Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Conceptualizing Resilience
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/823
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.823
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 117-120
Author-Name: Thomas A. Birkland
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Public and International Affairs, North Carolina State University, USA
Abstract: This commentary provides an overview of the idea of resilience, and acknowledges the challenges of defining and applying the idea in practice. The article summarizes a way of looking at resilience called a “resilience delta”, that takes into account both the shock done to a community by a disaster and the capacity of that community to rebound from that shock to return to its prior functionality. I show how different features of the community can create resilience, and consider how the developed and developing world addresses resilience. I also consider the role of focusing events in gaining attention to events and promoting change. I note that, while focusing events are considered by many in the disaster studies field to be major drivers of policy change in the United States disaster policy, most disasters have little effect on the overall doctrine of shared responsibilities between the national and subnational governments.
Keywords: community; disasters; governance; resilience; sustainability
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:117-120
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Disaster Governance and Vulnerability: The Case of Chile
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/743
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.743
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 107-116
Author-Name: Vicente Sandoval
Author-Workplace-Name: Disaster Research Unit, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Author-Name: Martin Voss
Author-Workplace-Name: Disaster Research Unit, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Abstract: This exploratory work seeks to shed light on disaster governance by looking into potential linkages between the production of vulnerability and disaster governance in Chile. Our point of investigation is the case of post-disaster Chaitén and the Chilean model of Disaster Risk Management. The work begins by situating disaster governance and the production of vulnerability in a broader context of existing governance system that includes a multiplicity of actors and socio-economic, socio-ecological, and political processes. Coming from a multi-scalar perspective, we use the disaster Pressure and Release (PAR) model to enable a differentiated analysis of the multiplicity of actors, rules, and processes related to DRM that participate in the production of disaster vulnerability in the current Chaitén. With this we address the questions as to ‘why’ the Chilean model of DRM is prominently centralised and ‘what’ are the effects on the production of disaster vulnerability for the case of post-disaster Chaitén.
Keywords: Chile; disaster governance; disasters; vulnerability
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:107-116
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Devil Is in the Details: Linking Home Buyout Policy, Practice, and Experience After Hurricane Sandy
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/738
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.738
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 97-106
Author-Name: Sherri Brokopp Binder
Author-Workplace-Name: BrokoppBinder Research & Consulting, USA
Author-Name: Alex Greer
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Oklahoma State University, USA
Abstract: Federal housing recovery policy bounds many of the decisions made by households after a disaster. Within this policy domain, home buyout programs are increasingly used to encourage residents to permanently relocate out of areas considered at risk for future hazards. While buyouts offer homeowners and governments potential benefits, research exploring the impacts of these policies is limited. In this paper, we present an in-depth examination of the community experience of buyouts, a perspective that is noticeably lacking in the literature. Using data from two mixed-method empirical studies, we explored the implications of buyout program design and implementation for Oakwood Beach, New York, a community offered a buyout after Hurricane Sandy. We found that design decisions made at program conception significantly impacted participants’ experience of the buyout, including their understanding of program goals and their progression through the buyout and relocation process. We conclude with recommendations for future buyouts, including increased inclusion of affected communities in the process of and pre-event planning for recovery, along with recommendations for future research.
Keywords: buyout; disaster recovery; housing policy; Hurricane Sandy; planning for recovery; relocation
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:97-106
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Governance through Economic Paradigms: Addressing Climate Change by Accounting for Health
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/729
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.729
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 87-96
Author-Name: Kristine Belesova
Author-Workplace-Name: Social and Environmental Health Research Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
Author-Name: Ilan Kelman
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Risk & Disaster Reduction, University College London, UK, Institute for Global Health, University College London, UK, and University of Agder, Norway
Author-Name: Roger Boyd
Author-Workplace-Name: Independent Researcher, Canada
Abstract: Climate change is a major challenge for sustainable development, impacting human health, wellbeing, security, and livelihoods. While the post-2015 development agenda sets out action on climate change as one of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is little provision on how this can be achieved in tandem with the desired economic progress and the required improvements in health and wellbeing. This paper examines synergies and tensions between the goals addressing climate change and economic progress. We identify reductionist approaches in economics, such as ‘externalities’, reliance on the metric of the Gross Domestic Product, positive discount rates, and short-term profit targets as some of the key sources of tensions between these goals. Such reductionist approaches could be addressed by intersectoral governance mechanisms. Health in All Policies, health-sensitive macro-economic progress indicators, and accounting for long-term and non-monetary values are some of the approaches that could be adapted and used in governance for the SDGs. Policy framing of climate change and similar issues should facilitate development of intersectoral governance approaches.
Keywords: climate change; disaster risk reduction; economic growth; health; health in all policies; sustainable development; sustainable development goals
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:87-96
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Integrating Recovery within a Resilience Framework: Empirical Insights and Policy Implications from Regional Australia
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/741
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.741
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 74-86
Author-Name: Lex Drennan
Author-Workplace-Name: Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith University, Australia
Author-Name: Jim McGowan
Author-Workplace-Name: Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith University, Australia
Author-Name: Anne Tiernan
Author-Workplace-Name: Policy Innovation Hub, Griffith University, Australia
Abstract: Within Australia’s federal system, responsibility for preventing, preparing for, responding to and recovering from natural disasters is shared between the three tiers of government. Intergovernmental policy and funding arrangements are premised on shared responsibility and aim to foster individual, business and community resilience. These arrangements underpin Australia’s international reputation for effectiveness in its management of natural disasters. The capacity of the diverse networks that comprise the disaster management system to coordinate and deliver in the preparedness and response phases of a disaster, and to provide relief in the immediate aftermath, has been developed over time and tested and refined through the experience of frequent, severe disaster events over recent decades. Less well developed is the system’s ability to support economic recovery in disaster-affected communities over the longer term. This paper presents case studies of regional communities affected by two of Australia’s most expensive and deadly natural disasters—the 2009 Victorian bushfires and the cyclones and floods that struck the state of Queensland in 2010–2011. It highlights significant gaps in policy and funding arrangements to support recovery and offers lessons for aligning recovery within a resilience framework.
Keywords: disaster governance; disaster recovery; economic recovery; resilience policy
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:74-86
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: How Can Local Governance Systems Strengthen Community Resilience? A Social-Ecological Systems Approach
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/746
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.746
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 62-73
Author-Name: Elizabeth Carabine
Author-Workplace-Name: Overseas Development Institute, UK
Author-Name: Emily Wilkinson
Author-Workplace-Name: Overseas Development Institute, UK
Abstract: At their core, donor-funded climate and disaster resilience programmes provide goods and services to help build assets and minimise the impact of shocks and stresses on people’s lives and livelihoods. Little is known, however, about the way local risk governance systems and the broader institutional arrangements, in which they are embedded, mediate people’s access to these services and therefore lead to improved resilience. Drawing on Social-Ecological Systems theory, we explore those characteristics of risk governance systems believed to be more favourable for building resilience at the community level in different developing country contexts. These include: diversity; polycentricism and connectivity; decentralisation and flexibility; participation and community engagement; and, learning and innovation. This review paper proposes a conceptual framework and assesses the evidence linking risk governance and access to the services needed to build resilient outcomes, drawing particularly on evidence from the Sahel and Horn of Africa. In doing so, we can start to understand where the entry points might be for strengthening resilience and the conditions needed for community-level initiatives to be brought to scale from the bottom up.
Keywords: informal institutions; local risk governance; resilience; social-ecological systems; sub-Saharan Africa
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:62-73
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Disaster Policies and Governance: Promoting Community Resilience
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/829
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.829
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 58-61
Author-Name: Naim Kapucu
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Public Administration, University of Central Florida, USA
Author-Name: Abdul-Akeem Sadiq
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, USA
Abstract: This brief editorial introduction highlights the importance of policies and effective governance for disaster resilience including communities, individuals, institutions, and organizations through the execution of deliberate choice and collective action. Effective facilitation of development and implementation of disaster policies can lead to more resilient communities in the aftermath of disasters. The success of design, development, and execution of disaster resilience policies require engagement of the “whole community”.
