Political Profile Research Articles

Approaches and lessons in political career research: Babel or pieces of a patchwork?

Political careers are a classic subject of elite studies. Scholars have sought to understand what affects political profiles and career patterns’ formation. However, political career research is characterized by a variety of approaches and explanations, which often do not communicate each other. A framework that integrates existing contributions is lacking, and this undermines the process of accumulation of knowledge. A comprehensive assessment of the literature is necessary in view of this potentially welcomed undertaking. After a conceptual introduction, I provide here a general overview of the approaches used in political career research, classifiable into two main schools. It is stressed their theoretical arguments, methodological strategies, and deficits. The note will provide bases for developing further the research field, by underling epistemological, theoretical, and methodological lessons.

Life after formal employment: A comparative study of female 'garments and textiles' and 'all other' factory' workers in Sri Lanka

This paper compares the post-employment social, political and economic profiles of women previously employed in Sri Lanka’s formal manufacturing sector. We surveyed 1031 female respondents, consisting of 775 former garment and textile (GT as well as slightly higher rates of political participation. Regardless of such differences, a significant proportion across both groups shared a sense of self-confidence – even having set up their own businesses or now owning properties since leaving formal employment. Thus, contrary to the negative portrayal of factory work in Sri Lanka and the purported ‘plight’ of its largely female labor force, our research has found that most women – regardless of prior workplace – had retained and built upon their socio-economic capital across many important aspects of their lives.

Political Fairness in Redistricting: What Wisconsin's Experience Teaches

In this paper, to be presented at an election law forum sponsored by the University of Memphis Law Review and published in a forthcoming issue of the University of Memphis Law Review, I argue that the law and practice of redistricting should address the question of political fairness. I base my argument on the history of redistricting in Wisconsin which I discuss at some length. Although under the Wisconsin Constitution redistricting is a legislative responsibility, in every Wisconsin redistricting since the 1950s lawsuits were started and courts became involved. Moreover, all of the maps drawn by courts, one by the Wisconsin Supreme Court and three by three-judge federal courts, were politically unfair. This was true whether or not the courts that drew the maps chose to ignore or consider political factors. The fact is, from a political standpoint, none of the courts knew what they were doing. I contend that state legislatures should establish a standard of political fairness with which redistricting plans must comply. In the absence of such legislation, entities that engage in redistricting, such as courts or commissions, should on their own initiative endeavor to create politically fair plans and utilize all available tools including modern computer technology to assist them. A politically fair plan is one that reflects the political complexion of the state. In other words, the composition of legislative districts should be based on the preference of the state’s voters. Thus, if a state is 53 percent Republican, then 53 percent of its legislative districts should at least lean Republican, and if a state is 51 percent Democratic, then 51 percent of the state’s legislative districts should at least lean Democratic. In order to determine the political make up of a state, it is essential to rely on a sufficient number of elections held over a sufficient period of time and to avoid elections that are overly determined by candidate specific factors. Thus, a redistricting entity should calculate the percentage of votes received by candidates of both major parties in the five preceding presidential or gubernational elections and average them. This will create an accurate political profile of the state. This process will enable the redistricting entity to establish a standard of political fairness that will govern drawing the map. Under the standard, each party is entitled to a percentage of legislative districts equal to the average percentage of votes it received in the five elections.

Research productivity and main publishing institutions in C\xf4te d\u2019Ivoire, 2000\u20132016

