Elections and referenda / suffrage Books

Book SynopsisWhat would it be like to sit down for an impassioned, entertaining conversation with Hillary Clinton? In Something Lost, Something Gained, Hillary offers her candid views on life and love, politics, liberty, democracy, the threats we face, and the future within our reach.She describes the strength she draws from her deepest friendships, her Methodist faith, and the nearly fifty years she’s been married to President Bill Clinton—all with the wisdom that comes from looking back on a full life with fresh eyes. She takes us along as she returns to the classroom as a college professor, enjoys the bonds inside the exclusive club of former First Ladies, moves past her dream of being president, and dives into new activism for women and democracy. From canoeing with an ex-Nazi trying to deprogram white supremacists to sweltering with salt farmers in the desert trying to adapt to the climate crisis in India, Hillary brings us to the front lines of our bi

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Book SynopsisIn a democracy, we have come to assume that people know the policies they prefer and elect like-minded officials who are responsible for carrying them out. But does this actually happen? This book looks at citizens' views on candidates both before and after periods of political upheaval, including campaigns, wars, and natural disasters.Trade Review"Gabriel S. Lenz addresses the central question of how voters make use of the information around them to form evaluations of elected officials. Examining the impact of processes like priming and position changing, Lenz argues that there are also substantial effects working in the opposite direction - and that who voters support affects their views on the issues. There is much to ponder here for scholars interested in voter behavior and representation." (Thomas M. Carsey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)"

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Book SynopsisParty competition for votes in free and fair elections involves complex interactions by multiple actors in political landscapes. This title offers a comprehensive treatment of party competition using the computational techniques of agent-based modeling. It shows how agent-based modeling can be used to reflect how political systems really work.Trade Review"[T]he book is an excellent starting point for everyone interested in party competition and provides food for future agent-based research."--Victor M. Eguiluz, JASSS "Besides political scientists who are interested in the topic, this book is well suited for any social scientist who looks for an exemplary introduction to basic techniques of simulation-based research."--Johannes Zschache, RMM "This is a rich and provocative book... For methodologically sophisticated political scientists, and especially those interested in spatial analysis, this is no doubt the best introduction available to the challenging, exciting, and, to many, still mysterious worlds of agent-based modeling."--Charles H. Blake, Perspectives on PoliticsTable of ContentsPreface vii Acknowledgments xiii Part One: Preliminaries 1 Chapter 1. Modeling Multiparty Competition 3 Chapter 2. Spatial Dynamics of Political Competition 15 Chapter 3. A Baseline ABM of Party Competition 28 Chapter 4. Systematically Interrogating Agent-Based Models 56 Part Two: The Basic Model 83 Chapter 5. Benchmarking the Baseline Model 85 Chapter 6. Endogenous Parties, Interaction of Different Decision Rules 106 Chapter 7. New Decision Rules, New Rule Features 132 Part Three: Extensions and Empirics 157 Chapter 8. The Evolutionary Dynamics of Decision Rule Selection 159 Chapter 9. Nonpolicy Factors in Party Competition 183 Chapter 10. Party Leaders with Policy Preferences 206 Chapter 11. Using Theoretical Models to Analyze Real Party Systems 228 Chapter 12. In Conclusion 258 References 267 Index 275

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Book SynopsisAmericans in recent years have become thoroughly disenchanted with our political campaigns, especially with campaign advertising and speeches. Each year, as November approaches, we are bombarded with visceral appeals that bypass substance, that drape candidates in the American flag but tell us nothing about what they''ll do if elected, that flood us with images of PT-109 or Willie Horton, while significant issues--such as Kennedy''s Addison''s Disease or the looming S&L catastrophe--are left unexamined. And the press--the supposed safeguard of democracy--focuses on campaign strategy over campaign substance, leaving us to decide where the truth lies. In Dirty Politics, campaign analyst Kathleen Hall Jamieson provides an eye-opening look at political ads and speeches, showing us how to read, listen to, and watch political campaigns. Jamieson provides a sophisticated (and often humorous) analysis of advertising technique, describing how television ads use soft focus, slow motion, lyricalTrade ReviewIf you read this book--and you should--you will never again listen to a news broadcast or read a newspaper in the same way ... Reading Dirty Politics leave one with the troubling conviction that our democracy is threatened by the failure to provide voters with the information they need to make meaningful use of the right to vote ... Impressively research, clearly written and organized, and enlightening througout. * Washington Post Book World *An illuminating primer about the dangerously subtle distortions of video politics. * Philadelphia Inquirer *

