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Informed by the findings in the economic voting literature and using an original dataset on Polish elections this research breaks away from this established practice and goes a step further by showing how economic conditions allow voters to distinguish between high/low performers and effectively attribute responsibility under open-list PR systems where voters can choose not only among parties but also among individual candidates. By integrating open-list design into the model of accountability this study transforms the way we think about the very act of voting.
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The research objective of this paper is to analyse European programmes of the right wing, populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and the left wing, populist German Left Party (Die Linke), to present their 2014 election campaigns for the European Parliament, and also to assess the activities undertaken by Members of the European Parliament of these political groups on the forum of the eighth EP. The reflections presented in this work were divided into four parts. First, the analysis of a large body of literature referring to populism is made and selected concepts for indicating the characteristic features of populist groups are proposed. Next, the European programmes of the Freedom Party of Austria and the German Left party are analysed. Then, the main subjects around which the political campaign to the EP of right- and left-wing populists was concentrated are indicated. In the third part, the analysis covers the EP election results and the voter support gained by the respective groups in relation to previous European elections in which both populist groups participated. Finally, the fourth part of the paper lists the areas of ac- tivities and the tools for parliamentary work used by the MEPs from FPÖ and the Left Party, including an assessment of their influence on the policy of the current EP.
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The United States presidential election campaign of 2008 apparently did not find a counterpart on the Polish political scene. It was only after Andrzej Duda won the battle for the presidency in 2015 that the debate about the actual role of the Internet in political marketing started. Almost immediately after the announcement of the election results, journalists suggested that this victory was the result of the effective use of social media, or the Internet in general. This paper attempts to verify the thesis formulated by journalists. In order to do so, a critical analysis of press materials published shortly after the announcement of election results is conducted. It also analyses the data from media agencies, an institute for Internet research, survey research groups, the Central Statistical Office and the National Electoral Commission.
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The aim of this article is to analyse compulsory voting including sanctions for non voting. The article explores elections to the European Parliament, decreasing turnout and an idea of introducing compulsory voting in European elections. Nowadays twenty nine states recognise compulsory voting. In Europe seven countries, including Turkey, introduced it. High people’s participation in elections is typical for the states with compulsory voting. This situation is observed especially in case of European elections, where turnout is systematically diminishing. One of succesful solution for increasing turnout can be introducing of compulsory voting. This would also result in strenghtening role of the European Parliament towards Commission and Council. It would also cause establishing more harmonized political landscape of the the EU.
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This paper discusses the process of accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union and the Euro-Atlantic security system at a time when Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state structure is regulated under the Dayton Agreement, according to which the main pillar of the political order is the rule of three ethnic groups instead of citizens, which therefore instead of democracy introduced the rule of ethnocracy. The consequence is that even 20 years after Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina is still not a functional state, because the entities created byethnicity (Serbs in the Republika Srpska, Bosniaks and Croats in the Federation of BiH) have become self-sufficient (entitocracy) and disinterested in the creation of a single state policy. Therefore, BiH has no strategy of socio-economic development and lags behind in meetingthe requirements for joining the European Union, for which two-thirds majority of its citizens have voted. This paper offers proposals whose adoption would achieve at least some assumptions to accelerate the process of transition of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Dayton (chainedwith ethnicities and entities) into Brussels (dynamic-civil) phase of its EU accession.
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Two-Tailed Dog Party is among the few willing to challenge the status quo ahead of the referendum.
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This text deals with the issues of the financing of the political parties in Slovakia. We are coming out of the assumption that the Slovak system of the political party funding is based on the multi-funding, but the contributions from the government budget will form the most dominant source of the income. This system negatively affects the stability of the political parties and the party system because it does not equally contribute to building a party structure at the regional and local levels. Except earnings, we are also paying our attention to the questions that are connected with the expenditure of the political parties. Our consideration is based on the assumption that the well – institutionalized political parties spend a significant part of their budget for the financing of their organizational structures, i. e. they use their funds for the personnel costs and administrative costs. Regarding the nature of the income that is concentrated at the party in public office (or at party in central office), the majority of the party costs will be spent on the promoting of the party elite (during the election campaign), not on the building of the party structures.
