Traditional Political Parties Research Articles

The Effect of the Elected Chief Prosecutor on Punitiveness in Local Courtrooms

The United States currently leads the world in the number and proportion of individuals held under correctional supervision. Prosecutors are widely considered to be the most influential actors in the courtroom, and some current reform efforts center around prosecutor-driven reductions in punitiveness. However, little is known about the extent to which elected chief prosecutors impact punitiveness in local courtrooms. This study examines how dismissal and active sentence rates in nine mid- to large-sized prosecutorial districts in North Carolina are influenced by the identity of the elected District Attorney (DA) who was in office when the case was disposed. The study sample included four types of criminal cases (marijuana possession and sale, possession of firearm by felon, larceny, and driving while intoxicated) resolved in the nine districts from 2005–2018. A two-way fixed effects regression analyses showed that elected prosecutors significantly influenced dismissal and active sentence rates in their districts, typically to a small degree (by less than 5%) but sometimes by 20–30%. However, prosecutors did not influence punitiveness consistently across all crime types or according to traditional political party. This study suggests that the elected prosecutor matters in local criminal prosecution and enhances the current understanding of the power of the elected prosecutor to shape punitiveness in local courtrooms.

The Perception of Fascist and National Socialist Ideologies During the Second World War in Albania

The Albanian Communist Party was born as a Bolshevik-style party, endowed with a non-Bolshevik but social democratic program, such as popular democracy. To shed light on the factors that determined the arrival of the communist regime in Albania, it is necessary to start the analysis from its roots, that is, since the establishment of the communist regime in Albania. For his part, although the communist regime was established in Albania immediately after the end of World War II, the roots of the phenomenon must be sought from the beginning of the war, even a few months earlier when Albania was invaded on April 7, 1939, by fascist Italy. When Albania was invaded by fascist Italy, no one inside or outside the country predicted, nor could have predicted, that at the end of World War II, the Albanian Communist Party would take power into its own hands. There were subjective and objective reasons for this. First of all, when World War II broke out, Albania was the only country in the Balkans that did not have a Communist Party. However, the absence of the Communist Party was largely a subjective factor. The establishment of the communist regime in Albania was for objective reasons a completely paradoxical phenomenon. Albania, the youngest state in Europe, at the same time its most backward state, with a population of one million and forty thousand inhabitants, had no developed industry, ie no working class in the eyes of the proletariat, as conceived by Marxist doctrine. According to Marxist definitions, Albania was a micro-bourgeois country, that is, without capitalist owners and capitalist institutions, to the extent that they justified the socialist revolution. In addition, the Albanian population was overwhelmingly still illiterate. There were only a few isolated nuclei or communist groups with few members composed mainly of artisans and students, who were further characterized by ideological perversion and worse still by political rivalries between them. The question before historians is this: How can it be explained that despite all these disadvantages, the Albanian Communist Party, which was founded two and a half years after the occupation of the country by fascist Italy, on November 8, 1941, managed to face the war against the occupiers within three years. Nazi fascists and against internal nationalist factors, to take political power in Albania at the end of the Second World War? In addition, how is it that the Albanian Communist Party, unlike its Eastern European counterparts, seized political power on its own, without the presence of Soviet armies, which are not known to have invaded Albania? Albania's position during the Second World War and especially the National Liberation War must be judged by ourselves, regardless of who led it. We must judge it as we do in every historical event. The communist dictatorship that was established in Albania should not blind us to the judgment we give in the national liberation war. The communist regime is not a necessary offspring of the National Liberation War. In my opinion, the establishment of the communist regime is the result of mistakes made during the national liberation war, it is a consequence of the poverty of the political culture of the Albanian people, the lack of traditional political parties, the naivety of the Communist Party leaders, the illusions of united nationalists with the National Liberation Front, of myopia, of the leaders of the National Front, which were used by Enver Hoxha to realize under the umbrella of patriotic war his dictatorial ambitions. Received: 25 December 2023 / Accepted: 25 February 2024 / Published: 23 April 2024

