Political Science Commons^™

Movement Mayor: Can Antonio Villaraigosa Change Los Angeles?, Peter Dreier, Regina Freer, Robert Gottlieb, Mark Vallianatos

Mark Vallianatos

No abstract provided.

Political Polarization As A Constraint On Corruption: A Cross-National Comparison, David Brown, Michael Touchton, Andrew Whitford

David C. Brown

Efforts to explain corruption have increased dramatically in recent years. The interest stems from the increasing weight economists assign to corruption when explaining economic growth. Much research focuses on how political institutions influence perceptions of corruption. We move this debate in a new direction by addressing a previously ignored dimension: ideological polarization. We contend perceptions of corruption are determined not only by specific institutional features of the political system–such as elements of voting systems, ballot structures, or separation of powers–but by who sits at the controls. We employ panel data from a broad variety of countries to test our theoretical …

The William A. Hinds American Communities Collection, Mark Weimer

Mark F. Weimer

This article discusses the life and contributions of William A. Hinds, who in his book American Communities, tried to document communistic societies within America, such as the Oneida Community. The article includes a list of the communities and associations that Hinds documented.

State-City Revenue Sharing Policy: Local Need Versus State System Explanations, John P. Pelissero

John P. Pelissero

No abstract provided.

A Response To Hogan And Simpson, John P. Pelissero, Timothy B. Krebs

John P. Pelissero

No abstract provided.

Voting For Protection: An Electoral Model Of Tariff Policy, John A. C. Conybeare

John A. C. Conybeare

The political economy of trade policy has largely neglected popular elections. When legislatures determine protection, politicians supply tariffs that are demanded by their constituents. A model of this political market is specified and tested with data related to the McKinley Tariff of 1890. An index of the extent to which tariff protection accrued to individual congressional districts is applied, along with demand and supply variables, to three questions: Did representatives supply tariffs to their districts as the model predicts? Did they vote in accordance with the district tariff interest in the roll-call vote on the McKinley Tariff? Did electors reward …

Institutionalizing Freedom As Nondomination: Democracy And The Role Of The State, David Watkins

David Watkins

This article critically examines neo-republican democratic theory, as articulated by Philip Pettit, with respect to its capacity to address some of the pressing challenges of our times. While the neo-republican focus on domination has great promise, it mistakenly commits to the position that democracy—the primary tool with which we fight domination—is limited to state activity. Examining this error helps us make sense of two additional problems with his theory: an overestimation of the capacity of legislative bodies to identify sufficient responses to practices of domination, and the potential conflict between avoiding state domination of the general citizenry and avoiding state …

Against Totalitarianism: Agamben, Foucault, And The Politics Of Critique, C. Heike Schotten

C. Heike Schotten

A Functionalist Theory Of Oversight, Abel Alfred Kinyondo, Riccardo Pelizzo, Aminu Umar

Abel Alfred Kinyondo

The literature on oversight provides various approaches that have been used to measure oversight effectiveness. They include inferring oversight from the quality of governance, equating it with the presence of oversight activities as well as equating it with oversight capacity. However all these approaches are problematic as they wrongly consider oversight to be unidimensional. As a result they tend to produce measures that are too general and vague to provide a meaningful assessment of oversight effectiveness. It is in this context that this paper identifies the structural elements of oversight and goes on to contend that since oversight is a …

Trends In Public Opinion, 1989-1996, John M. Scheb Ii, William Lyons, Grant W. Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

In this chapter, we examine the party identifications and ideological orientations of Tennesseans from 1989 through 1996, as revealed through survey research. We also look at Tennesseans' positions on several issues of public policy that have been salient in state politics during this period. Our intent is to isolate any trends in the partisan and ideological character of the state while examining citizens' positions on key issues.

Early Voting In Tennessee: Removing Barriers To Participation, Grant W. Neeley, Lillard E. Richardson Jr.

Grant W. Neeley

In 1994. the Tennessee General Assembly mandated a new early voting system that allowed voters to cast a ballot in a two-week period prior to any election. Unlike absentee balloting, which requires registrants to justify why they cannot participate on election day, early voting is available to any registered voter who chooses to do so. By enacting early voting in Tennessee, the state legislature hoped to achieve increased turnout and easier access for citizens unable to vote at a regular polling site on election day. The purpose of this chapter is to ascertain whether the program was able to increase …

Turnout And Partisanship In Tennessee Elections, Lillard E. Richardson Jr., Grant W. Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

To understand the forces shaping current Tennessee politics, we discuss two fundamental concepts of Tennessee's electoral system: voting turnout and partisanship. These two concepts are easily illustrated by two questions. First, how many people participate in elections in the state? Second, whom do Tennesseans elect to represent them? While we use a historical perspective to inform the analysis, we are generally more interested in the forces shaping politics in Tennessee today.

