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Volume two of Electoral Politics in Zimbabwe: The 2023 Election and Beyond argues that research into Zimbabwe¿s politics is multifaceted and topical, particularly because for more than two decades now, this Southern African state has been dogged by multiple problems including hyperinflation, drought, escalating poverty levels, extremely high unemployment rates and political instabilities. The volume¿s overall goal is to ignite intellectual discussions and practical action towards turning the political wheels that have been in place for decades. The first segment examines the interface between gender and electoral politics in Zimbabwe. The second part discusses the role of the media in Zimbabwe¿s electoral politics. The third section reflects on the role of traditional leaders and religious discourses in Zimbabwe¿s electoral politics. The book will be a key resource to colleges, universities and organisations in Zimbabwe, the Southern Africa region andeven beyond.

Der Band bündelt Analysen führender Wahlforscherinnen und Wahlforscher sowie Politikwissenschaftlerinnen und Politikwissenschaftler aus Deutschland zur Bundestagswahl 2021. Der Band ist die Fortsetzung der sogenannten ¿Blauen Bände¿, die seit ihrem Beginn 1980 umfassend und systematisch Analysen zu allen Bundestagswahlen und zu international relevanten Ergebnissen der Wahlforschung zusammenfasst.

This book provides a richer understanding of democratic local politics in Indonesia after the implementation of local direct elections in 2005. Co-published with the University of Airlangga Press, it confronts the question as to why incumbent political leaders succeed and fail in their bid for re-election. By focusing on urban and rural districts in East Java, one of the most populated regions in Indonesia, the work unpacks the general trends of local Indonesian politics, drawing from an empirically sound and theoretically well-grounded case study. The author demonstrates that good policy performance does not guarantee the political survival of the incumbent, and reversibly, bad policy performance does not necessarily mean losing political power. It considers the core political strategies of populism, rivalry, and tangibility and cautions that¿rather than helping liberal democracy to grow¿these strategies support patronage-driven democracy. Within this system, a small number of vital protectors and defenders control patronage, and, problematically, exert influential control over the country¿s electoral processes. Relevant to scholars and students in Indonesian studies, and within political science and Asian studies more broadly, this book follows a gripping and nuanced narrative that explains the relationship between policy choices, informal politics, voting behavior, and political survival in Indonesia.

This book presents a comparative analysis of the struggles of Latin American indigenous peoples for effective representation in national political systems in the region. Through a detailed exploration of the political dynamics of indigenous groups and examples of mechanisms of political representation, the studies in this book reveal how power relations, cleavages and indigenous civil society organizations are essential to our understanding of indigenous political participation. These studies closely inspect how collective action builds up at local level in grassroots organizations, and how it then articulates or not with larger mechanisms of regional and national political representation, providing a more comprehensive and comparative assessment of why and when representation works and fails for indigenous people.This contributed volume is organized around one general and comparative chapter on indigenous political representation in Latin America followed by eight case studies, divided into three main groups. The first group includes cases with a more inclusive political environment, such as Bolivia, Ecuador and Guatemala. The second group brings together cases with certain representation and/or active indigenous elites: Colombia, Mexico, and Paraguay. Tthe third group presents outlier cases with potential indigenous issues: Peru and Chile. Finally, the last chapter brings together reflections on how mechanisms for effective political representation can be improved and how indigenous organizations can be fostered to ensure effective political representation.Indigenous Political Representation in Latin America will be of interest to political scientists, sociologists and anthropologists studying both indigenous collective action and political representation by presenting a discussion on how to structure representation mechanisms capable of politically integrate the ethnic diversity of Latin American countries in order to build a multicultural citizenship. It will also help policy makers and activists by discussing the successes and failures of effective indigenous political representation in Latin America.

A burgeoning literature studies compulsory voting and its effects on turnout, but we know very little about how compulsory voting works in practice. In this Element, the authors fill this gap by providing an in-depth discussion of compulsory voting rules and their enforcement in Australia, Belgium, and Brazil. By analysing comparable public opinion data from these three countries, they shed light on citizens' attitudes toward compulsory voting. The Element examines citizens' perceptions, their knowledge of the system, and whether they support it. The authors connect this with information on citizens' reported turnout and vote choice to assess who is affected by mandatory voting and why. The work clarifies that there is no single system of compulsory voting. Each country has its own set of rules, and most voters are unaware of how they are enforced.

