusiastic about welcoming this election with a public participation rate of 81%, which is quite high when compared to previous elections. This study examines students' perceptions of the survey results regarding perceptions of the implementation system and socialization of the 2019 simultaneous elections on April 17, 2019. This study uses quantitative methods using a questionnaire to students. For beginner voters who in this study were represented to Universitas Suryakancana students with a sample of level 1 and level 2 students of the Teaching and Education Faculty, Universitas Suryakancana, with random sampling in the Cianjur district and sufficiently representative. The conclusions of this article are: 1) The campaign as a media of socialization and political education is seen as influencing the choice of candidates for both the executive and legislative elections; 2) Social media, which is seen as the most dominant in influencing voters' preferences for both the executive and legislative elections; 3) Beginner voters saw a necessity and felt enthusiastic about voting and were very decisive on the vote acquisition; 4) The response of first-time voters to choices for executive and legislative elections is based more on the character and authority of the prospective leaders; 5) The reaction of first-time voters to political parties in a democratic government system requires multiple parties.

Sociological Implications of Social Exchange in Regional Head Elections in Gorontalo Province

This study aims to dissect the Sociological Implications of Social Exchange Post-Election of Regional Head Candidates in Gorontalo Province. Methods of data collection using interviews, documentation and retrospective. This study produced several findings, including: First; Political elite social exchange relations are strategic situations that are mutually dependent, need each other, and are mutually beneficial as well as an effort to consolidate power to achieve electability/victory in the momentum of regional head elections. Second; The pattern of social exchange is based on a number of ownership potentials in the form of elite, figure and financial resources, which can determine the social forces that are considered by political parties to give party approval/recommendations to pairs of candidates for regional heads. Third, the social exchange strategy between party elites and political elites uses each other to achieve victory in the contestation of regional head elections. This study concludes that the sociological implications of social interactions take place in people's lives before and after the election of regional head candidates. There are divisions in society due to friction generated in the election of regional heads originating from social exchange relations, patterns of social exchange and social exchange strategies both individually and in groups of political elites and party elites.

Mahyeldi-Audy Political Marketing Innovation During the Covid-19 Pandemic During the 2020 West Sumatra Regional Election

This study discusses the political marketing innovation of the Mahyeldi-Audy couple in the face of the 2020 West Sumatra Provincial Election during the Covid-19 period. The victory obtained by the Mahyeldi-Audy couple is a manifestation of the success of political marketing that has been carried out. This study aims to describe and analyze the political marketing strategy of the Mahyeldi-Audy pair in the 2020 West Sumatra gubernatorial election contestation. In researching the author, the author uses the theoretical framework of Niffenegger's 4P political marketing and Adman Nursal's 3P. This research is in the form of a qualitative descriptive. To obtain the data, it was obtained through in-depth interviews with the informants and coupled with a literature study which was then analyzed using theory. The results of this study indicate that the Mahyeldi-Audy pair runs a 4P marketing mix (product, promotion, place, and price). Strong political products can be seen from the figures, candidate backgrounds, vision and mission and work programs that are in accordance with the needs of the community. Effective promotions by both Mahyeldi-Audy and the winning team using push, pass, and pull marketing methods. The use of minimal material resources but with maximum results. Placement, mapping and segmenting voters as well as creating a good image and being able to place oneself at every level of society. The success of the Mahyeldi-Audy pair in winning the 2020 West Sumatra gubernatorial election was due to being able to design and execute a structured, creative and innovative political marketing strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Political Communication Tactics of the National Democratic Party (NasDem) for Winning the Legislative Election

This article discusses the political communication strategy of a party, especially the National Democratic Party (NasDem) in Central Java in the 2019 Legislative Election. This study uses the Elaboration Likelihood ModelTheory from Petty and Cacciopo, when the persuasion of messages in the campaign can be accepted by the public so that they can win the 2019 Legislative Election contestation. This study uses a postpositivism paradigm, with qualitative descriptive research methods and triangulation of data sources, while this research focuses on the candidates for members of the NasDem Party. They are now legislative members in the DPRD of Central Java Province. The results of this study indicate that the Political Communication Tactics used by the Central Java NasDem Party in winning the 2019 Election Contestation was communicating with a traditional approach by personally meeting the cloud community, organizations community, community leaders, Islamic figures (Kiai), former officials, RT and RW. Those ways were carried out by the model of house visit, 'nguwongke uwong',. This study indicates that three legislative candidates who are currently sitting in the DPRD of Central Java have been elected.