Political Entrepreneurs Research Articles

THE AFRICAN UNION AS COLLECTIVE NORM ENTREPRENEUR IN STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENTS OF EXTERNAL POWERS AND AFRICA

Since 2000, both emerging powers like China and India and established powers like the EU and the US were voraciously seeking close relations with Africa, and the African Union was playing a coordinating role in managing the ensuing relationships. However, the role of the AU as a collective African norm entrepreneur has not been recognized due to the theoretical limitations imposed by the mainstream theories of IR. This study used ‘Subsidiarity Norm Theory’ to find out collective African agency in the progressively evolving relations using data collected from treaties, policy statements, press releases, other relevant documents, and policy actions. This study found that the AU was emerging as the premier norm entrepreneur in international politics of Africa despite the difficult challenges posed by factors such as limited organizational capacity, the opportunistic actions of some of its members, and interventions by external powers that encroach on its coordinating role. Actions of the AU and consequent intersubjectively evolving relations with emerging powers like China also reveal that the AU was both responding to emerging powers' policy initiatives and constituting the terms of the engagements.

Multiple Streams, Open Windows, and yet No Solution

Abstract Article VII of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) requires states to provide emergency assistance in the case of a deliberate bioweapons attack on any state party to the convention. Since no operational mechanism defining how to request or provide such assistance has yet been established, the painful lessons of the 2014–2016 West African Ebola crisis returned this topic to the agenda of the BWC. This study uses multiple streams analysis to investigate the impact of the Ebola crisis on the considerations of Article VII. While it revived the three streams of the debate—problem, policy, and politics—and opened a policy window, nevertheless, no political entrepreneur was able to couple the streams to produce policy output. As this window of opportunity begins to close, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to be the next focusing event shaping the BWC discourse on emergency assistance.

Genesis and evolution of EU anti disinformation policy: entrepreneurship and political opportunism in the regulation of digital technology

ABSTRACT Disinformation, the deliberate spread of false or misleading information, is a worrisome threat for the EU, as its uses in recent events such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 reveal. This article explores policy-formulation in the EU. It asks whether it is possible to explain the choice of the European Commission and of the European External Action Service (EEAS) to regulate disinformation in terms of political opportunism: using process tracing analysis supported by interviews with EU officials, this article finds that the European Commission sought to create an opportunity to regulate this matter because it considered it particularly salient, and that, contrary to what the literature on political opportunism might suggest, both the EEAS and the Commission can be considered the political entrepreneur in this domain, because the engagements against disinformation were led by an external threat perception.

Religion, political parties, and Thailand’s 2019 election: Cosmopolitan royalism and its rivals

AbstractThe political salience of religious issues and identities has been rising in Thailand, and this is increasingly reflected in electoral politics. Thai political parties seek to position themselves in relation to struggles over the location of the ideological centre of gravity, which has pitted defenders of the religio-political status quo—a monarchy-centred civil-religious nationalism—against Buddhist nationalists, on the one hand, and proponents of greater secularization, on the other. In the 2019 general election, political entrepreneurs ‘particized’ these religio-political differences, which has far-reaching implications for majority-minority relations, to an extent that appears unprecedented in recent Thai political history. This argument is developed through an analysis of the platforms, policies, and rhetoric put forward by political parties contesting the election, which concluded an almost five-year period of direct military rule. This analysis suggests we need to pay greater attention to the role of political parties and electoral competition in maintaining and contesting the secular settlement in Thailand.

