This book presents the most systematic and consistent study to date of the 'consequences of context' for the process through which citizens' decide on their electoral behaviour. It derives contextual variation from cross-national and within-country comparisons. The contextual dimensions investigated pertain to the political, economic and social domains, and their impact is investigated on the factors that drive citizens' decision to participate in an election and on their subsequent decision which party to vote for. The book thus focuses not on whether people vote and for which party, but instead on more fundamental questions about contextual effects on the determinants of electoral participation and the vote. The analyses are based on an integrated database of national election studies conducted in European countries and utilises an innovative multi-level logistic regression methodology. This methodology, elaborated in detail early on and subsequently applied in each of the following chapters, identifies the moderating effect, or the "consequences", of altogether nine classes of different context conditions on individual level determinants of electoral participation and party choice.

Political Action Committees (PACs) are a prominent and contentious feature of modern American election campaigns. As organizations that channel money toward political candidates and causes, their influence in recent decades has been widely noted and often decried. Yet, there has been no comprehensive history compiled of their origins, development, and impact over time. In The Rise of Political Action Committees, Emily J. Charnock addresses this gap, telling a story with much deeper roots than contemporary commentators might expect. Documenting the first wave of PAC formation from the early 1940s to the mid-1960s, when major interest groups began creating them, she shows how PACs were envisaged from the outset as much more than a means of winning elections, but as tools for effecting ideological change in the two main parties. In doing so, Charnock not only locates the rise of PACs within the larger story of interest group electioneering - which went from something rare and controversial at the beginning of the 20th Century to ubiquitous today - but also within the narrative of political polarization. Throughout, she offers a full picture of PACs as far more than financial vehicles, showing how they were electoral innovators who pioneered strategies and tactics that came to pervade modern US campaigns and reshape American politics. A broad-ranging political history of an understudied American campaign phenomenon, this book contextualizes the power and purpose of PACs, while revealing their transformative role within the American party system - helping to foster the partisan polarization we see today.

When Donald J. Trump announced his campaign for president in 2015, journalists, historians, and politicians alike attempted to compare his candidacy to that of Governor George C. Wallace. Like Trump, Wallace, who launched four presidential campaigns between 1964 and 1976, utilized rhetoric based in resentment, nationalism, and anger to sway and eventually captivate voters among America's white majority. Though separated by almost half a century, the campaigns of both Wallace and Trump broke new grounds for political partisanship and divisiveness. In Fear, Hate, and Victimhood: How George Wallace Wrote the Donald Trump Playbook, author Andrew E. Stoner conducts a deep analysis of the two candidates, their campaigns, and their speeches and activities, as well as their coverage by the media, through the lens of demagogic rhetoric. Though past work on Wallace argues conventional politics overcame the candidate, Stoner makes the case that Wallace may in fact be a prelude to the more successful Trump campaign. Stoner considers how ideas about "in-group" and "out-group" mentalities operate in politics, how anti-establishment views permeate much of the rhetoric in question, and how expressions of victimhood often paradoxically characterize the language of a leader praised for "telling it like it is." He also examines the role of political spectacle in each candidate's campaigns, exploring how media struggles to respond to-let alone document-demagogic rhetoric. Ultimately, the author suggests that the Trump presidency can be understood as an actualized version of the Wallace presidency that never was. Though vast differences exist, the demagogic positioning of both men provides a framework to dissect these times-and perhaps a valuable warning about what is possible in our highly digitized information society.

While significant attention in political science is devoted to national level elections, a comprehensive look at state level political dynamics in the United States is so far sorely missing, and state level electoral developments and shifts are treated as mere reflections of national-level dynamics and patterns. This book argues that this significantly impacts our ability to understand macro-level electoral shifts in the United States in general. The book analyzes gubernatorial, congressional, and presidential election results in the state of Alabama from 1945 through 2020. Comprehensive maps of county-level partisan shifts over time and comparisons between trends for different offices make it possible to isolate pivotal elections and compare state-level and national trends over time. When and where did Alabama's electorate break with the Democratic Party, and were these breaks uniform across the state? Which counties shifted the most over time, and was this shift gradual or characterized by change elections? Comprehensive electoral data, on the county- and precinct-level, make it possible to answer these questions and place state-level electoral behavior in its regional and national context. Detailed county level demographic and economic data is used to provide local context for electoral patterns, shifts, and continuities.

