Griekenland beleefde in 2023 historische verkiezingen. Nea Dimokratia (ND) van zittend premier KyriakosMitsotakis behaalde – in twee rondes – een klinkende overwinning, met een niet eerder... Show moreGriekenland beleefde in 2023 historische verkiezingen. Nea Dimokratia (ND) van zittend premier KyriakosMitsotakis behaalde – in twee rondes – een klinkende overwinning, met een niet eerder vertoonde overmacht.De grootste oppositiepartij Sýriza verloor niet alleen veel zetels, maar ook haar politiek leider Alexis Tsipras.Daarnaast keerde extreemrechts terug in het parlement. Toch verliepen de eerste maanden voor de nieuwe regering allesbehalve vlekkeloos. Alle reden om het Griekse politieke landschap weer eens nader onder de loep te nemen. Show less
Political scientists have studied extensively the gap between winners and losers of democratic elections with regard to satisfaction with democracy. We ask whether the winner–loser gap extends... Show morePolitical scientists have studied extensively the gap between winners and losers of democratic elections with regard to satisfaction with democracy. We ask whether the winner–loser gap extends beyond the political domain to subjective health and well-being as well. Building on insights from biology and coalitional psychology, we hypothesize that winning and losing elections could affect one’s outlook on life, happiness, and subjective health. We comprehensively test these theoretical propositions with cross-sectional data from the 2012 and 2018 waves of the European Social Survey. We document significant gaps between winners and losers with respect to measures of subjective personal well-being. To further probe the causal nature of these winner–loser effects, we trace changes in well-being following election wins and losses using a panel dataset from the Netherlands, where we find weaker supportive evidence. Overall, our results suggest that winning and losing democratic elections can have much wider-reaching consequences than previously recognized. Show less
Democracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia aims to comprehend the current dynamics of Zambia's democracy and to understand what was specific about the 2015/2016 election experience. While elections... Show moreDemocracy and Electoral Politics in Zambia aims to comprehend the current dynamics of Zambia's democracy and to understand what was specific about the 2015/2016 election experience. While elections have been central to understanding Zambian politics over the last decade, the coverage they have received in the academic literature has been sparse. This book aims to fill that gap and give a more holistic account of contemporary Zambian electoral dynamics, by providing innovative analysis of political parties, mobilization methods, the constitutional framework, the motivations behind voters' choices and the adjudication of electoral disputes by the judiciary. This book draws on insights and interviews, public opinion data and innovative surveys that aim to tell a rich and nuanced story about Zambia's recent electoral history from a variety of disciplinary approaches. Contributors include: Tinenenji Banda, Nicole Beardsworth, John Bwalya, Privilege Haang'andu, Erin Hern, Marja Hinfelaar, Dae Un Hong, O'Brien Kaaba, Robby Kapesa, Chanda Mfula, Jotham Momba, Biggie Joe Ndambwa, Muna Ndulo, Jeremy Seekings, Hangala Siachiwena, Sishuwa Sishuwa, Owen Sichone, Aaron Siwale, Michael Wahman. Show less
How do political parties respond to heavy electoral defeat, and why do different parties respond in different ways? This question has become all the more relevant now that it seems more the... Show moreHow do political parties respond to heavy electoral defeat, and why do different parties respond in different ways? This question has become all the more relevant now that it seems more the rule than the exception for at least one party to lose heavily at any election. This dissertation aims to build a new model to explain the choices made by parties in response to heavy electoral defeat. Studying four cases in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, it reaches a number of new insights on party change. It turns out that parties under pressure are not just in a struggle for power or in a question for their primary goals, but also in a continuous conversation with the party’s own past. The degree of attachment to the electoral base and the party ideology have a significant impact on the preferences of parties for dealing with a heavy electoral defeat. These factors are, at the same time, sometimes overtaken by the realities of the electoral system in which parties operate. With these insights, this book takes the first step towards building a new model to understand an increasingly important phenomenon in party systems subjected to partisan dealignment and electoral volatility. Show less
This PhD-thesis analyses the relationship between the parties’ choices in the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis’ assessments of the election manifestos and coalition agreements... Show moreThis PhD-thesis analyses the relationship between the parties’ choices in the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis’ assessments of the election manifestos and coalition agreements over the period 1986-2017, and tries to explain this relationship. First, the theoretical framework is set out, in which agenda-setting, political economy and civil service influence have prominent positions, followed by a description of the political rationality and the civil service rationality. Then, multiple reflections are made on the history of the assessments and their (dis)advantages for both the Dutch politicians and the civil service. Second, the empirical analysis of the parties’ choices with regard to government expenditures, tax burdens, purchasing power and macroeconomic outcomes in election manifestos and coalition agreements is carried out. It appears that for the majority of parties’ choices, negotiators in the formation decide in line with their manifestos. But there are also clear deviations. In general; government expenditures turn out higher, except the expenditures on education. Tax burdens end up higher, but foremost for households while companies receive tax reliefs. The purchasing power of high incomes and middle incomes falls behind, in contrast to the purchasing power of social security beneficiaries and low incomes which end up better. Show less
The 2015 elections in Ethiopia had a predictable outcome, showing an entrenched system of one-party dominance that self-referentially enacts the political order created by the Ethiopian People’s... Show moreThe 2015 elections in Ethiopia had a predictable outcome, showing an entrenched system of one-party dominance that self-referentially enacts the political order created by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since 1991. EPRDF spokespersons continued to defend the party’s hegemony as inevitable, grounded in a logic of technocratic authority and with reference to ‘stability’ and ‘development’. This paper describes the electoral process not in the light of democracy theory but of hegemonic governance theory. Elections seem to have lost relevance in Ethiopia as a means of political expression and are only important as a performance of hegemonic governance and as ‘global impression management’ – showing state skills in securing a smooth electoral process as a major organisational feat in itself. Contradictions that the political process creates between the Ethiopian party-state and domestic constituencies, and between the attitudes/policies of certain donor countries, are downplayed or avoided, but problematic in the long run. Show less
Why did a conflict between a majority of settlers (Konkomba), claiming equal citizenship, and a minority of autochtons (Nanumba) produce both Ghana's largest incidents of ethnic cleansing and a... Show moreWhy did a conflict between a majority of settlers (Konkomba), claiming equal citizenship, and a minority of autochtons (Nanumba) produce both Ghana's largest incidents of ethnic cleansing and a subsequent ominous calm? Analysing the post-1996 peace accord Konkomba/Nanumba coexistence against their violent past and in Ghana's political context as one of Africa's promising nations, this ethnography shows that the conflict has two forms. One is sovereign violence and another is a persistent silence in relation to legalistic speeches. Breaking out of these forms may not so much require a reconciliation, as peace brokers proposed, but a political compromise. Martijn Wienia studied Cultural Anthropology, Development Sociology and African Studies at Leiden University. Currently, he works as policy officer with the WOTRO Science for Global Development division of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) in The Hague. Show less