Framing in the Authoritarian Context: Policy Advocacy by Environmental Movement Organisations in China

ABSTRACT When do CSOs succeed in influencing policy when working under one-party regimes? This article compares two cases in which Environmental CSOs (ECSOs) in China tried to influence policies. This article argues that the difference between success and failure is connected to the types of frames that the organizations use and how well these frames can link to meta-cultural master frames. Most studies have concentrated on how activists apply frames to get resonance among the population to mobilize people against the regime. However, under an authoritarian regime that greatly represses public demonstrations, it is often more important to frame arguments in a manner that gets resonance among policymakers than it is to gain resonance among the population. Even though it has been rare to analyze how CSOs frame their arguments vis-à-vis policymakers, some recent studies of Chinese CSOs have done so. However, these studies do not go deep enough in elaborating the cultural and historical contexts of these framing strategies. Our study goes deeper in this direction, by claiming that in order to get resonance the frames must be in line with the cultural norms of society. Consequently, we link culture to the “master frames.” Scholars are often reluctant to discuss master frames because the term itself is a bit diffuse and it is not always apparent how to use it. By tying master frames to a meta-cultural analysis, we make it clearer how the concept of master frames can be useful for analyzing the framing strategies of political entrepreneurs.

Mobilization and support structures in radical right party networks. Digital political communication ecologies in the 2019 European parliament elections

ABSTRACT The 2019 European Parliament elections seemingly fostered concerted political action among radical right parties (RRPs) to fortify their positions and mobilize publics on a pan-European scale. Digital platforms provide central infrastructure for networks among political actors and user interactions on the ground. Our study, therefore, investigates the intra- and transnational networking on Twitter established by RRPs’ strategic communication and user interactions. To understand how distinct political and media-related opportunity structures align with different intensities, types, and meanings of digital connections, we investigate the salience, actor types, and geographical scopes as well as the functions of digital connections within and across Twitter networks in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Sweden during the EP election campaigns. Our results indicate the influence of parties’ structural power position on networked communication: The ecologies around RRPs in government reflect their integration in national discourses and competition. The networks of RRPs in opposition display a self-referential campaign ecology for the promotion and distribution of candidates, content, and positions. Transnationality in these networks is structured by EU-level collaboration and driven by civil society and political entrepreneurs, who appear keener to mobilize across borders.

International regulatory diversity over 50 years: political entrepreneurship within fiscal constraints

International regulatory diversity over 50 years: political entrepreneurship within fiscal constraints

Policymaking during COVID-19: Preemptive State Interventions and the Factors Influencing Policy Implementation Success

COVID-19 sparked a public health crisis and created a series of public policy challenges. This article examines how COVID-19 interventions played out at the state level given the absence of guidance and coordinated national response. We focus on how the level of policy rigidness and enforcement of behavioral interventions helps us understand the success and failures of reducing the number of positive test rates over a 20-week period (March–July 2020). Specifically, we examine how four specific interventions (masking, school closures, restaurant closures, and travel restrictions) moved through the policy creation and implementation process as outlined by a modified version of Kingdon’s multiple streams approach. We leverage a pooled-OLS approach to identify the agenda-setting and decision-making windows to verify the narrative derived from applying a modified multiple streams approach to the initial wave of policy making around COVID-19 interventions. Using this technique, we find evidence of two distinct agenda-setting windows and a decision-making window. Using these windows, we ascertain that highly restrictive policies are effective in controlling the spread of COVID-19. We find that governors acting as political entrepreneurs may not play as large of a role in the policy-making process, but they are responsive to constituent policy preferences.

Entrepreneurship: The Ideas of J.A. Schumpeter and R.A. Dahl

The concepts of public and political entrepreneurship were introduced in relation to public administration in the 1960s. Early examples were constructed in relation to institutional change (Eisenstadt 1964; 1980), the bridging role of the entrepreneur between different spheres in local communities (Barth 1972), and the carrying out of urban redevelopment and social programs in local government (Dahl 1961; Murphy 1971). Although the concepts of entrepreneurship were used later to describe a variety of phenomena (Sheingate 2003), there are few comparisons of the differences and similarities between early contributions on public- and private-sector entrepreneurship. Motivated by few comparisons, this paper compares the contributions of Joseph A. Schumpeter and Robert A. Dahl as early examples by asking the following guiding question: What are the important similarities and differences in their ideas—and what is the relevance of their work today? While Schumpeter is seen as a main figure in the literature on entrepreneurship, Dahl’s very early contributions are less well known. Schumpeter treated the entrepreneur and the entrepreneurial function in at least 15 publications, whereas Dahl (1961) used the concept in his case study of power in the Mayor Lee–era of the city of New Haven. The theoretical discussion is based on key publications by Schumpeter (15 publications) and from the New Haven case (4 publications). The discussion and comparison have at least two implications for research and practice. Schumpeter’s conception of entrepreneurship was broader than expected and also relevant in studying entrepreneurship in the public sector. Future studies should still explore Schumpeter’s ideas in other contexts to enhance our knowledge of what ideas should be developed further. Dahl’s conception of political entrepreneurship may inform policy makers and researchers regarding entrepreneurship in a political context, which is not easy. Future case studies and practical efforts should therefore be aware that many contemporary entrepreneurs may only be partially political entrepreneurs compared to those in Dahl’s conception.