In January 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. In the weeks and months following the election, as in those that preceded it, countless social observers from across the ideological spectrum commented upon the cultural, social and political significance of "the Obama phenomenon." In "At this Defining Moment," Enid Logan provides a nuanced analysis framed by innovative theoretical insights to explore how Barack Obama's presidential candidacy both reflected and shaped the dynamics of race in the contemporary United States. Using the 2008 election as a case study of U.S. race relations, and based on a wealth of empirical data that includes an analysis of over 1,500 newspaper articles, blog postings, and other forms of public speech collected over a 3 year period, Logan claims that while race played a central role in the 2008 election, it was in several respects different from the past. Logan ultimately concludes that while the selection of an individual African American man as president does not mean that racism is dead in the contemporary United States, we must also think creatively and expansively about what the election does mean for the nation and for the evolving contours of race in the 21st century.

Combining primary sources with expert commentary, this timely book probes critical moments in U.S. presidential elections in the last 20th- and early 21st-centuries, empowering readers to better understand and analyze the electoral process. Presidential Campaigns: Documents Decoded illuminates both the high stakes of a presidential campaign and the gaffes, controversies, and excesses that often influence the outcome. With a view to enabling readers to develop skills essential to political literacy, the book examines crisis points in modern presidential elections from the early 1950s through the late 2000s. Chronologically organized, the study focuses on key events pertinent to each election. It provides an original account of the event, such as a debate transcript or news report, as well as a discussion detailing how the issue emerged and why it was important. This unique and engaging approach enables students to experience the actual source material as voters might have. At the same time, it shows them how an expert views the material, facilitating a deeper understanding of the narratives every presidential campaign constructs around its candidates, its party, and its opponents. Primary sources such as speeches, advertisements, candidate platforms, press coverage, internal campaign documents, and more are presented side by side with accessibly written, expert commentary A contextualizing introductory essay explains the logic behind the selection of documents and pinpoints narratives that can be traced through the collection Novel stories about many behind-the-scenes events will engage reader interest Photos, quotes, artwork, slogans, commercial stills, and other illustrative campaign media help bring history alive

From Pandemic to Insurrection: Voting in the 2020 US Presidential Election describes voting in the 2020 election, from the presidential nomination to new voting laws post-election. Election officials and voters navigated the challenging pandemic to hold the highest turnout election since 1900. President Donald Trump's refusal to acknowledge the pandemic's severity coupled with frequent vote fraud accusations affected how states provided safe voting, how voters cast ballots, how lawyers fought legal battles, and ultimately led to an unsuccessful insurrection.

This easy-to-use handbook presents a fascinating and fresh take on American presidential elections and makes a wide range of statistics available to serious researchers and political fanatics alike. Counting the Votes: A New Way to Analyze America's Presidential Elections isn't your typical history book about presidential elections. Nor is it like most statistical analyses of election results. What this unusual book does offer is an array of innovative statistics-campaign score (CS), potential index (PI), return on potential (ROP), and equalized vote totals (EV*EQ), among others-that provides a provocative, intriguing, and fresh perspective on past presidential candidates and campaigns. Presenting information that has never been compiled and presented before, author G. Scott Thomas provides reams of statistics for all 57 presidential elections (1789 to the present) as well as essays inspired by those races that explore new interpretations of electoral trends. The book also includes lists of outstanding political performances in 179 statistical categories in addition to complete statistical records for 289 presidential candidates. The unique information and metrics introduced in this book will be invaluable to historians, political scientists, and students who are conducting research into voting trends and will serve as additional tools for their work. Includes a "Record Book of Presidential Politics" that spotlights the best and worst performances by presidential candidates highlighted in 179 statistical rankings, identifying which nominee was the youngest, came from the smallest state, and won by the smallest margin of popular votes Written by an accomplished journalist with more than three decades of experience and who has authored four books focused on national politics Provides an alphabetical directory of the career records of 289 presidential candidates between 1789 and 2012 presented in tabular form for easy reference

