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In both the Philippines and Singapore, rapid capitalist development over the last decade combined with intensified inequalities in wealth and income. The conflict this generated resulted in significant – but very different – political responses by elites and popular forces in these countries. In the Philippines, public disenchantment with established elites and institutions fuelled support for populist representation through the authoritarian Rodrigo Duterte. In Singapore, populist sentiments were evident also, but ruling elites were more effective in containing conflict to reinforce prevailing institutions of representation. The explanation for these different outcomes resides not in the intrinsic quality of established institutions, but in the contrasting social foundations on which they rest: technocratic state capitalism in Singapore and private oligarchic capitalism in the Philippines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electorate size is recognized to affect a wide range of democratic processes and outcomes. This is particularly true at the local level of government where amalgamations have been common in recent years. Here, we explore the extent to which electorate size affects how city councillors communicate with their constituents in order to learn about those constituents' needs and preferences. We hypothesize that councillors cope with increases in electorate size by using face-to-face methods of communication less and mediated forms of communication, including social media, more. Drawing on original interview and survey data with Canadian city councillors, we find that councillors tend to rely on face-to-face meetings, telephone calls, and email to communicate with constituents, but are less likely to use social media to do so. However, we find no evidence to support the hypothesized relationships between electorate size and representational communication. Keywords: Canada, city politics, political science, representation, councillors, social media La taille de lelectorat affecte un large eventail de processus democratiques et ses resultats. C'est particulierement vrai au niveau local des gouvernements municipaux au cours des nombreuses fusions des dernieres annees. Cet article, examine dans quelle mesure la taille de lelectorat affecte la facon dont les conseillers municipaux communiquent avec les electeurs afin d'en apprendre davantage sur les besoins et preferences de ces derniers. Notre hypothese de base est que les conseillers face a l'augmentation de la taille de lelectorat utilisent moins des methodes de communication face-a-face au profit d'une utilisation accrue de forme de communication mediatisee, y compris les medias sociaux. S'appuyant sur les donnees de l'enquête et des entrevues avec les conseillers municipaux, nous constatons que ces derniers ont tendance a se fier a des reunions face-a-face, des appels telephoniques et des courriels pour communiquer avec les electeurs. Ils sont donc moins susceptibles d'utiliser les medias sociaux. Toutefois, nous n'avons trouve aucune preuve a l'appui de l'hypothese d'une relation entre la taille de lelectorat et le type de communication utilise pour communiquer avec les electeurs. Mots cles : Canada, politique municipale, sciences politiques, representation, conseillers, medias sociaux, In order for elected officials to act as representatives, they must first learn what the needs and preferences of their constituents are. The ways in which they go about doing [...]

Throughout the world, the number of women elected to legislatures has risen dramatically. Most of the quantitative research explaining party, district, or national differences has focused on the aggregate rather than the candidate level thereby overlooking women's access to party ballots. In examining both the election and selection stages, we focus on Spain, a closed-list proportional representation system where parties have tight control over their ballots and the election of candidates is largely a function of rank orders on the ballot. In this South European democracy women's representation in the national parliament has experienced an incremental track, reaching 39 percent in 2016. Party differences in gender outcomes and policies promoting equal gender representation did not vanish once a legislated quota was introduced in 2007. The empirical analysis builds on an original set of candidate longitudinal data covering nine elections held between 1986 and 2016. Specifically, we test how party and candidate factors differentially affect the selection of men and women to party ballots and their likelihood of getting elected. We show that strategic discrimination against female candidates affects all parties and it happens irrespective of candidates' political experience, which explains why male overrepresentation has been significantly reduced but not overturned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deliberative systems have been proposed as a way of conceiving the complexity of real-world policymaking in deliberative terms. However, there is a concern that in doing so they blunt the critical edge of deliberative ideals. This paper advances an alternative concept – the ‘network’ of deliberative exchanges – that can encompass real-world complexity without sacrificing deliberation’s normative bite. It sets out the components of a network approach, making clear how these are grounded in deliberative principle. It then shows how the network model can apply to actual policy processes, with an extended case study – a critique of the key stages in the Thatcher government’s decision to adopt a poll tax in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the systemic turn in deliberative democratic theory, there is renewed and broadened emphasis on the inclusion of all affected by a political decision in the