Access to infertility care services towards Universal Health Coverage is a right and not an option

BackgroundIn Morocco, the national health plan 2025 was developed to promote Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services for all. The principal aim was to achieve the Universal Health Coverage of SRH by 2030. For many years, health authorities’ efforts had focused on reducing maternal mortality through a widespread access to antenatal and obstetric care and family planning services. This has resulted in a significant gap between the availability of SRH components, namely obstetric and family planning care, and access to infertility services including Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). The objective of this study is to answer two important questions. First, why some SRH programs and services are given priority by international and national political leaders while infertility care receives little attention; second, what are the factors that influence this prioritization?MethodsWe used Shiffman and Smith’s framework composed of four elements: the strength of the actors involved in the initiative, the power of the ideas they use to represent the health problem, the nature of the political contexts in which they operate and the characteristics of the services. We added a fifth element to the framework, the outcome. We applied this framework to the case of infertility services in Morocco. We conducted a desk review and interviews with actors involved in SRH and infertility care advocates as well as with decision makers involved in implementing Universal Health Coverage (UHC).ResultsOur results showed that despite the efforts made by the advocates of infertility care; the enactment in 2019 of a law regulating infertility care services; and the presence of two Assisted Reproductive Technology Units in the public sector, infertility services remain at an early stage of development hampered by multiple challenges. Among others, a lack of political entrepreneurs to ensure a strong leadership; the political windows were often missed; community members lacked consensus on a coherent public positioning of the problem, and advocates' perception and power of the idea lacked evidence and precise indicators of the problem.ConclusionTo ensure the convergence and alignment of all stakeholders, it is recommended to translate the regulation of infertility into measurable activities with defined human and financial resources, equitable fertility health coverage, and quality fertility care to respond to women and infertile couples’ needs, rights and dignity.

Logistics Contracts and the Political Economy of State Failure: Evidence from Somalia

ABSTRACT Scholars have long sought to understand how economic rents may inhibit the formation of effective and accountable government. Prevailing interpretations of empirical state failure do not adequately account for economic connections and rents. Based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork and original source material from the Somalia context, this study shows how the dominance of the logistics economy, as a system of ‘graft’ endogenous to state-building, has contributed to empirical state failure. Empirical state failure is characterized by intra-elite struggle, endemic political violence, and insecurity including the threat posed by Islamic extremism. Contributing to the study of political settlements, political clientelism, and business–state relationships in Africa, findings from this study offer new insights for understanding how the dominance of logistics rents and lead firms within a political system may prevent the establishment of legitimate, centralized authorities. These findings contribute to the broader study of Africa’s political economies which have experienced protracted civil war and post-conflict reconstruction. In conclusion, it argues how economic development, procurement reform agendas, and efforts to withhold or withdraw aid through economic sanctions fail to resolve endemic conflict and governance issues due to vested interests, elite fragmentation, and polycentric aid practices. Instead, both government policy and foreign interventions continue to empower lead logistics firms (as skilful political entrepreneurs) that destabilize the Federal Government of Somalia.