Lebanese diaspora and the October 17 Uprising

AbstractThis article examines the Lebanese home‐diaspora relationship and its contribution to the dynamics of the political system in Lebanon. This relationship is explored in the context of the October 17 Uprising which was a transnational event whereby Lebanese at home and abroad were actively engaged in its awakening and repercussions. The authors argue that this relationship is a two‐way relationship in which both home and diasporic actors mutually contribute to the potential transformative process which was ignited by the Uprising. They also argue that both political actors are faced with limitations that hinder them from maximizing their efforts to challenge and transform the political rhetoric in Lebanon. These limitations are imposed by both local and diasporic actors in favour of traditional political parties, and they restrict the potential of diasporic actors to be proactive in their opposition, as well as the efforts of home actors to enhance the nature of the political engagement with the diaspora. However, the research suggests that recent political activities in Lebanon and abroad have demonstrated the ability of both actors to gradually break the sovereignty of the ruling parties in Lebanon if efforts are channelled properly in the political field generated by those actors.

The gender bias in regional councilors’ reelection in Italy

This study evaluates whether a gender bias exists in the reelection of regional councilors in Italy. A dataset of 4794 councilors elected since 1985 is considered; 597 (i.e., 12.45%) among them are women. The determinants of the reelection are analyzed. A significant gender bias in reelection emerges, even after controlling for several individual and institutional factors. The gender bias in reelection is stable over time, similar across different traditional political parties, and similar in different geographical areas. Institutional and individual factors are also studied in the interaction with gender bias.

Трансформация партийно-политической системы ЕС накануне евровыборов-2024

The article analyzes the main trends in the transformation of the political party system of the European Union on the eve of the next European Parliament election, which will be held in June 2024. Long-term trends include: a decrease in the popularity of traditional political parties – conservatives, social democrats and liberals – in most EU member states; an increase in electoral support for populist parties in the same countries; an increase in the representation of women in EU authorities; strengthening the pan-European political space, which leads to deepened impact of EU political institutions on the political systems of EU member states, etc. Relatively new trends in the transformation of this system are: growing popularity and influence of Eurosceptic parties both in individual European countries and in the European Union as a whole; political conflict between the EU and its member states – Poland and Hungary which violate European democratic principles, including the rule of law with respect to the rights of citizens and the independence of the judicial branch of government. The author scrutinises the influence of changes in the socio-class structure of European society on these processes, which occur partly owing to a visible reduction in the number of the industrial proletariat. It is noted that the consequences of these changes are the destruction of the boundary between the traditional right and left parties, and the death of many classical ideological categories. The study also presents the forecast of results of the leading pan-European political parties’ participation in the 2024 European election, made by a number of European non-governmental organizations and mainstream media holdings following public opinion polls, as well as their possible impact on the formation of a new composition of the European Parliament and the European Commission.

Breaking Hegemony of Traditional Political Parties: A Study of Shifting Dalits’ Support Base in Punjab

The present study is an analysis of Dalits’ shifting support base among major political parties in Punjab, namely Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and specifically Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2022 Punjab Assembly election. With an established presence in the State, the AAP could present itself as a new alternative. The AAP defeated all the traditional/mainstream political parties in the recent Assembly election to put an end to the deeply entrenched family (SAD-Badal) and dynastic rule (Congress). The present research paper is an effort to find out the causes behind the shifting Dalit support base. The AAP’s success was a clear message from the people of Punjab that they were fed up with the power circle of traditional parties that were in agreement with each other to rule the State by turns. Paper argues that Dalits are likely to vote for the parties that have a chance to come to power as in 2022 Punjab Assembly Election, Dalit support base has widely shifted to AAP. The study was qualitative and conducted in the Doaba region of Punjab. It is an analysis of the interactions with 300 respondents of the targeted SCs population and 30 leaders from the major political parties in Punjab.