Keywords: collaborative governance; community resilience; disaster resilience; politics; whole community
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:58-61
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Islamism, Secularism and the Woman Question in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring: Evidence from the Arab Barometer
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/767
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.767
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 40-57
Author-Name: Ashley M. Fox
Author-Workplace-Name: Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
Author-Name: Sana Abdelkarim Alzwawi
Author-Workplace-Name: Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
Author-Name: Dina Refki
Author-Workplace-Name: Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York, USA
Abstract: The uprisings that led to regime change during the early period of the Arab Spring were initially inclusive and pluralistic in nature, with men and women from every political and religious orientation engaging actively in political activities on the street and in virtual spaces. While there was an opening of political space for women and the inclusion of demands of marginalized groups in the activists’ agenda, the struggle to reimagine national identities that balance Islamic roots and secular yearnings is still ongoing in many countries in the region. This paper seeks to deepen understanding of the extent to which the pluralistic sentiments and openness to accepting the rights women have persisted following the uprising. We aim to examine changes in attitudes towards women’s equality in countries that underwent regime change through popular uprisings during revolutionary upheavals of the Arab Spring and in countries where regimes have remained unchanged. Using available data from consecutive rounds of the Arab Barometer survey, we examine changes in attitudes in nine countries with two rounds of Arab Barometer during and post Arab Spring (Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Algeria, Lebanon, Sudan, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine). We find that support for “Muslim feminism” (an interpretation of gender equality grounded in Islam) has increased over the period and particularly in Arab Spring countries, while support for “secular feminism” has declined. In most countries examined, relatively high degrees of support for gender equality co-exist with a preference for Islamic interpretations of personal status codes pertaining to women. We discuss the implications of these findings for academics and activists concerned with women’s rights in the Middle East North Africa (MENA).
Keywords: Arab democratic exceptionalism; Arab Spring; Islamism; woman question; secularism
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:40-57
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Civil Society Organizations’ Participation in the EU and Its Challenges for Democratic Representation
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/782
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.782
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 27-39
Author-Name: Nicolle Zeegers
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Law, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract: Online consultations and the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) are tools that have been put into place by the European Union (EU) in order to increase the participation of citizens and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in its politics and policy making. The current CSO representation at the system level of the EU is claimed to be biased in favor of the interests of economic producers and CSOs coming from old member states. The central question of this article is whether these tools help make participation more representative of the diversity of societal groups within the EU. The concept of ‘actor representativeness’ as well as ‘discourse representativeness’ will be applied in order to answer this question.
Keywords: actor representativeness; civil society organization; discourse representativeness; European Citizens’ Initiative; European Union; online consultations; participatory democracy
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:27-39
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Preference for Democracy in the Arab World
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/753
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.753
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 16-26
Author-Name: Mohamad Al-Ississ
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Business, The American University in Cairo, Egypt
Author-Name: Ishac Diwan
Author-Workplace-Name: Paris Sciences et Lettres, France, and Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA
Abstract: We take a new look at the question of the Arab democratic exception by looking at the preference for democracy among individuals in the Arab world in a comparative context. We use the new sixth wave of the World Value Survey, which was collected between 2012 and 2013, and which included for the first time 12 Arab countries (up from only four in wave 5) and 68 non-Arab countries. We innovate empirically by measuring the preference for democracy over strong rule in a way that, we argue, is more adapted to an understanding of the Arab world than other measures used in past studies. Our statistical analysis reveals a democratic gap in the Arab region compared to global experience, which is especially marked among the more educated individuals, and to a lesser extent among the youth and the middle class. We conclude by discussing the reasons that may explain the Arab exceptionalism, and argue that it is unlikely to be related to culture alone.
Keywords: Arab democratic exceptionalism; Arab Spring; democratic values; emancipation; indoctrination
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:16-26
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Decentralised Local Governance and Poverty Reduction in Post-1991 Ethiopia: A Political Economy Study
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/590
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i4.590
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 4
Pages: 1-15
Author-Name: Yeshtila Wondemeneh Bekele
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
Author-Name: Darley Jose Kjosavik
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway
Abstract: After 1991, Ethiopia has introduced an ethnic federal governance system constituting nine regional states and two autonomous city administrations, Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. The restructuring of the state seemingly led to the decentralisation of power to the regions and Woreda (district authority) levels local governance structure in 1995 and 2002 respectively. The purpose of this article is to examine the practices of decentralised local governance in Ethiopia in general and the local governance performance at the level of peasant association (Kebele) in particular. The article also analyses the link between the local governance and poverty based on three indicators: decentralisation and self-rule (DSR), local capacity for planning (LCP), and effectiveness of local governance system (ELGS). Data was collected from eight selected Kebeles of three different regional states through household survey, qualitative interviews and focus group discussions. The study shows that while the power and control of the central government is well established, the Kebeles lack the capacity and resources to deliver development. The LCP at Kebele level is weak because of organisational incapacity and institutional constraints related to DSR. The ELGS is also poor since Kebeles do not have any fiscal rights and administrative power for the reasons associated with DSR and LCP. The government has been implementing poverty reduction strategies using productive safety net programmes and farmer training centres. These, however, have not had the desired outcome due to organisational and institutional incapacitation of Kebele administrations.
Keywords: decentralised governance; FTC; Kebele; poverty reduction; PSNP
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:4:p:1-15
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Paris Climate Agreement and the Three Largest Emitters: China, the United States, and the European Union
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/666
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.666
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 219-223
Author-Name: Miranda A. Schreurs
Author-Workplace-Name: Bavarian School of Public Policy, Technical University of Munich, Germany
Abstract: The Paris Agreement would not have come into being had China, the United States (US), and the European Union (EU), which together contribute more than half of all global greenhouse gas emissions, not signaled their intent to take major steps to reduce their domestic emissions. The EU has been at the forefront of global climate change measures for years having issued binding domestic emission reduction targets for 2020 and 2030. For many years, China refused to announce a target date for when it might begin reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and the US Congress blocked action on climate change. In the lead up to the Paris climate negotiations, however, there were major shifts in China’s and the US’s climate positions. This commentary examines the climate policies of the three largest emitters and the factors motivating the positions they took in the Paris negotiations. Given that the commitments made in Paris are most likely insufficient to keep global temperature from rising 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, the commentary also considers what the likelihood is that these three major economies will strengthen their emission reduction targets in the near future.
Keywords: China; climate change; European Union; leadership; Paris; United States
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:219-223
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Paris Agreement: Short-Term and Long-Term Effectiveness
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/640
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DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.640
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 209-218
Author-Name: Guri Bang
Author-Workplace-Name: Center for International Climate and Environmental Research, Norway
Author-Name: Jon Hovi
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Author-Name: Tora Skodvin
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Abstract: The 2015 Paris Agreement was widely greeted with enthusiasm. We assess the short-term and long-term potential effectiveness of Paris. Concerning short-term effectiveness, we contend that while Paris scores high on participation, and reasonably high on the depth of the parties’ commitments (ambition), its Achilles’ heel will likely be compliance. Concerning long-term effectiveness, we argue that Paris does little to restructure states’ incentives so as to avoid free riding. At worst, it might end up as a failure, much like Kyoto did. On the other hand, domestic and international norms could continue to develop in a direction that makes it more and more difficult for individuals, firms, and states alike to ignore the plea to limit and reduce their carbon footprints. Technological progress that gradually reduces abatement costs, combined with leadership by major emitters such as the United States, might further strengthen climate cooperation and enhance other countries’ willingness to follow through. However, deep political polarization continues to represent a significant barrier to U.S. leadership on climate change.
Keywords: climate change mitigation; climate cooperation; effectiveness, international leadership; Paris Agreement; U.S.
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:209-218
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: From Paris to the End of Oil
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/651
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.651
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 197-208
Author-Name: Dag Harald Claes
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Author-Name: Helge Hveem
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Abstract: This article discusses the possibilities and obstacles for a cost-effective implementation of policies that will lead to a significant reduction in global CO2 emissions from the use of oil. The structural conditions and economic consequences of changing national or regional energy systems vary dramatically. In addition, there are a large number of actors with strong interests along the energy value chain that may potentially halt, delay or alter the implementation of the Paris treaty. We analyze these issues by first locating oil in the overall energy system, then identifying possibilities and obstacles at various stages of the oil value chain, and finally by contextualizing global oil by discussing whether and how it may be affected by geopolitics and regional conflict. In brief, our argument is that developments in consumption volumes and patterns will be most important. Market forces are vital, but they are influenced by politics and public policy outcomes. Transportation is the most important sector for oil consumption, with changes in transport behavior, modes and technology being vital drivers. The behavior of investors will be a decisive factor in shaping the production side of the oil system. If investments go down as a response to lasting low oil prices and/or because investors decide to turn to green economy options, the supply of oil will logically shrink. On the other hand, the growth and development aspirations of a rapidly growing population in developing countries are likely to stimulate demand and thus increase exploration, production and subsequently the price. Finally, we emphasize the importance of (geo)politics influencing all aspects of the value chain of oil.
