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College student voter turnout reflects the degree to which students are being taught to support and protect democracy, long a core mission of the U.S. higher education system. Yet, college student voter turnout is generally very low. In 2020–2021, campuses around the country participated in a coordinated program to increase college student voter registration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using survey and focus group data collected in spring 2021, we find evidence of understudied barriers to student registration that continue to restrict the effectiveness of those efforts. Specifically, we find that students need help determining whether or how to choose a political party affiliation and whether to register with their campus address. Efforts to help students surmount these understudied challenges are a potentially powerful means of increasing youth registration and turnout. We also find that students operated as knowledge brokers, sharing with family members the information they were receiving on campus about how to register and vote using new virtual options offered due to the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voting in India, the largest democracy of the world has been an everlasting problem that needs to be overcome. The cost of conducting such huge scale elections, booth capturing, corruption and fraud surrounds voting. This project is an initiative that attempts to provide an alternative to standard voting methods. It centers on building a solid electronic democratic framework that would provide fairness and privacy of the current democratic frameworks and voting systems while additionally offering transparency, availability and adaptability of being a totally electronic framework. It proposes an online voting protocol and will be carried out on a blockchain-based disseminated record which is fit for battling assaults of trustworthiness and non-disavowal while guaranteeing the genuineness of the votes and the privacy of the voters as promised. The manipulation of our current election system will be eliminated, and most importantly, the proportion of people voting may reach an unprecedented high level, which is the true measure of any democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine the political behavior of beginner voters in the 2020 Gowa Regency regional election in Kel. Paccinongang Kec. Somba Opu. The subjects in this study were beginner voters including: (1) novice voters, namely adolescents aged 18 years and participating in the 2020 regional elections for the beginner, (2) reports of agencies related to this study. This study selects informants purposively. By using descriptive qualitative analysis. The results showed that: 1. the behavior of beginner voters is very dominant using sociological approaches in making their choices. Beginner voters choose candidates for the regional head, namely the regent and deputy regent of Gowa Regency by emphasizing demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. The psychological approach is very minimal because this approach depends on the performance of political parties, and how to attract beginner voters. In addition to these two approaches, the rational choice approach places beginner voters making their choices with the tendency to choose candidates for Regent and Vice Regent by looking at their personal needs, namely the needs of their own families, it can be seen that they choose because they are based on the vision and mission of the candidate to help their lives. 2. Supporting factors are encouragement from parents, certain figures, and peers. In addition, the vision and mission of the candidates can encourage the interest of beginner voters. Inhibiting factors: it is the number of hoax news such as defamation and pitting both parties that makes beginner voters end to be very difficult to make their choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spread of recent conspiracy theories in the United States has been responsible for general social disorder, and an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on 6 January 2021. The specific conspiracy theory responsible for the 6 January events suggested that the 2000 election was stolen from then-President Trump and given to Joe Biden. On social media, the conspiracy theory was represented by the hashtag #StopTheSteal. This research analyzes the spatial distribution of #StopTheSteal activity on Twitter during November 2020, the month it was most widely used as related to the 2020 election. A model is constructed to explore demographic, economic, and social connections to #StopTheSteal activity at the state level. The relationships between multiple variables and #StopTheSteal are discussed, and the results suggest that political polarization leads to more extremist behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People receiving government assistance have personal stakes in the political process and intimate knowledge of policy implementation. However, data limitations have made it hard to measure voting among those receiving assistance across various programs. Using linked administrative data from a large county in Pennsylvania, merged with the Pennsylvania voter file, we calculate voting rates among benefits recipients. We find that people receiving means-tested benefits (cash assistance, food assistance, health insurance, disability benefits, childcare, and housing) vote at just over half the rate of other county residents (45% compared with 84% in 2020). In the 2020 election, public benefits recipients comprised over 20% of the voting-eligible population but only 12% of voters. To the extent that benefits recipients are more supportive of generous welfare policy than nonrecipients and more familiar with administrative burdens programs impose, this underrepresentation may obscure popular preferences for social welfare provision and shape politicians' attentiveness to program design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article centers on the contested 1937 gubernatorial election in New Jersey, revealing refined details and additional photographs since its initial publication. It discusses institutionalized voter fraud in Hudson County, Governor Harold L. Hoffman's collaboration with Democratic boss Frank Hague, and the suggestion that Hoffman's vulnerability to exposure of misdeeds may have played a role in his compliance with Hague's influence.

