Spatial theories of voting and policy implementation face a key challenge: accurately measuring voters' preferences, politicians' ideologies, policies, and the status quo on one scale. This paper introduces a novel technique to estimate these elements collectively.
This article examines the disconnect between voter attitudes and elite perceptions regarding violence as an electoral tactic.
Does political discussion in democracy stem from deliberate choices or random encounters? This paper compares two models. One suggests people seek out knowledgeable and politically similar discussants (purposive model). The other proposes politics is often a side effect of social interactions unrelated to ideology (incidental model). Using unique whole-network panel data across multiple sites, we find incidental connections dominate over expected purposive ones.
This study investigates the impact of gender stereotypes on political leadership perceptions and voting behavior during Tunisia's post-Arab Spring elections.
This study challenges common assumptions about political parties in multiparty democracies by examining how issue engagement differs across Members of Parliament (MPs) rather than treating them as unified entities. We explore two key dynamics: intraparty division of labor, where specialized policy experts focus on specific issues within their party, and the distinct communication style of party front benchers who prioritize interactions with other party leaders when addressing topics.
New research investigates how stereotypes about party supporters fuel partisan polarization.
Reserved seat legislators in Pakistan's National Assembly initiate more bills and cosponsor a wider range of legislation than nonreserved male counterparts. A network analysis reveals they frequently connect disparate partisan groups within the legislative sphere. This empirical pattern challenges conventional electoral incentive models, suggesting institutional weakness may be better explained by reserved seats' political engagement.
This paper argues national economic indicators are simplified summaries of localized economic realities that voters process differently.
Electoral rules powerfully shape how lawmakers representing minority groups champion those interests. Using New Zealand's distinctive Mäori seats system, this study examines parliamentary behavior.
Legislators face pressure between representing their constituents' interests and following party leadership preferences.
This study examines how distributive politics influence enforcement actions in contemporary democracies. The core argument challenges conventional assumptions by demonstrating that targeted resource allocation during law enforcement significantly strengthens political coalition-building.
In recent decades, state legislatures across the U.S. have increasingly professionalized.