The Negative Effects of Populism on Gay and Lesbian Rights*

Objective. The objective of this article is to examine the degree to which populist features of state governments affect minority interests, particularly gays, lesbians, and bisexuals (GLB) Method. We examine the effects of specific institutional features that affect state government responsiveness to majority preferences on GLB policies: bans on same‐sex marriage and hate crime. We also control for variations in political environment. Results. Features that increase popular control over policy making and policymakers advance anti‐GLB policies but have little effect on pro‐GLB policies; however, legislative term limits have the opposite effect. Further, constituency size and senators' term length increases both types of policies. Conclusions. The findings indicate that an unpopular minority is likely to be harmed by populist features that increase the role of citizens and may be helped by features that shield legislators from majoritarian preferences.     

村庄民主、村干部角色及其行为模式

对于中国乡村精英角色及其行为模式的讨论,一直是社会学的一个非常重要的课题。尤其是在民主制度引入农村地区后,村干部的角色定位是否有所变化？在日常的治理过程中,其行为模式与角色定位是如何实现的？对于这一问题的回答,不仅需要以深入的个案调查为基础,而且也离不开严谨的实证分析。本文试图以6省的数据,来定量化地考察村庄民主对于村干部行为模式与角色定位的影响。实证模型结果显示,村庄民主的实行,可以促使村干部在日常治理过程中减少对于国家任务的关注,而增加对于社区事务的关注,从而使其角色定位更倾向于社区利益代言人。     

Direct democracy and minority rights: same-sex marriage bans in the U.S

Objectives. A common critique of direct democracy posits that minority rights are endangered by citizen legislative institutions. By allowing citizens to directly create public policy, these institutions avoid the filtering mechanisms of representative democracy that provide a check on the power of the majority. Empirical research, however, has produced conflicting results that leave the question of direct democracy's effect on minority rights open to debate. This article seeks to empirically test this critique using a comparative, dynamic approach.Methods. I examine the diffusion of same-sex marriage bans in the United States using event-history analysis, comparing direct-democracy states to non-direct-democracy states.Results. The results show that direct-democracy states are significantly more likely than other states to adopt same-sex marriage bans.Conclusion. The findings support the majoritarian critique of direct democracy, suggesting that the rights of minority groups are at relatively higher risk under systems with direct democracy.     

Super Majoritarianism and the Endowment Effect

The American and some other constitutions entrench property rights by requiring super majoritarian voting as a condition for amending or revoking their own provisions. Following Buchanan and Tullock [The Calculus of Consent, Logical Foundations of Constitutional Democracy (University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor), 1962], this paper analyzes individuals' interests behind a veil of ignorance, and shows that under some standard assumptions, a (simple) majoritarian rule should be adopted. This result changes if one assumes that preferences are consistent with the behavioral phenomenon known as the endowment effect. It then follows that (at least some) property rights are best defended by super majoritarian protection. The paper then shows that its theoretical results are consistent with a number of doctrines underlying American Constitutional Law.     

民主的两种批评者

在当代政治哲学中,人们主要从以下两个维度来定义民主：一种是以公共利益为基本导向的民主理论;另一种民主理论认为,在现代社会中,随着实质性的共同利益的消失和单一的群体性意志的不可能,民主不可能在以公共利益为基本导向的模式上建立起来,所以,它们认为＂多元＂和＂竞争＂才是民主的本质性特征。在这两种民主理论中,前者往往被认为是一种压迫性的、独裁性的民主理论;而后者则往往被认为有着重陷霍布斯状态的倾向。     

Institutional and District‐Level Sources of Competition in State Legislative Elections*

Objectives. What are the sources of partisan competition in state legislative elections? Specifically, what impact do institutional features have relative to district‐level conditions on competition between party nominees? Methods. Using data from 30 states in 1994 and 1996, a range of factors are examined to determine their influence on both the likelihood that a race is contested and the degree of competition that results. Results. Multiple regression analyses indicate that a district's characteristics, measured as social and partisan diversity, have a strong and durable influence on elections. Contested elections are more likely and competition levels are higher in districts with heterogeneous populations. Institutional characteristics such as legislative professionalism also have a large influence, although the direction of their impact varies by stage of the electoral process examined. For example, professionalism increases the likelihood that an election is contested, but leads to a lower level of competition between opposing candidates. Conclusions. District‐level conditions have a large influence on competition; however, incentives created by institutional features are also critical for understanding the competitiveness of state legislative elections.     

