Party Politics, Ahead of Print.
This paper examines strategic voting at Scottish Parliamentary elections since 1999. The emergence of the pro-independence Scottish National Party as the dominant party in Scotland has forced unionist voters to carefully consider their options. Analysing differences between the simultaneous pluralist constituency ballot and proportional list ballot of Scotland’s Additional Member System provides a unique insight into how voter behaviour has changed in response to Scotland’s changing political reality. This paper finds that many unionist voters have put aside left-right rivalries to support fellow unionist candidates on the constituency ballot. This examination finds that Labour and Conservative voters are willing to work together, in some circumstances, to defeat a significant number of pro-independence candidates. I find that intra-unionist strategic voting helped prevent the separatist majorities in parliament in both 2016 and 2021.
Generation-based position taking: Unpacking Finland’s decision to join NATO
Party Politics, Ahead of Print.
Scholars have identified the important roles personal characteristics — such as religion, gender, and race — play in influencing policymakers' position-taking behavior. One important yet overlooked personal characteristic is generation. This personal characteristic is not only influencing individual policymakers’ position-taking behavior; it is also changing some important political realities across Europe. An illustrative example of these changes is Finland's decision to join NATO. Based on documentary analyses of parliamentary speeches and personal interviews with Finnish officials, this article demonstrates that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine revealed already established, generation-based cleavages among MPs whose parties had long opposed the prospect of joining NATO. The speeches also reveal a dynamic and evolving orientation to the Baltic states among an emerging political cohort of Finnish MPs, who have been socialized in a fully EU-integrated Finland.
Scholars have identified the important roles personal characteristics — such as religion, gender, and race — play in influencing policymakers' position-taking behavior. One important yet overlooked personal characteristic is generation. This personal characteristic is not only influencing individual policymakers’ position-taking behavior; it is also changing some important political realities across Europe. An illustrative example of these changes is Finland's decision to join NATO. Based on documentary analyses of parliamentary speeches and personal interviews with Finnish officials, this article demonstrates that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine revealed already established, generation-based cleavages among MPs whose parties had long opposed the prospect of joining NATO. The speeches also reveal a dynamic and evolving orientation to the Baltic states among an emerging political cohort of Finnish MPs, who have been socialized in a fully EU-integrated Finland.
Trauma Translates to Activism: A Study of Select Dalit Women Poetry
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Communities who have experienced trauma find a way of dealing and coping with it. Writing is a known coping-mechanism for people on a path to healing. Healing for Dalit community, however, seems a distant dream in view of their ongoing struggle over centuries. Until 1995, Dalit men politically spoke on the behalf of Dalit women that obliterated their voice and existence. Their political engagement thereafter, brought to fore their immediate issues and consolidated their standpoint as political agents. Dalit women’s position is understood as a unique one from an epistemological perspective, considering their identity lies at the intersections of caste, class and gender. Studies that mark them, only use an objective criterion while overlooking the anxieties and traumas of their lived-experience. Dalit literature began in the 1960s with the aim of representing the voice of Dalits in their own terms and language. An urge to intellectually deconstruct their position alienates the nuances of their existential reality. A holistic approach to the question of Dalit women will require an insight into their lives both on the academic as well as pragmatic level. Dalit women writings can pave a way to an understanding of this hybrid. This study will trace how Dalit women channelize their trauma into their writing for the purpose of activism. By segregating trauma into two categories, namely intergenerational and cultural, this study will highlight the aspect of trauma that Dalit women engage with through their writings. How does their revolt take shape and what are the issues that have contributed to their trauma are some of the ideas that will be addressed through this study.
Communities who have experienced trauma find a way of dealing and coping with it. Writing is a known coping-mechanism for people on a path to healing. Healing for Dalit community, however, seems a distant dream in view of their ongoing struggle over centuries. Until 1995, Dalit men politically spoke on the behalf of Dalit women that obliterated their voice and existence. Their political engagement thereafter, brought to fore their immediate issues and consolidated their standpoint as political agents. Dalit women’s position is understood as a unique one from an epistemological perspective, considering their identity lies at the intersections of caste, class and gender. Studies that mark them, only use an objective criterion while overlooking the anxieties and traumas of their lived-experience. Dalit literature began in the 1960s with the aim of representing the voice of Dalits in their own terms and language. An urge to intellectually deconstruct their position alienates the nuances of their existential reality. A holistic approach to the question of Dalit women will require an insight into their lives both on the academic as well as pragmatic level. Dalit women writings can pave a way to an understanding of this hybrid. This study will trace how Dalit women channelize their trauma into their writing for the purpose of activism. By segregating trauma into two categories, namely intergenerational and cultural, this study will highlight the aspect of trauma that Dalit women engage with through their writings. How does their revolt take shape and what are the issues that have contributed to their trauma are some of the ideas that will be addressed through this study.