Gop Denying Women Basic Economic Rights, Alev Dudek

Alev Dudek

Implementation Of Early Voting, Lillard E. Richardson Jr., Grant W. Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

We examine the early voting process in Tennessee during the election of 1994. By conducting a mail survey of all 95 county registrars, we ascertained the methods and costs of early voting implementation. Generally, the survey reveals a strong belief that early voting encourages greater participation by voters, with turnout data supporting this belief. We find that the ballot type and location of early voting sites play an important role in determining both the costs of early voting and the rate of voter participation.

Explaining Attitudes Toward Binational Cooperation Among Municipal Managers In The U.S.-Mexico Border Area, John Truman, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

This study examines Texas municipal managers' attitudes toward the benefits of binational cooperation. It tests theories suggesting attitudes are influenced by perceived language, cultural, and resource barriers; differences in U.S. and Mexican public administration; interdependence of policy priorities; and contact with international organizations. Project data are drawn from a mail survey sent to department heads in all municipal governments in Texas border counties. Effects of independent variables are estimated using an ordered logistic regression model. Results indicate more frequent contact between municipal managers in Texas and Mexico has a positive effect on attitudes toward the benefits of cooperation, whereas perceived …

Public Management In The U.S.-Mexico Border Region: Toward Increased Cooperation Between Texas And Mexican Officials?, John Truman, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

This study examines the degree of local-level cooperation between U.S. and Mexican municipal managers and investigates attitudes about the barriers to effective cooperation. The analysis is extended to all Texas municipal governments in border counties in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how local projects have developed under regional integration.

The State Of Surveying Legislators: Dilemmas And Suggestions, Cherie Maestas, Grant Neeley, Lillard Richardson

Grant W. Neeley

State-level research affords scholars a unique opportunity to study legislative behavior because state legislators are accessible in ways that members of congress are not. State legislators' willingness to respond to interviews and questionnaires has provided scholars with a rich array of data about their behavior and perceptions. This survey research has contributed greatly to our theoretical and practical knowledge of legislative behavior and institutions. We examine 73 articles published in top academic journals from 1975 to 2000 to identify common techniques of surveying state legislators and suggest ways in which scholars can enhance the prospects for collecting high quality data. …

Perceived Risk And Citizen Preferences For Governmental Management Of Routine Hazards, Brian Gerber, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

Risk perceptions are important to the policy process because they inform individuals’ preferences for government management of hazards that affect personal safety, public health, or ecological conditions. Studies of risk in the policy process have often focused on explicating the determinants of risk perceptions for highly salient, high-consequence hazards (e.g., nuclear energy). We argue that it is useful to also study more routinely experienced hazards; doing so shows the relevance of risk perceptions in individuals’ daily lives. Our investigation focuses on the impact perceived risk has on citizens’ preferences over hazard management policies (as distinct from identifying risk perception determinants …

Who Is Early Voting? An Individual Level Examination, Grant Neeley, Lillard Richardson

Grant W. Neeley

Early voting has been suggested as one method of increasing voter turnout. Allowing voters to cast their ballots during a longer time period may ameliorate some barriers to participation that exist. However, the question of whether early voting mobilizes previous nonvoting registrants or simply makes voting easier for those who would have participated anyway remains largely unanswered.

Methods. We test these questions through the use of an individual level survey of voters in one Tennessee county. Using logistic regression, we consider the impact of demographic and attitudinal factors on the propensity to vote on election day or to use …

The Impact Of Early Voting On Turnout: The 1994 Elections In Tennessee, Lillard Richardson, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

For both election officials and scholars, there are several questions about early voting that remain unanswered. How does the implementation of early voting affect voters' use of early voting opportunities? Furthermore, when controlling for other factors, such as demographic characteristics, does early voting have an impact on overall turnout in the election? To answer these questions, we examined the Tennessee experience with early voting, administered for the first time in 1994. We utilized several sources of information: a survey of all 95 county election officials in the state of Tennessee; voting records from the Division of Elections; and census data. …

The Practice Of Government Public Relations, Mordecai Lee, Grant W. Neeley, Kendra Stewart

Grant W. Neeley

With the recent change of administration in the U.S. executive branch, we have seen increased attention to issues of public information, transparency in government, and government and press relations in the United States and abroad. In addition, rapidly evolving technology and its influence on public communication have left many in government struggling to remain current in this area. Citizens and constituents learn to use interactive tools when searching for information, utilize technology for communications, and now expect government information and services to exist in the same information space as private entities. This book is an effort of leading experts in …

Penny Pinching Or Politics? The Line-Item Veto And Military Construction Appropriations, M.V. Hood, Irwin Morris, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

Although scholars have studied the item veto and its effects at the state level for years, there is considerable disagreement over the national-level political and fiscal ramifications of the implementation of the item veto. Our analysis is the first empirical examination of the use of the item veto at the federal level. We find that partisan politics and an interest in fiscal austerity played little or no role in the president's decision-making calculus on recent defense appropriations vetoes. Programmatic goals, on the other hand, played a significant role in determining whether or not projects were vetoed.

