Suchergebnisse

This article investigates the curious non-emergence of populism in contemporary Cyprus despite the deep financial crisis and profound political disillusionment – conditions that are treated as necessary and sufficient. Putting emphasis on Cyprus' key historical particularities, the article inquires into the ways Cyprus' political past, and the subsequent salient 'national question', produce ambiguous notions of 'the people' on the one hand, and impede the potentials for a 'populist moment' on the other hand. By assessing the performative dynamics of oppositional parties in Cyprus, the empirical analysis suggests that the absence of populism is rooted in the following factors: First, nationalist discourse prevails over, and significantly weakens, populist discourse. Second, self-proclaimed challenger parties served 'old wine in new bottles' further undermining their position and claims. The failure of populism to take root in Cyprus, brings to the fore important theoretical insights relevant to the non-emergence of populism even under favourable conditions.

Reasons to distinguish between the elites responsible for war & violence in the former Yugoslavia & the rest of the Serbian population are advanced. The war in Yugoslavia has been portrayed in black & white terms; ie, all Serbians supported the aggressive & nationalistic policies of the elites. However, more recent reports show that many Serbs were not properly informed about political decisions by elites & were subjected to exploitation & manipulation. After the war, in 1997, demonstrations against the elites reached a high point, but the international community has not recognized differences between the incumbent, Slobodan Milosevic, & the opposition parties, nor the differences between civil & nationalistic demonstrations. It appears that the international community is reluctant to punish the elites for war crimes for fear that a less manipulatable leader than Milosevic may appear. It is recommended that the West impose punishment & sanctions on those responsible for war crimes, not on the entire populace, & assist the opposition coalition with the country's increasing economic difficulties. Adapted from the source document.

Political developments under the ruling military junta since 1988 and problems of the refugee community and the government in exile. Some focus on the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and the National League for Democracy (NLD).

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

Although it is theoretically relevant, the effect of pre-electoral coalitions on vote choice remains a largely unexplored area in the field of party strategy. The article addresses this gap by focusing on the Italian regional elections, where the electoral rules allow parties to run alone and, at the same time, to present pre-electoral coalitions on the ballot paper. This setting allows us to investigate under what conditions citizens vote for their preferred party and the coalition that this party indicated to coalesce with. The results suggest that ideological congruence and the size of the parties entering a pre-electoral agreement are decisive factors. Findings also reveal that the time elapsed since the establishment of a coalition has no effect on vote choice.

En el presente artículo me propongo reflexionar sobre la historiografía política del catolicismo argentino de entreguerras a partir de mi propia experiencia de investigación doctoral. Aunque se incluyen algunas referencias bibliográficas generales, el propósito del ensayo no es llevar a cabo un estado de la cuestión o un análisis teórico del problema sino, más bien, un relato del itinerario seguido –y las situaciones vividas– en diferentes tramos del proceso. Se intentan ofrecer, de este modo, tanto algunas de las conclusiones obtenidas como una suerte de breve crónica "etnográfica" del trabajo realizado como tesista y becario de doctorado. ; Based on my personal research experience, this article reflects on the Argentine historiography of Catholicism during the interwar period. Although some general references are included, the purpose of this piece is neither to establish the state of the art nor to address a theoretical analysis of the issue, but rather to account for the process and the different stages of my doctoral research. In such manner, I attempt to offer some of the conclusions I reached, as well as brief 'ethnographic' chronicle of my work as a Research Fellow. ; Fil: Mauro, Diego A. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. CONICET; Argentina

In this Opinion Paper, we argue that long term-goals of social and economic policy in the EU mustnot fall victim to short-term policy orientations prompted by the banking crisis that hit the globaleconomy in 2008 and the subsequent financial and fiscal problems affecting the Eurozone and theEU at large. We capture these long-term goals with the notion of a 'social investment imperative'.Social investment is not a new idea per se. We first revisit the social investment perspective asproposed towards the end of the 1990s and draw some lessons from past experience. Wemaintain that a social investment impetus, given Europe's adverse demography, is today moreacute than ever before. Subsequently, we examine how a renewed social investment perspectivecan be rescued from one-sided policy orientations prompted by the economic crisis (First paragraph)

In this Opinion Paper, we argue that long term-goals of social and economic policy in the EU mustnot fall victim to short-term policy orientations prompted by the banking crisis that hit the globaleconomy in 2008 and the subsequent financial and fiscal problems affecting the Eurozone and theEU at large. We capture these long-term goals with the notion of a 'social investment imperative'.Social investment is not a new idea per se. We first revisit the social investment perspective asproposed towards the end of the 1990s and draw some lessons from past experience. Wemaintain that a social investment impetus, given Europe's adverse demography, is today moreacute than ever before. Subsequently, we examine how a renewed social investment perspectivecan be rescued from one-sided policy orientations prompted by the economic crisis (First paragraph)