Women are significantly underrepresented in politics in the Pacific Islands, given that only one in twenty Pacific parliamentarians are female, compared to one in five globally. A common, but controversial, method of increasing the number of women in politics is the use of gender quotas, or measures designed to ensure a minimum level of women's representation. In those cases where quotas have been effective, they have managed to change the face of power in previously male-dominated political spheres. How do political actors in the Pacific islands region make sense of the success (or failure) of parliamentary gender quota campaigns? To answer the question, Kerryn Baker explores the workings of four campaigns in the region. In Samoa, the campaign culminated in a "safety net" quota to guarantee a minimum level of representation, set at five female members of Parliament. In Papua New Guinea, between 2007 and 2012 there were successive campaigns for nominated and reserved seats in parliament, without success, although the constitution was amended in 2011 to allow for the possibility of reserved seats for women. In post-conflict Bougainville, women campaigned for reserved seats during the constitution-making process and eventually won three reserved seats in the House of Representatives, as well as one reserved ministerial position. Finally, in the French Pacific territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna, Baker finds that there were campaigns both for and against the implementation of the so-called "parity laws." Baker argues that the meanings of success in quota campaigns, and related notions of gender and representation, are interpreted by actors through drawing on different traditions, and renegotiating and redefining them according to their goals, pressures, and dilemmas. Broadening the definition of success thus is a key to an understanding of realities of quota campaigns. Pacific Women in Politics is a pathbreaking work that offers an original contribution to gender relations within the Pacific and to contemporary Pacific politics.

Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience – classics which will endure for generations to come. ‘You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug – especially when it’s waving a razor-sharp hunting knife in your eyes’ Roaring down the desert highway, Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo are seeking out the dark side of the American Dream. Armed with a drug arsenal of stupendous proportions, they confront casino operators, police officers and assorted Middle Americans, in surreal, chemically enhanced encounters. Hilarious, hallucinogenic and subversive, Hunter S. Thompson’s semi-autobiographical novel is a cult classic and a masterpiece of gonzo journalism. ‘A scorching epochal sensation’ Tom Wolfe

When Scotland voted no to independence, it was hailed as a victory for the unique Better Together alliance, a triumph of cross-party collaboration, a coup for Westminster.But the unionist relief proved to be premature.Despite bitter referendum defeat, the Scottish National Party went on to conjure stunning general election success, almost eviscerating their rivals with an overwhelming surge of public support.In this compelling insider account, Joe Pike goes behind the battle lines to uncover the secrets of the much-maligned No campaign, dubbed 'Project Fear'. Drawing on exclusive interviews with over sixty sources at the heart of the action, he reveals the tears, the tantrums and the tactical failings that saw a double-digit poll lead reduced to a nail-biting finale, with victory eventually coming at a catastrophic cost to the Labour Party.Now, as the future of the union looks as uncertain as ever, this new, updated edition explores the striking parallels between the Scottish and EU referendums, and asks: where now for Scotland in the wake of a political landslide?

Direct democracy has become an increasingly common feature of European politics with important implications for policy making in the European Union. The no-votes in referendums in France and the Netherlands put an end to the Constitutional Treaty, and the Irish electorate has caused another political crisis in Europe by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty. Europe in Question explains how voters decide in referendums on European integration. It presents a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding voting behavior in referendums and a thorough comparative analysis of EU referendums from 1972 to 2008. To examine why people vote the way they do, the role of political elites and the impact of the campaign dynamics, this books relies on a variety of sources including survey data, content analysis of media coverage, experimental studies, and elite interviews. The book illustrates the importance of campaign dynamics and elite endorsements in shaping public opinion, electoral mobilization and vote choices. Referendums are often criticized for presenting citizens with choices that are too complex and thereby generating outcomes that have little or no connection with the ballot proposal. Importantly this book shows that voters are smarter than they are often given credit for. They may not be fully informed about European politics, but they do consider the issues at stake before they go to the ballot box and they make use of the information provided by parties and the campaign environment. Direct democracy may not always produce the outcomes that are desired by politicians. But voters are far more competent than commonly perceived.

