Elite Perceptions Research Articles

The ‘Push’ for Primaries: What Drives Party Organisational Reform in Australia and the United Kingdom?

Political parties in Australia and the United Kingdom have begun to experiment with primary elections, similar to those in the United States, to select candidates for public office. Primaries, or ‘community pre-selections’, mark a distinctive shift away from previous methods of candidate selection that have typically privileged party members and elites. They extend participation in a process of selection that has traditionally been closed to members of the public. In this article, I analyse the implementation of primaries in these democracies through the broader lens of party organisational reform. I identify the key characteristics of these trials (such as the selectorate, method and turnout), the actors involved in the process and their motivations for advocating change. I adopt a three-level approach, showing that reform is driven by factors at the level of individual parties, party systems and by elite perceptions of changes at the level of the political system.

Do campaign strategies and tactics matter? Exploring party elite perceptions of what matters when explaining election outcomes

In research on political campaign communication, it is often assumed that campaign strategies and tactics are highly important for explaining election outcomes. In contrast, most research in political science tends to emphasize the importance of political substance, long‐term factors such as party identification, and real‐world conditions for explaining election outcomes.Although political parties in practice treat election campaigns as highly important and consequential, there is virtually no research on how party elites perceive the importance of campaign strategies and tactics when explaining election outcomes. Hence, drawing on a survey among Swedish members of parliament, this study investigates party elite perceptions of what matters when people decide which party to vote for and of what matters when explaining election outcomes. In brief, the results show that members of parliament perceive campaign strategies and tactics as significantly less important than the substance of politics. In the concluding analysis, the implications of the results are analyzed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Originalism and Political Ignorance

Original meaning originalism may now be the most popular version of constitutional theory in the legal academy. The methodology has been endorsed by at least two Supreme Court justices and well-known scholars from across the political spectrum. Original meaning is usually interpreted as focusing on the public understanding of the meaning of a constitutional provision at the time of ratification. This makes it essential to try to determine what the public actually knew and understood about the meaning of specific parts of the Constitution at the time they were enacted. If most of the public knew little or nothing about the constitutional provision in question, it may be difficult or impossible to determine its original meaning. The evidence of extensive public ignorance on even very basic political issues suggests that such situations might well be quite common. Yet none of the rapidly growing literature on original meaning has so far grappled with the reality of widespread public ignorance. This article begins the task of filling the gap in the literature. Part I describes the ways in which various theories of original meaning implicitly depend on assumptions about public knowledge. The problem is most severe with respect to determining the original meaning of provisions that are relatively vague and open-ended and least so when it comes to those that are more clear and precise. However, many of the most important disputes in constitutional law involve the former. The available empirical evidence on political ignorance suggests that the public may well have been poorly informed about many constitutional issues at the time of ratification. Indeed, political ignorance is actually rational for most voters. In Part II, I consider several possible solutions to the challenge posed by political ignorance. These include relying on the perceptions of political elites, looking to contemporary coverage of constitutional issues in the popular media, and assuming that the public divined an original meaning after all, by relying on “information shortcuts.” Each of these approaches has some merit, but all also have important shortcomings. Part III briefly considers two ways in which originalists could respond to the challenge of political ignorance by modifying their theories: adopting a presumption in favor of literal over figurative interpretations of constitutional text, and leaving more issues to be resolved by construction rather than interpretation. Political ignorance is not a terminal problem for originalism, and certainly does not discredit the theory completely. But it is an important issue that both originalists and their critics need to pay more attention to.

Responses to ‘Rising China’ in the East Asian Region: soft balancing with accommodation

While the strategic response to ‘rising China’ in the broader East Asian region has been varied, the strongest emphasis has been on ‘soft balancing’. This approach is clearly evident in the strategies pursued by the most significant of the major powers, the United States, Japan and India, as well as by other powers such as Australia, Indonesia and Vietnam. However, other responses such as accommodation and hedging have also featured for various states within the region. Frequently the response of a particular state will involve a number of elements. Soft balancing is most prominent in relation to the security dimension. Economic interaction encourages other kinds of responses. Whatever the overall approach adopted, a key factor is domestic politics, particularly the perceptions of the relevant elites.

Trust and Informal Practice among Elites in East Central Europe, South East Europe and the West Balkans

The article examines patterns of generalised and institutional trust among elites in East Central Europe, South East Europe and the West Balkans. It enquires into the extent to which such trust can predict elite perceptions and behaviour concerning informal practice. The article builds on surveys of elite representatives in seven post-socialist states. Survey findings are complemented with and illustrated by findings from qualitative in-depth interviews. It emerges that neither institutional nor generalised trust can serve as strong predictors of informal behaviour or of informal practice. The linkages between trust and informal practice are then discussed with reference to elites' own experiences with the past legacy and post-socialist society.