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Book SynopsisElections ask voters to choose between political parties. But voters across the UK are increasingly being presented with fundamentally different, and largely disconnected, sets of political choices. This book is about this hollowing out of a genuinely British democratic politics: how and why it has occurred, and why it matters. Electoral choices across Britain became increasingly differentiated along national lines over much of the last half-century. In 2017, for the second general election in a row, four different parties came first in the UK's four nations. UK voters are increasingly faced with general election campaigns that are largely disconnected from each other. At the same time, voters acquire much of their information about the election from news-media based in London that display little understanding of these national distinctions. The UK continues to elect representatives to a single parliament. But the shared debates and sets of choices that tie a political community together are increasingly absent. Separate national political arenas and agendas still have to interact but in some respects the House of Commons increasingly resembles the European Parliament - whose members are democratically chosen but from a disconnected series of separate national electoral contests. This is deeply problematic for the long-term unity and integrity of the UK.

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Book SynopsisIn 2009 Beppe Grillo, a well-known Italian comedian, established the Five Star Movement with the aim of sending a handful of citizens to municipal councils to act as the watchdog of a professional political class often perceived as corrupt and self-interested. However, in the Italian general elections of February 2013, despite still largely being considered a small protest movement, the party gained the undisputed role of leading political actor gaining just under 9 million votes and sending 163 Deputies and Senators to the Italian parliament. The birth and rapid rise of the Five Star Movement represents an electoral earthquake with no parallels in Italy and the whole of post-1945 Western Europe and a phenomenon likely to shape the Italian political scene for many years to come. Drawing on an extensive array of data and face-to-face interviews, this volume offers an empirically grounded explanation of the surprising electoral success of the Five Star Movement and presents a realistic pTrade Review’The Five-Star Movement is one of the most interesting political phenomena in contemporary Europe. Filippo Tronconi has put together a fine volume that looks in detail at the factors underpinning the remarkable success of this movement. It is essential reading not only for those interested in Italy, but for all students of party politics.’ Duncan McDonnell, Griffith University, Australia ’The Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo was the great surprise of the 2013 elections in Italy. Understanding what kind of "political animal" it is, and what its future role in Italian politics will be is a major puzzle for Italy watchers. The book edited by Filippo Tronconi is the best guide so far for anyone seriously interested in understanding this new phenomenon.’ Maurizio Cotta, University of Siena, Italy '... is there something so special about M5S (Movimento 5 Stelle) that accounts for its unprecedented success? Using a wide range of research tools the contributors to this volume offer a comprehensive approach to the party, describing and often deconstructing the characteristics and paradoxes that account for its unexpected popularity that could eventually determine its future political viability. ... a comprehensible guide to the rise of the M5S and an essential reading for those interested not only in Italian politics, but also in anti-system, Euro-sceptic and populist movements in Europe.' LSE Review of BooksTable of ContentsIntroduction, FilippoTronconi; Chapter 1 Beppe Grillo and the Movimento 5 Stelle, RinaldoVignati; Chapter 2 The Organization of the Movimento 5 Stelle, RinaldoVignati; Chapter 3 Between Blog, Social Networks and Territory, Maria ElisabettaLanzone, FilippoTronconi; Chapter 4 The Electoral Base, AndreaPedrazzani, LucaPinto; Chapter 5 From ‘Citizens’ to Members of Parliament, LucaPinto, AndreaPedrazzani; Chapter 6 An Internet-Fuelled Party? The Movimento 5 Stelle and the Web, LorenzoMosca, CristianVaccari, AugustoValeriani; Chapter 7 The Movimento 5 Stelle and Social Conflicts, LorenzoMosca; Chapter 8 A Vote(r) Like Any Other? Exploring the Protest Component in the Vote for the Movimento 5 Stelle, GianlucaPassarelli, DarioTuorto; Chapter 9 Beyond Protest, PasqualeColloca, PiergiorgioCorbetta; Chapter 10 Conclusion, FilippoTronconi;

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Book SynopsisAt various times in U.S. history, the right to vote has been granted or denied on the basis of such criteria as wealth, gender, ethnicity, and race. Through both analysis and documentation, this volume introduces the reader to the history of vote denial and dilution and the landmark court opinions that both created and ended these practices. Four narrative chapters survey voting rights from colonial times to the 2000 presidential election, focus on key court cases, and discuss the prospects for voting rights in the new century. An extensive collection of key documents is provided, along with a glossary of names, events, and concepts; a chronology; a table of cases cited; an annotated bibliography; and a comprehensive index.