Online Harassment and Trolling of Political Journalists in Pakistan

ABSTRACT This study examines the online harassment faced by political journalists in Pakistan on Twitter, specifically focusing on the actions of users affiliated with various political parties. By selecting the 12 most active journalists on Twitter, we combined both content and textual analyses to examine comments posted on their tweets. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of the practice-based theoretical approach, the findings reveal that these journalists predominantly encountered negative comments encompassing personal abuses, culturally sensitive expressions, and attacks on their professional lives. Commenters associated with the populist political party, Pakistan Tehreek Insaaf, were more likely to engage in uncivil comments compared to those affiliated with traditional political parties. Interestingly, both male and female journalists received a comparable number of comments on their tweets; however, the nature of the comments differed significantly. Male journalists were primarily criticized for their perceived lack of professionalism, whereas female journalists were subjected to gender-targeted offensive comments. The study highlighted how socio-cultural conditions were exploited by political parties and netizens to suppress critical journalists. Overall, this research sheds light on the multifaceted dynamics of harassment faced by journalists in the digital age, emphasizing the need for effective measures to safeguard freedom of expression and counteract online abuse within the Pakistani media landscape.

Brides in Rags! Conflict, Political Organization, Political Settlements and Uganda’s Transition to Multi-Party Politics Since 1986

Following a long-drawn-out five-year insurgency (1981‒1986), Uganda moved from a crisis to stability where political organizations were progressively transformed, albeit with institutionalized roadblocks. The former insurgent army – the National Resistance Army (NRA) and its political wing the National Resistance Movement (NRM) pursued a post-conflict transformation process, which was essentially driven by neo-liberal reforms, but metamorphosed into a dominant political party, undermining the hither to traditional political parties. Through historical interrogation, this paper seeks to bring to the fore reflections to the questions; “Why did the post war-NRA/NRM undertake a rapid shift in political ordering after the guerrilla war in 1986? Why did the new government pursue a pseudo neo-liberal agenda that sought free-market style policies and nested democratization after the guerrilla war?” These preliminary questions are asked for two fundamental reasons. One; it is common knowledge that in the early 1970s Museveni –The NRA warlord was a Marxist–Leninist and therefore in hot pursuit for socialism as a mode of statecraft. However, he became less of a socialist particularly at the end of his rebellion. Why? Secondly, post-war state-building theory, presupposes that after rebels have captured power following a civil war, their propensity to pursue liberal free-market type of politics is habitually low. Why then did NRA/NRM with extremely negative views for free-market style of politics undertake to institute multi-party politics? What political settlements did NRM pursue and how have they been institutionalized and instrumentalized overtime? What have been the attendant effects of these settlements in Uganda and how can these impacts be profiled in light of other war-to peace states in Africa?

Deindustrialisation and the Moral Economy in Scotland Since 1955. By Jim Philips, Valerie Wright and Jim Tomlinson

It is likely that many readers of this book will be familiar with the considerable body of scholarship concerning deindustrialization, working-class communities, and labour relations produced by Jim Philips, Valerie Wright, and Jim Tomlinson over the last two decades. Studies by Tomlinson on Dundee, with Wright on the industrial decline in Jute, Philips’ examination of Scotland’s coal mining industry, plus Wright’s own work on housing and communities in and around Glasgow have suggested that, as Tomlinson argued in this journal in 2016, deindustrialization and its consequences provide one of the most potent underpinning narratives of the twentieth-century Britain. This book continues to unpick the political consequences of deindustrialization, focusing in this instance on the ways in which customs and expectations embedded in working-class communities adapted to, and often clashed with the logics of economic restructuring in industry between the 1950s and 1990s. The distinctive qualities of Scotland’s ‘moral economy’—a concept defined here with reference to the work of Karl Polanyi and E.P. Thompson—were central to how both the working classes and a newer portion of the middle classes perceived the legitimacy (or lack thereof) of the British state’s policies that dealt with deindustrialization. If, as Philips has previously argued, devolution and the rise of Scottish nationalism were shaped by deindustrialization, then this book further shows why Westminster’s approaches to dealing with it, especially under Margret Thatcher, fuelled such a profound and often visceral shift in Scottish politics away from traditional political parties.