Climate action and populism of the left in Ecuador

ABSTRACT There is little reason to expect developing countries to take costly local actions for global climate benefits. This is less so when populist governments of the left – who claim to speak for the poorest sectors of the population – must negotiate environmental protection and development. This article examines climate action in Ecuador, one of the poorest countries of Latin America, during a populist moment. We propose an analytical framework that explains how moments of institutional rupture create space to articulate ideational and material interests towards climate action. We explore this by analyzing an initiative that would have left oil underground in exchange for compensation by the international community. Beyond the rise of significant personalities, populist moments signal a rupture where power relations, norms, and development trajectories can be reconfigured. Populists are political entrepreneurs who articulate these conditions for personal gain, but populist moments also reveal space for climate action.

Urban Policy Entrepreneurship: Activist Networks, Minimum Wage Campaigns and Municipal Action Against Inequality

Why are cities acting against inequality? We attribute the growth of municipal economic policy to multi-city urban policy entrepreneurship networks. These networks combine activists who create pressure to address inequality with policy experts who supply the legislative means to do so. We illustrate the concept through the Fight for $15 campaign in Seattle and Chicago. Drawing on more than 100 interviews, participant observation and secondary documents, we show that advocates for municipal policy reform use national policy entrepreneurship networks to develop policy-specific and generalized policy advocacy techniques. Centering urban policy entrepreneurship brings into focus three important aspects of current municipal public policy: 1) The two-way interaction between national and local policy campaigns. 2) Partnerships between activists who set the political agenda and policy entrepreneurs who act on political opportunity. 3) The role of national advocacy and policy entrepreneurship networks in converting new policy ideas into routine, off-the-shelf policy solutions.

Haste makes waste: Political entrepreneur’s rent-seeking choices in anti-corruption campaign

This paper provides firm-level empirical evidence of the policy effects of China’s anticorruption campaign on SOE (state-owned enterprise) entrepreneur behaviour and corporate governance. While conflicts between corruption monitoring and performance of SOEs do exist, the 2012 anticorruption movement has profoundly changed Chinese political entrepreneurs’ power choice and accountability for SOE corporate governance. Specifically, this paper shows that the anticorruption measures have effectively reduced the sum of perks but aroused excessive asset extraction. When perk consumption has been seriously curtailed by the anticorruption rules, SOE executives’ reversed expectation precipitates their opportunistic activities in SOE’s tangible asset management and undermines SOE’s long-term corporate value.

Book Review: Political Entrepreneurs: The Rise of Challenger Parties in Europe

Book Review: Political Entrepreneurs: The Rise of Challenger Parties in Europe

Changes in Candidate Selection and the Sociodemographic Profile of Greek MPs. Evidence From the 2019 General Elections

The July 2019 national elections in Greece marked the return in power of the conservative party of ND, one of the two pillars of the traditional Greek bipartisanism. Turnover in these elections nearly reached 40%; more than two thirds of the current Parliament MPs were first elected during the crisis, since old parliamentarians slowly give away their seats to newcomers. The aim of this paper is twofold: 1) explore candidate selection mechanisms of old and new parties in Greece inquiring what -if any- has changed in these mechanisms after the Great Recession and whether they adopt IPD in a wider extent; and 2) investigate the sociodemographic profile of newcomers vis-à-vis older Parliamentarians in order to check if the outcome of the elections has changed in terms of a more socially diverse profile. Given that the issue of candidate selection (and election) is mostly based on unwritten rules, our findings will rely on written party rules (such as party manifestos), on original sociodemographic data and on personal interviews. We tentatively suggest that not much has changed in the candidate selection mechanisms in Greece. ND made limited use of its open registry of candidates, whilst SYRIZA applied the same rules as in previous elections. We conclude that, the crisis in Greece offered the opportunity structures for the mass renewal of its parliamentary elite and for a somewhat more socially diverse pool of successful candidates, but its effect quickly disappeared since new MPs resemble more independent political entrepreneurs and have less social and political ties.

