Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 221-236
Author(s):  
Adam Slez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Field ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Left And Right

The conclusion considers the legacy and lessons of the Populist moment, with an eye toward contemporary movements on both the left and right. While the Populist movement collapsed in 1896, the experience had a clear impact on economic and political institutions in the United States. In particular, the potential for third-party mobilization has been limited by the introduction anti-fusion laws designed to combat the People’s Party, restricting the organizational vehicles available to would-be reformers. Examining the rise of Populist mobilization provides important theoretical insights into the nature of populism today. By way of comparison, this chapter revisits the argument that populism is a form of political practice bound up with the configuration of competing elites within the political field. To the extent that political identities are anchored in the physical environment, the resulting patterns of contention tend to persist over long periods of time.

Getting Partisan

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-218
Author(s):  
Adam Slez
Keyword(s):  
Republican Party ◽  
Party Politics ◽  
Third Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Field ◽  
People's Party ◽  
To Come ◽  
Over Time

This chapter traces the rise and fall of electoral Populism in southern Dakota. It begins by examining the transformation of the political field in Dakota Territory, where politics was traditionally organized around the fight for patronage. Excluded from power by the dominant faction of the Republican Party, the leaders of the Farmers’ Alliance turned to third-party politics as a means of waging war on their more elite rivals. I show that support for Populist candidates was closely with Alliance strength, though this relationship weakened over time as the People’s Party took on a life of its own. Major victories were hard to come by in the absence of electoral fusion. The free silver question served as a rallying point for pro-fusion forces, which succeeded in taking power. Unable to manage the distribution of patronage, the fusionist coalition quickly collapsed, taking what was left of the Populist movement with it.

The United States and Canada

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Incremental Change ◽  
Institutional Differences

This edited volume compares the political systems of the United States and Canada, focusing on the effects of political institutions, and their interaction with political values and other factors, in policymaking. It explores the differences between the American presidential (or separation-of-powers) system and the Canadian parliamentary system. It also considers institutional differences such as federalism, bureaucratic leadership, and judicial definitions of citizens’ rights. It deals mainly with the period from the mid-20th century to the present but also discusses recent developments—especially the Trump presidency. The first section addresses political culture and institutions and considers political values, party and electoral systems, executive leadership and the legislative process, bureaucracy and civil service influence, and federalism. The second section addresses policymaking and outcomes, including economic policy, environmental policy, morality issues, social policy, managing diversity, and selected societal outcomes. The conclusion discusses prospects and challenges for both political systems and finds that policy differences between the two countries have diverse causes—from geography and demography, to political values, to institutional structures. The effects of institutions are often crucial, but they depend heavily on interactions with other political circumstances. Even modest, incremental change in the electoral strength or ideological tendencies of the political parties can transform institutional performance. Thus, Canada’s historic center-left moderation may be on the brink of giving way to wider ideological fluctuation and the U.S. political system was increasingly dysfunctional, even before the election of Donald Trump as president led to chaos in policymaking and the threat of severe constitutional crisis.

The Impact of Ethnicity and Socialization on Definitions of Democracy: The Case of Mexican Americans and Mexicans

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo O. de la Garza ◽  
Muserref Yetim
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Mexican American ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
The Political ◽  
Direct Experience ◽  
The Impact

This paper argues that Mexican American views of democracy differ significantly from those of Mexicans because of their exposure to the political institutions and culture of the United States. Our results vindicate Diamond's claim that there is no better way of developing the values, skills, and commitments of democratic citizenship than through direct experience with democracy (Diamond 1999). Equally significant is that the study demonstrates that ethnic ties do not determine political attitudes. That is, despite a shared historical background and contemporary cultural commonalities, Mexican views of democracy differ from those of Mexican Americans. Este artíículo arguye que las visiones de la democracia de los mexicano-americanos difieren significativamente de las de los mexicanos debido a su exposicióón a las instituciones de políítica y cultura de los Estados Unidos. Nuestros resultados justifican la idea de Diamond de que no hay mejor manera de desarrollar los valores, habilidades y el compromiso con una ciudadaníía democráática qua a travéés de la experiencia directa con la democracia (Diamond 1999). De igual importancia, el estudio demuestra que los lazos éétnicos no determinan las actitudes polííticas. Esto es, a pesar de compartir un trasfondo históórico y de las concordancias culturales contemporááneas, las visiones de la democracia de los mexicanos difieren de las de los mexicano-americanos.

Post-Colonial Studies of Native America. A Review Essay

2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 845-853
Author(s):  
Crisca Bierwert
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Native America ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Colonial Studies ◽  
Power Change ◽  
Tribal Leadership ◽  
Political Economic

Twenty years ago a work entitled The Nations Within examined the political structures that keep Native polities embedded within the United States, and the legal armature that sovereignty principles might provide for future activism (Deloria and Lytle 1984). The Native nations are still “within,” in the political sense, but they are “out” in public discourses; activism has given sovereignty claims more standing that all but dreamers would have imagined in 1984. During the same period, however, federal Indian policies have alternatively buttressed and undercut the power of tribal leadership, just as they have on other continents where imperial powers have cultivated “Native authorities.” Such destabilizing shifts impel scholars of Native political, economic, and cultural histories to examine less visible violence and inequalities that underlie political institutions, particularly those that remain as evident constructions of power change.

scholarly journals Is There a Bias Toward Excess in U.S. Government Budgets or Deficits?

