Losing to nobody? Nevada's “none of these candidates” ballot reform

Since 1975, Nevada voters have had the option of voting for “none of these candidates” in all statewide elections—a reform that one-third of the American states have since considered copying. It remains unclear, however, what effects this reform has had. By testing several arguments made by proponents and opponents of this reform, I find, first, that voters who actually choose “none of these” are motivated by a mixture of ignorance and protest; second, that most voters who choose “none” would probably have left parts of their ballot blank in the absence of the “none” option; and third, that “none” does not drain votes from third-party candidates, as some have feared.     

五四时期社团繁荣对中国政党运作的影响

从一定意义上讲，中国的政党并不是原生的，而是多种内外因素共同作用的产物，在中国政党的初起阶段，很多方面都是不成熟的。而在政党按照其自身规律发展的同时，五四时期却突发性地产生了一个社团大繁荣的局面。这些社团，尤其是其中的一些政治性社团强烈的作用于政党。中国的政党在这突发性一击的震荡下迅速由不成熟走向成熟，而且，这种影响并未即时消失，而是溶入到政党运作之中，不断的作用于中国的政党运作。这种作用是长期的，也是深层的。可以说，中国的政党，无论政党思想，还是组织形式、运作方式都从五四时期的社团中汲取了丰富的营养。     

欧洲左翼政党现状分析——基于欧洲议会选举的研究

欧洲议会选举向来是反映欧洲政治气候的"晴雨表".从近十年欧洲议会的选举结果来看,处于主流地位的中左政党--社会党呈衰退之势,而长期处于边缘的极左政党却有崛起迹象.梳理目前欧洲左翼政党的基本构成,从意识形态、政策主张和活动方式三个维度,分别对两大类左翼政党的成败得失进行结构性考察,从而对欧洲左翼政治现状及未来走向有个大致研判,是为必要.     

Encountering Simone de Beauvoir

No abstract available for this article.     

Policy mandates and re-election among single issue parties

Recent studies point to dramatic ‘mandate switches’ by elected politicians, while others suggest higher levels of mandate loyalty. Yet, two of the oldest party systems in Latin America, Colombia and Venezuela, have not been extensively examined. Legislative activity across single issue parties is examined to determine whether they are able to stay focused and consistent with the party's policy goals. The analysis identifies the importance of stated policy goals, which are likely to provide long-term electoral benefits, and nomination procedures as important determinants of legislative action among single issue parties. The results shed a new light on parties in Latin America by suggesting that parties are capable of acting in accordance with their stated single-issue platforms.     

MASTERING THE ART OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Online communication has become a central part in the communication repertoires of political actors in Western mass democracies. In Switzerland, where broadband, internet use, and media literacy are amongst the highest in the world, all major political parties run their own website and are active on social media. This article seeks to show how Swiss political parties deal with social media, how they implement it and how they use social media. The study builds on empirical data from a structural analysis of party websites, the official Facebook sites, and Twitter feeds. These social media sites were analysed for their resonance, update frequency, and thematic clusters focusing on information, mobilization, and participation. A weekly assessment of the user numbers illustrates the development of user resonance throughout the 2011 election year. While political parties claim to appreciate the dialogue and mobilization potentials of social media, they mainly use social media as an additional channel to spread information and electoral propaganda. The overall resonance is still on a very low level. The data seem to sustain the normalization hypothesis, as larger parties with more resources and voters are better able to generate effective communication and to mobilize online than small and marginal parties.     

刑事证明责任主体研究

证明责任主体即指证明责任的承担者。只有确定了证明责任主体，证明责任制度才能在诉讼实践中产生实效，否则在诉讼争议的事实真伪不明时就无法确定由谁来承担不利的法律后果。文章从理论上对证明责任主体进行了界定，认为证明责任主体的范围只限于诉讼当事人。具体到刑事诉讼中，证明责任主体可包括自诉人、公诉人、被告人、附带民事诉讼当事人、侦查机关等，而人民法院、公诉案件中的被害人、律师则不属于证明责任主体。     

A New Creation or an Image and Likeness? The Maltese Experience of Establishing Local Government in a Centralized Micro-State

Small states vary among themselves as to whether they have significant local government systems. While government in Malta has been historically a very centralized activity, a network of local councils was established in the early 1990s as part of a more general public sector reform movement. Unlike some other small states, Malta has strong political parties, and they have played an important part in the affairs of the local councils as well as of the central government. Their establishment has therefore done little to reduce political polarization or promote decentralist values, as was hoped when they were first established.     

当代西方政党党内权力的分配

当代西方政党的党内权力分配涉及两个方面的内容：一是体制内政党组织与体制外政党组织之间的权力分配，在西欧国家主要表现为议会党团与议会外政党组织之间的权力划分；在美国还要加上总统及其领导的政府与体制外政党组织之间的权力划分。二是体制外政党的中央组织与地方组织、基层组织之间的权力分配。对权力资源在各类政党组织之间的分配进行重点考察，力求从一个侧面抓住政党组织变化的实质，揭示西方政党组织变化的总体趋势。     

多党合作:开国领袖的世纪遗产

中国共产党领导的多党合作与政治协商,作为一种形式,它起源于民主革命时期的抗日民族统一战线;作为一种制度,它确立于中华人民共和国建国初期。它是以毛泽东为代表的开国领袖的奠基杰作,是在中国实践马克思主义统一战线理论和国家与政党学说的伟大创举,是当今世界形态各异的政党制度中的奇葩。开国领袖的这份政治遗产,作为一个有着成功经验和沉重教训的世纪课题,对它的探索与完善依然任重道远。