making of those decisions. The key enabler of inclusion at a system level istransmission: theoretically, a deliberative system is more democratic if it can foster the transmission of claims and ideas across different sites, especially between informal sites of public deliberation and the more formal institutions of political decision-making. Yet little is known about the mechanisms of transmission in deliberative systems. How, and to what effect, is transmission facilitated in practice? This paper draws on case studies of three promising mechanisms of deliberative transmission: institutional, innovative and discursive. We discuss the key factors that enable or hinder different forms of transmission, and reflect on the ways in which they might be strengthened in deliberative systems. Our analysis suggests that the systemic turn in deliberative democracy should go hand-in-hand with a nuanced understanding of how transmission occurs across different sites. As such, our discussion has important implications for deliberative scholars and practitioners as they go about conceptualizing, studying and steering deliberative democracy at the large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recently, the systemic approach to deliberative democracy has set forth a new way of thinking about the legitimacy of non-electoral forms of representation based on the connection of different discursive spheres. Despite its theoretical potentials, the theory has not been able to either indicate what fosters this connection, or understand the impacts of articulation on the representative process. We present some results of a research study focusing on the Brazilian Social Assistance System and its main participatory and deliberative institutions. We argue that at least two dimensions are responsible for the connection between arenas – institutional design and the circulation of participant – and that these dimensions also present contradictory effects in terms of the legitimacy of representation, including problems related to public accountability and the inclusion of different discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The political representation of future generations would change the relationship between public decisions and the members of democratic political systems. In this paper we examine the implication of these changes on the responsibility of the living members for the future effects of current polices with special reference to climate change. The claim defended is that the collective responsibility of the living members for future outcomes diminishes when public decisions are made less responsive to them. In order to explain why this is the case a ‘participatory account' of collective responsibility is developed according to which collective responsibility is premised on the extent to which public decisions depend on their members. The paper concludes with a discussion on the grounds for valuing collective outcome responsibility and why the conflict between this norm and the claim that future generations should be granted political representation poses fundamental questions about the value of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the main challenges (particularly those deriving from the non-identity problem and epistemic uncertainty concerning the preferences of future persons) to the idea that we should and can represent future generations in our present policymaking. It argues that these challenges can and should be approached from the perspective of human rights. To this end it introduces and sketches the main features of a human rights framework derived from the moral theory of Alan Gewirth. It indicates how this framework can be grounded philosophically, sketches the main features and open questions of the framework and its grounding, and shows how it can be used to deal with the challenges to the idea that future generations have rights that can be represented in our policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we distinguish legitimate, democratic representation from illegitimate, undemocratic elite rule? Empirical scholars of representation typically rely on the “bedrock norm” that democratic representatives must respond to the antecedent interests of their constituents, but empirical studies of public opinion suggest that constituents’ interests emerge following engagement with their representatives. The result is the “constituency paradox”: representatives are supposed to respond to constituent interests, interests that representatives themselves help to create. Deliberative democratic theories seek to circumvent this paradox by distinguishing between representatives who communicatively educate their constituents from those who strategically manipulate them, but it is empirically impossible to distinguish legitimate education from illegitimate manipulation. Nondeliberative criteria requiring elite competition and popular contestation also fail to ground legitimate democratic representation. In response, I develop a model of constituency deliberation that does not rely on the bedrock norm, accepts strategic as well as communicative action, acknowledges the asymmetric but reciprocal relationship between constituents and representatives, and uses a systemic approach to assess democratic representation. This deliberative model leads to institutional reforms that avoid the bedrock norm and seek to mitigate representative manipulation by creating space for constituents to respond to representatives’ claims to represent their interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests a total change in the government of public universities in Colombia within the frame of a proposal of reform of the higher education. This reform should include the idea of deepening democracy which is in line with the political and social changes that are taking place in the country mainly as a change in political power structures. This total change must take place through a radicalization of faculty and student representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Representation is inherent to democracy and truly representative institutions are vital for a good quality democracy. However, the argument that parliaments are not sufficiently representative because of female under-representation is widespread. A number of countries around the world have introduced gender quotas in order to enhance the descriptive representation of women. This article analyses women's representation and the adoption of gender quotas in Poland. After several unsuccessful attempts, the law was finally approved in 2011. Veto players analysis is used to explain this policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