Keywords: climate change; energy system; oil market; Paris treaty
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:197-208
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Paris Agreement: Consequences for the EU and Carbon Markets?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/652
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.652
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 188-196
Author-Name: Steinar Andresen
Author-Workplace-Name: Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
Author-Name: Jon Birger Skjærseth
Author-Workplace-Name: Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
Author-Name: Torbjørg Jevnaker
Author-Workplace-Name: Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
Author-Name: Jørgen Wettestad
Author-Workplace-Name: Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway
Abstract: Most observers argue that this agreement is a step in the right direction. However, we do not know how effective it will be in terms of reducing emissions. We therefore discuss its potential effectiveness regarding EU climate policies and carbon markets. We argue that the Paris Agreement may have a positive effect but uncertainties abound.
Keywords: carbon markets; effectiveness, EU; leadership; Paris Agreement
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:188-196
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Predicting Paris: Multi-Method Approaches to Forecast the Outcomes of Global Climate Negotiations
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/654
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.654
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 172-187
Author-Name: Detlef F. Sprinz
Author-Workplace-Name: PIK–Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany, and Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, Germany
Author-Name: Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Politics, New York University, USA
Author-Name: Steffen Kallbekken
Author-Workplace-Name: CICERO–Center for International Climate and Environmental Research—Oslo, Norway
Author-Name: Frans Stokman
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Sociology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Håkon Sælen
Author-Workplace-Name: CICERO–Center for International Climate and Environmental Research—Oslo, Norway, and Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Author-Name: Robert Thomson
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Government and Public Policy, University of Strathclyde, UK
Abstract: We examine the negotiations held under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change in Paris, December 2015. Prior to these negotiations, there was considerable uncertainty about whether an agreement would be reached, particularly given that the world’s leaders failed to do so in the 2009 negotiations held in Copenhagen. Amid this uncertainty, we applied three different methods to predict the outcomes: an expert survey and two negotiation simulation models, namely the Exchange Model and the Predictioneer’s Game. After the event, these predictions were assessed against the coded texts that were agreed in Paris. The evidence suggests that combining experts’ predictions to reach a collective expert prediction makes for significantly more accurate predictions than individual experts’ predictions. The differences in the performance between the two different negotiation simulation models were not statistically significant.
Keywords: climate policy; climate regime; expert survey; forecasting; global negotiations; Paris agreement; prediction; simulation
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:172-187
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Unilateral or Reciprocal Climate Policy? Experimental Evidence from China
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/650
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.650
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 152-171
Author-Name: Thomas Bernauer
Author-Workplace-Name: ETH Zürich, Center for Comparative and International Studies, Switzerland
Author-Name: Liang Dong
Author-Workplace-Name: China Foreign Affairs University, Institute of Asian Studies, China
Author-Name: Liam F. McGrath
Author-Workplace-Name: ETH Zürich, Center for Comparative and International Studies, Switzerland
Author-Name: Irina Shaymerdenova
Author-Workplace-Name: ETH Zürich, Center for Comparative and International Studies, Switzerland
Author-Name: Haibin Zhang
Author-Workplace-Name: Peking University, School of International Studies, China
Abstract: The traditional political economy account of global climate change governance directs our attention to fundamental collective action problems associated with global public goods provision, resulting from positive or negative externalities as well as freeriding. The governance architecture of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol uses the traditional approaches of international diplomacy for addressing such challenges: legally binding commitments based on principles of reciprocity and (fair) cost/burden sharing via formalized carbon-budgeting. Yet, the 2015 Paris Agreement has essentially abandoned this approach, as it now operates on the basis of internationally coordinated and monitored unilateralism. On the presumption that public opinion matters for government policy, we examine how citizens view this shift in climate policy from reciprocity to unilateralism, after many years of exposure to strong reciprocity rhetoric by governments and stakeholders. To that end, we fielded a survey experiment in China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter. The results show that there is, perhaps surprisingly, strong and robust public support for unilateral, non-reciprocal climate policy. To the extent China is interested in pushing ahead with ambitious and thus costly GHG reduction policies, our results suggest that China can leverage segments of public support in order to overcome domestic obstacles to GHG mitigation policies.
Keywords: China; climate policy; reciprocity; unilateralism
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:152-171
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Paris: Beyond the Climate Dead End through Pledge and Review?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/634
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.634
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 142-151
Author-Name: Robert O. Keohane
Author-Workplace-Name: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, USA
Author-Name: Michael Oppenheimer
Author-Workplace-Name: Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, USA
Abstract: The Paris Climate Agreement of December 2015 marks a decisive break from the unsuccessful Kyoto regime. Instead of targets and timetables, it established a Pledge and Review system, under which states will offer Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to reducing emissions that cause climate change. But this successful negotiation outcome was achieved at the price of vagueness of obligations and substantial discretion for governments. Many governments will be tempted to use the vagueness of the Paris Agreement, and the discretion that it permits, to limit the scope or intensity of their proposed actions. Whether Pledge and Review under the Paris Agreement will lead to effective action against climate change will therefore depend on the inclination both of OECD countries and newly industrializing countries to take costly actions, which for the OECD countries will include financial transfers to their poorer partners. Domestic politics will be crucial in determining the attitudes of both sets of countries to pay such costs. The actual impact of the Paris Agreement will depend on whether it can be used by domestic groups favoring climate action as a point of leverage in domestic politics—that is, in a “two-level game” simultaneously involving both international and domestic politics.
Keywords: climate change; climate cooperation; pledge and review; Paris agreement
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:142-151
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: What the Framework Convention on Climate Change Teaches Us About Cooperation on Climate Change
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/657
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.657
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 133-141
Author-Name: David G. Victor
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California at San Diego, USA, Brookings Institution, USA, and Global Agenda Council on Governance for Sustainability, World Economic Forum, USA
Abstract: Arild Underdal has been at the center of an important community of scholars studying global environmental governance. Since the 1990s that community, along with many other scholars globally, has offered important insights into the design and management of international institutions that can lead to more effective management of environmental problems. At the same time, diplomats have made multiple attempts to create institutions to manage the dangers of climate change. This essay looks at what has been learned by both communities—scholars and practitioners—as their efforts co-evolved. It appears that despite a wealth of possible insights into making cooperation effective very few of the lessons offered by scholars had much impact during the first two decades of climate change diplomacy. Indeed, basic concepts from cooperation theory and evidence from case studies—many developed in Arild’s orbit—can explain why those two decades achieved very little real cooperation. The new Paris agreement may be changing all that and much better reflects insights from scholars about how to build effective international institutions. Success in the Paris process is far from assured and scholars can contribute a lot more with a more strategic view of when and how they have an impact.
Keywords: climate change; compliance; effectiveness; international cooperation; United Nations
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:133-141
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Paris Agreement: Destined to Succeed or Doomed to Fail?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/635
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.635
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 124-132
Author-Name: Oran R. Young
Author-Workplace-Name: Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, University of California, USA
Abstract: Is the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change destined to succeed or doomed to fail? If all the pledges embedded in the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) are implemented fully, temperatures at the Earth’s surface are predicted to rise by 3–4 °C, far above the agreement’s goal of limiting increases to 1.5 °C. This means that the fate of the agreement will be determined by the success of efforts to strengthen or ratchet up the commitments contained in the national pledges over time. The first substantive section of this essay provides a general account of mechanisms for ratcheting up commitments and conditions determining the use of these mechanisms in international environmental agreements. The second section applies this analysis to the specific case of the Paris Agreement. The conclusion is mixed. There are plenty of reasons to doubt whether the Paris Agreement will succeed in moving from strength to strength in a fashion resembling experience with the Montreal Protocol on ozone depleting substances. Nevertheless, there is more room for hope in this regard than those who see the climate problem as unusually malign, wicked, or even diabolical are willing to acknowledge.
Keywords: commitments; INDCs; Montreal Protocol; national pledges; Paris Agreement; ratcheting up
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:124-132
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Conference Diplomacy: The Making of the Paris Agreement
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/649
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.649
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 115-123
Author-Name: Aslak Brun
Author-Workplace-Name: Ministry of Climate and Environment, Government of Norway, Norway
Abstract: The article offers an insider’s account of how the Paris Agreement on climate change was reached. Focusing on participation and ambition, it describes the efforts to include a long-term temperature goal, expectations for regular ratcheting up of climate efforts, and provisions for tracking global progress. The author argues that a shift from the earlier top-down approaches to setting targets, to a bottom-up, self-determined approach has spurred participation and made it easier to reach agreement. In addition, the Paris Agreement anchors a clearer direction of travel than before. The article also discusses the negotiations of the provisions in the Agreement to drive increased national climate mitigation efforts over time. Finally, the author considers the role of conference diplomacy, particularly the need for inclusive leadership. It is argued that the French Presidency combined a transparent negotiations process with a clear sense of direction that helped achieve a comprehensive and ambitious outcome. The role of back-channel talks as part of effective conference diplomacy is also discussed.