Fox hunting with Godfrey Bloom; lunching on expenses with Janice Atkinson;talking 'shock and awful' campaign tactics with Douglas Carswell - nothingis off the table when you're on the trail of UKlP's People's Army.Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 meets Louis Theroux, FollowingFarage recounts one hack's journey as he follows, drinks with, laughs atand even occasionally defends the phenomenon that is the United Kingdomlndependence Party as it prepares to march upon Westminster.With exclusive interviews and unfettered access to all the disgracedgenerals, trusty foot soldiers, deserters and dissenters who make up itsranks, Bennett delivers the inside scoop on what makes the People's Armytick - all the while making the transition from elbowed-out hanger-on tothe journalist Farage calls for an honest, post-election run-down of events.From the initial skirmishes and battle plans (the successful and thescuppered) to the explosive events of the battle for No. 10 itself -and the all-out civil war that broke out in its aftermath - FollowingFarage leaves no stone unturned, avenue untrod or pint undrunkin its quest for the truth about Britain's newest and mostcontroversial political force.

This book explores Twitter communication about the 2016 Brexit referendum in the UK in the run-up to the event. The mixed-method, computational analysis of over twelve million tweets reveals how Twitter worked in shaping political discourse and its potential for fuelling populism in the month leading to the referendum. Our findings show while polarised public opinion was explicitly expressed, populist sentiments were mainstreamed into the debate about the referendum and widely spread on Twitter. Populist politicians, supported by pro-Brexit users, tactically used Twitter to promulgate their populist ideas. In contrast, despite their active use of Twitter, the Remain camp appeared to have misunderstood the mechanisms of Twitter for shaping political discourse. Twitter communication, in this case, showed dangerous potential for reflecting and reinforcing existing social tensions and divisions, being influenced or even manipulated by individuals and interest groups to serve their own interests. It is important to be well aware of this capacity of Twitter for the wellbeing of democracy, especially in the politically turbulent times since 2016 when the UK voted to leave the EU.

For a whole generation of Malaysians, no proper closure to the traumas of the racial riots of May 13, 1969 has been possible. But then came March 8, 2008 The surprising results of the General Election on that special day have started eclipsing the fears linked for so long to that spectral night forty years ago. All the three researchers from ISEAS who each authored separate chapters for this book were in different parts of Malaysia monitoring its 12th General Election during the thirteen days of campaigning. Their analyses provide new insights into the phenomenon that Malaysians now simply refer to as "March 8." Ooi Kee Beng scrutinizes in detail the electoral campaign in the state of Penang, Johan Saravanamuttu studies the case of Kelantan state and the elections in general, while Lee Hock Guan examines changes in the voting pattern in the Klang Valley.

Este libro est contextualizado en un referente hist rico que analiza a trav?'s de datos, fechas y sucesos, el desarrollo del r gimen presidencial mexicano. As mismo, enuncia conceptos fundamentales de la pol tica actual, del comportamiento de los actores y de los partidos pol ticos que interact an en el contexto nacional. Adem s, refiere la percepci n e inter?'s que desde el escenario internacional han vertido diversos personajes sobre el pr ximo proceso sucesorio en nuestro pa s. Tambi n aborda lo trascendental del marketing pol tico para la elecci n del 1 de Julio; qu papel jugar n en las campa as el internet y la din mica de las redes sociales, donde hoy en d a j venes entre 18 y 25 a os de edad podr an constituirse como un detonante y definir los resultados de la jornada electoral en la renovaci n de 2,102 cargos de elecci n popular. Considerando que en M xico la red de internet cuenta con 36 millones de usuarios, de los cuales aproximadamente 10 millones son j venes, todos los partidos pol ticos en contienda deber n prestar atenci n prioritaria a este segmento poblacional, que sin lugar a dudas jugar un rol fundamental en el resultado de la elecci n presidencial. 78.7 millones de ciudadanos que est n inscritos en la lista nominal, podr n votar en esta elecci n. El reto para los equipos de campa a de todos los candidatos radica en dise ar estrategias id neas para despertar el inter?'s de los electores y de los posibles votantes que representan un importante n mero de ciudadanos indecisos. Por lo anterior, los institutos de representaci n pol tica nacional, no deben soslayar el fen meno del abstencionismo y analizar acuciosamente las condiciones sociodemogr ficas, hist ricas y estructurales que siempre han afectado los niveles de participaci n electoral. Adem?'s de proponer las nominaciones m?'s rentables y que presenten estas una buena imagen ante la opini n p blica. El acontecer pol tico actual, sin lugar a dudas ha motivado que haya una gran demanda y exigir ciudadano para que los pol ticos deban profesionalizarse con el fin de ganarse el respecto de la sociedad mexicana y la pol tica sea un verdadero instrumento de cambio democr tico que genere certidumbre en acciones de gobierno. Estimado lector (a), el libro que tienes en tus manos con toda seguridad ser un til instrumento que facilitar la toma de decisiones para emitir un voto razonado, anal tico y responsable en estas elecciones del 2012.