The 'Big Lie' in American politics has sparked intense concern about the erosion of public confidence in the integrity of US elections—raising questions about the legitimacy of the authorities, institutions, and principles of democratic governance. Cynicism generated from misinformation about trustworthy elections has attracted a growing body of individual-level social-psychological research in America and Europe. Another common problem found around the world, however, which has received far less attention, concerns credulous citizens who express considerable faith and confidence in flawed contests. This study theorises that at macro-level, the accuracy of any public judgments about trustworthy elections is likely to be mediated by the information environment in open and closed societies, as well as by the type of regime. To understand these issues, Part I summarises the conceptual and theoretical argument about trust and trustworthiness. Part II describes the sources of evidence. To apply the theory, data on public opinion is drawn from around 85 societies around the globe included in Waves 6 and 7 of the World Values Survey (2010–2022), with measures of electoral trust and subjective perceptions of electoral integrity among ordinary citizens. Institutional electoral performance indices are drawn from the Varieties of Democracy project (V-Dem 12.0). Part III analyses how far these independent estimates match public judgments of the trustworthiness of elections in each country – and how far such relationships are conditioned by the type of information society as well as by the type of regime. Part IV highlights the key findings and considers their broader implications for understanding the macro-level conditions for trust and trustworthiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, lawmakers and advocates focused significant attention towards reforming the Electoral Count Act—an 1887 law that governs the counting of Electoral College votes in Congress. After almost two years, Congress passed reforms to the Act that will make it more difficult for partisan actors to manipulate the outcome of future presidential elections. While this achievement is no doubt critical to prevent another insurrection, partisan attacks on election outcomes remain most likely to occur at the state and local level where the bulk of election administration takes place, long before Congress meets to ratify the Electoral College results. The 2022 election cycle previewed one such attack with alarming frequency: Rogue officials in several states refused to certify election results or attempted to otherwise interfere with certification—the statutory process by which election officials attest to the accuracy and completeness of election results. While efforts to impede certification are not new, never before have they been deployed on such a large and coordinated scale. For this reason, little academic attention has been paid to the mechanics of state certification frameworks.1 This Article fills that gap to demonstrate why, and how, state certification frameworks can combat the ongoing threats against them. It begins by providing a detailed overview of how election certification works and how recent attacks on the process have targeted and disrupted certification using false claims of widespread election fraud. It then delves into the rich but often overlooked history of certification as a non-discretionary duty to demonstrate that those attacks flouted hundreds of years of well-established American legal history; recognizing that discretion created opportunities for crises and election fraud, early courts and legislatures purposefully shaped certification into a mandatory, non-discretionary duty. The Article concludes with a roadmap for election officials, candidates, and advocates to resolve future attacks on the certification process in eight key battleground states likely to play significant roles in the 2024 election cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the nullification of an election in Barrio de Pajarito de Isleta, New Mexico, in 1826 by Governor Antonio Narbona. The election was held under the newly created Mexican Constitution of 1824, but Narbona was unhappy with the process and result. This incident highlights the challenges faced by New Mexico as it transitioned from Spanish colonial rule to Mexican sovereignty, and the clash between traditional customs and the new laws of the republic. The article explores the political and legal limbo experienced by New Mexico during this period of change. The text discusses the election controversy in New Mexico in 1825. Governor Narbona called for the nullification of the elections at the Barrio de Pajarito due to several irregularities, including the election of too many representatives and the re-election of an alcalde without skipping a term. The governor's investigation faced resistance from local citizens, some of whom were related to the candidates. The controversy continued with public hearings and testimonies, with some citizens supporting nullification and others defending the election results. The text highlights the clash between local practices and Mexican laws, as well as the influence of family ties in the community. The text discusses the nullification of an election in Barrio de Pajarito de Isleta in 1825 by Governor Antonio Narbona. The governor argued that the election violated Mexican laws and accused Jos6 Gabriel SAnchez and Jos6 Antonio Chdvez of disobeying [Extracted from the article]