Thirty years of Mexico’ state elections. What explains subnational alternations?
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Thirty years of Mexico’ state elections. What explains subnational alternations?
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Performing Border Externalisation: Media Deterrence Campaigns and Neoliberal Belonging
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Caste and politics in (West) Bengal: in conversation with Sekhar Bandyopadhyay
The partisan foundations of parliamentary speech. How parliamentary party groups decide who gets to speak for them
Party Politics, Ahead of Print.
This study examines how parliamentary party groups decide who speaks for them on specific issues in parliament. We build on three strands of the literature: the work on the institutional foundations of parliamentary speech; the literature on committee assignments in parliamentary systems which points to different rationales behind parliamentary specialisation and the division of labour; and the literature on issue competition. First, we expect that the party leadership will assign more speaking time on issues that parties ‘own’ to Members of Parliament (MPs) they favour. Second, we expect an informational rationale regarding the allocation of speaking time by which MPs speak on issues for which they have pre-existing expertise. Third, we expect MPs to speak on issues if they have ties to relevant constituencies outside parliament. We analyse a new data set of all speeches in the Dutch lower house between 1998–2017. The analyses point to the importance of two rationales in the allocation of speaking time: high-status MPs (reflected by their list positions) speak on issues that parties prioritise, and MPs speak on issues of which they have specialised knowledge. Our analyses shed important light on how parliamentary party groups (PPGs) function, specifically how they divide labour within their ranks.
This study examines how parliamentary party groups decide who speaks for them on specific issues in parliament. We build on three strands of the literature: the work on the institutional foundations of parliamentary speech; the literature on committee assignments in parliamentary systems which points to different rationales behind parliamentary specialisation and the division of labour; and the literature on issue competition. First, we expect that the party leadership will assign more speaking time on issues that parties ‘own’ to Members of Parliament (MPs) they favour. Second, we expect an informational rationale regarding the allocation of speaking time by which MPs speak on issues for which they have pre-existing expertise. Third, we expect MPs to speak on issues if they have ties to relevant constituencies outside parliament. We analyse a new data set of all speeches in the Dutch lower house between 1998–2017. The analyses point to the importance of two rationales in the allocation of speaking time: high-status MPs (reflected by their list positions) speak on issues that parties prioritise, and MPs speak on issues of which they have specialised knowledge. Our analyses shed important light on how parliamentary party groups (PPGs) function, specifically how they divide labour within their ranks.
Digitalization of public administration in EU member states in times of crisis: the contributions of the national recovery and resilience plans
International Review of Administrative Sciences, Ahead of Print.
This article explores, in a comparative manner, the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States. Using a specific methodological toolkit that combines policy and statistical analysis for each EU Member State, this article evaluates the investments in the digitalization of public services, the use of broadband, the access to digital public services, the number of e-government users, the level of digital public services for citizens and businesses and open data. In our analysis, we will argue that the gaps and discrepancies in the field of digitalization of public administration, correlated with the indicators monitored in the Digital Economy and Society Index, have conditioned the EU Member States to design specific actions, measures and investments related to the national context.Points for practitioners The gaps and discrepancies concerning the digitalization of public administration are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States, correlated with the objectives and funding allocated to the digitalization pillar of the NRRP.The digitalization gap is measured by identifying and evaluating quantifiable indicators.Evaluations regarding the pillar of the digital transformation of public administration at national and regional levels are available, allowing comparative analyses to be carried out.
This article explores, in a comparative manner, the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States. Using a specific methodological toolkit that combines policy and statistical analysis for each EU Member State, this article evaluates the investments in the digitalization of public services, the use of broadband, the access to digital public services, the number of e-government users, the level of digital public services for citizens and businesses and open data. In our analysis, we will argue that the gaps and discrepancies in the field of digitalization of public administration, correlated with the indicators monitored in the Digital Economy and Society Index, have conditioned the EU Member States to design specific actions, measures and investments related to the national context.Points for practitioners The gaps and discrepancies concerning the digitalization of public administration are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the state-of-play of digital transformation of public administration in EU Member States, correlated with the objectives and funding allocated to the digitalization pillar of the NRRP.The digitalization gap is measured by identifying and evaluating quantifiable indicators.Evaluations regarding the pillar of the digital transformation of public administration at national and regional levels are available, allowing comparative analyses to be carried out.
Is Quebec independence still key in making sense of Canadian elections? A longitudinal analysis (2000–2021)
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