BackgroundThe research productivity of countries commonly grouped within sub-Saharan Africa is as diverse as their cultural, economic, linguistic, political, and social profiles. While South Africa has been the science hub on the subcontinent for decades, publishing original research articles in the thousands, Mauritania struggles to have a single publication in international indexed journals in any given year. Detailed country-specific accounts on the co-evolution of research productivity and demographic and economic indicators from sub-Saharan Africa are lacking and render an accurate evaluation and cross-country comparison of internal research progress challenging.MethodsWe assessed the research productivity of Côte d’Ivoire, a francophone West African country that has gone through considerable sociopolitical unrest, for the period 2000–2016, and determined the main publishing institutions. We considered original research articles extracted from PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection, emphasizing life sciences and biomedical sciences.ResultsWe found the quantity of publications doubling from 4.1 to 8.5 per million population and the ‘total product’ – a measure for quantity and quality of published articles – rising from 0.8 to 22.1 per million population between 2000 and 2016. Since 2010 there was a marked increase in the proportion of English publications and a concomitant drop in the proportion of articles with Ivorian first and last authors. The percentage of foreign author contribution increased from 38.7% in 2000 to 71.6% in 2016, suggesting an ‘internationalization’ of the country’s research production and output. Mixed authorship compared with ‘Ivorian only’ showed higher representation in journals with an official impact factor by Web of Science with proportions of 73% versus 28% for 2008 and 91% versus 45% for 2016. Two universities and university hospitals and three autonomous research institutions were consistently among the top 10 institutions publishing peer-reviewed material in three selected years (2000, 2008, and 2016). The main features of the most successful publishing institutions were research staff size, diversification of research portfolio and funding, multiple research bases across the country, and established and productive partnerships with foreign institutions.ConclusionSince the turn of the millennium, research productivity in Côte d’Ivoire has steadily grown at an above regional and global rate despite recurring economic pressures and sociopolitical unrest. We have observed benefits of internationalization throughout this current analysis reaching from improved publishing standards to increasing resilience of research institutions in times of crisis.

La representación política de las personas de origen inmigrante en España e Italia

En els ultims vint anys, les societats d’Espanya i Italia han experimentat un canvi demografic molt notable a causa de fluxos migratoris d’alta intensitat. Des de principis de la decada de 1990, la poblacio estrangera es va multiplicar per cinc en tots dos paisos i el 2010 va assolir el 12 i el 6 per cent, respectivament, del conjunt poblacional (INE, 2015; ISTAT, 2015). En tots dos casos, aquest fenomen migratori planteja nous desafiaments de representacio democratica, ates que, en un periode molt curt de temps, ha generat un gran cabal de nous residents amb expectatives legitimes de fer sentir la seva veu en el proces de presa de decisions. No obstant aixo, l’augment del nombre d’immigrants residents a Espanya i Italia tambe va coincidir amb un periode en el qual l’opinio publica va comencar a mostrar major preocupacio per la immigracio, la qual cosa va provocar actituds negatives cada vegada mes visibles cap als col·lectius immigrants en ambdos paisos. Aquest article analitza en quina mesura la pressio migratoria i el canvi actitudinal cap als immigrants a Espanya i Italia poden ajudar-nos a comprendre millor les estrategies dels partits a l’hora de facilitar l’acces d’aquest col·lectiu a carrecs electes als parlaments nacionals. Fent us d’una base de dades unica que inclou informacio sobre el perfil sociodemografic i politic de tots els diputats i diputades en tots dos paisos des de 1990 fins a l’actualitat, el nostre estudi contribueix a avancar en el coneixement sobre les dinamiques que afavoreixen i que dificulten la representacio politica dels immigrants en aquests dos paisos del sud d’Europa.

La masculinidad en escuelas secundarias públicas de San Luis Potosí, México.

The article provides an answer to the question: How do students from public high schools located in the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, perceive and build their masculinity? The public schools, according to the political profile of the Mexican State, implements mechanisms through which it promotes gender relations and the construction of a hegemonic type of masculinity, that is, patriarchal, linked with the values of neoliberalism. Accordingly, we analyze the school and curricular institutional space, and the practices of the students, which allude to the conformation and perception of masculinity in three processes: a) generational relations; b) bodily practices; c) perceptions of homosexuality. Because it is relevant in the speeches of the students, the relationship that the school maintains with the family space is also examined. Part of the analysis is based on the speeches of the students recovered through group interviews. One answer, as a conclusion, to the question asked, is that the students, from their sphere of reflexivity, resignify and create new practices that question and sometimes subvert, the hegemonic masculinity promoted by the schools.