Previous research finds a positive association between electoral fraud and post-election protests, violence, and civil conflict. This article contends that the effect of electoral fraud on peace can be heterogeneous. I investigate elections after civil wars that stalemated. My contribution is to present a theory and suggestive evidence that, in this context, electoral fraud by unpopular incumbents can be peace-promoting. An important policy implication is that international efforts to prevent electoral fraud (e.g. electoral observers), in this specific setting, may increase the odds that a civil war continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of IgualdadES is the property of Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the history and current state of anti-government movements in the United States, with a focus on the upcoming 2024 presidential election. It acknowledges the popularity of former President Donald Trump among Republican voters and his anti-government stance. The article also discusses the challenges faced by current President Joe Biden, including low job approval ratings and concerns about the economy. It explores the possibility of Trump or another "anti-government" candidate winning the Republican nomination and returning to the White House, while also considering the role of independent third-party candidates. The article presents a balanced perspective, taking into account diverse viewpoints and historical context. Additionally, it examines the current state of the Republican Party, highlighting divisions caused by Trump's actions and presidency. The article discusses the results of the 2022 mid-term elections, the different factions within the party, and potential candidates for the 2024 presidential election. It suggests that while Trump leads in polls, his legal challenges and divisive rhetoric may hinder his chances of securing the nomination or winning the general election. The article concludes by suggesting that the Republican Party's embrace of Trump and his anti-government rhetoric may have marginalized the party and made it less appealing to voters. [Extracted from the article]

Contrary to enduring theoretical expectations on neopatrimonialism, family successions are rare in sub-Saharan Africa. This article demonstrates that family successions are difficult to set up and might fail when rulers attempt to implement them. Building on the scholarship on political dynasties and family successions in broader comparative politics, I demonstrate that the study of failed attempts helps unveil the specific mechanisms of such failure. While scholarship documents how formal rules (such as term limits) constrain the ruler's succession agenda, I contend that other types of constraints -party politics, opposition coalition, and public opinion-might also strongly impact it but have remained underexamined. The Senegal case study helps uncover these constraints. The article begins by emphasizing the theoretical importance and empirical challenges of studying non-cases of family successions and, more specifically, failed attempts. Then, the article examines the Senegalese failed hereditary succession between former President Abdoulaye Wade and his son Karim. Through a longitudinal single-country case study (2000–2024), this article employs process-tracing to uncover the three main interrelated mechanisms, which led to this failure: Popular resentment towards the succession attempt, a succession crisis due to the ruler's not leaving power, and elite defection leading to party split. In mutually reinforcing each other, these dynamics converged to block the transfer of power from the ruler to his son. Therefore, this single case study of a failed attempt enhances our empirical and theoretical understanding of what drives variation in the success or failure of family succession. I argue that the role of actors (party elites and voters) in the succession process and how they engage with the rules of the game (mainly over party leadership selection and elections) impact the succession outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metropolitan cities were established by Italian Law no. 56/2014 (commonly known as the "Delrio Law") as a new level of government, replacing and redefining functions previously performed by provinces in selected major urban areas. One of their three key governing bodies is the metropolitan council, a representative assembly the members of which are elected via an indirect, second-level, proportional, list-based system in which the electorate comprises all sitting mayors and councillors from metropolitan city municipalities. The election mechanism applies a differential weighting scheme that reflects the population size of the municipalities in which voters serve as mayors or councillors. Using the outcomes of the metropolitan council elections held in the years 2021 and 2022 in eight metropolitan cities, this study highlights the variety of ways (many of which appear to be largely unintended) in which demographic weighting bestows significantly greater (and, arguably, unwarranted) power to larger cities' representatives, essentially disrupting the principles of territorial representation that the weighting scheme intended to embody. The study also focuses on how the legal framework for metropolitan council elections generates institutional instability via mandatory forfeitures and ensuing substitutions of seat vacancies. Finally, the author identifies potential adjustments to the electoral system - especially a proposal for the attenuation of disproportionate territorial representation via demographic weighting based on the so-called "square-root method". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Voting system presented in this paper represents a modern solution to the challenges faced by the traditional electoral processes. In an era characterized by technological advancements, this system harnesses digital innovation to enhance the efficiency, security, and accessibility of elections. Evolving from a rich history of voting systems, this digital platform integrates several influential works and leverages cutting-edge technology to create a user-friendly interface with robust security measures. The system addresses critical issues that have plagued traditional paper and electronic ballots, such as voter confusion and fraud, by implementing stringent encryption techniques, password renewal mechanisms, and real-time prevention of duplicated votes. It enables the elimination of multiple registrations, streamlining the voter registration process. Online voting systems have gained prominence as a means of conducting elections efficiently, reducing logistical challenges, and increasing voter accessibility. The system offers three distinct categories for voting: Regional Elections, Local Elections, and Presidential Elections, each with its own set of independent candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bangladesh is facing economic challenges, including high inflation and a depreciating currency. The government attributes these issues to external factors, but critics argue that financial mismanagement is to blame. The country has received a loan from the IMF, but accountability and sound financial governance are necessary for its effectiveness. There are also concerns about labor unrest in the garment sector, democratic backsliding, and human rights violations. The US and EU have expressed concerns and taken measures such as visa restrictions and sanctions. The upcoming national election is seen as crucial, and the EU is urged to reconsider its ties with Bangladesh and support human rights and civil society organizations. [Extracted from the article]

The Smart Card Reader (SCR) deployed in Nigeria 2015 and 2019 elections by the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) for voter accreditation failed to eliminate voting by proxy. Thus, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was introduced. This revolutionary technology combines voter registration, accreditation, and results transmission in one device. INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) enrolls new voters; the BVAS accredits voters on Election Day while the same device uploads election results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal. Results show that the voter accreditation process is faster compared to SCR. BVAS has increased election participation, ensure equitable distribution of seats in the National Assembly, hence promoting inclusivity and sustenance of democracy in the country. This paper examines how BVAS works, how it protects election integrity, its drawbacks, and possible recommendation for future elections. Despite its drawbacks, technology is the answer to Nigeria electoral fraud. Its benefits exceed its drawbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the 2022 general elections in Papua New Guinea, covering both electoral quality and election outcomes. Overall, the 2022 elections were very troubled. In parts of the country, serious violence and electoral fraud were major issues. In other parts of the country, polling was less fraught. However, some problems, such as the roll, were serious almost everywhere. In terms of election outcomes, one outcome – only two women won seats – was predictable. However, the election brought puzzling results too: in particular, incumbents were re-elected at the highest rate ever. And the largest party won a larger share of seats than has been the case in any election since 1982. Neither of the latter two results appear to have been a direct product of electoral fraud. Rather, the party outcome stems from a turn-of-the-millennium rule change. High incumbent re-election rates remain a genuine puzzle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about the integrity of Turkey's elections have increased with the recent transition from a parliamentary democracy to an executive presidency under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Election forensics tools are used to identify statistical traces of certain types of electoral fraud, providing important information about the integrity and validity of democratic elections. Such analyses of the 2017 and 2018 Turkish elections revealed that malpractices such as ballot stuffing or voter manipulation may indeed have played a significant role in determining the election results. Here, we apply election forensic statistical tests for ballot stuffing and voter manipulation to the results of the 2023 presidential election in Turkey. We find that both rounds of the 2023 presidential election exhibit similar statistical irregularities to those observed in the 2018 presidential election, however the magnitude of these distortions has decreased. We estimate that 2.4% (SD 1.9%) and 1.9% (SD 1.7%) of electoral units may have been affected by ballot stuffing practices in favour of Erdoğan in the first and second rounds, respectively, compared to 8.5% (SD 3.9%) in 2018. Areas with smaller polling stations and fewer ballot boxes had significantly inflated votes and turnout, again, in favor of Erdoğan. Furthermore, electoral districts with two or fewer ballot boxes were more likely to show large swings in vote shares in favour of Erdoğan from the first to the second round. Based on a statistical model, it is estimated that these shifts account for 342,000 additional ballots (SD 4,900) or 0.64% for Erdoğan, which is lower than the 4.36% margin by which Erdoğan was victorious. Our results suggest that Turkish elections continue to be riddled with statistical irregularities, that may be indicative of electoral fraud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pictures of the US Capitol attack, on January 6, 2021, represent a before and after in a country marked by the culture of political polarization. Following a presidential campaign based on misinformation and accusations of electoral fraud by Republican candidate Donald Trump, the level of maximum polarization causes a climate of social rupture. Faced with this, the Democratic candidate and winner of the elections, Joe Biden, projects a discourse of institutional stability and legality as a strategy before public opinion. Two years later, the abrupt division of the US electorate is evident, with a significant percentage of Republican voters questioning the legitimacy of the electoral