Technocracies,Bureaucracies, or Responsive Polities? Urban School Systems and the Politics of School Violence Prevention*

Objective. Two tacks are implicit in the seminal Chubb and Moe (1990) argument that education bureaucracies tend to be rigidified by democratic conflict. One emphasizes the vulnerability of urban systems to organized interests and community pressures; the other argues that urban systems are unresponsive and ossified bureaucracies. This debate contrasts with traditional assumptions of apolitical “professionalism.” The predictive power of these theses is examined for the case of school violence prevention policy. Methods. Ordinary least squares regression analysis is conducted on the 1995 Council of Urban Boards of Education survey, encompassing 74 urban school districts. Results. Districts with greater levels of racial violence and violence against teachers had more school violence prevention measures. Levels of general school violence and district perceptions of school violence were not statistically significant. Conclusions. Urban systems are quite responsive to interest group pressure as well as to high SES communities. The professionalism thesis is not supported.     

The CPSU and the Soviets

"Popular sovereignty in our country," we read in the Theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Fifty Years of the Great October Socialist Revolution, "is expressed above all in the soviets - representative bodies combining the features of state and civic organizations." The guidance given the soviets by the Communist Party is a vital factor in the Soviet system. This factor reflects the fundamental qualities of the political organization of socialist society. The entire course of the country's historical development has proved irrefutably that complete disclosure of the fundamental advantages of the Soviet organization of power and their utilization in the interests of socialism would be impossible in the absence of the leading role of the Party in the soviets. The relationship between the Party and the soviets in the system of socialist democracy provides the key to understanding the mechanism of popular sovereignty and reflects a fundamentally new interaction between the political leader, the state organization, and the masses of the people that is impossible under a system of exploitation. It is no accident that the apostles of anticommunism are particularly rabid in their attacks on the position of the Party in the republic of soviets, making it their primary target in their slanderous inventions and verbal attempts to subvert the principles of socialist society.     

Legislating morality outside of the legislature: Direct democracy,voter participation and morality politics

Twenty-four states currently use some form of the initiative and referendum in an effort to give Americans the opportunity to make laws directly and vote on proposals given to them by their state legislatures. In one area in particular, morality policy, voters have historically used the ballot box to craft important and often controversial legislation. These have included items concerning gambling, alcohol, abortion, narcotics, obscenity and religion. This research examines two important aspects of the direct democracy issue: does the initiative and referendum increase voter participation in the states giving this option to voters and what is the impact on participation levels when morality issues are considered? For the first question a unique data set is developed to test voter turnout on ballot issues using the state as the unit of analysis. Results of this ordinary-least-squares analysis suggest direct democracy does increase voter turnout rates. In the second part of the analysis, however, several state ballots from 1972 to 2006 are analyzed suggesting that voter interest is strongest when they face morality issues. Hence, ‘legislating morality’ takes on a new meaning here since we commonly associate the phrase only with legislative institutions. As shown, over time citizens have been legislating morality directly in their own unique way. Theoretically, while advocates of direct democracy contend the process increases voter participation, it is argued here that the participation is often skewed toward certain morality issues and not toward issues as a whole. The data support this contention and raise normative questions concerning voters and their propensity to ‘legislate morality’.     

Responsive Government: The Diversity and Institutional Performance of Online Political Deliberation Systems

Along with innovation in ICT technology and the spread of the internet, the online network, through its “technological empowerment” of citizens and governments, has driven a series of institutional changes designed to promote government responsiveness. The global spread of online political deliberation is indeed an achievement of the internet-driven construction of responsive government. In recent years, the Chinese government has vigorously promoted online political deliberation, established virtual platforms to build bridges between netizens and public power, brought internet activism into institutional channels, and implemented political absorption and online consultation. Under the influence of policy initiatives and local innovations, China has created diversified response systems that strengthen the institutionalization of online political deliberation and thereby enable this system to play an active role in improving government capacity and regulating the relationship between the state and society. At present, China has seven types of online response: the Communist Party Committee-led mode, the mixed mode, the government-led mode and the modes led by the departments in charge of absorption, business, supervision departments, and petitioning. Empirical studies show that the diversity and degree of institutionalization of online political deliberation significantly affect institutional performance and that political authority and professionalism are important features that enable the different response systems to influence institutional performance. In short, the endogenous elements of the response system—level of institutionalization and institutional diversity—are key factors in institutional performance.     

