Party Platforms Research Articles

The Myth of a Bipartisan Golden Age for U.S. Foreign Policy: The Truman-Eisenhower Consensus Remains

Abstract Scholars and practitioners of U.S. foreign policy commonly describe the early Cold War as a lost golden age of bipartisan consensus. This article uses public opinion data, congressional voting patterns, and party platform statements to refute this conventional wisdom. In fact, the core internationalist principles that enjoyed bipartisan agreement during the Truman and Eisenhower administrations retain widespread approval from Democrats and Republicans today. Enduring support for this Truman-Eisenhower consensus is concealed by the way that recent presidents have enlarged the United States’ foreign policy agenda to pursue policies that historically did not generate bipartisanship, such as fighting climate change or conducting decades-long projects in armed nation-building. Rising political divisions in U.S. foreign policy are thus primarily a result of Democrats and Republicans deploying global influence in new ways rather than renouncing traditional international commitments. These findings refute widespread claims that political polarization has undermined traditional conceptions of U.S. global leadership or depleted Washington's usable power.

US Bipartisan Consensus on China: The Making and the Implementation

According to the most experts, there is a bipartisan consensus in the United States regarding China: both parties recognize that China poses an existential threat to the United States, its economy, socio-political structure and the role as a global leader. This core conceptual consent represents a clear contrast with the endless battles between Democrats and Republicans in the domestic political arena, blocking any legislative initiatives and the development of a unified sociopolitical agenda for the country. This rare unity has made many observers to claim the emergence of a new external enemy, in the face of which America will be able to overcome its identical crisis and to come back to national unity. The political elite also actively uses the image of the enemy, calling on the Nation for unity. This article is aimed to understand what lies behind political slogans and the bipartisan concept of confronting China. The study is based on the analysis of several sources that make it possible to judge the attitude towards China in the United States along party lines, specific to each level of the party-political system party platforms at the federal level, legislative initiatives at the state and city levels, public opinion polls at the level of the society. The research hypothesis is that Democrats and Republicans, who agree on the conceptual vision of the Chinese threat, offer different ways to counter it. The difference in methods of struggle stems from different ideological and value models that manifest themselves in the implementation of both the socioeconomic agenda within the country and foreign policy strategies in the international arena. The unity of the parties ends exactly by the developing of a conceptual framework for confrontation with the opponent. The implementation of specific steps of the anti-Chinese agenda at the state and city levels is taking place in accordance with the ideological and political guidelines of each party, and the public attitude towards the Chinese threat demonstrates a clear split along party lines. The conceptual positioning of a new external enemy instead of unification brought to the United States anti-Chinese hysteria among conservative politicians at the state level, which was realized in the adoption of discriminatory laws in Republican states against Chinese citizens and a new wave of anti-Chinese sentiment in society, manifested in outbreaks of violence against Asian minorities.

Ideologie językowe w programach wyborczych Nowej Partii Postępowej w Portoryko

The aim of this article is to analyze language ideologies towards Spanish, English and bilingualism articulated in selected political party programs (or party platforms, programa de gobierno) of the New Progressive Party (NPP) in Puerto Rico after 2000. The study examines the beliefs, declarations, and objectives related to the main language ideologies on the island, regarding: (1) Spanish as the national language of Puerto Ricans (monolingualism); (2) English as the language of American citizens and the U.S. federal government (monolingualism); (3) English as a resource for social and economic advancement (linguistic instrumentalism and/or linguistic entrepreneurship); (4) bilingualism as a resource for social and economic advancement (linguistic instrumentalism and/or linguistic entrepreneurship); (5) English as a global language (perceived as a universal means of communication). The article examines the programs presented during the general elections that led to the NPP candidates assuming the positions of governors: Luis Fortuño (2009-2013), Ricardo Rosselló (2017-2019), and Pedro Pierluisi (2021-2024). This analysis is contextualized within the language debates that form part of the island’s long history of the coexistence of Spanish and English since 1898.

The other side of platform politics. Law‐making and online participatory democracy in the Five Star Movement

AbstractBetween 2013 and 2021, the Italian Five Star Movement implemented an advanced tool, Lex Eletti, to enhance citizens' online participation in law‐making. Elected representatives had to present their draft bills on the party's platform before introducing them in Parliament, allowing ordinary party members to discuss them and suggest modifications. This paper investigates the impact of the Lex Eletti platform on participatory democracy in law‐making using text analysis and sentence embeddings to compare draft bills and their parliamentary counterparts. Our analysis of a comprehensive dataset, also including statistics about MPs' and party members' online interactions and MPs' legislative activity in Parliament, reveals that the platform had minimal impact: only a few MPs engaged with it, and user attention for bills on Lex Eletti decreased over time. Interaction between platform users and MPs was also limited. Most bills reached Parliament with little to no modifications, irrespective of platform engagement levels. The Five Star Movement's attempt to foster democratic participation through this platform did not significantly affect law‐making activity.