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Book SynopsisExclusion by Elections develops a theory about the circumstances under which ''class identities'' as opposed to ''ethnic identities'' become salient in democratic politics, and links this theory to issues of inequality and the propensity of governments to address it. The book argues that in societies with even modest levels of ethnic diversity, inequality invites ethnic politics, and ethnic politics results in less redistribution than class politics. Thus, contrary to existing workhorse models in social science, where democracies are expected to respond to inequality by increasing redistribution, the argument here is that inequality interacts with ethnic diversity to discourage redistribution. As a result, inequality often becomes reinforced by inequality itself. The author explores the argument empirically by examining cross-national patterns of voting behaviour, redistribution and democratic transitions, and he discusses the argument''s implications for identifying strategies that caTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Why worry about inequality and ethnic politics? Part I. The Theoretical Argument: 3. Social structure and distributive politics in elections; 4. A theory of social structure, electoral identities and party systems; 5. Inequality, ethnic polarization and the democratic process; Part II. Empirical Evidence for the Argument: 6. Theory and causal identification; 7. Income and voting behavior; 8. Inequality, ethnic diversity and the ethnification of party systems; 9. Social structure, redistribution and democratic transitions; 10. Conclusion: inequality and the politics of exclusion.

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Book SynopsisAffluence, Austerity and Electoral Change in Britain investigates the political economy of party support for British political parties since Tony Blair led New Labour to power in 1997. Using valence politics models of electoral choice and marshalling an unprecedented wealth of survey data collected in the British Election Study''s monthly Continuous Monitoring Surveys, the authors trace forces affecting support for New Labour during its thirteen years in office. They then study how the recessionary economy has influenced the dynamics of party support since the ConservativeLiberal Democrat Coalition came to power in May 2010 and factors that shaped voting in Britain''s May 2011 national referendum on changing the electoral system. Placing Britain in comparative perspective with cross-national survey data gathered in the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s, the authors investigate how the economic crisis has affected support for incumbent governments and democratic politics in over twenty European countries.Trade Review'More than a sequel to the two highly regarded previous British Election Study volumes on the 2001 and 2005 campaigns, this book reinforces earlier evidence on the importance of valence issues with new material from the 2010 elections. Now the authors add a dynamic element, tracking the ebb and flow of party vote shares across elections - along with detailed new evidence on the campaign dynamics in 2010. Whiteley and his colleagues produce an impressive holistic model to explain how contemporary electoral democracy works in Britain and how it has been changing.' Russell J. Dalton, University of California, Irvine'Affluence, Austerity and Electoral Change in Britain is sure to become one of the 'must-read' books on elections and voting, not only for students of British politics, but also for scholars in other countries who want to understand the dynamics of modern election campaigns and the explanatory power of alternative models of voting behaviour. A thorough, highly readable and sophisticated analysis of the rise and fall of New Labour, the political consequences of the 2007–8 economic crisis and related events, the austerity policies brought in following the 2010 election and the electoral prospects of the Cameron-Clegg coalition.' Lawrence LeDuc, University of Toronto'There are 'good' election surveys and 'great' election surveys. The British Election Survey (BES), led by the Essex team, comes as close to the second category as any election survey yet. In this volume, these scholars combine concise data analysis with elegant prose, to explain how Brits pick their national political leaders. The story has elements of drama: the Northern Rock Bank failure, the hung parliament. And, there's continuity, such as the decline of class voting and the strength of valence issues such as the economy. The investigation uses avant garde research techniques, including the Continuous Monitoring Survey and internet sampling. The methodological and intellectual edge of the work furthers a tradition begun in the first BES, launched 50 years ago. [This book] stands as a fitting commemoration of that milestone.' Michael S. Lewis-Beck, F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of IowaTable of Contents1. The politics of affluence and austerity; 2. Tony's politics: prosperity and performance; 3. Gordon's politics: economic crisis and political change; 4. 'I agree with Nick': campaigning for change in 2010; 5. Making political choices: 2010; 6. Bearish Britain: the Coalition in power; 7. Choosing how to choose: the AV ballot referendum; 8. Performance politics and subjective well-being; 9. Valence politics, austerity policies and electoral prospects; Appendix A. Structure of the 2010 British Election Study; Appendix B. Measurement.