La finalidad de este trabajo es analizar y discutir la importancia de la dimensión política de la rendición de cuentas vertical. Para ello, primero se expone que el principio de independencia de la representación ha generado una excesiva distancia los representantes y los ciudadanos. También se analiza que el ejercicio de la representación política tiene como límite la calidad de la representación. Para vigilar dicha calidad los ciudadanos deben contar con diversos mecanismos de rendición de cuentas. Este trabajo pretende mostrar que para que los ciudadanos sean tomados en cuenta por los políticos y juzguen la calidad de su desempeño se requiere el fortalecimiento de los mecanismos de rendición de cuentas verticales [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In public service institutions occupational gender segregation persists. These institutions are often gendered with predominantly masculine organisational cultures. The lack of passive and active representation of women has implications for public policy outcomes. This paper suggests a normative typology of the passive and active representation of women in bureaucracies, vis-à-vis institutional strategies to address the under-representation of women. The typology is based on: a theoretical discussion of representative bureaucracy; and a critical discussion of strategies to improve the representation of women. A key feature of the paper is the development of a typology with a suggested concinnity of institutional strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presidential-parliamentary distinction is foundational to comparative politics and at the center of a large theoretical and empirical literature. However, an examination of constitutional texts suggests a fair degree of heterogeneity within these categories with respect to important institutional attributes. These observations indicate that the classic presidential-parliamentary distinction, and the semi-presidential category, may not be systemic. This article investigates whether the defining attributes that separate presidential and parliamentary constitutions predict other attributes that are stereotypically associated with these institutional models. The results suggest the need for considerable skepticism of the ‘systemic’ nature of the classification. Indeed, the results imply that in order to predict the powers of a country's executive and legislature, it is more useful to know where and when the constitution was written than whether the country has a presidential or parliamentary system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article focuses on the sources of democratic dysfunction throughout history. Topics include the lessons that can be learned from failures of democracy, problems with proportional representation, and the difference between the two forms of political dysfunction: presentist failings and ungovernability.

This article investigates how the struggles of national groups have affected the politics of bureaucratic representation of ethnic minorities in Belgium and Canada, and vice-versa. It argues that the politics of multinational representation in Belgium limited the adoption of measures seeking to guarantee a greater representation of ethnic and racial minorities. In contrast, the politics of multiculturalism in Canada associated with the political mobilization of ethnic groups, contributed to the rejection of measures of guaranteed representation of Francophones in the federal bureaucracy. Measures adopted to increase the representation of Francophones, however, did not impede later attempts to augment representation of visible minorities in the civil service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines what might be included in a definition of Māori political participation that moves beyond a predominant focus on voting in New Zealand general elections. I suggest that the proliferation of Māori governance organisations in recent years means that Māori participation within these organisations must also be considered as part of wider political participation. In addition, I argue that Māori engagement with local authorities deserves further close examination to explore the multiple ways in which political participation occurs. Using a broader definition of Māori political participation and highlighting its many facets indicate that Māori engage in more varied ways in New Zealand politics than previously recognised. 在新西兰，普选的投票是关注的焦点，毛利的政治参与不在其内。本文讨论了毛利政治参与的界定还可以包括哪些内容。作者认为，毛利治理组织近些年的兴旺发达说明毛利人的参与这类组织，也应被视为更广泛的政治参与之一部分。另外，毛利人与地方当局的交往也值得密切的关注，需要探讨其政治参与的多重方式。广义地理解毛利人的政治参与，关注其多面多相，可以让我们看到，其实毛利人参与新西兰政治的途径要比以往我们所看到的丰富变化得多。 