Political Parties and Public Policies. A Review of the Spanish Evidence

Abstract To what extent does the incumbent party’s identity shape public policies? We investigate this question by examining national and regional policies in Spain. First, we analyze the evolution of voter preferences, and ofthe platforms of the two mainstream parties (Partido Socialista Obrero Español [PSOE] and Partido Popular [PP]), and the newer challenger parties that emerged post-financial crisis (Ciudadanos, Podemos, and Vox). We focus on three key national-level issue dimensions: economic, social, and centralization. As expected, the right-wing PP adopts a more conservative stance on all dimensions compared to the left-wing PSOE. However, the policy gap between these two parties remains relatively stable until the mid-2000s, with party platforms tracking the evolution of citizen preferences. After this period, platforms start to diverge, especially in the case of new parties, which display radical stances on these dimensions. We also provide descriptive evidence suggesting that these platform differences have translated into enacted policies. Second, to offer causal evidence on the effect of party identity on policy decisions, we examine partisan disparities in regional fiscal policies. Our findings reveal significant differences in tax policy following the granting of tax autonomy to the regions, somewhat moderated by tax competition and fiscal limits.

An “Epic” Journey to Improve Antimicrobial Stewardship

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs rely heavily on the electronic medical record (EMR) to carry out daily activities, make interventions, optimize patient care, and collect data. In 2019 the University of Vermont Medical Center transitioned from using a third party platform to the Epic (Verona, WI, www.epic.com) Bugsy module for antimicrobial stewardship. Method: We have spent the past 4 years optimizing the Epic foundation to match our institutional antimicrobial prescribing guidelines, susceptibility patterns, and build reports to extract actionable data. Result: During the build process, we readily identified three areas needed for customization: (1) Empiric, definitive, and prophylactic indications of use for all antimicrobials based on our hospital’s internally published books “Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy for Adults” and “Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy for Pediatrics” (figure 1); (2) An on-demand report to capture all patients with new administrations of antimicrobials in the preceding 72 hours, that includes ordering clinician, stop date of therapy, and indication (figure 2); and (3) A unique, custom-built slicer-dicer report to capture high-level data on how each antimicrobial is being prescribed by indication, dose, route of administration, ordering clinician, attending physician, and department (figure 3). Conclusion: We have built a system where we can readily identify patients that are receiving antimicrobials both within and outside of institutional guidelines and know the ordering clinician to contact to provide in-the-moment feedback. We can also collect retrospective data to know which antimicrobial agents were prescribed for all infectious syndromes. These three institutional customizations have provided invaluable information to improve patient care.

Bridging the ‘Concept–Product’ gap in new product development: Emerging insights from the application of artificial intelligence in FinTech SMEs

Building on the literature on the concept-product gap in new product development, we examine how FinTech SMEs are developing Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based innovations and which organisational or project factors best contribute to the acceleration of AI innovation. The empirical evidence collected from interviews with key stakeholders, practitioners’ forums, and public company documents yields two distinct approaches that differ in their potential for accelerating innovation and reducing the concept-product gap. From a contingency perspective, these two approaches are expanded into four distinct development process configurations, contingent on the business development stage, reliance on 3rd party platforms, availability of high volumes of data, investment level, organisational agility, and level of novelty. The resulting process typology could be used as a diagnostic tool for FinTech SMEs interested in effectively leveraging AI innovation. Using contingency theory, we further develop these insights into a new theoretical framework to explain how AI innovation development unfolds in FinTech SMEs and the rationale for different implementations. Our new process typology and theoretical model can help researchers investigate the mechanisms underlying technological innovation processes. We further identify the specific reasons why the potential of AI for creating new services and disrupting incumbents via digital startups has not been fully realised even in contexts with significant investment and support from public and private business development programmes. This field is still rapidly evolving, and thus, new areas for future research are also highlighted.