The textbook introduces the self-understanding, institutional structure and practice of the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany. The work provides a problem-oriented overview of the basic constitutional and foreign policy decisions that have constituted German democracy; the political field of forces formed by interest groups, citizens' initiatives, parties and mass media; the political institutions at the federal, state and local levels; the social reach and administrative enforcement of political decisions; the political culture including the structure of the political ruling class. The new edition also addresses, among other things, the consequences of the Corona crisis for the political system, the changing party system and the crisis of the EU after the 2021 federal election.

I Solemnly Swear, shows a new way of reforming leadership in politics and in keeping with the solemn vow taken on oath when entering public office. The need for political reform is a necessary first step to maintaining democracy in our government system. With a new way of thinking and doing business, reform politicians can become leaders that wouldn't compromise their ethics, not even under the prestige of power and politics. Instead, achievement can come out through hard work, commitment, and perseverance as an emerging theme for the United States. Developing reform politicians may seem like unlikely candidates, but sometimes even the most unlikely become some of our greatest leaders.

We, as a country, elect our presidents and vice presidents every four years. Our first election was held in New York in April of 1789. History books explain that event to its fullest. This article explores the methods, the voting structure, the rules, and some of the unusual elections we have had in the last 100 years. Its theme is the Electoral College, the electoral vote, and the popular vote. The major question is why, out of 24 elections, have there been 18 of which the western half of the country's votes counted for nothing? . . .The subject material about to be presented is complex and very confusing to grasp and understand. The material is not new, and I can only conclude that anyone that has studied American history in high school is vaguely familiar with the subject. It came into use in 1789 and has been used until today. It is the Electoral College, and it is embedded in the writing of the Constitution. The timeline for this dissertation will cover the years from 1787 to 2022. The reason this topic is important to study is because of the events that came out of the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.

Italian politics has changed course yet again. Thanks to the outcome of the 2022 general election, a coalition dominated, for the first time, by a party of the far right has taken office under Giorgia Meloni, the first woman to serve as prime minister in Italy¿s republican history. Italy has always been a kind of ¿political laboratory¿ for Western democracies ¿ one in which new political phenomena have developed with considerable potency. Consequently, the electoral analyses presented in this book make it possible for the reader to understand the challenges and related consequences that established democracies are currently facing, beyond Italy.

Democracy is on the run, and elected governments are suffering from a legitimacy crisis. Legislatures are increasingly seen as unrepresentative. To give legitimacy to democratic government, experts argue that we need more democracy and more opportunities for direct citizen participation. Representative democracy needs to be complemented by forms of direct engagement, such as referendums, popular votes, the recall, citizens' juries, eDemocracy, etc. This is what we term Complementary Democracy. In this book experts from the worlds of practice and theory come together to explain - and occasionally critique - these complements to representative democracy. The volume provides an invaluable starting point for anyone who wants to know more about the new directions of democratic governance, and hopes to inspire those who seek to build stronger democracies.

Volume one of Electoral Politics in Zimbabwe pays special attention to the overarching view that the 2023 harmonized elections define the fate of the major presidential contenders and their parties as well as (re) shaping the political and economic trajectories of the nation. Cognizant of the complex nature of the Zimbabwean political realm and nuanced dynamics at play, the chapters in this volume cover three interrelated themes: the electoral environment in Zimbabwean politics; language, politics, and elections in Zimbabwe; and lastly, electoral institutions and human rights in Zimbabwean politics. The chapters foreground the ongoing tensions and politicking between the two main rivals, the ruling party, ZANU PF and the main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). The contributors also highlight the impact of internal tensions and factionalism within the contending parties, the apparent voter apathy, disconcerting voices due to claims about lack of transparency and a toxic political space as factors impacting on the outcome of the 2023 presidential elections. The volume will appeal to academics and practitioners in politics, human rights, religion, gender, media, languages, linguistics, and development studies.

The question Americans asked in 1844 was, "Who the hell is James K. Polk?"Polk, of course, was not unknown, but was a highly unlikely presidential candidate given the availability of better-known options. Among the Democrats, this included Martin Van Buren, John C. Calhoun, and James Buchanan. Among the Whigs, Henry Clay was the clear frontrunner. Complicating the election were three other candidates: President John Tyler, a man without a party; Joseph Smith, the self-described prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the first presidential candidate to be assassinated; and James G. Birney, head of the antislavery Liberty ticket. On top of this remarkable cast of characters, the stakes of the election were high as the United States was undergoing a tumultuous political transition.James K. Polk's ascension to the White House over more notable politicians was a pivotal moment in propelling the United States towards civil war, and the 1844 election expanded the vigorous campaigning that had been growing since 1824. In Who is James K. Polk?, Mark R. Cheathem examines the transition from traditional political issues, such as banking and tariffs, to newer ones, like immigration and slavery. The book also captures the Whig and Democratic parties at a mature stage of competition and provides detailed descriptions of campaign tactics used by the candidates, including rallies, music, and political cartoons.Cheathem has written the definitive account of this important election in this volume for the esteemed American Presidential Elections series.