组织动员、行动策略与机会结构——业主集体行动结果的影响因素分析

本文从组织动员、行动策略和机会结构三个维度出发,基于发生在1999-2012年的中国191个业主维权案例,系统考察了纠纷类型、参与人数、维权方式、业主组织和政府反应五个因素对业主集体维权结果的影响。研究发现,在涉及政府部门的行政型纠纷和混合型纠纷中,业主不易维权成功;动员一定数量的业主有助于集体维权成功,但并不意味着动员人数越多,成功可能性越大;不同维权方式及其组合会影响维权结果,非制度化的激进行为并不利于业主实现其利益诉求;真正代表业主利益且能有效运作的业主组织可以显著提高业主维权成功的可能性;政府的行政失当行为(包括不当干预和行政不作为)大大增加了业主维权的难度。这些发现在一定程度上揭示了当前中国强国家-弱社会的现状。     

21世纪的中国－尼泊尔关系：国家利益的视角

中尼友谊常青的根本原因是双方拥有巨大的共同利益。从中方看,尼泊尔的发展和稳定与中国西部地区局势和主权完整息息相关,尼泊尔的“转口经济体”战略与中国西部大开发战略相互促进,尼泊尔在非传统安全领域与国际舞台上与中国相互支持和配合。从尼方看,中国的存在有利于维护其国家主权独立和领土完整,平衡大国在尼泊尔的影响力,为尼泊尔的经济社会发展提供机遇和外援。影响新时期两国关系的主要因素包括印度因素、美国因素、尼国内政局的变幻、中尼双边贸易结构的不平衡等。未来的中尼关系仍需严守和平共处五项原则,做到态度真诚、政策连贯、因时而变、回应积极。     

Assessing the value of state legislative experience and legislative professionalism in national election performance, 1974–2010

State legislative experience and chamber professionalism have been shown to benefit state legislators as they decide and prepare to run for national office in American Congressional elections. Yet, what are the effects of these two factors on national election performance? I test the implications from the literature that state legislative experience and chamber professionalism should impact national election outcomes on all two-party contested elections from 1974 to 2010. I find that state legislative experience enhances candidates’ vote shares, though differently for different candidates. Yet, surprisingly professionalism plays no moderating role. Such effects present at the earlier stages of elections wash out as elections come to a close.     

Personally affected,politically disaffected? How experiences with public employment services impact young people's political efficacy

Unemployment experiences can have consequences for how people think about democracy and where they stand vis‐à‐vis the state. We investigate how young people's experiences with public employment services can shape levels of external political efficacy—the feeling that decision‐makers are responsive to citizen needs. The personal and direct experiences one gathers at this pivotal time in life can also leave their mark on political attitudes. We analyze an original dataset on German youth to test how encounters with such agencies affect young people's political efficacy, finding that perceptions of helpfulness and being treated fairly and with respect increase the likelihood of being politically efficacious. The findings highlight the importance of personal experiences and bureaucratic interactions for vulnerable young people's democratic attitudes.     

Presidential rhetoric,agency turnover,and the importance of salience to bureaucratic leadership

What explains the quit rates of federal agencies? Can presidential rhetoric affect quit rates of federal agencies, particularly those that implement salient policies? Although much research examines other ways presidents may affect the federal bureaucracy, absent is a systematic examination of presidential leadership of agency quit rates, despite the importance of personnel turnover to effective bureaucratic implementation. I argue that presidential rhetoric on the size of government can affect agency turnover. This impact is only likely for agencies that implement salient policies, because salience encourages bureaucratic responsiveness to elected officials. The findings reveal that presidents who speak more favorably about government reduce aggregate turnover in the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Education from 1980 through 2005. I conclude with some observations about what these findings mean for presidential control of the bureaucracy.     