The Grounding of Regional Integration for Brazil: Universalism, Sovereignty and Elite Perception

The aim of this article is to analyse the meaning of Mercosur for Brazilian foreign policy. To this end, we discuss the perceptions of the Brazilian elites concerning the regional integration process. The defence of the principle of inter-governmentalism is related to the conception of Mercosur's place within Brazil's international relations. The fact that principles such as universalism and sovereignty are very highly valued ends up affecting the deepening of the integration. The hypothesis of this article is that the Mercosur structure is in line with the perceptions of part of the Brazilian elites, which has put less emphasis on integration since the late 1990s. Our argument is that the current structure is insufficient to guarantee the dynamics of integration.

Policy Elite Perceptions: Canada, The United States and Acid Rain

Policy Elite Perceptions: Canada, The United States and Acid Rain

Percepciones en la política exterior chilena : un estudio sobre líderes de opinión pública

This paper attempts to identify and explain the perceptions of national elites on certain aspects of Chile's foreign policy. It is based on a questionnaire applied in 1990 to groups of national elites and its subsequent analysis and evaluation of their perceptions regarding certain aspects of recent Chilean foreign policy. Simple correlations of the topics addressed were processed and established, mainly those related to Chilean-North American ties, the role of the Foreign Ministry, and the relevance of economic-trade relations in the overall scope and design of Chile's foreign policy. The conclusions lead to highlighting the changes experienced by the international scene and their evident impact on the topics mentioned. Likewise, the irreplaceable role of the Foreign Ministry in the preparation and execution of foreign policy is recognized, suggesting the need for its modernization in accordance with the new realities.

Party elites’ perceptions of voting behaviour

We propose a framework for analysing party elite perceptions of voting behaviour based on four party competition and voting behaviour models: the Downsian proximity, saliency, competence and directional models. We analyse whether and to what extent party elite perceptions support these theories of party competition and voting behaviour. Empirical analysis is based solely on internal party documents from two Swedish parties, the Social Democrats and the Conservatives, from 1964 to 1988/1991. We demonstrate that elements of all four party competition models have characterized Swedish party elite thinking and reasoning about voting behaviour in recent decades. Discussion in the Social Democratic elite was most in line with Downs' model. Until the mid-1970s, Downs' model tended to be combined with the competence model and thereafter with the saliency model. The Conservative elite clearly favoured the salience and competence models until the early 1970s and the saliency and Downs' models since then.

Italian foreign policy in the post-cold war period: a neoclassical realist approach

Drawing on a neoclassical realist approach, this article analyses the foreign policy conduct of different Italian governments from 1994 to 2008. Pressured by the post-cold war international system, these governments have been compelled to raise Italy's profile within the international system. However, the way in which successive governments have responded has differed markedly. By looking at variables located at the domestic level – elite perceptions of the distribution of power and government instability – it is possible to explain these differences. Neo-classical realism is seen as an advance on Waltzian neo-realism precisely because it allows room for domestic as well as international (or systemic) variables, and because it has a very specific focus on foreign policy as such.

Bahasa Indonesia

This research will explains on candidate recruitment of major in Sleman that conducted by PDI-P and their behavior. This research uses a case study method through in-depth interviews and written documentation. The result shows that the failure of PDI-P Sleman in carrying internal candidate from the party is due to the occurrence of political pragmatism. In this context, pragmatism comes from two things. Firstly, internal factor is the failure of the PDI-P cadre of Sleman and the phenomenon of money as a determinant of recruitment of candidates. Secondly, external factor is the political culture of society that do not directly influence through elite perceptions about public preferences. Keywords: Political recruitment, party’s pragmatism, and society’s pragmatism

Party Elites' Perceptions of Voters and Public Opinion

Given the vast amounts of research on party competition, party strategy, political communication and electoral campaigning, surprisingly little attention has been devoted to the study of national party elites' perceptions of voters and public opinion. This article argues that the mindset of leading party officials, and more specifically their perceptions of voter and public opinion rationality, driving forces and knowledge, is a much-neglected explanation for why parties adopt the electoral strategies they do. Analysed here are unique internal party documents from two Swedish parties during the period 1964 to 1991: the Social Democratic Party and the Conservative Party. A simple analytic framework is proposed for the study of party elite perceptions of voters and public opinion. In contrast to the overwhelmingly pessimistic view of voter rationality that still prevails in contemporary research, the findings presented in this article suggest that national party elites in general have had a surprisingly positive view of voters and, in particular, public opinion. Perceptions of voters and public opinion were largely unaffected by the parties' electoral fortunes, and did not become gloomier over time.