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tells the story of how and why legislative candidate sex quotas, more commonly known as gender quotas, were adopted by the Irish Parliament in July 2012. In so doing, it reviews both internal party equality strategies and external party influences. Tracing party data over a two-decade period, the article shows that parties have adopted a range of strategies, in line with their ideological orientation, to address women's political under-representation. For the most part, however, these strategies have been rhetorical and promotional in nature, and have not resulted in significant gains for women in electoral politics. To understand how support for gender quotas was secured, Krook's analytical framework for the adoption of gender quotas is employed, and the conditions favouring the introduction of quotas in Ireland are identified. The article finds that the coming together of a constellation of pressures, notably a political reform discourse, the mobilisation of civic society groups and elite support, facilitated the adoption of legislative candidate sex quotas in 2012, a legislative outcome that could not have been predicted some years earlier. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While equal political representation of all citizens is a fundamental democratic goal, it is hampered empirically in a multitude of ways. This study examines how the societal level of economic inequality affects the representation of relatively poor citizens by parties and governments. Using CSES survey data for citizens’ policy preferences and expert placements of political parties, empirical evidence is found that in economically more unequal societies, the party system represents the preferences of relatively poor citizens worse than in more equal societies. This moderating effect of economic equality is also found for policy congruence between citizens and governments, albeit slightly less clear-cut. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article seeks to reintroduce discussions on gender relations in politics back into scholarly and political debate. Many countries have adopted gender quotas, but it is unclear whether their implementation has meaningfully changed the prevalent inequalities governing gender relations in politics. This article considers whether the implementation of gender quotas could promote change, and assesses this change with reference to five criteria formerly used to assess the strategy of gender mainstreaming. These are a shift towards a more comprehensive concept of gender equality; the incorporation of a gender perspective intersected with other inequalities in mainstream politics; equal political representation; organizational changes in selection and recruitment mechanisms as well as the functioning of politics; and, finally, the displacement of hierarchies, and the empowerment of subjects. Reflection on and empirical illustrations of gender quotas with regard to these criteria reveal a mixed picture, demonstrating the need to reintroduce discussions about gender equality within politics back into gender quota debates. This discussion will not focus on the legitimacy of or need for gender quotas, but on how their implementation can contribute to the improvement of gender relations in politics beyond a quantitative sense. Approaching gender quotas through the use of criteria devised for assessing the gender mainstreaming strategy is helpful in exploring the potential of gender quotas in the transformation of gender relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nepal's political transition switched into crisis mode as the Constituent Assembly (CA) dissolved on May 27 without delivering a constitution. While new elections for the CA appeared most likely, people's confidence in the ability of ever-feuding politicians to lead the troubled nation plunged to a new low. Anticipations grew in Bhutan over parliamentary elections in 2013. Bhutan's decision to establish diplomatic relations with China was a historic milestone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Sociologia e Política is the property of Revista de Sociologia e Politica 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.)

Copyright of Revista de Sociologia e Política is the property of Revista de Sociologia e Politica 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 discusses Burma's 2011 political elections, including allegations that the elections were rigged, and how they represent an improvement on previous unrepresentative policies by the country's military junta. Topics include how the Burmese State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) created the Union Solidarity and Development Party for the election and how the government obstructed opposing parties. Additional information is presented on how Thein Sein, a member of the SPDC, was elected as president.

Copyright of Revista Estudos Feministas is the property of Revista Estudos Feministas 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 accounts for the particular steps Spain took to institutionalise gender equality in political representation. While some West European countries, where the ‘incremental track’ was considered too slow or too ineffective, recently shifted to the ‘fast track’ (notably, Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal), Spain adopted a legislative quota in 2007, when women's representation had already reached very high levels. Indeed, 10 years earlier, the quotas adopted by left-wing Spanish parties in the late 1980s had already reached parity and triggered a contagion effect within the party system. Comparatively speaking, Spain has followed the incremental track in a narrow time frame since democracy was restored in 1978. Finally, although the legal quota reform encountered political and juridical opposition, Spain managed to introduce it without the need for constitutional reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented on the social impact of changes in the Mexican electoral system, since the decade of 1990, tied to the struggle for power among political elites. The author reflects on the difficulties faced by social movements to be considered legitimate participants in the dispute for political representation.