East-Central Europe: The Young and The Far-Right

Abstract: Scholars are increasingly concerned that youth political apathy is a risk to liberal democracy. The issue of youth apathy is particularly pronounced in East-Central Europe—a region that has recently experienced sharp democratic decline. Across the EU member states of East-Central Europe, the share of youth that report complete disinterest in politics has doubled in the last decade. This is not an artifact of youth dissatisfaction with their nation's democracy. Rather, it is explained by ideological cross-pressures. East-Central Europe's apathetic youth hold a unique set of values that do not map onto party platforms. Unlike older generations, they are profoundly pro-EU and embrace certain aspects of liberalism, including gay rights. They are also significantly less religious. However, they are increasingly unfriendly toward immigration and multiculturalism. Compared to their politically engaged peers, East-Central Europe's apathetic youth also value democratic governance less. If they were to be politically mobilized, there is little reason to believe they would stabilize liberal democracy.

Political transformations in Poland: will a change of government lead to a change of course?

The article examines the consequences of the change of the Polish government, headed by the right-wing Euro-skeptical Law and Justice party, which has led this country since October 2015. The article presents an analysis of the results of the parliamentary elections in Poland, held on October 15, 2023, in which the PiS won a formal victory, which, however failed to form a majority coalition. As a result, the ruling alliance, which received the right to form a government, was made up of the pre-election association of the parties Civic Coalition, which included the Civic Platform parties led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Modern, the Greens and the Polish Initiative, the Third Way association, which included the parties Poland 2050, the Polish People's Party, the Center for Poland, and the Union the European Democrats, as well as the union of the Left, consisting of the parties New Left and Left together. The assessment of the activities of the leading Polish political parties over the previous four years is given, the main provisions of the election platforms of the main parties and coalitions that were elected to parliament following these elections are analyzed. To identify the dynamics of changes in the political situation in Poland, a comparative analysis of the results of the leading political parties of this country in the elections of 2019 and 2023 was carried out, as well as their main characteristics. The key differences in the approaches of the country's leading parties to the IpR and the Civic Platform on domestic and foreign policy issues, including their attitude to Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, are analyzed. The process of forming a new Polish government and the influence of the country's President Andrzej Duda on it is considered.

Confronting or incorporating middle-class nation-building? Right-wing responses in the pan-Canadian context

ABSTRACT Canada is often praised for successfully integrating ethnically diverse immigrants into its multicultural nation, so successful indeed that the country has been considered an exception to the twenty-first-century right-wing populist wave. The recent ascent of political mobilization associated with right-wing populist repertoires across Canada, however, has exposed the need to revisit the exceptionalism thesis. With this goal in mind, our article examines the contemporary right-wing responses to the Liberal Party of Canada’s (LPC) post-2015 discourses and policies on immigration and multiculturalism. Building on existing scholarship, we first characterize the LPC’s approach as a nation-building project with strong middle-class partialities that emphasize high skills and human capital. We then explore how right-wing parties oppose or embrace this ‘middle-class nation-building’. Qualitatively analyzing the platforms of center-right parties and those further to the right at the federal and provincial levels (Alberta and Québec), we observe three prevalent response types: those that follow a cultural logic to prioritize identity and values, an economic logic to underline merit and contribution, or a combination of the two. Besides modulating the Canadian exceptionalism thesis, our findings complicate the assumed dichotomy between market-based and cultural forms of nationalism, as political actors can merge them in various permutations.

Ethnic minority MPs as reputational shields? How Western European political parties respond to public opinion shifts on immigration policy

Abstract In recent decades, representation of ethnic minorities increased significantly across Europe, while concurrently many political parties moved to the right on multiculturalism and immigration, a seeming paradox. We explain it by arguing that often it is the same parties that move to the right and simultaneously increase representation. They use this dual strategy in an attempt to positionally converge to the median voter, where the increased minority representation acts as a reputational shield to prevent allegations of intolerance. Looking at parliaments of eight European countries between 1990 and 2015, we find that parties that shifted to the right in response to a public mood swing to the right are indeed significantly more likely to bring more ethnic minority politicians into parliament. This has important implications for the literature on descriptive representation and party platform change.

Moving toward the Median: Compulsory Voting and Political Polarization

Should turning out to vote in mass elections be voluntary or compulsory? Previous normative arguments for compulsory voting often rely on contested normative claims about the moral duty to vote or about the democratic legitimacy conveyed by high turnout. Our article strengthens the normative case for compulsory voting by arguing that it could improve democracy by reducing polarization, which existing work suggests can lead to democratic backsliding. Drawing on spatial models of electoral competition, we argue that, by reducing more extreme voters’ ability to threaten to abstain due to alienation, the introduction of compulsory voting can push party platforms toward the median voter’s preferences. This directly decreases party polarization, defined as the distance between party platforms. We examine potential normative and empirical objections to this argument and provide scope conditions under which compulsory voting is likely to decrease polarization.