A Pathogen Astride the Minds of Men: The Epidemiological History of Pseudolaw

Pseudolaw is a collection of legal-sounding but false rules that purport to be law. Pseudolaw has independently emerged in different countries and communities on multiple occasions. Despite that, modern pseudolaw world-wide is remarkably similar, despite that pseudolaw host populations have extremely different political, cultural, and historical profiles. What is common among groups that endorse pseudolaw is: 1) an anti-government and anti-institutional orientation, and 2) a conspiratorial world perspective. Modern pseudolaw has spread, starting from the US Sovereign Citizen population, and then infected a succession of other communities. This progression was facilitated by key individuals and can be tracked, host group to host group. Modern pseudolaw was introduced into Canada by one individual, Eldon Warman, who reframed its concepts to better suit a Commonwealth rather than US context. Warman’s pseudolaw variation spread into several Canadian communities with very different social objectives. The leftist anti-government Freemen-on-the-Land then seeded pseudolaw into the UK, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and several European countries. Some of the resulting groups were stillborn, but in the UK pseudolaw has thrived, but principally as mechanism to attack debt collection, rather than to challenge government authority. US Sovereign Citizen pseudolaw has also directly spread into the culturally distinct urban black Moorish community, and the German and Austrian right-wing Reichsburger groups. Australia is unique in that its pseudolaw culture incorporates US Sovereign Citizen, Canadian Freeman, and domestic concepts. In other countries, the appearance of modern pseudolaw drove other pre-existing variant law schemes into extinction.

The Influence of Ethno-National Lobbies on the Us Foreign Policy: History of the Ukrainian Diaspora

The article examines the political potential of the Ukrainian ethnic lobby in US foreign policy. Proceeding from the fact that ethnic lobbies in the US are able to overcome the institutional system of checks and balances, the authors try to establish the extent and limits of the influence of the Ukrainian lobby. The given lobby is based on a small-numbered Ukrainian diaspora in the US, which was formed as a result of four waves of migration from the territory of modern Ukraine, due to various reasons. As a result, the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States has developed as a highly heterogeneous and multi-layered community. The main organization of the Ukrainian diaspora is the Ukrainian Committee of the Congress of America, which is an umbrella structure for organizations of economic, cultural and political profile, as well as for associations of veterans, women and youth. The Ukrainian diaspora in the US uses the following tools for political purposes. First, the diaspora organizations strive to encourage the activities of their low- and middle-ranking civil servants to form an optimal agenda. Diaspora immigrants from experts and media persons are connected to this process. Secondly, the Ukrainian diaspora has established cooperation with other Eastern European diasporas. The cooperation allows the Ukrainian Americans to use electoral potential in the states of the Northwest and Midwest of the United States and to take joint initiatives in communication with the Congress. Together, Eastern European diasporas have some influence on the American foreign policy process when it comes to the Congress, but the scope of influence should not be exaggerated. However, the demand for anti-Russian arguments is formed within the American establishment, that brings the agenda of the Ukrainian diaspora to the forefront of foreign policy debate. This allows us to conclude that the potential for political influence of the Ukrainian ethnic lobby in the United States is limited without a suitable international context.

First-generation entry into higher education

With the changing political and socio-economical profile of previously disadvantaged Namibians, school leavers, as well as adults, increasingly decide to invest in Higher Education for an improved future. Students who come from homes where the responsible older generation was deprived of opportunities to enrol in education facilities are pioneering and positioning the world of academia for themselves. In their quest for education, they are at the same time paving the way for improved education for future generations. In a study conducted with First-Generation entrants at the University of Namibia it became clear that their general profile differs from that of First-Generation entrants in developed countries and their strengths and needs cannot be underscored by literature from developed countries. Further research into First-Generation entry into Higher Education in the African context will provide a clearer picture of the phenomenon and will allow educators to support the strengths that these entrants bring along to the tertiary institution of their choice.