Keywords: back-channel negotiations; climate change; cooperation; diplomacy; international negotiations; participation; UN
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:115-123
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Editorial to the Issue on Climate Governance and the Paris Agreement
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/721
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.721
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 111-114
Author-Name: Jon Hovi
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Author-Name: Tora Skodvin
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Norway
Abstract: This thematic issue of Politics and Governance serves as a Festschrift in honor of Professor Dr. Philos. Arild Underdal on his 70th birthday. In this editorial, the guest editors summarize a few of Professor Underdal’s many academic merits and achievements. They also provide a synopsis of each of the ten contributions to the Festschrift, which focuses on climate governance in general and the 2015 Paris Agreement in particular.
Keywords: Arild Underdal; climate governance; Festschrift; the Paris Agreement
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:111-114
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Federal Features of the EU: Lessons from Canada
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/598
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.598
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 100-110
Author-Name: Amy Verdun
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Victoria, Canada
Abstract: There has been a rise and fall in interest in federalism in the context of European integration. This article assesses the federal nature of the EU. It draws in particular on the work of Michael Burgess who has been one of the key thinkers on this issue. Because there are many types of ‘federalisms’ available across the globe, it is helpful to make a comparison with another political system to offer a base line. In this article I explore to what extent the EU already has federal features. With the help of the work of Burgess I seek to look beyond the specific characteristics of the EU and reflect on how a comparison with this other polity can offer us insights into what is going on within the EU political system. Drawing on the comparison with Canada, I seek to identify the characteristics of the EU that are already those of a federation. Therefore, the guiding question of this article is: compared to Canada, what particular features does the EU have that reminds us of a federation and what features is it still lacking? It finds that the EU has a considerable amount of federal features (federation), but that a federal tradition, a federal ideology and advocacy to a federal goal (federalism) are mostly absent.
Keywords: Canada; Canada–EU comparison; European Union; federalism; federation; political system
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:100-110
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Comparative Intergovernmental Politics: CETA Negotiations between Canada and the EU
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/565
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.565
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 90-99
Author-Name: Valerie J. D'Erman
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science and European Studies Program, University of Victoria, Canada
Abstract: The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) required long-term negotiations between two major polities of the industrialized world. During the negotiations, Canada acquiesced to the EU’s demand that Canadian provinces participate directly in discussions, setting an important precedent in the dynamics of Canadian external trade. This paper examines the dynamics of intergovernmentalism in the policy area of external trade within the settings of the Canadian provinces and the EU member states, and uses the findings to suggest that in this realm the EU is a stronger example of federal synthesis of decision-making than is Canada. This is significant because it contradicts many established theories of federalism within political science, and implies that the EU could become a strong source of normative example for federal-style polities in the globalized world. As well, the strength of the EU’s single market lends credence to the institutions embedded within the supranational polity, and gives the EU significant normative power as a prototype for other experiments in regional integration.
Keywords: Canada–EU relations; European integration; federalism
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:90-99
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Representation and Governance in International Organizations
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/544
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.544
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 77-89
Author-Name: David P. Rapkin
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Nebraska, USA
Author-Name: Jonathan R. Strand
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Nevada, USA
Author-Name: Michael W. Trevathan
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Nevada, USA
Abstract: What does representation mean when applied to international organizations? While many scholars working on normative questions related to global governance often make use of the concept of representation, few have addressed specifics of applying the concept to the rules and practices by which IOs operate. This article examines representation as a fundamental, albeit often neglected, norm of governance which, if perceived to be deficient or unfair, can interfere with other components of governance, as well as with performance of an organization’s core tasks by undermining legitimacy. We argue that the concept of representation has been neglected in the ongoing debates about good governance and democratic deficits within IOs. We aim to correct this by drawing on insights from normative political theory considerations of representation. The article then applies theoretical aspects of representation to the governance of the International Monetary Fund. We determine that subjecting IOs to this kind of conceptual scrutiny highlights important deficiencies in representational practices in global politics. Finally, our conclusion argues scholars of global governance need to address the normative and empirical implications of conceptualizing representation at the supranational level.
Keywords: governance; international organizations; representation; voting
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:77-89
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Restructuring the State through Economic and Trade Agreements: The Case of Investment Disputes Resolution
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/639
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.639
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 62-76
Author-Name: Robert G. Finbow
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Canada
Abstract: This essay will examine the emergence of transnational governance via supranational economic agreements which promote global imposition of liberalizing policies in the interests of transnational investors. The stalled multilateral World Trade Organization (WTO) process has given way to a plethora of regional and bilateral economic agreements covering a range of new issues—investment, intellectual property, services, and regulations—which trench ever more deeply on domestic decision-making. Informed by Phillip Cerny’s conception of “competition states”, Colin Crouch’s (2000) lament about “post-democracy”, Carroll and Sapinski’s analysis of “global corporate elites”, and David Held’s depiction of “global governance complexes”, the essay will examine the role of transnational corporate and institutional elites in advancing economic agreements which narrow the scope for democratic governance. These authors depict the combination of constraint and empowerment of states induced by these transnational agreements which force most liberal democracies to cut or tweak programs and regulations in economic and social fields to protect investor rights, while boosting restraints on citizens in areas like intellectual property—what Cerny (1997) calls the “paradox” of the competition state. Given the number and complexity of these transnational governance arrangements, this essay will focus on the transnational constraints of investor state arbitration and disputes settlement systems. This will be illustrated by examining the growth of investor disputes settlement claims in bilateral treaties and major European and North American economic agreements and the rise of arbitration cases which impose costs on states for violations of investor rights. The essay considers the implications of these new forms of transnational governance for democratic governments’ responsive to popular demands. It concludes by suggesting the need for revisions to theories of the democratic state, which may be morphing into pluralistic plutocracy.
Keywords: disputes resolution; global governance; investment treaties; state theory
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:62-76
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Image and Substance Failures in Regional Organisations: Causes, Consequences, Learning and Change?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/619
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.619
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 50-61
Author-Name: Meng Hsuan Chou
Author-Workplace-Name: Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Author-Name: Michael Howlett
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada, and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Author-Name: Kei Koga
Author-Workplace-Name: Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Abstract: States often pool their sovereignty, capacity and resources to provide regionally specific public goods, such as security or trade rules, and regional organisations play important roles in international relations as institutions that attempt to secure peace and contribute to achieving other similar global policy goals. We observe failures occurring in these arrangements and activities in two areas: substance and image. To analytically account for this, we distinguish four modes of substance and image change and link these to specific types of failure and (lack of) learning. To empirically ground and test our assumptions, we examine instances of image failure in ASEAN (political/security policy) and substantive policy failure in EU labour migration policy. In so doing, this article contributes to several different fields of study and concepts that have hitherto rarely engaged with one another: analyses of policy failure from public policy, and regional integration concerns from area studies and international relations. We conclude with suggestions for ways forward to further analyse and understand failures at the international and supranational levels.
Keywords: image failure; institutional change; learning; policy failure; regional organisations; substantive failure
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:50-61
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Regional Organizations and Responsibility to Protect: Normative Reframing or Normative Change?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/642
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.642
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 37-49
Author-Name: Carla Barqueiro
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Public and International Affairs, University of Baltimore, USA
Author-Name: Kate Seaman
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Public and International Affairs, University of Baltimore, USA
Author-Name: Katherine Teresa Towey
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Public and International Affairs, University of Baltimore, USA
Abstract: The adoption of the principle of the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) by all United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) member states in 2005, and its reaffirmation in dozens of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, indicate that there is a growing consensus around the world that egregious human rights violations necessitate a cooperative and decisive international response. But just as the political debates raged surrounding the precise articulation of RtoP between 2001 and 2005, so too goes the contemporary debate surrounding the implementation of RtoP. Regional divergences in RtoP implementation, in particular, have been noted by many scholars, as regional organizations implement those elements of RtoP that best suit their policy goals. This paper will apply recent scholarship on norm-lifecycles, specifically on “norm localization” to the operationalization of RtoP by regional organizations. We seek to explore regional divergences on RtoP implementation between the European Union (EU), League of Arab States (LAS), and the African Union (AU) on Libya and Syria. From this assessment, three main arguments will be put forward: (1) regional organizations remain politicized, reframing RtoP in divergent ways that dilute the strength of the norm, (2) politicization of the RtoP discourse constrains regional norm localization processes, (3) politicization and reframing of RtoP inhibit regional normative change and limit the potential for timely and decisive responses to protect civilians.