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Book SynopsisScholars typically emphasize the importance of organized networks and long-term relationships for sustaining electoral clientelism. Yet electoral clientelism remains widespread in many countries despite the weakening of organized parties. This book offers a new account of how clientelism and campaigning work in weak party systems and in the absence of stable party-broker relationships. Drawing on an in-depth study of Peru using a mixed methods approach and cross-national comparisons, Muñoz reveals the informational and indirect effects of investments made at the campaign stage. By distributing gifts, politicians buy the participation of poor voters at campaign events. This helps politicians improvise political organizations, persuade poor voters of candidates'' desirability, and signal electoral viability to strategic donors and voters, with campaign dynamics ultimately shaping electoral outcomes. Among other contributions, the book sheds new light on role of donations and business actors and on ongoing challenges to party building.Trade Review'In this extraordinary book, Muñoz introduces a reconceptualization of clientelism, which will reshape our understanding of electoral behavior in new democracies. Using a multi-method research design that includes survey experiments, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and case study comparisons, Muñoz shows how politicians lacking strong party organizations use handouts to boost their rallies. She then shows that rallies, and not handouts, influence electoral behavior. This book is a 'must-read' for any student of electoral behavior, democracy, and Latin American politics.' M. Victoria Murillo, Columbia University, New York'Paula Muñoz persuasively shows how clientelism works in the absence of political parties, testing the argument through an impressive and thorough mixed-methods strategy that embeds intensive fieldwork (ethnography, in-depth interviews) and survey experiments in a sub-national comparison. The crisis of political parties elsewhere makes the argument travel widely, well beyond the scope of Peruvian politics. The unusual combination of theoretical scope, methodological sophistication, and substantive relevance make this book an essential reference for the years to come.' Juan Pablo Luna, Instituto de Ciencia Política, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile'Politicians hand out microwaves, cement, and cash, even when they lack strong parties to guarantee that gifts translate into votes. Paula Muñoz provides a highly original account of how politicians provide goods not to buy off voters, but to gain attention from the media, campaign donors, and voters. The rich evidence reveals how vote buying and political campaigning are deeply intertwined in much of the developing world, and how democracy works - with a few extra gifts on the side - without political parties.' Alisha C. Holland, Princeton University, New JerseyTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. An informational theory of electoral clientelism; 3. Clientelistic linkages in Peru and the limits of conventional explanations; 4. Convoking voters and establishing electoral viability; 5. Influence from the citizens' point of view; 6. Analyzing campaigns; 7. Conclusions; Appendices.