The Impact of Domestic Politics and International Changes on the Brazilian Perception of Regional Integration

Abstract This article aims to analyze the impact of domestic politics and international changes that influence Brazilian positions regarding regional integration processes in South America, particularly the Southern Common Market, Mercosur. The dynamics of the international system and their impact on the evolution of the elite's perception of the role the country should play in the world are important variables for understanding these positions. The state's postures in relation to integration were and are based on a real interest, but this interest is also linked with the objective of ensuring better conditions for participation in other international arenas. Starting with the hypothesis that transformations in the international setting have strongly influenced Brazil's positioning, the elements of continuity and change in the country's behavior toward Mercosur are identified, with domestic politics as the main explanation.

Low expectations: does Italy factor into American foreign policy calculations?

The American attentive foreign policy elite's perceptions of Italy as a foreign policy actor appear inconsistent with Italy's global role. The paradox of Italy's global status as a middle-power and the absence of status within the American foreign policy community raises three questions: What role should we expect Italy to play in American foreign policy calculations given its structural position in the international system? What role does Italy play in aiding or hindering American foreign policy objectives within the transatlantic community? Is there a disjunction between the American elite's subjectively low expectations for Italy as a foreign policy actor and Italy's objective importance for the successful realisation of American foreign policy objectives?

The role of the board of directors: Perceptions of managerial elites

AbstractWe highlight how directors and senior managers perceive the roles of a board to involve overseeing risk and compliance, strategy, governance, developing the CEO and senior management and managing stakeholders. We find that managers and directors perceive board effectiveness as linked to different combinations of these roles and that there appear to be differences in perceptions between different types of firms. We conclude that clarity around the board's role set is critical to furthering the corporate governance research agenda, and that the relationship between board roles and perceived board effectiveness differs between managers and directors.

The role of the board of directors: Perceptions of managerial elites

AbstractWe highlight how directors and senior managers perceive the roles of a board to involve overseeing risk and compliance, strategy, governance, developing the CEO and senior management and managing stakeholders. We find that managers and directors perceive board effectiveness as linked to different combinations of these roles and that there appear to be differences in perceptions between different types of firms. We conclude that clarity around the board's role set is critical to furthering the corporate governance research agenda, and that the relationship between board roles and perceived board effectiveness differs between managers and directors.

Elite perceptions of anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine

Anti-corruption efforts introduced in Ukraine in recent years have predominantly been imposed from the outside. They have been vague, all-inclusive and lacking in political and public support. What is more, they have been fairly insensitive to the cultural context into which they have been introduced. While targeting corrupt behaviour, they have largely ignored its root causes. The impact of Ukrainian anti-corruption reform has therefore been limited. Drawing on extensive qualitative data from Ukraine, this article explores elite (i) perceptions of Ukrainian anti-corruption reform, (ii) familiarity with specific anti-corruption initiatives, and (iii) views on how best to combat corruption. Not surprisingly, Ukrainian elites are familiar with, and fairly negative in their assessment of, national anti-corruption reform. They advocate a number of measures targeting corrupt behaviour as well as its root causes with a view to reducing corruption in Ukraine”.

Attitudes of the Portuguese Elites towards the European Union

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss the data for Portugal of the IntUne survey on elite attitudes towards European integration. Despite some differences between the Portuguese and the European results of the survey, we find that the concept of ‘compound citizenship’ (M. Cotta, ‘A “compound” model of citizenship? European citizenship in the eyes of national elites’, Lisbon IntUne General Assembly, 27–30 November 2008) may be applied to the perceptions of Portuguese elites regarding the European Union, and the postulated combination of an indirect European citizenship with a direct one is also verifiable in Portugal. We hypothesise that this European ‘compound citizenship’ is not conflictive with national citizenship, possessing instead elements for strengthening the linkage between them.

The Death of the Big Men: Depreciation of Elites in New Guinea

Recently, Tolai people of Papua New Guinea have adopted the term ‘Big Shot’ to describe an emerging post-colonial political elite. The emergence of the term is a negative moral evaluation of new social possibilities that have arisen as a consequence of the Big Shots’ privileged position within a global political economy. Grassroots Tolai pass judgment on the Big Shots’ through rhetorical contrast with idealised Big Men of the past, in a particular local version of a global trend for the emergence of new words to illustrate changing perceptions of local elites. As such the ‘Big Shot’ acts as an example of a global process in which key lexical categories that contest, trace and shape how global historical change is experienced are constituted through linguistic categories.

Reform of water institutions: review of evidences and international experiences

This paper provides an overview of the reform of water institutions in developing countries in the last three decades focusing on the ‘what, why and how’ of institutional reform, and outlines their implications for policy and research. The review covers four areas: (1) water rights and river basin institutions; (2) decentralized irrigation management; (3) private sector participation in urban water supply; and (4) regulation of water infrastructure. The review suggests that (a) the theoretical rationale for reforms is mostly grounded on arguments for efficiency, effectiveness and fiscal sustainability with little considerations for equity; (b) models of institutional design varies from incremental to comprehensive; and (c) implementation experiences among countries are mixed, given the conditional nature of institutional reform; and (d) changes in elite perception holds the key to reform.