From The Iron Curtain to Franco’s Spain: Right-Wing Central Europeans in Exile

ABSTRACTAfter the Second World War, anti-communists of different backgrounds from Central and Eastern European countries decided to settle in Franco’s Spain, where they sought safety and a place to live during the Cold War. This article will provide an overview of their political profiles and assess the reasons these exiles chose Spain, a country excluded from the United Nations until 1955 and led by Francisco Franco. The article also shows how they settled in the dictatorship linked to the Nazis and Italian Fascists, and the ways in which they continued their struggles against Communism with public and private resources.

Fundações partidárias e processos de politização no Brasil: domínio de atuação, amálgamas e ambivalências

O artigo analisa o espaço das fundações partidárias no Brasil. Esse domínio de atuação é percebido como veículo e reflexo de processos de politização. O estudo está alicerçado em dois eixos: 1) a configuração (estrutural e sociográfica) dessas entidades e a relativa autonomia ou dependência que possuem vis-à-vis às organizações partidárias; 2) as intersecções possíveis entre lógicas e domínios políticos e intelectuais a partir da exploração desse âmbito específico de atuação. São, então, cotejados dados referentes à emergência e à cronologia de criação das fundações partidárias, à estrutura organizacional das mesmas (sites; sedes; setores; divisão de tarefas/papéis; exigências de especialistas variados; produtos como livros, revistas, cursos; receitas; etc.) via informações disponíveis na internet, bem como ao perfil social, político e cultural dos presidentes e ex-presidentes. Foi examinado ainda especificamente o caso da Fundação Perseu Abramo do Partido dos Trabalhadores.

Sport and politics in a complex age

This article examines the complex nature of the relationship between international sport and politics in the twenty-first century. It does so by considering the cultural and geo-political profiles of those countries that are expressly pursuing the hosting of major international sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. It focuses, on the emergence of a raft of ‘new’ countries seeking to stage such global mega-events and considers why they would be so keen to do so when, based on participation levels amongst their indigenous peoples such a decision would appear to have little popular support. More to the point, there would seem to be increasing commonality amongst these ‘new’ nation-states in terms of their political profiles, their attitudes towards minorities, their approach to the advancement of a rights agenda, and to their motivations for hosting major sporting events in the first instance. Ultimately the article poses the question of whether sport should readily lend its remaining credibility to such nation-states or whether its ready acquiescence of the same actually says more about its virtual preoccupation with commercial return, persistent mal-governance or, in some cases, corruption.

Ecological distribution conflicts and sustainability: lessons from the post-socialist European semi-periphery

Understanding how ecological distribution conflicts (EDCs) have changed through the transition from socialism to capitalism in the European semi-periphery can provide valuable lessons for global efforts towards sustainability. This article traces the social, political and economic origins of EDCs, and evaluates the outcomes of the 74 most illustrative cases of such conflicts from five ex-Yugoslav countries reported in the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJatlas): Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. It analyses how the occurrence and characteristics of the conflicts changed through three distinct phases in the region’s history, i.e., the periods of Socialism (1945–1990), Transition (1991–2003), and EU-accession (2004–present), each characterised by different socio-metabolic, political and institutional profiles. The article also evaluates the level of environmental justice (EJ) in the region. The greatest diversity of conflicts were identified in the last phase, a period characterised by an increase in material and energy flows through a number of controversial projects, many of which arose as a result of ‘modernisation’. Fortunately, the resulting ‘unsustainabilities’ were immediately politicised by EJ movements, whose composition, demands and success differed in line with changing dominant political and institutional conditions. Currently, the EJ movements in ex-Yugoslavia are led by national NGOs, while urban movements embrace the broadest spectrum of socio-environmental issues. Timely mobilisation and support from local authorities have been crucial for the successful resolution of conflicts. However, EJ movements have proved impotent to resist projects deemed to be of national economic interest in contexts characterised by high levels of corruption and low political accountability. Stronger alliances among different movements would assure more EJ and lasting sustainability solutions in the region.