The article discusses social conflicts that developed in Great Britain in response to the economic crisis as of May 2013, with information on the impact of austerity policies and the public's perceived lack of political representation on the development of protest movements. Topics include an overview of significant demonstrations, movements, and social conflicts in Great Britain between 2010 and 2012, the moral and ethical aspects of the financial crisis, and an analysis of the conflicts based upon social reproduction and political economy.

The paper interrogates the literature on online cultural and religious identities through a critical engagement of Stuart Hall's work on new ethnicity and regimes of representation. It suggests that this literature conflates Hall's notion of ‘new ethnicity’ with one that argues that online cultural and religious identities are ‘new’ because of transnational and global processes, the pervasiveness of computer-mediated communication and the global mobility of immigrants. Thus, current research on online ethnic and religious identities underestimates the complexity of Hall's concept and to highlight this complexity we ponder the extent to which new online ethnicities – as expressed in the current literature – reflect, construct or renegotiate so-called offline ethnicities. The paper concludes that online ethnic subjectivities, while providing alternative representations to counteract the dominant racist discourse within host societies, still reflect mimic essentialist voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core executive is a central focus for the study of policy change especially in Westminster-style parliamentary democracies such as the UK. This venue is recognised as the locus of power and where attention should be given for identifying and assessing the process of policy change. It is surprising, then, that studies on women's substantive representation - showing whether and how women can make a difference to politics and policy - have not examined this institution, focusing instead on parliament or women's policy agencies. We plug this gap in scholarship in suggesting that the core executive should be the key venue for examining substantive representation of women. At the same time we present the case that the core executive is a gendered institution in terms of recruitment, resource allocation, relationships and rules. We argue that this gendered disposition shapes the opportunities and constraints available to feminist actors intent on altering the gender emphasis of public policy and illustrate this empirically through a case study of the actions and successes of two feminist ministers - Harriet Harman and Patricia Hewitt. As such this article makes a contribution to mainstream core executive research, gender and politics scholarship as well as the new and feminist institutionalist literatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information is presented about several lectures held at a symposium on November 4-6, 2010 in Berlin on the topic of the variety of functions of parliamentary governments in different countries in the world. Topics include the function of parliament as a place of discussion and negotiation, the formation of parliaments due to transnational and interdependent political processes, as well as the standardization of different parliamentary practices across Europe.

This article analyzes the different conceptions of political representation at the foundational moment of independent Mexico. It understands liberalism as a heterogeneous and multifaceted political language that was constructed through the rhetoric of preventing despotism. Conceiving political representation in broad terms allows new elements and variables to be introduced in order to study it. The article concludes with a number of reflections that point towards a new reading of the problem of governability in Mexico after Independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race-conscious redistricting remains crucial to the election of an overwhelming number of African American and Latino officials. We present descriptive evidence, easily interpretable by nonspecialists, from recent elections at the state and federal levels to support our claims. The Voting Rights Act remains a valuable tool to protect the ability of minorities to elect their preferred candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Members of Congress engage in a variety of representational activities, but existing research suggests that the effect of these activities on reelection margins is mixed. Reframing the question, we examined whether or not constituents notice the home styles of members and members' efforts to communicate their activities through the allocation of official resources. Combining new data on members' office expenditures with data from the American National Election Studies, we found evidence that constituents perceive the representational activities of their members in a meaningful fashion. Franking, office expenditures, and travel back home to the district provide positive benefits to incumbents, shaping how constituents view these members and their activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that in his "Party Press Essays," James Madison expounds a psychology of public opinion that is identifiable, but less developed, in his earlier writings. In these essays, Madison explains how a territorial mean, or a "practicable sphere," contributes to a psychological mean that creates a context for the emergence of an enlightened majority capable of mobilizing against an abusive regime. Attending to Madison's psychology of public opinion highlights the political importance of affect in Madison's thought and clarifies his position regarding the appropriate role of the people in a republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 2007, Québec Premier set up a Commission which was given the task of asking citizens about reasonable accommodation practices related to cultural differences. These practices have deeply marked the political and social life of Quebecers the last few years. This article analyzes the Bouchard-Taylor Commission's work, especially the wide public consultation