Non-Modernization: Power–Culture Trajectories and the Dynamics of Political Institutions

Modernization theory is a cornerstone of much of political science, despite the mounting evidence against its predictions. We outline a theory in which the distribution of political power critically combines with political culture. We call the basic components of culture “attributes” and argue that these can be combined into larger cultural configurations. These configurations interact with the distribution of power and lead to three distinct self-reinforcing paths of political development, with very different state–society relations, institutions, and economic structures. These are paths to Despotic, Absent, and Shackled Leviathans. The role of cultural configurations is critical in legitimizing the social arrangements in each path. None of the three different paths we highlight support modernization theory. We discuss how political equilibria can change in ways critically dependent on cultural and political entrepreneurship in order to formulate and popularize new cultural configurations and institutionalize political changes.

The Global Compact for Migration: A Case of De-Politicization?

In a political context characterized by democracies with fading partisan identities, political entrepreneurs in the form of radical right parties turned immigration into a powerful subject of issue competition on the basis of a cultural or identity cleavage.1 The literature has illustrated that political parties can respond to this challenge through various strategies (e.g., through ‘accommodation’, ‘adversarial’ and ‘diffusion’ strategies). In this article, we develop an innovative analytical framework to examine strategies of de-politicization in the context of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) in three countries; France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Through this analytical framework, we aim to generate new insights in the dynamics of strategic action through de-politicization, looking at the differentiations between political parties. In the conclusion, we formulate hypotheses for the varying choices in de-politicization strategies, highlighting why some strategies are more prominent in some countries. The application of the analytical framework on rich empirics could serve as a basis for further research on de-politicization strategies in multiple contexts, looking at the factors that explain the variation between political actors.In a political context characterized by democracies with fading partisan identities, political entrepreneurs in the form of radical right parties turned immigration into a powerful subject of issue competition on the basis of a cultural or identity cleavage.1 The literature has illustrated that political parties can respond to this challenge through various strategies (e.g., through ‘accommodation’, ‘adversarial’ and ‘diffusion’ strategies). In this article, we develop an innovative analytical framework to examine strategies of de-politicization in the context of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM) in three countries; France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Through this analytical framework, we aim to generate new insights in the dynamics of strategic action through de-politicization, looking at the differentiations between political parties. In the conclusion, we formulate hypotheses for the varying choices in de-politicization strategies, highlighting why some strategies are more prominent in some countries. The application of the analytical framework on rich empirics could serve as a basis for further research on de-politicization strategies in multiple contexts, looking at the factors that explain the variation between political actors.

Dispossession without displacement: Producing property through slum redevelopment in Bengaluru, India

The paper examines the role of slum redevelopment in the production of private property in land in a fast-growing city of southern India. Drawing on an in-depth case study in Bengaluru, we show that the tenurial rights of slum residents were eroded when the contested land on which they lived – which was layered with multiple rights and claims of various actors – was confirmed by the court as the sole property of an individual who claimed to be its owner. The transformation of the plot into private property and therefore into a fungible asset, free of encumbrances, allowed the landowner, the political entrepreneurs who spearheaded the redevelopment project, and various intermediaries to capture most of the rapidly escalating value of the land. The exchange of recognized land tenure rights for small flats carrying conditional titles further excluded slum residents from ‘proper’ urban citizenship based on property ownership and exacerbated the precarity of their lives in the city. In this case, in-situ (on the same site) slum redevelopment is shown to operate as a modality of enclosure in which the urban poor are displaced even while remaining in place – or a process of dispossession without displacement.

Research on the integration of curriculum ideological and political education, innovation and entrepreneurship education into professional curriculum system in higher vocational colleges under the new engineering background

Under the background of new engineering, the traditional curriculum can no longer meet the purpose of talent training in higher vocational colleges. The curriculum system, curriculum resources, teaching staff, etc. need to be improved, especially the curriculum system should keep pace with The Times. This paper mainly studies the integration of Curriculum ideological and political education, Innovation and entrepreneurship education into the construction of professional curriculum system in higher vocational colleges under the background of new engineering. It mainly includes the overall framework, basic content and research value of the research. It also has reference value for other related majors. It plays an important demonstration and radiation role in the integration of subjects in school and the extension of influence outside school, and steadily improves the construction and teaching quality of professional courses in higher vocational colleges.