A Political Profile of Tarja Halonen, the First Finnish Female President

Abstract Neither historiographers nor social scientists have paid much attention to the position of women among the highest political elite, as heads of state and especially as presidents. Such women are rare: there are few female presidents, and their role is often ceremonial. At the end of 2016, there were four female presidents in the nineteen republics belonging to the European Union. Yet female presidency is a very important theme from the perspective of women's roles in politics, the trend toward gender equality, and female empowerment in society. This article takes a look at Finland's first female president, Tarja Halonen, who held office from March 2000 to February 2012. The Finnish president still has real political power, which makes this topic particularly interesting. On the one hand, the article examines the profile that emerged of President Tarja Halonen and the reflection of her gender in her work as president. On the other hand, the article looks to see whether she succeeded in challenging the male institution of the president to change, and whether she was able to fracture the glass ceiling that still exists between women—even in Europe—and the highest echelons of political power.

<b>A produção de um ‘policorpo’ para Dilma Rousseff nas eleições presidenciais de 2010: uma análise discursiva dos semanários brasileiros

Este artigo discute, sob a perspectiva da Análise do Discurso (AD) de linha francesa, as transformações que configuram não a utilização do corpo político empírico, mas a corporeidade, isto é, a sua discursivização - tal como ela é engendrada nas páginas da mídia impressa brasileira. Para isso, analisamos a forma como o perfil político de Dilma Rousseff foi materializado nos fios discursivos dos semanários de atualidades durante as eleições presidenciais de 2010. A fim de viabilizar o processo teórico-analítico desse cenário, constituímos um arquivo formado pelas 208 edições das revistas CartaCapital, Época, IstoÉ e Veja, publicadas no ano eleitoral. Dentro do quadro teórico adotado, cujos fundamentos baseiam-se principalmente no método arqueogenealógico de Michel Foucault, os resultados mostram que as práticas discursivas dos semanários focalizaram metamorfoses que o corpo da petista teria sofrido para figurar como representante de seu antecessor, produzindo um ‘policorpo’ (Santos, 2014), o qual foi potencializado pela dizibilidade de mecanismos tecnológicos imateriais e inumanos, mas perspicazes na midiatização de uma ‘candidata-corpo’ (Santos & Romualdo, 2013), que foi denunciada pela imprensa como produto eleitoral.

The European public sectors in the age of managerialism

During the past 50 years, European public sectors have undergone a profound process of organizational change, where managerial tools and principles from the private sector have permeated through governments and administrations of many countries. A substantial amount of academic literature has now been devoted to public management reforms. Many scholars have associated them with the diffusion of a managerialist ideology. However, the relationship between public management reforms, political ideology, and public expressions of support for these reforms by political parties has been a relatively under-explored topic within the literature and is the gap we address in this article. Using a longitudinal framework of study, our analysis shows how issues surrounding managerialist reforms have evolved across the electoral manifestos of European parties during the past 50 years. Our findings reveal that these reforms have enjoyed a growing political profile over time in many countries within Western and Eastern Europe. Furthermore, we also examine and discuss the differences and similarities of these reforms across countries.

As bases sociais das novas centrais sindicais brasileiras

A presente resenha da obra As Bases Sociais das Novas Centrais Sindicais Brasileiras, elaborada em coautoria pelas pesquisadoras: Paula Marcelino, Andreia Galvão e Patrícia Vieira Trópia, objetiva apresentar a reorganização do sindicalismo brasileiro após a ascensão do Partido dos Trabalhadores ao governo federal. O contexto é marcado pela cisão da CUT em correntes dissidentes que formaram novas centrais sindicais, são elas, a CSP-Conlutas, a Intersindical, a CTB e a UGT. A pesquisa realizada pelas autoras permite traçar o perfil socioeconômico e político dos delegados. Por meio de surveys em congressos e plenárias, pode-se delinear as concepções políticos partidárias, as bandeiras de luta, o setor econômico predominante das centrais, entre outros aspectos.