which was developed in a public debate, giving rise to an intensive participative and deliberative practice without precedent in that nation's history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of female representation in national legislatures have claimed that the gender attitudes of a country's population have an effect on female representation in that country's parliament. This claim is based on the assumption that there is a unidirectional effect of public attitudes on female representation. This article tests that assumption, and hypothesises that in countries with multi-member electoral districts the effect is likely to flow in the opposite direction. When women are nominated, and to some extent elected to parliament, their presence in national politics affects public attitudes towards women in that role. Granger tests of causality in eight European countries and in the United States generally support these hypotheses. The effect flows from public attitudes to female representation in countries with single-seat districts, and in the opposite direction in countries with multi-member districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the phenomenon of ideological renewal, where a political party seeks to effect a radical break with the past and to present itself in a new light. This exploration is placed in the context of questions concerning a party's ideological identity and, in particular, how a suitable sense of identity can be sustained in the context of renewal. We suggest an analytical framework that identifies the imperatives that a party has to meet, in terms of the ideological construction and rhetorical articulation of 'newness', if the renewal process is to have a chance of success. This framework is then deployed in the examination of the construction of 'New Labour'. Finally, some implications of the framework for the prospects of ideological renewal in the Conservative Party are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do sets of sovereign governments create judicial institutions and grant these institutions the power to rule their actions invalid? Once such a court is created, under what conditions is that court able to rule against these governments and get compliance with their rulings? Finally, how might the influence of the court change over time? This study presents a general theory of judicial institutions that provides a unified answer to these three questions. I argue that governments create judicial institutions to help solve collective action problems endemic to operating under a common regulatory regime. Once established, a court in its institutional ''infancy'' is capable of facilitating compliance with that regulatory regime's rules but only consistent with the purpose for which the governments created the court. And finally, once the court has earned the trust of a government's public, its ability to enforce the regulatory regime's rules qualitatively expands. In demonstrating this last point, I derive how and why publics can rationally come to believe that supporting a court, if there was a conflict between its government and the court, would be in that public's interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on politics and government in Indonesia. The country's consistent progress towards a stable democratic system since the fall of the Soeharto dictatorship in 1998 is contrasted with the nostalgia for that government displayed when Soeharto died in early 2008. This nostalgia is attributed to public discontent with delivery of basic services. The current government's reaction to the global financial crisis are said to indicate a confidence arising from political stability.

The recent introduction of electoral gender quotas all over the world represents an interesting new research area, since quotas touch upon so many central themes in feminist theory, political theory and policy analysis. The three articles on gender quotas in this cluster discuss 'classic' themes in quotas research such as quota discourses, implementation of different types of quotas in different electoral systems, and the effects of gender quotas. But the articles also contribute to expanding our research agenda with new lines of enquiry, such as attitudes towards quotas after the introduction of quotas; or the importance of mobilization around the demand for quotas in spite of poor results in terms of increasing women's representation. In this introduction to the three articles, it is argued that we need research into the question of why male dominated parliaments all over the world introduce gender quotas. It seems obvious that motives other than pure feminist ones are involved, since politics is after all a world of mixed motives, bargaining and compromises. Also, the introduction argues that there is a need for further developing our concepts and methods when studying the impact of gender quotas and the effect of women's representation in general. Different results may derive not solely from different cases, but also from the use of disparate criteria for this evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last two decades large numbers of women have entered parliaments in several east and southern African countries. In late 2007, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa in southern Africa and Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda in east Africa all had national legislatures ranging from 25 to nearly 50 per cent women, placing them in the top 26 worldwide. This is far above the Sub-Saharan African and world averages of about 17 per cent women in a single or lower house of parliament. This development is part of a global trend whereby women are using electoral gender quotas to take a 'fast track' to equal legislative representation. The six countries identified here share a set of common characteristics explaining women's electoral success, with one important difference. The three southern African cases have all increased their percentages of women in parliament using a proportional representation electoral system and voluntary political party based quotas. The three east African cases have done the same through the use of a mix of electoral systems and mandatory 