Keywords: African Union; European Union; League of Arab States; norms; regional organizations; Responsibility to Protect
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:37-49
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Contested Norms in Inter-National Encounters: The ‘Turbot War’ as a Prelude to Fairer Fisheries Governance
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/564
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.564
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 20-36
Author-Name: Antje Wiener
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg, Germany
Abstract: This article is about contested norms in inter-national encounters in global fisheries governance. It illustrates how norms work by reconstructing the trajectory of the 1995 ‘Turbot War’ as a series of inter-national encounters among diverse sets of Canadian and European stakeholders. By unpacking the contestations and identifying the norms at stake, it is suggested that what began as action at cross-purposes (i.e. each party referring to a different fundamental norm), ultimately holds the potential for fairer fisheries governance. This finding is shown by linking source and settlement of the dispute and identifying the shared concern for the balance between the right to fish and the responsibility for sustainable fisheries. The article develops a framework to elaborate on procedural details including especially the right for stakeholder access to regular contestation. It is organised in four sections: section 1 summarises the argument, section 2 presents the framework of critical norms research, section 3 reconstructs contestations of fisheries norms over the duration of the dispute, and section 4 elaborates on the dispute as a prelude to fairer fisheries governance. The latter is based on a novel conceptual focus on stakeholder access to contestation at the meso-layer of fisheries governance where organising principles are negotiated close to policy and political processes, respectively. The conclusion suggests for future research to pay more attention to the link between the ‘is’ and the ‘ought’ of norms in critical norms research in International Relations theories (IR).
Keywords: background experience; contestation; cultural validation; fisheries governance; legitimacy; norms; stakeholders; sustainability; turbot war; UNCLOS
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:20-36
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Emerging Governance Architectures in Global Health: Do Metagovernance Norms Explain Inter-Organisational Convergence?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/566
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.566
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 5-19
Author-Name: Anna Holzscheiter
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, Junior Research Group Governance for Global Health, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany
Author-Name: Thurid Bahr
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political and Social Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, Junior Research Group Governance for Global Health, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany
Author-Name: Laura Pantzerhielm
Author-Workplace-Name: Junior Research Group Governance for Global Health, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, and WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany
Abstract: This paper proposes a theoretical account of institutional transformation and the emergence of order in global inter-organisational relations, which is centred on the concept of “metagovernance”. It does so by theorising on the advent of governance architectures in global health governance—relationships between international organisations (IOs) in this field that are stable over time. Global health governance is routinely portrayed as an exceptionally fragmented field of international cooperation with a perceived lack of synergy and choreography between international and transnational organisations. However, our paper starts from the observation that there are also movements of convergence between international organisations. We seek to explain these by looking at the effects of international norms that define good global governance as orderly and harmonised global governance. We conceptualize such norms as “metagovernance norms” that are enacted in reflexive practices which govern and order the relationships between international organisations. Empirically, this paper traces changing interactions and institutional arrangements between IOs (World Health Organization; World Bank; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria) in global health governance since the late 1940s and shows how patterns therein reflect and (re)produce broader discursive perceptions of what “health” is about and how the governance thereof ought to be organised.
Keywords: discourses; global health; international organisations; metagovernance; norms
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:5-19
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Norms, Institutions and Governance in an Era of Uncertainty: Connecting the Disparate Scholarship
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/720
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i3.720
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 3
Pages: 1-4
Author-Name: Russell Alan Williams
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Memorial University, Canada
Author-Name: Reeta Chowdhari Tremblay
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Victoria, Canada
Abstract: This thematic issue sprung from a desire to encourage more dialogue across subfields in the study of politics and governance on how we understand the emerging practices of global governance. Shifts in global power, the emergence of new organizations and regimes and the ever-increasing complexity of interstate cooperation have all contributed to increased interest in “governance” and the role supranational organizations play in managing globalization, regionalization and regional integration. They have also contributed to increased theoretical diversity in how “governance” should be studied. While international politics scholars, drawing on constructivist literature, have placed considerable emphasis on the development and diffusion of norms; others have drawn on the insights of comparative politics, public policy and political economy to study similar issues. While the legacy of older disciplinary boundaries continues to isolate new theoretical developments, it is clearly the case that there is a high degree of complementarity in the study of governance, particularly in the emphasis on “norms” or “ideas” and their level of institutionalization.
Keywords: comparative politics; governance; institutions; international organizations; international relations; norms
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:3:p:1-4
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Cursus Honorum: Personal Background, Careers and Experience of Political Leaders in Democracy and Dictatorship—New Data and Analyses
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/602
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.602
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 138-157
Author-Name: Alexander Baturo
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Ireland
Abstract: Politics in democracy and dictatorship is markedly different; democracy and dictatorship are also associated with distinct policy outcomes. Do political regimes also select different leaders, i.e., do democratic leaders have distinct personal backgrounds to those of their peers in dictatorships, do they tend to hold different prior careers and posts while climbing the “greasy pole” of politics? The aim of this paper is to introduce the new data on leaders’ careers in democracy and dictatorship and compare their personal background, experience in politics, careers and significant posts prior to their tenure, and details about their time in office, inter alia. In general, democratic leaders differ from nondemocratic ones in terms of their educational, social and career background. The paper also finds significant differences among leaders in different nondemocratic regimes, and suggests possible venues for further research.
Keywords: comparative democratisation; democracy and dictatorship; new dataset; personal background; political leaders
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:138-157
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Leadership and Behavior in Humanitarian and Development Transnational Non-Governmental Organizations
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/569
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.569
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 127-137
Author-Name: Margaret G. Hermann
Author-Workplace-Name: Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, USA
Author-Name: Christiane Pagé
Author-Workplace-Name: Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, USA
Abstract: Does leadership matter in the governance of civil society organizations? In particular, do the CEOs of humanitarian and development NGOs exhibit different leadership styles and perceive their work environments in different ways as the literature suggests. To explore this question we interviewed 96 CEOs—32 from humanitarian NGOs and 64 from development NGOs. In the process we found support for the descriptions of the leadership of these two types of organizations extant in the research and practitioner literatures. Those in charge of humanitarian NGOs were more likely to challenge the constraints in their environments, to be interested in influencing what was happening, to want to affect outcomes, and to be focused on addressing the needs of those in the communities facing the crisis, disaster, or emergency. They viewed themselves as having short time in which to respond and chose to communicate and act informally as well as to only collaborate with other organizations if pushed. Providing direct aid and service were high priorities as was advocacy to secure the funding necessary for completing their task. In contrast, CEOs leading development NGOs focused more on respecting and working within the constraints of their positions, being adaptable and flexible in working on having an impact—in effect, being interested in building coalitions and achieving consensus as well as indulging in compromise with the intent of solving the endemic problems that they were there to address. They had a longer time perspective than their humanitarian counterparts and were willing to work within fairly hierarchical structures as well as with a variety of types of collaborators to reach their goals.
Keywords: humanitarian relief; international development; leadership; leadership style; non-governmental organizations
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:127-137
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Political Leadership in Parliament: The Role of Select Committee Chairs in the UK House of Commons
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/573
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.573
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 115-126
Author-Name: Alexandra Kelso
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Southampton, UK
Abstract: Concepts of political leadership have been applied sparingly to parliaments, and not at all to the study of House of Commons select committees in the UK Parliament, where analysis has largely focused on their institutional capacity to scrutinise government and hold it to account. Yet examining these committees through a political leadership lens illuminates the complex role of committee chairs, a role which was significantly reshaped in 2010 with a shift to election of chairs by the whole House. This article analyses select committee chairs through the lens of political leadership, and draws on a series of interviews with chairs in order to delineate the nature of the political leadership they perform. It argues that, as chairs are now increasingly important parliamentary and policy actors, our understanding of them is significantly advanced by conceptualising their role as one of parliamentary political leadership, and that this in turn enriches our analytical toolkit when it comes to the study of parliaments.
Keywords: House of Commons select committees; political leadership; select committee chairs; UK Parliament
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:115-126
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Leadership in Precarious Contexts: Studying Political Leaders after the Global Financial Crisis
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/582
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.582
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 104-114
Author-Name: Cristine de Clercy
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Western University, Canada
Author-Name: Peter Ferguson
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, Western University, Canada
Abstract: A series of crises and traumatic events, such as the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 global financial crisis, seem to have influenced the environment within which modern political leaders act. We explore the scholarly literature on political leadership and crisis since 2008 to evaluate what sorts of questions are being engaged, and identify some new lines of inquiry. We find several scholars are contributing much insight from the perspective of leadership and crisis management. Several analysts are investigating the politics of crisis from a decentralist perspective, focusing on local leadership in response to challenging events. As well, studying how citizens interpret, respond to, or resist leaders’ signals is a developing area of inquiry. While our study reveals some debate about the nature of crisis, and whether the context has changed significantly, most of the scholarship reviewed here holds modern politicians face large challenges in exercising leadership within precarious contexts.