Toward An Explanation Of Public Interest Group Formation And Proliferation: ‘Seed Money,’ Disturbances, Entrepreneurship, And Patronage, Anthony Nownes, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

Utilizing data from a survey of 60 national public interest group founders, this paper addresses two related questions: What factors explain the (relatively) recent proliferation of public interest groups? What factors determine in which policy areas public interest group activity is most likely? The results of the data analysis suggest that several factors have contributed to group proliferation. Among the most important are law group start-up costs, the spread of affluence and education, an increase in patron activity, and rapid societal change. The results also suggest that public interest group activity is most likely in issue areas of interest to …

Turnout Differences Among Registered Voters, Lillard Richardson, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

Much of what we know about turnout in American elections is based on national surveys of voters participating in presidential elections. Much less is known about voter participation in other types of elections. Using verified turnout and registration data, we surveyed registered voters to determine the demographic and attitudinal differences between two groups of voters: those who participated only in presidential elections and others who participated in midterm congressional, state, and local elections as well as presidential elections. We find that age, education, gender, social connectedness, personal contact with local public officials, and satisfaction with government services are significant factors …

Mandatory Seat Belt Laws In The States: A Study Of Fatal And Severe Occupant Injuries, David Houston, Lillard Richardson, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

This study examines the impact of mandatory seat belt laws on fatal and incapacitating injury rates in the states. Annual data for all 50 states for the period 1975-1991 are used. Pooled time series analysis is employed. The general conclusion that emerges from this analysis is that seat belt laws significantly impact state fatal injury rates. Primary enforcement and all-seat coverage provisions appear to be particularly effective in reducing fatality rates.

Public Interest Group Entrepreneurship And Theories Of Group Mobilization, Anthony Nownes, Grant Neeley

Grant W. Neeley

The bulk of the literature on group mobilization focuses on why individuals join groups and virtually ignores the group leader (entrepreneur). Thus, we argue that there is a gap in the literature on group development: while entrepreneurs are critical in the process of group mobilization, little is known about what they do and why and how they do it. Studies of group mobilization continue to focus on group supporters — the patrons and members who provide groups with the resources they need. We take a different approach. We examine the process of group mobilization from the perspective of the entrepreneur. …

Gender, Human Security And The United Nations: Security Language As A Political Framework For Women, Natalie Florea Hudson

Natalie Florea Hudson

This book examines the relationship between women, gender and the international security agenda, exploring the meaning of security in terms of discourse and practice, as well as the larger goals and strategies of the global women's movement. Today, many complex global problems are being located within the security logic. From the environment to HIV/AIDS, state and non-state actors have made a practice out of securitizing issues that are not conventionally seen as such. As most prominently demonstrated by the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2001), activists for women's rights have increasingly framed women's rights and gender inequality as security issues …

Policy Brief: Unscr 1325: The Challenges Of Framing Women’S Rights As A Security Matter, Natalie Florea Hudson

Natalie Florea Hudson

While UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 has certainly increased awareness among international actors about women’s and gender issues in armed conflict, opened new spaces for dialogue and partnerships from global to local levels, and even created opportunities for new resources for women’s rights, successes remain limited and notably inconsistent. To understand some of these shortcomings and think creatively about how to move the women, peace and security agenda forward, it is essential to understand the conceptual assumptions underscoring UNSCR 1325.

The Genealogy, Ideology, And Future Of Isil And Its Derivatives, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

Evolution, Not Revolution: The Digital Divide In American And Australian Contexts, Stuart Murray

Stuart Murray

Extract: Revolutions in information and communication technology (ICT) can have a profound impact on the relations between people, nations and institutions. Gutenberg’s invention of a printing press with movable type (circa 1439), for instance, meant that European literature could suddeny be mass produced. The technology transformed the speed and volume at which information was gathered, collated and disseminated – information which permeated then changed society. Similarly, the telegraph, telephone, radio and television dramatically altered the way disparate and estranged humans and states interacted with one another. Such changes were far reaching, but none are quite on the scale of the …