Suchergebnisse

Diese Studie präsentiert neue empirische Evidenz für die Argumente feministischer Theoretiker*innen, welche die Notwendigkeit deskriptiver Repräsentation von Frauen unterstreichen. Anhand eines neuartigen Datensatzes wird die Wirkung der Präsenz von Frauen in lokalpolitischen Ämtern auf die Beteiligung bei Ratswahlen in Baden-Württemberg untersucht. Die Analyse von Längsschnittdaten zwischen 1999 und 2019 zeigt, dass die Präsenz von Bürgermeisterinnen eine positive Wirkung auf die Beteiligungsquote bei Gemeinderatswahlen hat. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, dass auch die Offenheit der Wähler*innen für Frauen in politischen Ämtern eine Rolle spielt. Vor allem für Parteien im linken politischen Spektrum spielt emanzipatorische und solidarische Politik und somit Geschlechterausgleich eine wichtige Rolle. In den Gemeinden, in denen die Grünen und die Linkspartei bei der Bundestagswahl höhere Stimmanteile erreichen, ist der positive Effekt deskriptiver Repräsentation von Frauen auf die Wahlbeteiligung größer. Sowohl die Präsenz von Bürgermeisterinnen als auch der Frauenanteil im Gemeinderat haben im Zusammenspiel mit der approximierten Offenheit der Wähler*innen für Politikerinnen einen positiven Effekt auf die Höhe der Wahlbeteiligung. Der positive Effekt der Präsenz von Frauen in lokalpolitischen Ämtern auf die kommunale Wahlbeteiligung wird durch die Offenheit der Wähler*innen gegenüber Politikerinnen moderiert.

ZusammenfassungDiese Studie präsentiert neue empirische Evidenz für die Argumente feministischer Theoretiker*innen, welche die Notwendigkeit deskriptiver Repräsentation von Frauen unterstreichen. Anhand eines neuartigen Datensatzes wird die Wirkung der Präsenz von Frauen in lokalpolitischen Ämtern auf die Beteiligung bei Ratswahlen in Baden-Württemberg untersucht. Die Analyse von Längsschnittdaten zwischen 1999 und 2019 zeigt, dass die Präsenz von Bürgermeisterinnen eine positive Wirkung auf die Beteiligungsquote bei Gemeinderatswahlen hat. Darüber hinaus zeigt sich, dass auch die Offenheit der Wähler*innen für Frauen in politischen Ämtern eine Rolle spielt. Vor allem für Parteien im linken politischen Spektrum spielt emanzipatorische und solidarische Politik und somit Geschlechterausgleich eine wichtige Rolle. In den Gemeinden, in denen die Grünen und die Linkspartei bei der Bundestagswahl höhere Stimmanteile erreichen, ist der positive Effekt deskriptiver Repräsentation von Frauen auf die Wahlbeteiligung größer. Sowohl die Präsenz von Bürgermeisterinnen als auch der Frauenanteil im Gemeinderat haben im Zusammenspiel mit der approximierten Offenheit der Wähler*innen für Politikerinnen einen positiven Effekt auf die Höhe der Wahlbeteiligung. Der positive Effekt der Präsenz von Frauen in lokalpolitischen Ämtern auf die kommunale Wahlbeteiligung wird durch die Offenheit der Wähler*innen gegenüber Politikerinnen moderiert.

Afghanistan has chosen. While the first course brought no clear winner, but still ran the election was generally peaceful and recorded a high turnout. In the run-off elections the Afghans decide on the two leading candidates - former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Ashraf Ghani. Whoever wins the election - at press time were currently no results - he will not have it easy. Adapted from the source document.

Turnout rates in federal elections have fallen and reached their lowest point in 2009 with a rate of 70.8 percent. Existing research identifies political discontent of the poorly educated social class as the main driving force of nonvoting. Previous nonvoting research has not recognized the relationship between education, discontent and voter turnout in its full complexity. The analyzed survey data on the federal election in 2009 show that negatively regarded government performance increases the likelihood of nonvoting especially among the higher educated voting population. Thus, disgruntled nonvoters are a far more general problem than previously thought. Adapted from the source document.

The German electorate is constantly aging. Hence, knowing about age-related effects on voting behavior becomes more important. Empirical findings on this issue differentiate between generational effects, grounded in political & socio-economic socialization, & age effects, derived from the dynamics of aging, experience & life cycle. On the whole, the results from established democracies paint a complex picture of differences between younger & older voters, both in turnout & voting choice. Thus, any discussion about these differences & their implications for aging democratic societies ought to be led without simplifications. Adapted from the source document.