Keywords: complexity; elites; global financial crisis; leaders; leadership; leadership literature; political leadership; risk; uncertainty
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:104-114
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Contingency and Political Action: The Role of Leadership in Endogenously Created Crises
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/530
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.530
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 91-103
Author-Name: András Körösényi
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Political Science, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Author-Name: Gábor Illés
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Political Science, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Author-Name: Rudolf Metz
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute for Political Science, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Abstract: Among the recent literature about leadership and crisis situations two main strands are to be observed: structuralist ones mainly treat political leaders as reactive agents who have relatively little room for maneuver, while constructivist ones put greater emphasis on the opportunities in interpreting crises. Our claim is that there is a third analytical possibility mainly neglected in recent literature that is even more voluntaristic than the constructivist approaches. In this scenario, there is no external shock; leaders do not only interpret, but also “invent” crises. To make our claim plausible, we build a conceptual-descriptive typology of the potential relationships between crisis situations and agency. The typology is founded on Kari Palonen’s differentiation between Machiavellian and Weberian types of contingency, but uses his originally conceptual historical argument for analytical purposes. To underpin our theoretical argument, we present short illustrative examples to all three types of crisis scenarios (the structuralist, the constructivist, and the voluntarist one).
Keywords: Bush; contingency; crisis; leadership; Machiavelli; Orbán; Weber
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:91-103
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Missing Areas in the Bureaucratic Reputation Framework
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/570
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.570
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 80-90
Author-Name: Moshe Maor
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Abstract: Drawing on insights from social networks, social cognition and the study of emotions, this conceptual article offers a set of ideas and a series of predictions on how systematic variation in two sets of relationships may bear on agency behavior. The first is the agency-audience relationship which revolves around how and what multiple audiences think about public agencies, how these thoughts impact upon agency behavior, how information regarding this behavior is transformed within multiple audiences and how it influences audience memory and behavior regarding that agency. The second is the relationship between the reputation of an agency head and the reputation of that agency. The article identifies six broad areas that offer the most promising possibilities for future research on bureaucratic reputation, calling on researchers to incorporate insights from the aforementioned literatures, to dimensionalize these sets of relationships and to assess the generalizability of reputation’s effects.
Keywords: agency head; audiences; bureaucratic reputation; emotion; social cognition; social networks
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:80-90
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Between Potential, Performance and Prospect: Revisiting the Political Leadership of the EU Commission President
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/581
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.581
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 68-79
Author-Name: Henriette Müller
Author-Workplace-Name: NYUAD Institute, New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Abstract: This contribution argues that although the latest EU treaties formalized the Commission presidency to substantial degree, it remains a constitutionally weak office for the provision of political leadership. The capacity to lead thus still strongly depends on the individual incumbent. As a first step, the article examines the legal-procedural structure of the office before and after the Lisbon Treaty came into force. Secondly, it analyzes the political leadership performance of the Commission president José Barroso in comparison with his predecessor Jacques Delors. In bridging formal institutional rules with concrete performances this article contributes to the understanding of the relationship between structure and agency in international institutions as well as to the growing literature on political leadership in the European Union.
Keywords: Barroso; Delors; EU Commission president; Lisbon Treaty; performance; political leadership
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:68-79
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Responsive to the People? Comparing the European Cognitive Maps of Dutch Political Leaders and their Followers
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/577
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.577
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 54-67
Author-Name: Femke Van Esch
Author-Workplace-Name: Utrecht School of Governance, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Rik Joosen
Author-Workplace-Name: Utrecht School of Governance, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Sabine van Zuydam
Author-Workplace-Name: Tilburg School of Politics and Public Administration, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Abstract: Political leaders are often perceived as unresponsive to the daily concerns of citizens, especially when European integration is concerned. Academic research, however, provides at most mixed evidence for the existence of such a gap. This article tries to shed light on this discrepancy by introducing an alternative measure to study leaders’ responsiveness—narrative congruence—and explores the assumption that responsiveness increases leaders’ credibility in the eyes of their voters. As narrative congruence is a more intricate measure that captures leaders’ and followers’ policy preferences and argumentation, it may better capture the gap between their positions and therefore provide a more adequate explanation for citizens’ support for their leaders than traditional congruence measures like issue saliency and ideological distance. To provide a first test of this, the technique of cognitive mapping is introduced and used to explore the congruence in beliefs on European integration of four Dutch political leaders and their followers. Although the study finds a significant gap between some leaders and their followers’ narratives on Europe, it finds no evidence that this narrative congruence is related to the credibility of these leaders in the eyes of their followers.
Keywords: cognitive mapping; credibility; European Union; narrative congruence; political leaders; responsiveness
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:54-67
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Explaining Japan’s Revolving Door Premiership: Applying the Leadership Capital Index
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/575
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.575
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 36-53
Author-Name: Tina Burrett
Author-Workplace-Name: Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University, Japan
Abstract: The tenure of Japanese prime ministers is famously short. Between 2006 and 2012 Japan changed prime minister once a year. What factors can explain Japan’s revolving-door premiership? To explore this puzzle, this article applies the Leadership Capital Index (LCI) developed by Bennister, ’t Hart and Worthy (2015) to case studies of the nine Japanese prime ministers holding office between 2000 and 2015. Leadership capital is the aggregate of leaders’ political resources: skills, relations and reputation. The LCI thus allows analysis of the interplay between individual capacities and contextual conditions in determining leaders’ ability to gain, maintain and deploy power. The LCI is applied to answer two questions. Firstly, what accounts for the short tenure of many Japanese premiers? In which of the LCI’s three leadership dimensions do Japanese leaders lack capital? Secondly, what forms of capital allow some prime ministers to retain office for longer than average (>2 years)? In particular, the article analyses the leadership of Junichiro Koizumi (2001–2006) Japan’s longest serving prime minister since the 1970s, and incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has held office for three years since December 2012. As well as utilising the LCI to comparatively analyse the tenure of Japan’s prime ministers, this article tests the applicability of the Index beyond Western parliamentary democracies.
Keywords: authority; Japan; leadership; prime minister
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:36-53
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Deliberative Political Leaders: The Role of Policy Input in Political Leadership
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/560
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.560
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 25-35
Author-Name: Jennifer Lees-Marshment
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Social Sciences, Politics and International Relations, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract: This article provides a fresh perspective on political leadership by demonstrating that government ministers take a deliberative approach to decision making. Getting behind the closed doors of government through 51 elite interviews in the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the article demonstrates that modern political leadership is much more collaborative than we usually see from media and public critique. Politicians are commonly perceived to be power-hungry autocratic, elite figures who once they have won power seek to implement their vision. But as previous research has noted, not only is formal power circumscribed by the media, public opinion, and unpredictability of government, more collaborative approaches to leadership are needed given the rise of wicked problems and citizens increasingly demand more say in government decisions and policy making. This article shows that politicians are responding to their challenging environment by accepting they do not know everything and cannot do everything by themselves, and moving towards a leadership style that incorporates public input. It puts forward a new model of Deliberative Political Leadership, where politicians consider input from inside and outside government from a diverse range of sources, evaluate the relative quality of such input, and integrate it into their deliberations on the best way forward before making their final decision. This rare insight into politician’s perspectives provides a refreshing view of governmental leadership in practice and new model for future research.
Keywords: consultation; decision making; deliberation; deliberative political leadership; government; ministers; political leadership; politicians; public input
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:25-35
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Assessing the Performance of UK Opposition Leaders: Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘Straight Talking, Honest Politics’
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/567
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.567
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 15-24
Author-Name: Patrick Diamond
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London, UK
Abstract: This article contributes to a burgeoning literature on political leadership, offering an interim assessment of Jeremy Corbyn’s tenure as leader of the UK Labour party. At the time of writing, the candidate of the party’s Left had been leader for a mere seven months. Media commentators and pundits have been critical of Corbyn’s platform and performance, gleefully predicting his imminent demise. On the other hand, the ‘Corbynistas’ who swelled Labour’s ranks in the aftermath of the 2015 defeat have remained steadfast and committed supporters. Their hope is not only that Labour will win the next election, but that Corbyn can recast the landscape of British politics by challenging the economic and political establishment which has assented to the growth of inequality and austerity.