Historical perspectives on the 2022 electoral cycle in France

Abstract This series of three essays explores the stakes and outcomes of the 2022 French electoral cycle. Written in real time, they call attention to several emerging trends in French politics, including the collapse of both the traditional political parties and the left–right divide, the dynamics of attraction and repulsion elicited by Macron’s personality, the far right’s ‘arrival’ as a mainstream party, and the cascading fractures that divide and weaken the left.

Influence of Religion On the Political Parties’ Affiliations and Elections in Uganda: The Case of Iganga District

This study examined the influence of religion on the political Parties’ affiliation and elections in Iganga District. The study used a cross-sectional survey research design with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study used 700 respondents identified using simple random, purposive and snow ball sampling techniques. These included religious leaders, political and traditional leaders, and voters. Data was analysed using Chi-square test of goodness of fit and thematic analysis. The study discovered that Political party affiliation is not linked to religion apart from the traditional political parties, and religious leaders and their institutions are turned into mobilization centers consequently influencing them politically. The study recommended that religious leaders should try to unite the people in the region amidst confusion and divisionism caused by politics. In addition, Religious leaders and political leaders should therefore desist from activities which compromise with their religious and leadership ethics, thus campaigns or political gatherings should take place entirely out of the worship centers. They should not allow religion to be politicized.

ІДЕОЛОГІЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ТА ПОЧАТКОВА ДІЯЛЬНІСТЬ ПРЕДСТАВНИКІВ ГАРДИСТСЬКОГО РУХУ В РУМУНІЇ

The aim is to trace the process of the birth and development of the activities of the Romanian Legionnaire movement, headed by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu basing on the available source base and the research work of the researchers. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity, com-prehensiveness and integrity, systematicity in the presentation of the material. To solve the main tasks, we used methods of analysis and synthesis, problem-chron-ological. The scientifi c novelty lies in the fact that for the fi rst time in Ukrainian historiography, the ideology of the Legionnaire movement in Romania has been traced in connection with the creation of the Legion of Archangel Michael and the deployment of its activities in the late 1920s – early 1930s at a stage when the organization had an exclusively elitist character. Attention is paid to the pro-visions that arose in the 1920s and were developed by philosophers who were supporters of the organization. The organizational structure is considered as a response to the tasks set before the organization by the founders and managers. attention was paid to the way of participation in the political life of the Kingdom of Romania, where alongside terrorist acts there was also a struggle for seats in the parliament. Conclusions. After the First World War, new political movements and organizations began to appear in the Kingdom of Romania within its new borders and with universal suff rage against the background of traditional politi-cal parties. A number of right-wing movements were based on the conservative idea of Orthodoxy and Romanism, which were combined with various, some-times terrorist, ways of achieving a political goal. The appearance of the Legion of the Archangel Michael was the result of the development of the student na-tionalist movement and the activities of the National Christian Defense League. The activity was based on the principle of protecting the titular nation based on the ideas of traditionalism and anti-Semitism. The idea to create an organization based on elitism was combined at the beginning of the activity with attempts to gain support from supporters of the movement within the country. The structure of the organization was built according to the principle of military organization with mandatory observance of discipline. The expansion of the organization in the 1930s was carried out on the basis of the foundations laid during the exist-ence of the Legion of Archangel Michael.

Political change as group-based control: Threat to personal control reduces the support for traditional political parties.