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Book SynopsisIn 2015, Nigeria''s voters cast out the ruling People''s Democratic Party (PDP). Here, A. Carl LeVan traces the political vulnerability of Africa''s largest party in the face of elite bargains that facilitated a democratic transition in 1999. These ''pacts'' enabled electoral competition but ultimately undermined the party''s coherence. LeVan also crucially examines the four critical barriers to Nigeria''s democratic consolidation: the terrorism of Boko Haram in the northeast, threats of Igbo secession in the southeast, lingering ethnic resentments and rebellions in the Niger Delta, and farmer-pastoralist conflicts. While the PDP unsuccessfully stoked fears about the opposition''s ability to stop Boko Haram''s terrorism, the opposition built a winning electoral coalition on economic growth, anti-corruption, and electoral integrity. Drawing on extensive interviews with a number of politicians and generals and civilians and voters, he argues that electoral accountability is essential butTrade Review'… this book demonstrates a rich engagement with several bodies of theoretical literature. It offers excellent introductory discussions of postcolonial theory, trauma theory, humor theory, and dialogism for readers in biblical studies … generative and engaging readings of Revelation. Emanuel's monograph is well worth the attention of readers of Revelation, as well as anyone interested in postcolonial theory, trauma theory, and humor in biblical studies.' Sarah Emanuel, African Studies AssociationTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The end of a new beginning: Nigeria's transition, 1999–2015; 3. The rational counterterrorist? Economic policy and insurgent insecurity in Nigeria's 2015 presidential campaign; 4. Voting against violence? Economic uncertainty and physical insecurity in 2015; 5. Electoral integrity, ethnic affinity and religious revival in Nigeria's party turnover; 6. Subnational subversion and institutional stress; 7. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisIn 2015, Nigeria''s voters cast out the ruling People''s Democratic Party (PDP). Here, A. Carl LeVan traces the political vulnerability of Africa''s largest party in the face of elite bargains that facilitated a democratic transition in 1999. These ''pacts'' enabled electoral competition but ultimately undermined the party''s coherence. LeVan also crucially examines the four critical barriers to Nigeria''s democratic consolidation: the terrorism of Boko Haram in the northeast, threats of Igbo secession in the southeast, lingering ethnic resentments and rebellions in the Niger Delta, and farmer-pastoralist conflicts. While the PDP unsuccessfully stoked fears about the opposition''s ability to stop Boko Haram''s terrorism, the opposition built a winning electoral coalition on economic growth, anti-corruption, and electoral integrity. Drawing on extensive interviews with a number of politicians and generals and civilians and voters, he argues that electoral accountability is essential butTrade Review'… this book demonstrates a rich engagement with several bodies of theoretical literature. It offers excellent introductory discussions of postcolonial theory, trauma theory, humor theory, and dialogism for readers in biblical studies … generative and engaging readings of Revelation. Emanuel's monograph is well worth the attention of readers of Revelation, as well as anyone interested in postcolonial theory, trauma theory, and humor in biblical studies.' Sarah Emanuel, African Studies AssociationTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. The end of a new beginning: Nigeria's transition, 1999–2015; 3. The rational counterterrorist? Economic policy and insurgent insecurity in Nigeria's 2015 presidential campaign; 4. Voting against violence? Economic uncertainty and physical insecurity in 2015; 5. Electoral integrity, ethnic affinity and religious revival in Nigeria's party turnover; 6. Subnational subversion and institutional stress; 7. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisExclusion by Elections develops a theory about the circumstances under which ''class identities'' as opposed to ''ethnic identities'' become salient in democratic politics, and links this theory to issues of inequality and the propensity of governments to address it. The book argues that in societies with even modest levels of ethnic diversity, inequality invites ethnic politics, and ethnic politics results in less redistribution than class politics. Thus, contrary to existing workhorse models in social science, where democracies are expected to respond to inequality by increasing redistribution, the argument here is that inequality interacts with ethnic diversity to discourage redistribution. As a result, inequality often becomes reinforced by inequality itself. The author explores the argument empirically by examining cross-national patterns of voting behaviour, redistribution and democratic transitions, and he discusses the argument''s implications for identifying strategies that caTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Why worry about inequality and ethnic politics? Part I. The Theoretical Argument: 3. Social structure and distributive politics in elections; 4. A theory of social structure, electoral identities and party systems; 5. Inequality, ethnic polarization and the democratic process; Part II. Empirical Evidence for the Argument: 6. Theory and causal identification; 7. Income and voting behavior; 8. Inequality, ethnic diversity and the ethnification of party systems; 9. Social structure, redistribution and democratic transitions; 10. Conclusion: inequality and the politics of exclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a comprehensive compilation of reports, correspondence and other publications on Ukraine. Some of the issues discussed include: U.S. Policy; The Conflict with Russia; The Presidential Election; The Whistleblower Complaint; Atomic Energy.Table of ContentsPreface; Europe: Ukraine; Ukraine: Background, Conflict with Russia, and U.S. Policy; Ukraine: Report from the Front Lines; Ending the War in Ukraine: Kurt Volker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations; Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Ukraine; Russian Influence and Unconventional Warfare Operations in the Gray Zone: Lessons from Ukraine; Defense Cooperation Agreement between the United States of America and Ukraine; Ukraines Presidential Election: A Preview; Memorandum of Telephone Conversation with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine; Whistleblower Complaint of August 12, 2019; Atomic Energy: Nuclear Safety Arrangement between the United States of America and Ukraine; High Crimes and Pipelines: Curbing Corruption in Ukraines Energy Sector; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Voting Rights Act was necessary because of this country's long and painful history of not extending the right to vote to all. The Voting Rights Act is still essential to ensuring all Americans can exercise their Constitutional right to vote. Field hearings were held in North Dakota and Georgia to discuss the discrimination to minority voters.Table of ContentsPreface; Field Hearing on Voting Rights and Election Administration in the Dakotas; Field Hearing on Voting Rights and Election Administration in Georgia; Index.