process. The objective of this research is to find out the strategies of political polarization deployed by Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Twitter in the 2020-2021 presidential transition period, as well as the public's response. Based on a general sample of 1,060 tweets, a comparative content analysis methodology with a triple approach (quantitative-qualitative-discursive) is applied, based on the study of themes, emotions, and the ability to go viral of the messages of both political leaders. The results confirm a Trump's speech defined by polarization, misinformation and the attack on the democratic system, relegating information from his presidential administration in the last months of his term to the background. On the contrary, Biden avoids confrontation and reinforces his legitimacy as president-elect, by announcing management measures of the future government. The engagement value of the social audience on Twitter is also added, with a position of support for the winner of the elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1900, news of U.S. postal officials committing fraud in Cuba became a scandal that influenced the political, legal, and governmental trajectory of U.S. imperialism. Anti-imperialist Democrats used the frauds to undermine Republican pro-imperialists on the eve of the 1900 election. Prominent Republicans hoped to contain the scandal through swift punishment, but when the accused refused extradition, the resulting Supreme Court case, though rarely discussed, became the first of the Insular Cases. In 1900, it was not yet clear whether the U.S. empire would be run by self-interested actors or self-proclaimed progressive reformers. The commitment to progressive imperialism observed later in other colonies was, at least in part, worked out in this postal frauds case, as individuals chose how to respond to the scandal. Their actions were guided as much by scandal and the pursuit of self-interest as they were by lofty ideals about good government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research introduces a decentralized method for handling real estate transactions through the utilization of private blockchain technology. The authors pinpoint the primary challenges within the prevailing transaction procedures in India and advocate for the integration of blockchain technology as a solution. Ultimately, the study concludes that the proposed system has the potential to optimize transaction processes within Indian government offices, fostering heightened efficiency, transparency, and a reduction in corrupt practices. Methods/design/methodology: The current transaction process and the centralized technology are investigated using a physical observation approach at the government office. Following that, numerous parties are questioned to identify the main pain areas in the process. The outcomes of the interviews are used to create a blockchain solution that addresses the identified pain points. Following the design, interviewees are requested to validate the suggested model. Findings: Some of the primary pain areas found in the real estate transaction procedure include that it is impossible to avoid single-point failure due to the present centralized transaction process, the possibility of corruption at any point, and the lack of data available at each node. Using blockchain techniques, the suggested decentralized application enhances the way transactions are processed and ensures the quality of data availability, transparency, and the elimination of single points of failure. Practical implications and simulation process: A private blockchain application is created to improve the real estate transaction procedure at the Indian government office. One complex front end is created to receive information about the seller, the buyer's property, and the payment, and a suitable database is employed to hold the sensitive data. Data is moved to the private blockchain for final execution when the smart business logic has been applied to the necessary information. One artificial utility is created that places a heavy load on the proposed system and measures the load trashing to validate it. It generates an enormous amount of sample data to verify the suggested system. Originality/value: According to recent research, blockchain technology has the potential to get better efficiency, transparency, security, data accessibility, and thus trust in the transaction process. As a result, the suggested application is beneficial to the future of the Indian real estate transaction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyze the media literacy skills at work in the content shared by fans on Twitter during the #FandomsPeloVoto (#Fandomsforthe-Vote) campaign. In a convergence culture environment, media literacy comprises five skills: curation, creation, critical understanding, participation, and collaboration. Launched in May 2022, the campaign--carried out in partnership with Mídia Ninja, the National Student Union (União Nacional dos Estudantes, UNE), and the Brazilian Union of Secondary School Students (União Brasileira dos Estudantes Secundaristas, UBES)--brought together more than 100 pop culture fandoms in Brazil to mobilize 16- to 18-year-olds to obtain a voter registration card and be eligible to vote in the 2022 elections. It can be concluded that the activism of fandoms goes beyond transposing fan culture practices into the realm of political participation, also encompassing the critical interpretation of the sociopolitical issues that were part of the action and the creative production of posts on Twitter. Accordingly, #FandomsPeloVoto has aspects of political resistance, as one of its primary objectives is the removal of President Jair Bolsonaro, leader of the far right in Brazil, from power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, governments in many Western democracies have shown a remarkable consensus in pursuing fiscal austerity measures