Mulheres à esquerda e à direita: carreiras políticas e partidos políticos

O objetivo do artigo é identificar os perfis socioeconômicos e políticos das deputadas federais eleitas em 2014. Pretende-se responder às seguintes questões: Quais os partidos que conseguiram eleger mulheres? Existem diferenças significativas quando considerados o espectro ideológico? Como se deu a distribuição destas parlamentares nas Unidades Federativas? Qual o perfil das eleitas em relação à escolaridade, idade e profissão? De que forma o tempo de filiação partidária se relaciona às mulheres dos diferentes partidos? Possuir relações de parentesco com políticos estabelecidos é uma característica importante neste grupo? Nossa hipótese principal corrobora a tese já consagrada na literatura de que os parlamentares de partidos de esquerda percorrem uma trajetória longeva dentro de um mesmo partido, e que para conquistar um cargo eletivo como de deputado federal, estes políticos passam antes por outros cargos, tais como vereadores, deputados estaduais e, por vezes, prefeitos (SANTOS E SIERNA, 2007; MIGUEL, 2003). Por outro lado, nos partidos de centro e direita é possível observar a utilização de atalhos, tais como capital político acumulado por outros indivíduos e compartilhado mediante relações de parentesco, de modo que a conquista do cargo ocorre de maneira precoce.

Elite Political Ignorance: Law, Data, and the Representation of (Mis)Perceived Electorates

It is common to think of political elites—candidates, legislators, party officials, and campaign advisers—as specialists in learning the preferences of voters. But recent studies find that political elites believe public opinion within legislative districts to be more conservative than it actually is, and that extreme candidates are more electable than moderates (despite compelling evidence to the contrary). Campaign staffers overestimate their candidate’s electoral prospects. Moreover, natural and researcher-designed experiments show that informing legislators about constituency preferences changes roll-call votes, as legislators recalibrate to better represent public opinion in their districts. This Article introduces the problem of elite political ignorance to the legal- academic literature. We review political science findings on elite (mis)perceptions of voter preferences, and we explore the likely benefits and costs of reducing elite political ignorance. The immediate impacts would probably include better alignment between the roll-call votes of representatives and the policy preferences of their constituents; reduced political polarization; less racial discrimination by campaigns and representatives; and lower-cost enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. However, over time, a reduction in elite ignorance could also engender more severe and enduring partisan gerrymanders; greater political and demographic skew in the population of regular voters; more inequity in the provision of constituent services; and microtargeted campaigns that slowly erode democracy-sustaining norms and belief structures in the public. We argue that most of the benefits of reduced political ignorance could be realized without incurring such costs if elites acquired better information about the distribution of voter preferences within districts, without learning the preferences of identifiable individuals. To this end, we propose that states (1) reduce the amount of political information in the official voter file, (2) adopt rules that make it somewhat more cumbersome for social media companies to develop and market political profiles of their users, and (3) enact campaign-finance voucher programs subject to an unusual disclosure rule, under which the state would conceal voucher-donor identities from the recipient and the general public, while revealing geocoded voucher-contribution histories.

Narrative Alignment and Misalignment: NATO as a Global Actor as Seen from Australia and New Zealand

ABSTRACTIn the wake of the Afghan missions, this article assesses the appetite in Australia and New Zealand for an ongoing relationship with NATO. Australia and New Zealand share many commonalities in their cultural, political, and economic profiles. Yet their identities in the realm of defense and security differ subtly, which has important implications for the reception of NATO’s strategic narratives in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on strategic narrative theory (SNT), we assess perceptions of NATO in Australia and New Zealand. By collecting and analyzing empirical data from political, academic, and military elites, we find that there is a keen desire for an on-going partnership with NATO, particularly in maintaining interoperability and in the area of “emerging security challenges.” Although the findings were mostly positive for NATO, New Zealand elites were more reticent about NATO involvement than those in Australia, where elites saw NATO and the Global Partnership as a potentially useful – if under-utilized – asset in areas of non-traditional security cooperation.