Abstract: In this article, we study a popularity function for the popularity of the French political parties (1981Q2–2017Q1). At first, we suppose that voters have a retrospective behaviour according to the reward-punishment model in a closed economy. We show that the unemployment rate has a significant influence on the popularity of the French political parties and find unfavourable results for the partisan hypothesis. The analysis also indicates that economic openness has an influence on popularity, thus a partly expected result for the asymmetry hypothesis: punishment without any reward. For the political variables, significant influence of the honeymoon effect, the second-order elections (regional or European) and the congresses of the Socialist party are also found to be significant. PubDate: 2019-11-09
Abstract: This paper sketches the portrait of French critical citizens on the eve of the 2017 presidential election. Following the work of Norris (Critical citizens: global support for democratic government, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1999), critical citizenship has emerged as part and parcel of the crisis in representative democracy. While critical citizenship is mainly discussed as a sign of civic apathy and distrust of political institutions and elites, our objective is to investigate the “positive” face of critical citizenship with a focus on what French critical citizens value and aspire to. Drawing on data from the CEVIPOF 2017 French electoral survey, we analyse the socio-demographic and political profile of four groups (Non-Critical Citizens, Demo-Reformers, Demo-Transformers and Demo-Exiters) and examine what is theoretically at stake in their respective models of democracy, criticism and aspirations. PubDate: 2019-11-09
Abstract: This special issue engages with the “cultural backlash hypothesis”—that citizens dissatisfied with democratic regimes tend to support the emergence of non representative democracy. The first article challenges classical notions of citizenship and shows that critical citizens actually call for more competent representatives. The second piece asserts that critical citizenship is more complex than what previous research has shown and that only certain types of citizenship are more likely to result in protest votes. As the introduction points out, the two pieces together paint a far more complex picture of citizenship than previously understood through an innovative approach that combines normative political theory with survey research in a country setting. A new research agenda that comes out of these findings is also proposed. PubDate: 2019-11-07
Abstract: The crisis of representative democracy has been at the core of extensive research in contemporary political science. However, empirical works have mostly highlighted sceptical attitudes, and few studies have focused on critical citizens’ aspirations. This article explores the combined support for random selection and skills-testing of decision-makers in French public opinion. Drawing on data from the CEVIPOF 2017 French electoral survey, it discusses: (1) the level of concern and support for such institutional changes; (2) the intriguing convergence of both top-down and bottom-up criticism of the representative system; (3) the impact of education and (4) the impact of political preferences on attitudes towards random selection and skills-testing of representatives. We find that education has a negative effect on both variables, and that classical political variables (Left–Right scale) have a nonlinear impact. The stronger impact on variables is provided by critical citizenship types, defined by satisfaction/dissatisfaction with current democracy and aspirations for change. PubDate: 2019-11-04
Abstract: The study of the relationship between online social media use and offline political action has mostly limited itself to an examination of political participation (or civic engagement) patterns. Does social media use also relate to the formation of citizens’ voting preferences during an election campaign' We examine this question using individual-level public opinion survey data collected during the 2012 provincial election campaign in Quebec. We find that the relationship between voting intention and social media use is significant, that it is stronger than that found for traditional (or offline) media use, and that it is stronger in the case of voting intention in favor of non-mainstream political parties. PubDate: 2019-10-14
Abstract: Over the last 20 years, the study of economic regulation has attracted growing attention in political research. But what is so political about regulation' And what is “new”in the political analysis of this topic' We argue that the answer to both of these questions lies in the evolution of the conception of regulatory power in political research. To validate this claim, we first review the main developments that followed the introduction of agency-theoretic models in this field. While recognizing their insights, we argue that these contributions rest on a narrow, essentially directive conception of regulatory power. With regard to more recent developments, we then show how a focus on other facets of the politics of regulation has connected it to broader political science questions. This focus significantly improves our understanding of regulation’s influence on economic activities, public policy, and ultimately, on the politics of economic regulation in the broadest sense of the term. PubDate: 2019-10-14
Abstract: Using a large dataset of French municipalities, this article examines the joint determination of the win margin of victory of incumbent mayors and the size of the political budget cycle. A system of two simultaneous equations is estimated with the three-stage least squares method. The main findings are twofold. First, the effects of the win margin on the size of the fiscal cycle are U-shaped. This means that, in a close election, the incumbent mayor tends to reduce public expenditure while, if the incumbent is either certain to win or to lose the election, expenditures tend to be increased. Second, another nonlinear effect is revealed, linking mayors’ time in office to their win margin of victory. PubDate: 2019-06-18
Abstract: Media blackouts or election silence periods feature in several European democracies. However, this article argues that they have become democratic vulnerabilities in the context of increased Internet-based electoral meddling such as during #MacronLeaks. Using both discourse and social network analyses, this study shows that the vacuum created by the inability of politicians and established media outlets to comment on the leaks empowered unregulated and unreliable sources which sought to drag the direction of the election away from the centre and towards the far right. Our findings have broad implications for understanding how social media activity is structured under the conditions of information leaks. The findings of this study may be relevant to other political events which involve the release of sensitive information via social media. PubDate: 2019-06-13