Keywords: agency; Labour party; political leadership; statecraft; structure
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:15-24
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The (Unintended) Consequences of New Labour: Party Leadership vs Party Management in the British Labour Party
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/534
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.534
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 5-14
Author-Name: Emmanuelle Avril
Author-Workplace-Name: Département du Monde Anglophone, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, France
Abstract: This article draws from the fields of political science and of organisational studies to explore the short-term and long-term impact of New Labour’s party management on the quality of party processes as well as on party reputation. It is based on the long-term ethnographic participant observation of the Labour Party at local and regional levels, as well as national events such as annual conferences. The article starts by identifying the distinctive features of New Labour’s party management. It then examines the “unintended consequences” of this brand of party management, showing this model to be mainly self-defeating. The final section provides a general assessment of the impact of New Labour’s party management from the perspective of organisational learning and innovation. Overall the article stresses the long-term poisonous effects of this brand of leadership and management on political organisations and on politics in general.
Keywords: Labour Party; leadership; management; New Labour; organisational learning; unintended effects
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:5-14
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Editorial: New Approaches to Political Leadership
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/683
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i2.683
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 2
Pages: 1-4
Author-Name: Mark Bennister
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Psychology, Politics and Sociology, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK
Abstract: This editorial introduces the special issue and considers what the articles tell us about new approaches to political leadership. The editorial explains how each article engages with the core puzzles of political leadership and brings together many diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of political leadership, a vibrant area of study currently in the midst of an academic renaissance.
Keywords: chief executives; elites; leaders; party leadership; political leadership
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:2:p:1-4
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: European Parliament Elections of May 2014: Driven by National Politics or EU Policy Making?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/464
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.464
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 167-181
Author-Name: Hermann Schmitt
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Politics, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, and MZES, University of Mannheim, Germany
Author-Name: Ilke Toygür
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science and International Relations, Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and Istanbul Policy Center, Sabanci University, Turkey
Abstract: The 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections took place in a very particular environment. Economic crisis, bailout packages, and austerity measures were central on the agenda in many Southern countries while open borders and intra-EU migration gained high salience elsewhere in the Union. A strong decline of political trust in European and national institutions was alarming. At the same time, the nomination and campaigning of “Spitzenkandidaten”, lead candidates of EP political groups for European Commission (EC) presidency, was meant to establish a new linkage between European Parliament elections and the (s)election of the president of the Commission. All of this might have changed the very nature of EP elections as second-order national elections. In this paper, we try to shed light on this by analysing aggregate election results, both at the country-level and at the party-level and compare them with the results of the preceding first-order national election in each EU member country. Our results suggest that the ongoing politicisation of EU politics had little impact on the second-order nature of European Parliament elections.
Keywords: economic crisis; EU policy scope; European Parliament elections; migration; second-order national elections
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:167-181
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Context Matters: Economic Voting in the 2009 and 2014 European Parliament Elections
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/458
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.458
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 145-166
Author-Name: Martin Okolikj
Author-Workplace-Name: School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin, Ireland
Author-Name: Stephen Quinlan
Author-Workplace-Name: GESIS Leibniz Institute, Germany
Abstract: Using the 2009 and 2014 European Election Studies (EES), we explore the effect of the economy on the vote in the 2009 and 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections. The paper demonstrates that the economy did influence voters in both contests. However, its impact was heterogeneous across the two elections and between countries. While assessments of the economy directly motivated voters in 2009 by 2014 economic appraisals were conditioned by how much responsibility voters felt the national government had for the state of the economy, implying a shift in calculus between the two elections. The analysis suggests that voters in 2009 were simply reacting to the economic tsunami that was the Global Financial Crisis, with motivations primarily driven by the unfavourable economic conditions countries faced. But in 2014, evaluations were conditioned by judgments about responsibility for the economy, suggesting a more conscious holding to account of the government. Our paper also reveals cross-country differences in the influence of the economy on vote. Attribution of responsibility and economic evaluations had a more potent impact on support for the government in bailout countries compared to non-bailout countries in 2014. Our findings demonstrate the importance of economy on vote in EP elections but also highlight how its impact on vote can vary based on context.
Keywords: bailout; economic voting; European elections; global financial crisis; perceptions of economic responsibility
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:145-166
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Voting at National versus European Elections: An Individual Level Test of the Second Order Paradigm for the 2014 European Parliament Elections
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/472
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.472
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 130-144
Author-Name: Hajo G. Boomgaarden
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Methods in the Social Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria
Author-Name: David Johann
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Methods in the Social Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria
Author-Name: Sylvia Kritzinger
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Methods in the Social Sciences, University of Vienna, Austria
Abstract: The second-order paradigm is the dominant framework for research on electoral behavior in European Parliament (EP) elections. In this study, we assess to what degree voting patterns in the 2014 EP election were characterized by second-orderness. While most studies of second-order voting behavior rely on macro-level accounts or suffer from potentially conflated vote measures, this study relies on panel data from the 2013 national and the 2014 EP election in Austria. We study change patterns in electoral behavior and, more importantly, assess the motives behind differences in vote choices between first- and second-order elections. Overall, the findings point towards a persisting relevance of the second-order framework for explaining voting in the 2014 EP election.
Keywords: EU attitudes; EP election; panel study; second-order election
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:130-144
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Looking for the European Voter: Split-Ticket Voting in the Belgian Regional and European Elections of 2009 and 2014
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/468
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.468
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 116-129
Author-Name: Camille Kelbel
Author-Workplace-Name: CEVIPOL, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Author-Name: Virginie Van Ingelgom
Author-Workplace-Name: F.R.S.–FNRS, ISPOLE, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Author-Name: Soetkin Verhaegen
Author-Workplace-Name: Centrum voor Politicologie, KU Leuven, Belgium
Abstract: While European elections are often seen as remote from EU issues, considerations specifically linked to the EU came to the forefront in the wake of the 2014 European elections: the economic and financial crisis, the new process of designation of the European Commission President, and the alleged increase of Eurosceptic votes. This increased salience of political debates about the EU asks for a reconsideration of the ‘second-order nature’ of European elections. In this context, as in 2009, the Belgian electorate voted for the regional and European levels on the very same day. Belgian voters were thus offered the opportunity to split their ticket between both levels. This allows comparing the occurrence and determinants of these ‘immediate switching’ behaviours in 2014 with those of the presumably less politicized EP elections in 2009. We do that by employing the 2009 and 2014 PartiRep Election Study data. On the one hand, the article shows that split-ticket voting cannot be explained by economic voting, European identity, and attitudes towards integration in 2014. On the other hand, the unique configuration of the Belgian elections enables us to observe that the introduction of Spitzenkandidaten did enhance split-ticket voting for voters who could directly vote for this candidate (in Flanders), while this did not increase split-ticket voting among voters who could only indirectly support the candidate (in Wallonia).
Keywords: economic voting; European elections; politicization; split-ticket voting
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:116-129
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Impact of the Explosion of EU News on Voter Choice in the 2014 EU Elections
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/471
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.471
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 104-115
Author-Name: Jan Kleinnijenhuis
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Wouter van Atteveldt
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: The European elections in 2014 were the first to be held after a long period in which EU-related news was prominent in the media. They were held after years of daily news about the euro crisis and after months of news about the popular uprising in the Ukraine against president Yanukovych, who had refused to sign the association agreement with the EU. This could have invited political parties to overcome the usual problem of low salience of EU issues by strongly profiling themselves on EU issues. Turnout at the 2014 EU elections, however, remained low, hinting that parties were unable to convert the attention for European issues into enthusiasm for their party at the European elections. This paper asks how vote choice was influenced by party campaigning on EU related issues. A news effects analysis based on a content analysis of Dutch newspapers and television, and on a panel survey among Dutch voters revealed that EU issues functioned as wedge issues: the more strongly parties were associated in the news with the euro crisis and the Ukraine, the less they succeeded in mobilizing voters.