People desire agentic representations of their personal and collective selves, such as their own nation. When national agency is put into question, this should increase their inclination to restore it, particularly when they simultaneously lack perceptions of personal control. In this article, we test this hypothesis of group-based control in the context of political elections occurring during socio-economic crises. We propose that people who are reminded of low (vs. high) personal control will have an increased tendency to reject traditional political parties that stand for the maintenance of a non-agentic political system. We experimentally manipulated the salience of low vs. high personal control in five studies and measured participants' intentions to support traditional and new political parties. Across four of five studies, in line with the predictions, low personal control reduced support for the main traditional conservative party (e.g., Partido Popular (PP) in Spain, the Republicans in France). These results appeared in contexts of national economic and/or political crisis, and were most pronounced when low (vs. high) national agency was made salient in Studies 4 and 5. The findings support the notion that rejecting the stability of the national political system can serve as a means to maintain a sense of control through the collective self.

Odgovornost etabliranih elit za vzpon populizma v Evropi

The article examines the role of the established elites in the process of the spread of populism in Europe. The author argues that populism is not so much a cause as a symptom of a crisis of democracy. The ineffectiveness and irresponsibility of the traditional political parties and the weakness of leadership by the established political elites have contributed significantly to the popularity of the populist messages. Populist political figures are taking advantage of the declining trust in political institutions, which is linked to their sub-optimal performance, especially in crisis situations.

Маоизм в Чили в 60-е годы. Раскол в Международном коммунистическом движении и чилийские левые

The split in the International Communist Movement and the Sino-Soviet party and state conflict had serious consequences for the left movement in Latin America, and in Chile in par-ticular. In Chile, adherents of the Chinese revolutionary expe-rience, and then the theory and practice of Maoism, stood out from the traditional political parties of communists and so-cialists in the mid-60s. At the heart of their differences with their parent parties were attitudes toward violent methods of revolutionary struggle, criticism of the dominant concept of the peaceful path of the Chilean revolution and the reformist line of the left. Dissident pro-Chinese groups did not immedi-ately accept the Maoist doctrine, limiting themselves to criti-cizing the pro-Soviet position of the Communists, but over time adopted the main provisions of the Maoist doctrine, in-cluding in those of its points that clearly contradicted the characteristics of the country. Maoism's opposition to the al-liance of communists and socialists created serious problems for the latter among their social bases. The strength of Chilean Maoism was limited, which over time led its parties and groups to a marginal position in the left camp. This article of-fers a study of the process of formation and development of the Maoist movement in Chile in the 60s, on the eve of the coming to power of the Government of National Unity.

İTALYAN BEŞ YILDIZ HAREKETİ ÜZERİNE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

İtalyan Beş Yıldız Hareketi Avrupa ve dünya siyaseti açısından ilginç bir vakadır. Temsili demokrasi modellerine karşı çıkan ve internet tabanlı bir doğrudan demokrasi idealine sahip olan hareket, İtalya’da yerel ve genel seçimlerde ciddi bir başarı elde etmiştir. Komedyen ve popüler blog yazarı Beppe Grillo tarafından sanal âlemde kurulan hareket kısa sayılabilecek bir süre içerisinde İtalyan siyasetinde önemli bir siyasal aktör olarak yerini almıştır. Kendini “geleneksel bir siyasal parti” olarak adlandırmayan bu hareket, siyasal yelpazenin farklı kesimlerinden oy almayı başarmış ve daha önce siyasete ilgi duymayan ve aktif katılmayanları siyasal aktivizme yönlendirmiştir. Çevrim içinde Grillo’nun kişisel bloğu etrafında sanal âlemde örgütlenen bu hareket, yine aynı şekilde meetup gibi dijital platformlar kullanarak çevrim dışına ve İtalyan meydanlarına yayılmıştır. İnternet hem örgütsel açıdan önemlidir hem de katılımcı doğrudan demokrasinin uygulanabileceği bir yer olarak görülür. Bu çalışmada İtalyan Beş Yıldız Hareketi’nin kişisel bir blogtan ulusal bir harekete ve siyasal partiye dönüşüm süreci ele alınmaktadır. Sistem ve parti karşıtı söylemi, sıra dışı seçim başarıları ve kendine has örgütsel yapısı hareketi incelenmeye değer kılmaktadır. Dağınık, merkezi olmayan protesto hareketlerinin birleşiminden iktidar partisi olabilmesi, tarihi, lideri, örgütsel yapısı, internetin ve çevrim içi uygulamaların bu süreçteki rolü irdelenmektedir.