1992 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles L Schultze
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Constitutional Amendment ◽  
The Political ◽  
Budget Deficits

Do the political institutions of a majoritarian representative democracy, and in particular those of the United States, systematically produce either levels of public spending or budget deficits that are excessive? Should U.S. political institutions be altered by constitutional amendment to deal with these problems? I will start by examining the issue of public spending, and then turn to the question of budget deficits.

The Limits of Tolerance: Extreme Speakers on Campus

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Boch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Political Tolerance ◽  
Security Risk ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Actual Event ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Event Based

Abstract Recently, colleges and universities across the United States have had to choose whether to allow controversial speakers on campus. This study uses a factorial experiment to investigate individual features of controversial speaker events, including student opinion, security risk, and actual event-based descriptions of extreme left and extreme right speakers. Contrary to earlier studies of political tolerance, this study finds that Republicans (and ideological conservatives) are slightly more tolerant of extreme speech than are Democrats and liberals. However, this difference is attenuated by three factors. The first is order effects: if Democrats are first asked about an extreme left speaker, they are then more tolerant of an extreme right speaker. Second, concerns about the possibility of harm resulting from the speech partially explain Democrats’ intolerance of the extreme right speaker. Third, asymmetric polarization has resulted in extreme right ideas entering the mainstream more than ideas from the far left; thus Democrats face a more arduous test of the classic liberal commitment to tolerance. Finally, this study contributes to the political tolerance literature by testing tolerance of new, extreme speaker targets on both the ideological left and right than what has previously been studied.

scholarly journals A Relation Shaped by Geopolitical Ambitions: The United States and Cambodia during the Cold War

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Vibol Neak
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold War ◽  
The United States ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Third Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The diplomatic relation between the United States and Cambodia began during the Cold War, before Cambodia achieved independence from France in 1953. This article  examines the political constellation between the two states during the Cold War. The United States had been an ally and a firm supporter of Cambodia at certain times, while also being controversial enemies in other moments. The relationship worsened during the Cold War, and the two countries had gone from allies to enemies. It could be argued that the relationship deteriorated due to several reasons: the US’ foreign policy, which was crafted to contain communism, Cambodia’s failure to be truly neutral as it was often biased to the communist bloc, and the impact of third-party states.

scholarly journals Digital Media and the Surge of Political Outsiders: Explaining the Success of Political Challengers in the United States, Germany, and China

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630511987543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Jungherr ◽  
Ralph Schroeder ◽  
Sebastian Stier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Information Distribution ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Consequences

There has been a recent surge of political actors and groups challenging the legitimacy of established political institutions and mass media. We argue that this wave is no accident; rather, it is driven by digital media. Digital media allow outside challengers to route around social institutions that structure political discourse, such as parties and legacy media, which have previously held a monopoly on political coordination and information distribution. Digital media have weakened the power of these institutions, allowing outsiders to maintain extreme positions that formerly would have been filtered out or suppressed by institutions structuring political discourse. In this article, we explicate mechanisms linking digital media to the rise of outsiders by discussing the successes of a diverse set of challengers fighting for attention and representation in the different political contexts of the United States, Germany, and China. We thus provide a novel explanation that systematically accounts for the political consequences of digital media.

Telecommunications Reform in Mexico from a Comparative Perspective

2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (03) ◽  
pp. 83-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Mariscal
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
The Political ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Telecommunications Reform ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Policy Context

Abstract This paper examines the process of reform in the Mexican telecommunications sector and makes comparisons with similar processes in the United States, New Zealand, and Brazil. Differences in policy responses are explained by the structure of the political institutions and the policy context in any given country. The policy lessons to be drawn from the regulatory experiences examined are that the sequence and the pace of reform influence policy outcomes. The speed with which the Mexican reform was carried out led to a lack of the institutional and legal support necessary to create a level competitive playing field. The permanence of a vertically integrated firm in the Mexican market, moreover, introduced consequential costs to the regulation of the industry. The results of this paper support the theoretical argument that privatization, in itself, does not guarantee the development of the sector and point to the need to attain a more effective regulation of competition in telecommunications.

Having Their Say, Leaving Their Mark

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-153
Author(s):  
Adolphus G. Belk ◽  
Robert C. Smith ◽  
Sherri L. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Black People ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Historical Documents ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Independent Organization

In general, the founders of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists were “movement people.” Powerful agents of socialization such as the uprisings of the 1960s molded them into scholars with tremendous resolve to tackle systemic inequalities in the political science discipline. In forming NCOBPS as an independent organization, many sought to develop a Black perspective in political science to push the boundaries of knowledge and to use that scholarship to ameliorate the adverse conditions confronting Black people in the United States and around the globe. This paper utilizes historical documents, speeches, interviews, and other scholarly works to detail the lasting contributions of the founders and Black political scientists to the discipline, paying particular attention to their scholarship, teaching, mentoring, and civic engagement. It finds that while political science is much improved as a result of their efforts, there is still work to do if their goals are to be achieved.

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