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The low interest in the political questions of European integration in Central and Eastern European countries, which has sometimes lead to apathy, and in some cases to increasing Euroscepticism among the citizens, can perhaps be partially explained by the lack of expertise and interest among politicians. This article analyses data on the level of knowledge and position towards the European Union among Czech political elites in the Czech Republic. Using party manifestos and secondary literature, the authors present a conceptual map of the Czech debate among Czech political parties and party politicians on the EU. First, the main currents of the debate are shown, as well as, and especially, the superficial, vague and ideological nature of that debate. The key narratives are divided according to positive and negative attitudes toward the EU and European integration in general, as well as according to domestic or imported sources of a party’s view on integration. In the second part of this article, the broader views of Czech political elites who focus on EU politics are presented and discussed. Original data from the expert survey are presented. The authors show that the debate of “European” politics by the expert elite is much better structured and less ideological than among the politicians, although it is not quite as consensual as expected. The political narratives are present among the elites of European politics in the Czech Republic as well, which can hamper the necessary communication between politicians and the experts and, as a consequence, rather naïve and superficial features of the Czech political debate on integration tend to persevere.
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This paper clarifies some of the contested ideas put forward by John Stuart Mill by analyzing the reasons and arguments Mill used to support them and demonstrating how these ideas and arguments supporting them are connected into a coherent system. Mill’s theory is placed in wider explanatory framework of democratic legitimacy developed by Thomas Christiano, and is portrayed as a typical example of democratic instrumentalism—a monistic position that focuses on the outcomes and results of a decision-making process. Following this move, the focus is shifted on the understanding of political equality in Mill’s political thought. I claim that, contrary to some contemporary interpretations, Mill’s theory is based on a few fundamentally inegalitarian ideas. Finally, Mill’s view on the role of experts in democratic decision-making is analyzed and compared with contemporary theories advocating democratic expertism—Mill’s view is again portrayed as inegalitarian, both to the extent of setting political aims and creating methods for achieving these aims.
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This paper analyses the position and role of direct democracy in the Swiss political system. The Swiss political system is characterised by strong federalism with distinct cantonal responsibilities. Political authority is distributed bottom-up, i.e. from the cantonal to the federal level, and this is mostly achieved through referenda. The power of direct democracy instruments in Switzerland is best reflected in the fact that citizens can use referendum as an instrument in order to initiate constitutional and legislative change, but also to vote on their support to legislation that is already passed. This continuous threat of resorting to referendum has led to the specific „negotiation democracy”, later termed by some authors as consensual or consotiative democracy. A wide range of direct democracy instruments in Switzerland at all levels of government and regular consultations between the authorities and citizens resulted in the creation of the „culture of political consensus”.
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This article is a summary review of fundamental perils of democracy as shown in Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. After introductionary notes about Tocquevilles’s life and importance as political writer, (I) the goal and structure of the book is briefly analized, then (II) central problem of tyrrany of the majority is shown, after which comes (III) emergence and significance of democratic customs (mœurs) as being constituitional for democratic institutions as well as (IV) their opposite in form of individualism, which finally (V) allows diminution of freedom through government centralization and despotism of public opinion, (VI) solution for which Tocqueville finds in civil associations.
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The paper presents the basic consequences of the introduction of single-member districts (the FPTP system) in municipal elections in Poland. The authors analyze the results of the 2010 and 2014 elections (before and after the electoral reform). Basing on the difference-in-differences research scheme, the paper presents changes in the municipalities where either block- -voting or proportional representation systems were replaced by the FPTP. The empirical analyses demonstrate that the change from the BV to the FPTP system brought only marginal effects. The replacement of the PR system by the FPTP was more visible. Quite paradoxically, it increased the number of committees competing in the elections. However, the disproportionality and the share of wasted votes increased significantly, while the fragmentation of local councils decreased. In the municipalities previously using a proportional representation system, the number of candidates decreased visibly; contrary to the initial assumptions, its impact was neutral to the share of elected female councillors. The introduction of the FPTP system significantly limited the already weak presence of nation-wide political parties in local councils.