This book offers a systematic and far-reaching account of party system institutionalization in Western Europe. Drawing upon a wide array of data and through a comparison of 20 countries from the end of WWII to 2019 across three arenas of party competition (electoral, parliamentary, and governmental ones), the empirical analysis shows that, over the past decade, the level of institutionalization in the Western European party systems has dramatically declined compared with previous decades. Electoral, parliamentary, and ¿ in some cases ¿ governmental instability and unpredictability have reached record-high levels. Although the impact of the 2008 Great Recession has certainly worked as a catalyst, this process of de-institutionalization has been mainly driven by long-term factors, such as cleavage decline and length of democratic experience. Moreover, its consequences are relevant not only for the relationship between parties and voters, but also for the very quality of democracy, asparty system deinstitutionalization causes a decline in the citizens¿ satisfaction of the way democracy works and even an erosion of the ¿objective¿ democratic standards. In a nutshell, Western Europe, once seen as the land of stability and the cradle of democracy, may have become the land of party system deinstitutionalization and incipient democratic backsliding.

Der seit vielen Jahren in Lehre und Studium bewährte und für die 11. Auflage vollständig neubearbeitete Band ist vor allem dem schwierigen Prozess der deutschen Einigung gewidmet. Außen- und innenpolitische Hindernisse des Prozesses werden dargestellt. Die Schwierigkeiten des Zusammenwachsens von Ost- und Westdeutschland werden mit der Analyse der Institutionen - Parteien, Bundestag, Regierung, Verwaltung, Verfassungsgerichtsbarkeit und Föderalismus - und der politischen Prozesse - Wahlverhalten, Legitimierung des Systems, Durchsetzung organisierter Interessen und Führungsauslese - verknüpft. Die Aussichten der Forderung des Grundgesetzes nach Herstellung einheitlicher Lebensverhältnisse werden im Lichte der Leistungen des Systems bewertet.

This book provides poetic portals into the year 2020, peering at humanity, the pandemic, patriotism, politics, prejudice and prayer.

Modern pundits give Donald Trump little credit for anything even though he is clearly The Greatest Man in Our Time. I would say it is because the bulk of the news media simply do not like him as he does not want to have anything to do with a Marxist agenda.Before Trump set the world on fire from 2017 to 2020, the five highest rated presidents, according to a C-SPAN survey, for example were Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. I do not contest the fact that they showed greatness in office but when you look at all of Trump's accomplishments and the complexity of our times, the 45th president deserves much more consideration.That's why I wrote this book. You may never choose to invite Donald John Trump over the house for breakfast or even a holiday gathering, but looking back at his four years in office, whether you like him or not, most Americans admit those were some of the most prosperous and warless years we have had in our lifetimes. We have the chance again to have the Greatest Man in Our Time as President in a few more years. Let's do our best to assure it. .After you read this book, I hope you feel as comfortable as I do to place Donald J. Trump on the top of this venerable stack of great presidents. With all of the flack Trump received as president, there are clearly a number of Americans who would not cast their vote for Best President his way under any circumstance. But there are a lot who would. I am glad you are reading this book as it will help you know what a great man and a great president we can have again as our leader.

This book provides the first systematic, empirical analysis of the mediäs approach to US vice-presidential selection (or the ¿veepstakes¿). In their news coverage, Devine finds that media outlets typically treat vice-presidential selection as little more than a game¿by focusing on how potential running mates might help to win the election, rather than how they might help the next president to govern. Based on an original content analysis of hundreds of veepstakes profiles from 2000¿2020, this book quantifies the news mediäs relative emphasis on various selection criteria, in general and across different electoral circumstances. The analysis suggests that journalists generally fail to serve the public interest by emphasizing electoral over governing considerations. However, Devine also points to positive examples of media coverage that help the public to evaluate potential running mates¿ governing credentials, and suggests ways in which scholars, journalists, and citizens might encourage media outlets to provide more substantive, responsible coverage of the vice-presidential selection process in future elections.