If electoral abstention is linked to party preferences, low turnout -- as witnessed in European Parliament elections -- may hurt some parties & benefit others. In order to assess this possibility, we compare, in the member states of the EU, parties' vote shares in the 2009 European Parliament elections with the results that would have been obtained had turnout reached the level of national general elections. We find that the effects of low turnout are minimal, & that -- except for a single seat -- higher turnout would not have resulted in a different composition of the European Parliament. Adapted from the source document.

At national elections in Osnabruck (Lower Saxony), the Social Democrats usually secured above-average majorities whereas the Christian Democrats performed always well below the national average. However, at local elections the Christian Democrats have obtained the greatest share of the vote since the beginning of the 1980s. At the 2006 local election the Social Democrats failed again to secure a majority & only became the second strongest party. These differences are sought to be explained by comparing the voting behavior in the 2005 national election & the 2006 local election in Osnabruck. Regardless of the political level, the same social & structural variables such as density & movement of population, religion, age & family structure are influential in shaping citizens' voting behavior. Differences in national & local voting behavior are caused mainly by a significantly lower voter turnout in local elections rather than by a distinctive local voting behavior. Tables, Figures.

While many central governments amalgamate municipalities, mergers of larger county administrations are rare and hardly explored. In this paper, we assess both fiscal and political effects of county mergers in two different institutional settings: counties act autonomously as upperlevel local governments (Germany), or counties being decentralised branches of the state government (Austria). We apply difference-in-differences estimations to county merger reforms in each country. In both cases, some counties were amalgamated while others remain untouched. Austrian counties (Bezirke) and German counties (Landkreise) widely differ in terms of autonomy and institutions, but our results are strikingly similar. In both cases, we neither find evidence for cost savings nor for staff reductions. Instead, voter turnout consistently decreases in merged counties, and right-wing populists seem to gain additional support. We conclude that political costs clearly outweigh fiscal null benefits of county merger reforms - independent of the underlying institutional setting.

The successful Bavarian smoking-restriction referendum often was viewed as a conflict between smokers and non-smokers. In this paper, we investigate the role of smoking behavior on mobilization and voter choice using data from a rolling-cross-section survey conducted in the run-up to the referendum. The results indicate that smoking behavior did not affect campaign interest and factual knowledge about the proposal. At the same time, non-smokers were more inclined to participate in the referendum than smokers. What is more, vote choice in the referendum was affected strongly by smoking behavior: a large majority of non-smokers voted for the proposal, whereas a large majority of smokers voted against it. Given the polarization in vote choice and non-smokers' reluctance to vote against the anti- smoking proposal, attempts to revise the decision on anti-smoking policy are unlikely to succeed. Accordingly, the referendum appears to have settled the conflict on anti-smoking policy in Bavaria. Adapted from the source document.

The parliamentary elections in Poland in autumn 2007 continued the phenomenon of alternation, which has dominated since the first fully free elections after the democratic transition in 1991. The ultra-catholic & populist parties were swept from both chambers of the parliament & the quite unpopular (in particular abroad) government of the Kaczynski brothers suffered a severe defeat. Their successors' coalition, consisting of rather heterogeneous partners, particularly concerning questions of economic policies, has been under high pressure ever since from the permanent inter-institutional conflict caused by cohabitation with a president from the defeated camp. Against this background, the task of implementing the long-delayed & necessary reforms seems almost insurmountable. Therefore, the hope & euphoria voters have focused on the change in government are likely to deflate & turn into a renewed wave of demobilization of large parts of the electorate -- a circumstance from which mainly the Kaczynskis would benefit. Contrary to initial impressions, their support (counted in voter turnout) grew stronger in 2007, which means that the brothers' party still represents one of the few -- if not the only -- stable forces in a political landscape dominated by high fluctuation & low stability. Tables. Adapted from the source document.

Political apathy & disinterest contribute to low voter turnout in second-order elections. In Germany, voter turnout in national elections remains relatively high. There is a high normative attitude in favor of voting & new modes of political campaigning have strengthened voter turnout. Politicians perceive political disinterest as a lack of legitimacy & recognize the decrease of voter turnout in the younger age groups. Newly planned electoral reforms try to implement new electoral rules & electoral infrastructures that lead to a higher influence of participation, a higher degree of personalization, & to new forms of absentee voting. Not all of these reforms will be successful. They are challenged by problems such as ensuring privacy, maintaining secrecy & integrity, & preserving equal access to the polls. 2 Tables, 2 Graphs, 49 References. Adapted from the source document.