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This article presents the origin and institutionalisation of Canarian Coalition (sp. Coalición Canaria, CC), which emerged in Spanish party system in 1993. Since then it has ruled the regional government of Canary Islands autonomous community. The author attempts to reach causes of creation of this non‑state‑wide party and draw the process of its organizational and political program consolidation and explain the phenomena of its electoral and parliamentary stability.
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From 2002 the mayors of towns in Poland are elected in direct elections every 4 years. In 30 towns with county rights the same persons were chosen in the years 2002—2010. They are so called “everlasting mayors” (multi‑term mayors, incumbents). Before 2014 local elections three of them resigned from the election campaign for re‑election and ten “everlasting mayors” lost the elections. Therefore in thirteen towns with county rights the residents chose new mayors. On the basis of these cases the consideration of some thesis were done. First — the defeated incumbent supported by political parties usually loses elections with nonpartisan candidate; second — the defeated nonpartisan incumbent loses elections with partisan rival.
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The purpose of the present paper is to show how the Polish political parties utilize free election broadcasts in the process of political communication during election campaigns. The research material was free election broadcasts aired on the Lublin Radio S.A. [PLC] during election campaigns in Poland between 2011 and 2014, the research method being content analysis and comparative analysis. The article explains the legal aspect of free election broadcasts, presents the ways of using the broadcast time by the authorized election committees as part of free election broadcasts, discusses the errors committed by election committees when preparing auditory election spots, and it shows what should be changed so that political parties could communicate more effectively with their voters through free election broadcasts on public radio.
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Since 2005, in Poland we are progressive and coexisting two key processes for development and evaluation of political campaigns. The first is the americanization of the campaigns, and other activities professionalization staffs. It seems that without the use of techniques characterized for political marketing would not be possible for the second time in Poland after 1989 change after the first term of office of the President. First departure Polish policy of Donald Tusk and the choice of an unknown politician — Andrzej Duda on the President, in fact, a political era ends and exhausts ruling so far Civic Platform effective strategy to scare of Jarosław Kaczyński. Secondly, the results of these elections mean consent youngest voters “change” on “anti‑system slogans” and finally as it seems, this means the announcement of acceptance for the appearance of a new political force in Poland.
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Estonia is one of the few countries of the former communist bloc, which before the formal obtaining independence, started discussion about the reform of electoral law. As a result of compromise of the main political forces, it was decided to adopt a complex, three — tier proportional electoral system. The main aim of this article is examine the numerous changes made to Estonian electoral law between 1992 and 2015. For over 20 years, can be seen three main directions of changes in the electoral law: striving to reduce electoral actors and candidates taking part in elections, increasing the number of seats distributed at the district level and increasing voter turnout.
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But in a race billed by some as East vs. West, prime minister’s party comes up short of a majority and must negotiate to form coalition.
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This paper examines the background of regional affiliation in Istria, more exactly, the Istria County in the last twenty years. Analysis of the data from three consecutive censuses (1991, 2001 and 2011), as well as analysis of results from local elections in period 1993 -2013, demonstrated three facts related to regional identity affiliation in Istria. From the point of geographic and cartographic analysis, it can be concluded that there is no equivocal Istrianism embedded in territorial roots in the Istrian County, both in the context of time and place. Significant differences in the three analyzed census years, but no trends the levels of municipalities indicate that the Istrianism is somewhat an ambivalent phenomenon without prominent trends or constants. In addition, it can be concluded that this is not even a successful project of a multicultural melting pot, as all these years IDS claimed. It can be also concluded that the IDS, in political terms, is not the sole holder of these ideas. A final conclusion strives to prove that proclaimed connection between researched regional identity and European identity is also populist, not real one.
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