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Book SynopsisIn the United States, state, territorial, and local governments are responsible for most aspects of selecting and securing election systems and equipment. Foreign interference during the 2016 election cycle -- and widely reported to be an ongoing threat -- has renewed congressional attention to campaign and election security and raised new questions about the nature and extent of the federal government's role in this policy area. This book provides readers with a resource for understanding campaign and election security policy. This includes discussion of the federal government's roles; state or territorial responsibilities for election administration and election security; an overview of potentially relevant federal statutes and agencies; and highlights of recent congressional policy debates.Table of ContentsPreface; Campaign and Election Security Policy: Brief Introduction; Campaign and Election Security Policy: Overview and Recent Developments for Congress; Election Security Preparations; Election Security: Voter Registration System Policy Issues; Election Security: Federal Funding for Securing Election Systems; Election Security: States Spending of FY2018 HAVA Payments; Index.

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Book SynopsisEncyclopedia of Elections organizes researchers from around the world in political studies and related disciplines and maintains an up-to-date reference work for readers worldwide. Please review the Table of Contents for more in-depth information.

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Book SynopsisShows how the size of an election victory influences subsequent candidate behaviour, voter behaviour, and even the economyTrade Review"In this intriguing book, James Fowler and Oleg Smirnov propose a dynamic model of electoral competition in which 'mandates,' that is, margins of victory, play a central role...This is an impressive study. The authors present an interesting blend of formal theory and inductive reasoning...There is little technical jargon and the presentation is simple and clear. The study is most impressive in its display of an amazing variety of methodological approaches...The message of the book is far from trivial... In short, this is a thoughtful and provocative book." -Perspectives on PoliticsTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Moving with the Mandate: Policy-Motivated Parties in Dynamic Political Competition; 3. Dynamic Responsiveness in the U.S. Senate; 4. Dynamic Parties and Social Turnout; 5. A Dynamic Calculus of Voting; 6. Party Responsiveness and Mandate Balancing; 7. Patience and Turnout; 8. Markets and Mandates; 9. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisOne of the hallmarks of American democracy is the right to vote. In fact, the freedom to vote is so ingrained in American culture that it is taken for granted. Each election shows increasingly decreasing voter turnout and a decline in eligible voters registering. This can be partially attributed to a general antipathy toward the political process and partisan debates. However, there is no legitimate excuse for not availing oneself of the precious freedom to cast a ballot and have a say in the direction of the nation. With the increasing attention given to autocratic regimes across the globe and the restrictions placed on individual freedoms, it is amazing that the right to vote is not more appreciated. This is not to say that the American system is perfect. The 2000 presidential election drew unwanted attention on the inefficiencies and problems inherent in the system, leading to nation-wide cries to rectify the election process. The book analyses the issues around voter registration by looking at voter turnout over the elections of the second half of the 20th century. The articles presented here provide a needed historical background and study of the voting system and specific elections and make for an important collection in understanding the problems and importance of the vote in American democracy.

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Book SynopsisFree and fair elections are a hallmark of American democracy. Routinely, however, voter turnout is low and understanding of the electoral process poor. Local election jurisdictions oversee voting in a highly decentralised and complex effort that more often than not occurs problem-free. In the wake of the 2000 presidential elections, though, the American voting system has come to be re-examined, with emphasis on such areas as voter registration lists, absentee balloting, varied local election standards and equipment, and the questionable necessity and means of determining "voter intent". Congress has begun to explore changes to a more nationally controlled system, having taken up legislation to reform the electoral process. With such intense focus on the nation''s democratic cornerstone, this book presents a needed and thorough overview of the process of electing government officials in the United States as well as funding for campaigns.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on obtaining more detailed information about bilingual voting assistance from selected jurisdictions across the country. The book''s objectives were to determine: the ways that selected jurisdictions covered under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act have provided bilingual voting assistance as of the November 2006 general election and any subsequent elections through June 2007, and the challenges they reportedly faced in providing such assistance; the perceived usefulness of this bilingual voting assistance, and the extent to which the selected jurisdictions evaluated the usefulness of such assistance to language minority voters. This is an excerpted and indexed edition.