Child protection revisited: balancing state intervention and family autonomy through social work processes

This paper explores selected findings from a qualitative study of the 1989 Children Act, which examined ways in which the new definitions of significant harm were being interpreted in practice. Significant harm is seen as a major site where state intervention and family autonomy are balanced, especially through establishing thresholds for intervention. The data are analysed in relation to the social work processes of assessment, intervention and evaluation. These are seen as a series of interactions between families and practitioners, in which goals are identified, methods used and resources mobilized. Key decisions and levels of change address the paramountry of the child's welfare. These processes are also under-pinned by new legislative requirements. The practitioners displayed their professionalism during a period of transition and change. Social work processes facilitated non-judgemental practices which empowered the families in the difficult circumstances of their lives. The paper concludes that balancing state intervention and family autonomy requires social work of a high order and a profound understanding of complex issues.     

Race–Based Redistricting, Core Constituencies, and Legislative Responsiveness to Constituency Change

Objective. Fenno (1978), Wright (1989), and other scholars suggest that legislators will be particularly responsive to various subgroups in their constituency, i.e., what might be termed the "core constituency." We explore the degree to which Republican and Democrat House incumbents respond differently to changes in the racial composition of their districts brought about by redistricting. We speculate that (1) Democrat House incumbents will be more responsive in their roll–call behavior to changes in African–American racial composition, since African–American voters are typically a major component of the Democrat core constituency, while (2) Republicans will be less responsive, since African–American voters are typically not part of the Republican coalition. Methods. We utilize data on the roll–call behavior, member characteristics, and constituency characteristics of House members who served during both the 102nd (1991–1992) and 103rd (1993–1994) Congresses. We model roll–call liberalism in 1993 as a function of levels of and changes in district racial composition, along with control variables. To capture the different effects of racial core constituencies, we estimate our models separately for Democratic and Republican House members. Results. Our findings provide strong support for our hypothesis: Democrat incumbents respond strongly both to levels of and changes in the African–American population in their districts, while Republican incumbents respond only modestly to changes in African–American population brought on by redistricting and negatively to African–American population levels. Conclusions. Democrats and Republicans appear to respond differently to constituent groups, depending on whether the groups are part of their core constituency. Our findings suggest the importance of considering core constituencies in studying roll–call behavior and legislative responsiveness.     

Technical complexity,regionalism, and decision-making: Case processing outcomes in EPA's toxic substances program

In this article, I explore the effect of the technical complexity of decisions on the nature of the relationship between agents and their political leaders and contextual pressures. I examine this within the regional context of The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) toxic substances enforcement. The results suggest that case characteristics are important in both routine and complex cases. Moreover, responsiveness toward national and regional preferences occurs to some extent in all models. With more technically complex decisions, however, this responsiveness is more pronounced and diversified. This lends support for hypotheses derived from a bounded rationality theory of agency actions.     

Human Motivation and Professional Practice: of Knights, Knaves and Social Workers

Efforts to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of public services by harnessing the self‐interest of professionals in state agencies have been widely debated in the recent literature on welfare state reform. In the context of social services, one way in which British policy‐makers have sought to effect such changes has been through the “new community care” of the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. Key to this is the concept of care management, in which the identification of needs and the provision of services are separated, purportedly with a view to improving advocacy, choice and quality for service users. This paper uses data from a wide‐ranging qualitative study of access to social care for older people to examine the success of the policy in these terms, with specific reference to its attempts to harness the rational self‐interest of professionals. While care management removes one potential conflict of interests by separating commissioning and provision, the responsibility of social care professionals to comply with organizational priorities conflicts with their role of advocacy for their clients, a tension rendered all the more problematic by the perceived inadequacy of funding. Moreover, the bureaucracy of the care management process itself further negates the approach's supposedly client‐centred ethos.     

State Felon Disenfranchisement Policy

Objective . Felon disenfranchisement policies impose restrictions on a felon's right to vote. Since these policies disproportionately affect minority citizens, legal scholars and others argue that felon disenfranchisement is a result of racial politics, aimed primarily at undermining the electoral power of black and Latino citizens. This study evaluates these claims in a rigorous empirical analysis. Methods . The study uses cross-sectional data on current state felon disenfranchisement policies in an order probit regression analysis to examine race-based explanations in light of competing hypotheses. Results . The findings demonstrate that the size of the minority population, parity in incarceration rates, and the degree of legislative professionalism are the primary explanatory factors of this policy. Conclusions . Given the continued rise in minority incarceration rates relative to those for whites and the link between the racial composition of a state and the severity of felon disenfranchisement laws, the study raises important questions regarding the future of minority participation in the democratic process.