МОНГОЛЫН УЛС ТӨРИЙН НАМЫН ҮЗЭЛ БАРИМТЛАЛ, ТҮҮНИЙ ХЭРЭГЖИЛТИЙН ЗАРИМ АСУУДАЛ

There has not been much theoretical and empirical research on the political party concept and the party program developed according to it. Therefore, in 2022, the professors and researchers of the Department of Political Science and the Center for Democracy Studies of the National University of Mongolia carried out an expert study on the topic "Mongolia's political development since 1990: processes, relations and attitudes". Out of the total 7 points, the experts who participated in the survey said that the platforms of the political parties participating in the elections have their own characteristics and are not different, with 2.8 points. With a score of 2.23, the values of political parties in Mongolia are not clear and understandable, with a score of 2.21, the political party's election platform does not match its ideals, and with a score of 2.09, voters are unable to make a choice after reviewing the election platform developed according to the political party's ideals, which means that the parties do not adhere to their ideals, directly showing that it is not important.

The Anti-Monarchist Turn in British Politics, Society, and Culture: Diana, Harry and After

This article returns to the context of the royal crises of the late nineteen-nineties and re-examines the origins of the term “anti-monarchism” and scholarship in this field. Taking the popularity of the monarchy as a starting point and acknowledging the weakness of an openly republican discourse in Britain rarely expressed through the platforms of the major political parties, anti-monarchism provides a measure of the shift in public opinion that resulted in a questioning of the influence, probity, public role, and privileged financial position of the royal house. The focus of this article is on public attitudes, and the move towards sympathy for younger, less establishment royal figures, defined by celebrity culture, who attract the empathy and interest of a younger public. In the following analysis, figures from Princess Diana to Harry and Meghan may be cast as pretenders, fulfilling the role of an alternative to the existing family and, in some views, a compromised court of the Windsors. Here there emerges the outline of a potentially “liberal” vision of monarchy that eschews the established conventions of royal life and reflects a discourse of diversity and pluralism. Further, this piece analyses the increasing relevance of anti-monarchist discourse against the turbulent backdrop of Brexit, debates around Scottish independence, a renewed emphasis on the importance of Englishness, the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the potential break-up of the union. Locating Harry’s memoir Spare in a broader tradition of royal revelations and exposures, this article also explores the role of anti-monarchist currents in the former empire, particularly the Caribbean, and across the Commonwealth in shaping the discourse of anti-monarchism in Britain.

Bridging the Blue Divide: The Democrats’ New Metro Coalition and the Unexpected Prominence of Redistribution

The electoral base of the Democratic Party has been transformed over the past generation. Democrats have lost ground in rural America while adding strength in cities and, more recently, suburbs. A major consequence of this shift has been the creation of a “U-shaped” Democratic voting base, with both poorer metro voters and affluent suburbanites siding with the party. This spatial alliance overlays a multi-racial one, as Democrats rely more heavily on voters of color than any other major party in American history. Many analysts have argued that the Democratic Party has managed this sea change by shifting from economic to cultural and identity appeals. This claim is consistent with leading models of two-dimensional party competition, as well as a fair amount of cross-national research on parties of the left and center-left in contemporary knowledge economies. However, we find little evidence for this claim in national Democrats’ messaging (via party platforms and on Twitter), nor, more important, in their actual policy efforts. Instead, we show that even as Democrats have increasingly relied on affluent, educated voters, the party has embraced a more ambitious economic agenda. The national party has bridged the Blue Divide not by foreswearing redistribution or foregrounding cultural liberalism, but by formulating an increasingly bold economic program—albeit one that elides important inequalities within its metro-based multi-racial coalition. Understanding how and why Democrats have taken this path is central to understanding not just the party’s response to its shifting electorate, but the way parties manage coalitional change more broadly.

Foreign Policy Approaches in the US Political Parties Platforms in the XXI Century: Similarities and Differences

The article examines such a phenomenon of American politics as the party platform. The article reflects its features in comparison with European interpretations of the concept of “party program”. The author’s definition of the concept “party platform” is given, which is based on a consideration of the definitions of domestic and foreign policy researchers of the concept “party program”. The article focuses on the foreign policy parts of the platforms of the main US political parties. The ideological approaches and conditions that influence the formation of the foreign policy part of the party platform are considered (from factors such as political expediency to the personal views of US presidential candidates). An example of a comparative analysis of the foreign policy parts of the platforms of the US Republican and Democratic parties is given. Based on a comparative analysis of the foreign policy parts of the platforms of the main US political parties, the author proposes his own methodology for determining the similarities and differences of party platforms. This methodology allowed the author of the article to plot the similarities and differences in the foreign policy approaches of the US Republican and Democratic parties from 2000 to 2020. The comparative analysis carried out by the author allows us to say that the platforms of the main US political parties can be used to analyze the foreign policy course of different US administrations and make forecasts on Washington’s foreign policy.