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Book SynopsisBy passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Congress challenged the widespread evidence of disfranchisement of black citizens in certain southern states. This Act protects citizens'' right to vote by forbidding covered states from using any tests that would determine eligibility to vote, by requiring these states to obtain federal approval before enacting any election laws and by assigning federal officials to monitor the registration process in certain localities. In 1970, Congress extended the Voting Rights Act for an additional 5 years and its coverage to other jurisdictions when evidence presented at congressional hearings revealed continued racial discrimination in voting. Throughout the next three decades, further legislation was added to the Act, to more wholly protect the individual citizen of this country. This book delves into the history of the Voting Rights Act as well as the current challenges and issues that face Congress.

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Book SynopsisLocal election officials (LEOs) are critical to the administration of federal elections and the implementation of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA,P.L. 107-252). Two surveys of LEOs were performed, in 2004 and 2006, by Texas A&M University; the surveys were sponsored and coordinated by the authors. Although care needs to be taken in interpreting the results, they may have implications for several policy issues, such as how election officials are chosen and trained, the best ways to ensure that voting systems and election procedures are sufficiently effective, secure, and voter-friendly, and whether adjustments should be made to HAVA requirements. Major results include the following: The demographic characteristics of LEOs differ from those of other government officials. Almost three-quarters are women, and 5% are minorities. Most do not have a college degree, and most were elected. Some results suggest areas of potential improvement such as in training and participation in professional associations. LEOs believed that the federal government has too great an influence on the acquisition of voting systems, and that local elected officials have too little. Their concerns increased from 2004 to 2006 about the influence of the media, political parties, advocacy groups, and vendors. LEOs were highly satisfied with whatever voting system they used but were less supportive of other kinds. However, their satisfaction declined from 2004 to 2006 for all systems except lever machines. They also rated their primary voting systems as very accurate, secure, reliable, and voter- and pollworker-friendly, no matter what system they used. However, the most common incident reported by respondents in the 2006 election was malfunction of a direct recording (DRE) or optical scan (OS) electronic voting system. The incidence of long lines at polling places was highest in jurisdictions using DREs. Most DRE users did not believe that voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPAT) should be required, but nonusers believed they should be. However, the percentage of DRE users who supported VVPAT increased in 2006, and most VVPAT users were satisfied with them. On average, LEOs mildly supported requiring photo identification for all voters, even though they strongly believed that it will negatively affect turnout and did not believe that voter fraud is a problem in their jurisdictions. LEOs believed that HAVA is making moderate improvements in the electoral process, but the level of support declined from 2004 to 2006. They reported that HAVA has increased the accessibility of voting but has made elections more complicated and has increased their cost. LEOs spent much more time preparing for the election in 2006 than in 2004. They also believed that the increased complexity of elections is hindering recruitment of pollworkers. Most found the activities of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that HAVA created only moderately beneficial to them. They were neutral on average about the impacts of the requirement for a statewide voter-registration database.

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Book SynopsisThe mix of voting methods and systems that were used in the 2006 general election varied across states, territories, and the District, and this mix is not expected to change substantially for the 2008 general election. This variety is due to several factors, but particularly the degree of influence that these governments have exerted over local jurisdictions in selecting systems. In establishing their voting environments, states, territories, and the District reported approving or otherwise certifying their systems against requirements and described largely similar approaches in doing so. Further, they reported facing some of the same challenges, such as ensuring that vendors meet requirements and completing the approval process on time; and identified steps they have taken to address these challenges.