Pakistan’s fraught political scene

Pakistan is locked in a three-way contest for power between populist former prime minister Imran Khan, who survived an assassination attempt in November 2022, military leaders and members of the current governing coalition, formed by traditional political parties representing continuity rather than change.

How do women are represented in the European legislative assemblies: comparative analysis of the left and populist political parties’ practices

The article is devoted to the problem of gender equality in politics and the representation of women in legislative bodies in Europe. The authors draw attention to the fact that the role of women in the European political landscape is increasing against the background of the crisis of traditional political parties. There is a relationship between the percentage of women involved in the work of legislative bodies and the political orientation of the parties that nominated them. As a hypothesis, the idea is accepted that the countries with the highest gender equality index and strong positions of social democratic parties are main donors for women in politics. Populist parties are mainly supporters of classical European traditionalism, therefore, in countries with strong right-wing populist parties’ women are less represented and there is an uneven distribution of legislative seats in favor of men. By analysing the empirical base (electoral statistics and discourse analysis), the authors come to the conclusion that gender parity has not been achieved in the most European countries. The most effective way to enforce women representation in the European legislative bodies is to implement quotas at the level of national legislation, as well as to use of voluntary party quotas. However, the artificial nomination of weak female candidates who do not find support among voters and thus ensure guaranteed electability for strong male candidates. This is especially true for right-wing populist political parties, furthermore this trend is typical for most European countries. In addition to quotas, the European countries use special educational and social policies to minimise the pressure of gender stereotypes and expand the practice of women's political participation at all levels of government, which has yielded positive results; in today's convocation of the European Parliament, women are represented more than in previous convocations.

Universidad, revolución y dólares: Dos estudios sobre la Guerra Fría cultural en el Uruguay de los sesenta

Universidad, revolución y dólares: Dos estudios sobre la Guerra Fría cultural en el Uruguay de los sesenta

Plebiscites for peace and fundamental rights in Colombia. A historical and comparative approach, 1957-2016

This article analyzes the legal, political and historical nature of the plebiscite and its relationship with fundamental rights. The study has a comparative approach, of theoretical, conceptual and critical reflection on the plebiscite as a mechanism for legitimizing political power and, at the local level, on its connection with the search for peace. And he concludes that the comparison between the plebiscites of 1957 and 2016 is useful to show, on the one hand, that in Colombia the characteristic features of this mechanism in the universal history of the 20th century have also been revealed. That is, despite its foundation in direct democracy, due to the use that can be given to manipulate the popular will, the plebiscite can be useful for Bonapartist or Orléanist and presidential systems, as well as for interests contrary to republicanism and theories of democratic rights like those of Luigi Ferrajoli. On the other hand, in this country, with the lure of the end of violence as a background in both cases, while in 1957 the plebiscite was a complete success for its organizers (traditional political parties and military junta) who achieved overwhelming popular approval (with wide participation) of the exclusive political system called the National Front and one of the decisive factors of the armed conflict in the last century; In 2016, the real leader of the plebiscite was the then senator Álvaro Uribe, former president and head of the opposition to the government of Juan Manuel Santos, promoter of peace. Uribe thus obtained, with a weak victory of the No to the «Havana Agreements» and an abstention rate of more than 60%, a clear victory for his authoritarian and warmongering policy, a key approach to the electoral campaign that would lead his political party to the victory in the 2018 presidential elections and the consequent stagnation of peace objectives.