ETHNOPOLITICAL PROCESSES IN SLOVAKIA (1989-1995)

This article provides the first overview in Ukrainian historiography of the preconditions, emergencу, establishment and initiation of the activities of a political entity representing the Ukrainian population of the Slovak Republic – the Podduklianske Democratic Community (hereinafter referred to as the PDC, original name: Podduklianske Civic Forum). The PDC collaborated with the Regional Government in Prešov, primarily in the socio-economic sphere, and outlined the party’s objectives. The PDC is aimed to address political, economic, social, and national-cultural issues of the Ukrainian population in the Prešov region. At the same time, there is a recognition of the increased political activity of representatives of the Hungarian national minority in Slovakia, resulting in the formation of Hungarian political parties in Slovakia, which emerged immediately after the collapse of the communist regime. It is noted that Hungarian political entities in Slovakia had their representatives in Parliament as a result of the elections in 1990, 1992, and 1994, which allowed them to actively participate in the political life of the state. The positive aspect of the activities of Hungarian political parties in Slovakia was that different party platforms did not prevent them from creating an electoral coalition. It is mentioned that the Roma community was also represented at the level of the Slovak national and regional political arena. However, Roma political parties failed to gain significant electoral support and representation in the Slovak Parliament.

Do political parties always prefer loyalists? Evidence from South Korea.

This paper examines the relationship between ideological polarization and party disloyalty, focusing on the moderating role of the status of a political party in the legislature, i.e., the ruling party or the opposition party. It hypothesizes that the ruling party is willing to endorse disloyal candidates whose issue positions are not close to their own party's platform, whereas the opposition party is likely to punish disloyal candidates to demonstrate party unity in the nomination process. The present study tests this hypothesis, using data from South Korea, where the nomination process for the parliamentary election is dominated by party leaders. The results are by and large consistent with the hypotheses. In line with previous studies, our results suggest that party loyalty is one of the driving forces of polarization in politics. In order to fully understand party polarization at the level of political elites, it is necessary to consider heterogeneous effects of party members' behavior on candidate selection, varying across the party's status, either the ruling party or the opposition party.

Immigration Clashes, Party Polarization, and Republican Radicalization: Tracking Shifts in State and National Party Platforms since 1980

Abstract Studies of U.S. politics increasingly aim to make sense of two key trends: party polarization and Republican Party radicalization. Surprisingly, however, party divergences on immigration have been largely overlooked. Drawing on state and national political party platforms since 1980, we document the rise of attention to immigration, the polarization of substantive party positions, and the sharp GOP turn toward restrictive measures. After pinpointing the timing and relative trajectories of national and state-level agenda shifts, we explore potential drivers and establish two sets of flashpoint events worth further study: highly visible and mostly deadlocked congressional battles over immigration grand bargains, and bottom-up reverberations from the widespread 2006 immigrant rights protests and post-2008 Tea Party organizing. We find that grassroots Tea Party efforts were intervening accelerators rather than original causes of the Republican embrace of tough immigration restrictions. The article concludes by stressing the chronological layering of successive party polarizations—from 1960s divergences around civil rights, through clashes about abortion and LGBTQ rights from the late 1970s to the 1990s, and followed by immigration polarization in the 2000s. This process of layering polarizations on top of one another may have supercharged recent GOP turns toward ethnonationalism and tolerance for threats of violence.

Policy issue salience and legislative output of populist governments: evidence from immigration policies

ABSTRACT Research on political representation suggests that legislative activity is influenced by governing parties’ policy emphases in their election campaigns. We argue that populist governments are an exception as they may find it difficult to draft and implement laws on an issue even if it is salient to them. The anti-elitism, people-centrism, and Manichean-discourse nature of populist party platforms significantly alters their ability to legislate on their campaign issues. We test this claim using data on the saliency of governments’ immigration policies in their election campaigns and subsequent legislation on immigration. The empirical analysis is based on 14 democratic states from 1998 to 2013. The results support the theory that populist governments will exhibit a relatively weak relationship between their issue emphases in election campaigns and the number of policies they enact on immigration. This research has important implications for our understanding of populism, political representation, and immigration policy.