Keywords: elections; European Parliament; media content analysis; news effects; panel survey; Ukraine; vote choice
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:104-115
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Has Eurosceptic Mobilization Become More Contagious? Comparing the 2009 and 2014 EP Election Campaigns in The Netherlands and France
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/455
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.455
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 83-103
Author-Name: Maurits Meijers
Author-Workplace-Name: Hertie School of Governance, Germany
Author-Name: Christian Rauh
Author-Workplace-Name: Research Unit Global Governance, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany
Abstract: With the lingering Euro crisis, personalized competition for the Commission presidency, and a surge of Eurosceptic parties, the 2014 European Parliament elections took place against an unknown level of European Union politicization. How does this changing context affect the supply side of party competition on European issues in EP election campaigns? This article compares the 2014 and 2009 EP elections in two EU founding members with high electoral support for radical left and radical right Euroscepticism—France and the Netherlands. We study publically visible patterns of partisan mobilization in the written news media with semi-automated content analyses. The data indicate that visible party mobilization on EU issues was on average not significantly higher in 2014. While particularly mainstream and especially incumbent parties publically mobilize on European issues during both campaigns, the radical right’s mobilization efforts have become more visible during the 2014 elections. Examining the temporal dynamics within electoral campaigns, we show that the Eurosceptic fringes exhibit significant contagion effects on the mainstream parties, but that the extent of this contagion was surprisingly lower in the 2014 campaign. As a result, the increasing EU politicization between the 2009 and 2014 electoral contests has not resulted in an enhanced and more interactive supply of partisan debate about Europe.
Keywords: EP elections; EU politicization; Euroscepticism; partisan mobilization
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:83-103
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Cross Road Elections: Change in EU Performance Evaluations during the European Parliament Elections 2014
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/462
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.462
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 69-82
Author-Name: Claes de Vreese
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Rachid Azrout
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Judith Moeller
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: The 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections were held after a period where public opinion about the EU changed significantly. In this paper we investigate evaluations of the performance of the European Union, as this dimension of EU attitudes is particularly relevant ahead of elections. We look at public opinion developments since 2009 and then zoom in on the role played by the news media in shaping public opinion about EU performance by linking citizens’ evaluations across time to the news media content they were exposed to. The article relies on original multiple wave survey panel data and a systematic media content analysis in the Netherlands. It shows how public opinion has changed, how it changes around EP elections, and how exposure to media coverage can help improve citizens’ evaluations of EU performance.
Keywords: EU attitudes; European Parliament elections; media effects; public opinion
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:69-82
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Debating Europe: Effects of the “Eurovision Debate” on EU Attitudes of Young German Voters and the Moderating Role Played by Political Involvement
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/456
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.456
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 55-68
Author-Name: Jürgen Maier
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany
Author-Name: Berthold Rittberger
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Munich, Germany
Author-Name: Thorsten Faas
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Mainz, Germany
Abstract: In the run-up to the elections to the European Parliament in 2014, EU citizens had the unprecedented opportunity to watch televised debates between the candidates running for president of the European Commission. The most important debate was the so-called “Eurovision debate”, which was broadcasted in almost all EU member states. In this study we explore the responses of a sample of 110 young German voters, who watched this debate, to the candidates’ messages and whether exposure to the debate caused a shift in the respondents’ attitudes towards the EU. Combining data from a quasi-experiment, real-time response data, and data from a content analysis of the debate, we find that respondents’ reactions to the candidates’ statements were—on average—positive and that some respondents displayed attitudinal changes resulting in more favorable views towards the EU. Although the direct connection between real-time responses and post-debate attitudes is not as strong as expected, most of the measured effects indicate that a positive evaluation of the candidates’ messages usually results in more pro-European attitudes. Furthermore, we find no strong evidence that political knowledge moderates debate effects. In general, differences between political ‘novices’ and political ‘experts’ tend to be rare.
Keywords: EU attitudes; European election; evaluation of candidate statements; political knowledge; televised debates
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:55-68
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Evaluations of the Spitzenkandidaten: The Role of Information and News Exposure in Citizens’ Preference Formation
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/460
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.460
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 37-54
Author-Name: Katjana Gattermann
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Claes De Vreese
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Wouter van der Brug
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: The 2014 European Parliament (EP) elections were characterised by a novel element in European Union (EU) politics. For the first time, the major European party families put forward top candidates for President of the European Commission, the so-called Spitzenkandidaten. This paper tests whether this innovation had the potential to—at least partially—alleviate the alleged accountability deficit. We rely on original survey data to assess citizens’ preferences for each of the main Spitzenkandidaten: Jean-Claude Juncker, Martin Schulz, and Guy Verhofstadt. Our research is guided by three questions: what explains whether citizens formulate a preference for a certain Spitzenkandidat? Which factors are responsible for variations in such preferences? And, are these explanations moderated by citizens’ political awareness? We show that three factors enable citizens to formulate a preference for the Spitzenkandidaten: news exposure, general EU political information, and campaign-specific information about the Spitzenkandidaten. Furthermore, we demonstrate that only the most knowledgeable citizens are able to use party cues in their evaluations of the Spitzenkandidaten. The implications of our findings are discussed with reference to the EU’s democratic deficit debate.
Keywords: candidate evaluations; European Parliament elections; European Union politics; personalization of politics; political behaviour
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:37-54
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Spitzenkandidaten in the European Parliament Election Campaign Coverage 2014 in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/457
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.457
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 23-36
Author-Name: Heidi Schulze
Author-Workplace-Name: Department for Communication Research, Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Abstract: Elections to the European Parliament are characterised by a steady decline in voter turnout. To tackle this problem, in 2014, several groups of the European Parliament nominated pan-European Spitzenkandidaten who were expected to personalise the elections and mobilise European voters. Based on this development, this study analyses the media coverage of the 2014 EP elections with special focus on the role of the Spitzenkandidaten. A quantitative content analysis of European election campaign coverage in the opinion leading newspapers of three influential EU member states, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom was carried out. The results show large candidate- and country-specific differences regarding the visibility and thematic coverage of the EP elections in general as well as the presentation of the Spitzenkandidaten. The Spitzenkandidaten were not very visible in either the German, French, or British newspaper coverage. With respect to the presence and media personalisation of the Spitzenkandidaten, the newspaper coverage of the EP election does not demonstrate any mobilising effect and thus does not reflect the high expectations the European Parliament attributed to the nomination of the Spitzenkandidaten.
Keywords: comparative cross-national analysis; content analysis; European elections; media coverage; media personalisation; Spitzenkandidaten
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:23-36
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: The Choice of Spitzenkandidaten: A Comparative Analysis of the Europarties’ Selection Procedures
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/469
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.469
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 9-22
Author-Name: Gert-Jan Put
Author-Workplace-Name: Public Governance Institute, University of Leuven, Belgium
Author-Name: Steven Van Hecke
Author-Workplace-Name: Public Governance Institute, University of Leuven, Belgium
Author-Name: Corey Cunningham
Author-Workplace-Name: Public Governance Institute, University of Leuven, Belgium
Author-Name: Wouter Wolfs
Author-Workplace-Name: Public Governance Institute, University of Leuven, Belgium
Abstract: The selection of leading candidates by the political families, the so-called Spitzenkandidaten, is relatively groundbreaking as it is the first form of political recruitment organized at the EU level. The literature on candidate selection procedures has so far concentrated on national parties and their procedures. To our knowledge the analytical model has not yet been applied at the EU level. This article will fill this gap by examining the selection procedures of Europarties, more particularly for their EC presidency candidates, a novelty of the 2014 European Parliament elections. Based on the analysis of the procedures applied within the European People’s Party (EPP), the Party of European Socialists (PES), the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), the European Green Party (EGP), and the Party of the European Left (EL), one of the main findings of this article is that the procedures are largely copy-paste from the Europarties’ internal procedures for selecting a president. This can largely be explained by the lack of time and experience their party elites had in the run-up to the 2014 elections. We therefore expect the Europarties to further professionalize their selection procedures and start the process earlier with more high profile politicians to stand as candidates in 2019.
Keywords: candidate selection; Europarties; European Commission; European elections
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:9-22
Template-Type: ReDIF-Article 1.0
Title: Introduction: How Different Were the European Elections of 2014?
File-URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/591
File-Format: text/html
DOI: 10.17645/pag.v4i1.591
Journal: Politics and Governance
Volume: 4
Year: 2016
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-8
Author-Name: Wouter van der Brug
Author-Workplace-Name: Department of Political Science, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Katjana Gattermann
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Author-Name: Claes H. de Vreese
Author-Workplace-Name: Amsterdam Centre for Contemporary European Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: This issue brings together papers that focus on the question of whether and in which ways the 2014 European Parliament elections were different from previous ones. This is important from the point of view of emerging scholarship on changes in the EU and from the point of view of the self-proclaimed ‘This time it’s different!’ slogan from the Parliament. The papers centre around three themes: 1) the role of the Spitzenkandidaten, 2) media and voters, and 3) electoral behaviour.
Keywords: campaigns; elections; European Parliament; media coverage; media effects; parties; Spitzenkandidaten; voting behaviour
Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v4:y:2016:i:1:p:1-8