Abstract: Why, in some cases, did old elites promote democratization without the partisan capacity to embrace mass politics and without guarantees about their future participation in the new regime' This article investigates the case of the Liberals in Belgium who were eager, in the years between 1893–1921, to launch democratization while founding their actions and choices on a selfless approach to politics. In seeking to identify the source of this democratic preference, one factor, largely ignored in the studies on the first wave of democratization, emerges: the diffusion of democratic ideas and practices from France. Constructing and analyzing two original data sets including, respectively, the personal characteristics of Belgian Liberal MPs who were active during the democratic transition period and the speeches of those who addressed topics related to France, this article shows that the democratic ideas as well as the choices expressed by Liberal MPs in the parliament are significantly related to their prior socialization into French democratic norms. This result has broad implications for understanding ideational transfer and diffusion in the first wave of European democratization, opening new avenues for future research. PubDate: 2019-06-08
Abstract: Rejection of the market economy is widespread in academia. This fact has often been observed, but rarely explained. Using a large survey on French academics which replicates questions used in international surveys, this article confirms that French academics are hostile to market economy principles in comparison with the French population. Two explanations are tested: the first posits that academics—as knowledge providers—are likely to experience a “public good” market failure. Their rejection of the market economy is thus linked to their specific positioning vis-à-vis the market economy itself. The second hypothesis assumes that academics are not involved in market activities. Consequently, this lack of familiarity leads academics to be more suspicious towards an institution they barely experience. Both hypotheses are consistent with our data. PubDate: 2019-05-31
Abstract: With reference to French corporate governance reform, this study presents a trust-based argument to explain why laws and corporate controls still maintain the exception française despite a substantial shift towards the American shareholder-oriented model. The trust-based perspective draws on the characteristic form of trust in French political economy: personal-centred but relatively low levels of trust that are nurtured through social hierarchies, less porous elite networks, and conflictual industrial relations. Analysing the legal changes and control modes in large French firms since the mid-1990s, this study argues that the characteristic form of trust in the French political economy helped to maintain conventional French laws and corporate controls, such as double voting rights and state influence. In contrast to economic or political perspectives, which emphasise the outcomes of changes to corporate governance, a trust-based perspective sheds light on the societal causes of a path-dependent trajectory in a changing political economy. PubDate: 2019-05-25
Abstract: Annual tripartite social conferences were introduced in France in 2012, pre-empting EU ambitions to reinvigorate the social dialogue at EU and national levels. Despite some successes, they did not live up to their ambitions to elicit consensus and give trade unions a voice in policymaking due to: opposition to, and protest against, government policy from some unions; the avoidance of discussion on contentious legislation; and the constraints of the Country Specific Recommendations arising out of the European Semester. The French experience of social dialogue suggests that the chances of the EU achieving its ambition of building consensus over economic and social reform through reinvigorating the social dialogue appear slim. PubDate: 2019-03-26
Abstract: Research on negative campaigning has grown rapidly in the past decades. This article reviews the literature dealing with this campaign strategy. It discusses its definition and measurement and stresses the mismatch between the academic literature and general perceptions. It then reviews why parties and candidates choose to ‘go negative’ with a particular focus on the rationales for negative campaigning under multi-party competition. The manuscript further discusses the literature on electoral effects and broader societal consequences of negative campaigning and emphasizes issues related to data collection and research designs. The conclusion summarizes the state of the art and outlines avenues for future research. PubDate: 2019-03-23
Authors:Daniel Stockemer Abstract: Populism as a theme is omnipresent in the academic literature. Debates in the field include the definition of populism, the populist voter, and the link between populism and democracy. Yet, few studies tackle the question of how populist parties present themselves. Focusing on the typical populist radical right-wing party, the Front National (FN), I examine which of the features of right-wing populism such as peoples’ centrism, anti-elitism, charismatic leadership, or nationalism, to name a few, are dominant in the official communications and in sympathizers’ discourse. I do this based on an analysis of all Facebook posts by this party and comments by supporters for the past 9 years. In terms of populist features, I find that the cult of personality is the defining feature that the FN has built around her leader; it is also this feature that distinguishes the FN from the mainstream parties in France. In fact, the FN couples the personality cult around Marine Le Pen with nationalism. When it comes to other populist themes such as peoples’ centrism or anti-Europeanism, these topics are not at the center of FN communications. PubDate: 2019-02-02 DOI: 10.1057/s41253-019-00082-w
Authors:Cameron Michael Gil Abstract: This article uses spatial analysis and regressions of party manifestos to investigate possible contributing factors of President Macron’s novel political party, La République En Marche (LREM), success in the 2017 legislative elections, particularly if LREM sits in a unique spatial position among French political parties in the wake of traditional, mainstream parties vacating the center position. This study uses both the economic left–right axis and the post-materialist, GAL-TAN axis accompanied by an analysis of the degree to which each party expresses sentiment about Europe. This approach permits a unique analysis of legislative elections since 2002 in order to set the stage for a multifaceted analysis of the 2017 spatial arrangement. Given the peculiarities of 2017, this study also attempts to examine the electoral momentum of President Macron’s victory as a contributing factor to LREM’s success. Ultimately, LREM is shown to exist in a unique position among French political parties, particularly in the wake of all traditional parties vacating the center point and the right wing having no proximal competition to LREM. Portions of the results point to a possible shift in the saliency of ideology as well as a new system polarity emerging. PubDate: 2018-09-25 DOI: 10.1057/s41253-018-0073-x
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