'special' or 'reserved' seats for women. This article describes the two alternatives, discusses their impact on women's descriptive and substantive representation in these six African countries and concludes with a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of each type of electoral gender quota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A number of studies have found that turnout tends to be lower under plurality rule than when some system of proportional representation is in place. Meanwhile, there is reason to believe that when turnout is lower, it is voters who are less knowledgeable about politics who are particularly less likely to participate. This suggests that turnout is lower under plurality rule because those with weaker motivations to vote are particularly discouraged from voting. We consider whether this is the case and if so, why. We examine four main reasons why the electoral system might influence the relationship between political knowledge and turnout: district competitiveness, mobilization efforts, efficacy, and the size and polarization of the party system. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems project, we find that those with low levels of knowledge are indeed particularly less likely to vote under plurality rule. However, why this is the case is more difficult to ascertain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While democracy looks set to become the global political norm, most studies have analysed the phenomenon from either a micro (voter) or a macro (institutional) perspective. The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems aims to combine these two perspectives in order to address key questions about the process of democratization. This special symposium uses the second CSES module, conducted between 2001 and 2006 in 38 countries, to examine public support for democracy. The eight articles cover three themes in public support for democracy: popular satisfaction with democracy; accountability and system performance; and the participation of social groups. All of the articles underline the importance of understanding the interaction between institutional arrangements and voter behaviour in order to gauge the health of democracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While the determinants of political participation have long been scrutinized by scholars, their consequences are not well known. In this article we examine how macro-environmental factors—specifically, how distinctive political choices are from one another—affect the cognitive consequences of political participation. Although there are two possible causal directions between political participation and cognitive factors, we instead focus on how this macro-environmental factor affects the association between these two variables. We hypothesize that political participation promotes the efficacious feeling that participation makes a difference by improving the cognitive articulation of the political system. We find support for this hypothesis through our analysis of 22 countries in the CSES dataset using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Additional analysis shows that political participation has a compensatory effect on political efficacy for those who do not feel that their political position is well represented by the current party system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Previous research has shown that people in consensual democracies with a proportional electoral system are more satisfied with the functioning of democracy in their country than people in majoritarian democracies. We assess to what extent this relationship can be explained by people''s perception of the accountability and representativeness of the political system in their country. Our findings show that people''s satisfaction with democracy primarily depends on their perception of the representation function, and to a lesser degree on the accountability function. Surprisingly, perceived accountability rather than representation is enhanced by a proportional-type electoral system. Moreover, our evaluative measure of satisfaction with democracy is negatively related to proportional electoral systems. The macro-level satisfaction with democracy is primarily affected by the age of the democracy one lives in. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Estudos de Sociologia is the property of Universidade Estadual Paulista 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.)

Women's political participation and representation vary dramatically within and between countries. We selectively review the literature on gender in politics, focusing on women's formal political participation. We discuss both traditional explanations for women's political participation and representation, such as the supply of women and the demand for women, and newer explanations such as the role of international actors and gender quotas. We also ask whether women are distinctive--does having more women in office make a difference to public policy? Throughout the review we demonstrate that a full understanding of women's political representation requires both deep knowledge of individual cases such as the United States and broad knowledge comparing women's participation across countries. We end with four recommended directions for future research: (a) globalizing theory, and research, (b) expanding data collection, (c) remembering alternative forms of women's agency, and (d) addressing intersectionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not every political expression is repulsive because we are all politicians and, that's why, we are all responsible for political abuse and so we must take part in it to solve it, because in democratic communities, it's normal that conflicts arise. So, it's useless to complain about politicians. Every public move is necessary, because politics does not only mean the elections and the public posts, but also a conversation, the children's education, the teacher's work, etc. They are all activities that shape citizens with values. In such a way, democracy will be formed as a piece of art typical of the aesthetic experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]