during periods of strained public finances. In this article, we show that these decisions have consequences for political polarization. Our macro-level analysis of 166 elections since 1980 finds that austerity measures increase both electoral abstention and votes for non-mainstream parties, thereby boosting party system polarization. A detailed analysis of selected austerity episodes also shows that new, small and radical parties benefit most from austerity policies. Finally, survey experiments with a total of 8,800 respondents in Germany, Portugal, Spain and the UK indicate that the effects of austerity on polarization are particularly pronounced when the mainstream right and left parties both stand for fiscal restraint. Austerity is a substantial cause of political polarization and hence political instability in industrialized democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the greater visibility of sexual and gender minorities, due to data limitations, the quantitative literature on their citizenship outcomes is very limited. Using a large original survey of Canadian sexual and gender minorities and the Canadian General Social Survey, this article first examines the extent of political inclusion of sexual and gender minorities, as measured by sense of belonging to Canada and the province of residence, likelihood of voting, and confidence in the police and the justice system. Sexual and gender minorities are generally found to have a markedly weaker sense of belonging to Canada and confidence in its institutions. Next, these patterns are re‐examined accounting for the degree of outness. The results indicate considerable discrepancies across sexual and gender minorities in how outness affects their citizenship outcomes. In particular, it seems that the sociopolitical profile of these groups plays an important mediating role in the effects of outness on their citizenship outcomes. Related Articles: Burnett, Craig M., and Aaron S. King. 2015. "The Personal Politics of Same‐Sex Marriage." Politics & Policy 43(4): 586–610. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12126. Lewis, Gregory B., Marc A. Rogers, and Kenneth Sherrill. 2011. "Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Voters in the 2000 US Presidential Election." Politics & Policy 39(5): 655–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2011.00315.x. Winburn, Jonathan, and Amanda Winburn. 2020. "The Role of Political Ideology in Public Opinion toward Enumerated Antibullying Policies in Public Schools." Politics & Policy 48(3): 442–63. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12355. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of GWP: Gesellschaft Wirtschaft Politik is the property of Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article is a book review of "Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century" by Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman. The authors aim to unmask and name the current rulers and dictators in the 21st century, distinguishing their similarities and differences. They explore the history of political thought and its contribution to understanding contemporary authoritarian rule. The authors argue that modern dictators, known as spin dictators, manipulate information and pretend to be democratic, using techniques such as interference in elections, media control, and propaganda. They also discuss the prospects and consequences of these regimes and the importance of strengthening democracy and its institutions. [Extracted from the article]

During the 2020 US presidential election, conspiracy theories about large-scale voter fraud were widely circulated on social media platforms. Given their scale, persistence, and impact, it is critically important to understand the mechanisms that caused these theories to spread. The aim of this preregistered study was to investigate whether retweet frequencies among proponents of voter fraud conspiracy theories on Twitter during the 2020 US election are consistent with frequency bias and/or content bias. To do this, we conducted generative inference using an agent-based model of cultural transmission on Twitter and the VoterFraud2020 dataset. The results show that the observed retweet distribution is consistent with a strong content bias causing users to preferentially retweet tweets with negative emotional valence. Frequency information appears to be largely irrelevant to future retweet count. Follower count strongly predicts retweet count in a simpler linear model but does not appear to drive the overall retweet distribution after temporal dynamics are accounted for. Future studies could apply our methodology in a comparative framework to assess whether content bias for emotional valence in conspiracy theory messages differs from other forms of information on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clientelism in Paraguay is widespread and socially acknowledged by politicians and citizens. However, it is relatively understudied in the comparative literature. This article offers a qualitative, descriptive account of the main actors and logics of the clientelistic linkages between politicians and citizens in Paraguay, focusing on both long-term relations and practices deployed during electoral periods. The article argues that clientelism in Paraguay is anchored in territorial party structures, identification with the main political parties, and networks of brokers with ties to neighbors. During periods of electoral campaigns, particularistic exchanges intensify and culminate in turnout buying on election day. The article shows that in Paraguay, the relational and electoral parts of clientelism are inseparable, whereby the former conditions the latter. Thus, turnout buying stems from the relations built over long time periods. The research is based on in-depth interviews and fieldwork in four cities in the metropolitan area of Asunción. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]