The 2006 elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council, the first in which both Fatah and Hamas fielded candidates, resulted in a resounding victory for Hamas. Winning 74 out of the 132 seats (compared to Fatah s 45), Hamas election strategy had proved effective against Fatah s ineffectual campaign and failure to properly consider public opinion. Erika Schwarze offers here an in-depth examination of these two separate campaigns, and how Fatah s lack of responsiveness to the popular mood in the run-up to elections following Arafat s death and beyond, led to its defeat in spite of its considerable experience of electioneering. She analyses the conduct of Palestinian leadership during this critical period, exploring the reasons for Fatah s inability to prioritise responsiveness to public opinion, and providing insights into the movement s electoral prospects in the future and its chances of survival and revival."

La lucha por el poder en Mexico, es encarnizada y suele estar sazonada con descalificaciones, vituperios, infundios, y calumnias de la mas variada especie. Las trampas de cualquier indole, se ponen en juego y son tantos los artilugios utilizados, que es muy dificil encontrar el hilo de la madeja a tiempo para detenerlos u obstaculizarlos con la ley en la mano. Cuando se logran detectar las violaciones a la ley, es muy tarde para intentar, siquiera, revertir un resultado electoral emanado de actos delictivos, pues el tiempo requerido para documentarlos y evaluarlos es exageradamente largo. Un individuo cualquiera, inmiscuido en un proceso electoral en Mexico, puede violar la reglamentacion electoral de todas las formas que su imaginacion le dicte, tomar posesion de su cargo y despues enfrentar las acusaciones que se le imputen, desde la seguridad del fuero constitucional, pero nunca estara en riesgo el puesto obtenido de manera ilegal. Los expertos en cuestiones politicas, solo pueden mesarse los cabellos en actitud de impotencia y verter sus opiniones y sus puntos de vista en escritos dirigidos, por lo comun, a un restringido nucleo de lectores, que casi siempre es el mismo, porque a la mayoria de la gente no le interesa mayormente lo que ocurra despues de unas elecciones, ya sean locales o federales. Es un circulo vicioso muy dificil de romper; pero los analistas politicos raras veces se han preocupado porque sus opiniones lleguen al grueso de la poblacion. No tienen tiempo y tampoco les interesa demasiado, aunque ellos digan lo contrario. Una caracteristica comun, en la mayoria de los trabajos ensayisticos, es la frialdad de sus textos, derivada, en gran medida, de la rigidez tecnica con la que son abordados los temas que intenta retratar. Esta frialdad, esta rigidez, los hace poco atractivos a los ojos del lector impaciente, o del lector que no busca tanto el dato tecnico, preciso, sino la simple informacion que pueda servirle de referencia para enriquecer su propio punto de vista. " Por que perdimos?" Intenta conjugar el dato duro y la calidez de un texto, escrito con la unica finalidad de hacernos pasar un momento agradable, mientras nos invita a reflexionar sobre asuntos que nos afectan directamente y de los cuales, tal vez por falta de tiempo, no hacemos mucho caso. El escritor mexicano, F. Rubi, avecindado en la ciudad de Manzanillo por mas de treinta anos, se ha preocupado desde sus inicios, por ofrecernos trabajos literarios que nos ayuden a comprender nuestro entorno, pero adornados con esa dificil mezcla de rigor y jocosidad que hacen de sus libros un divertimento. Ojala que esten de acuerdo con nosotros