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Book SynopsisIn 2014, Greg Orman made headlines with his historic Independent run for the U.S. Senate in Kansas. Voters gravitated to Orman's campaign in unprecedented numbers, challenging the entrenched dominance of the two major parties over American politics. In A Declaration of Independents Orman describes how hyper-partisanship, division, and a win-at-all-costs environment in Washington have created a toxic culture of self-interest that has left average Americans behind. Orman makes a persuasive case that without fundamental change, our standard of living, our status in the world, and the very existence of the middle class are at risk. His withering critique of our ruling partisan duopoly explains why voters are choosing unconventional candidates in increasing numbers -- from his own 2014 Senate race to the nation's 2016 presidential campaign. Taking direct aim at the corrupt practices that keep the two parties in power despite historically low approval ratings, Orman argues convincingly that the system is rigged for the benefit of special interests who buy access to power. Drawing on his own journey to political independence, Orman lays out a plan for taking back our government by rejecting party politics and embracing a new Independent approach.

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Book SynopsisThe United States runs its elections unlike any other country in the world. Responsibility for elections is entrusted to local officials in approximately 8,000 different jurisdictions. In turn, they are subject to general oversight by officials most often chosen through a partisan appointment or election process. The point of contact for voters in the polling place is usually a temporary employee who has volunteered for one-day duty and has received only a few hours of training. These defining features of our electoral system, combined with the fact that Americans vote more frequently on more issues and offices than citizens anywhere else, present unique challenges for the effective administration of elections that voters throughout the country expect and deserve. This book discusses the American voting experience, recommendations of the Presidential Commission on election administration, and provides an overview of the Help America Vote Act.

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Book SynopsisOver 40 years ago, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and related amendments. Today, the FEC is responsible for administering disclosure of millions of campaign finance transactions; interpretation and civil enforcement of FECA and agency regulations; and administering the presidential public financing program. This book provides selected information about the FECs history and ongoing issues that are likely to be of interest to Congress for appropriations, legislative, or oversight activities. It also provides Congress with a resource for understanding the FECs enforcement process and context for why enforcement is consequential; discusses deadlocked votes among members of the FEC; discusses current Supreme Court and other case law evaluating the constitutionality of limits on contributions and expenditures; and examines recent developments of the state of campaign finance policy.

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Book SynopsisWhen 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?Trade Review'A great read...' Nicola Sturgeon; 'Shocking, riveting and hilarious. The Scottish Thick of It.' Owen Jones; 'Fascinating.' Fraser Nelson, The Spectator; 'Remarkably revealing and often amusing.' The Guardian; '[An] adrenaline-fuelled, blood and guts account.' Prospect; 'Explosive.' Daily Mail;

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Book SynopsisWith a foreword by Isabel Hardman HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED...how people feel about sleeping with the political enemy? ...whether gambling markets are best at predicting political outcomes? ...who Santa Claus would vote for? Then look no further. More Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box brings us another collection of concise chapters penned by leading political experts and delving into the fascinating field of electoral politics. Following on from the success of its bestselling predecessor, this illuminating book shines a light on how we vote in Britain and around the world. You'll learn about the shifting landscape of party politics and the perceptions and misconceptions that shape our opinions of our politicians and of each other. You'll learn about the factors informing voter habits - from class, race and gender to the internet and the weather. You'll also learn which political party has the most sexually satisfied supporters. Forget mind-numbing numbers and difficult demographics. This sharp and frequently hilarious volume is fizzing with accessible facts and figures that are more than just conversation starters - they're unexpected insights into the human condition.Trade Review"Shrewd, witty, bravura de-bunking. The essential accessory for every political anorak. Each chapter is a cruel and forensic expose of the ill-informed cliches of political reporting. This book must be banned. The country's top political academics do their party pieces: bite-sized brilliant distillations of learning, like conjurers' table magic." - Gary Gibbon, Political Editor, Channel 4 News; "It's like Sgt Pepper but for political geeks." - Stephen Bush, New Statesman Special Correspondent; "A refreshingly accessible book of nuanced, witty insights that will be a welcome salve for those grappling with the current state of British politics." - LSE Review of Books

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Book SynopsisFrom Boris Johnson to Nigel Farage, George Galloway to Michael Gove, the campaign to get Britain out of the EU brought together some of the most colourful characters in British politics. This once-in-a-generation opportunity to free the UK from the grip of Brussels saw egos put to one side and rivalries put on hold to push for a Leave vote in the EU referendum ...Or did it?As D-Day drew near, political reporter Owen Bennett went deep into Leave territory to reveal the inside story of the battle for Brexit. Behind a campaign promising hope and glory - but seemingly mired in blood, sweat and tears - Bennett discovered a plethora of Leave groups, all riven with feuds: the Tory 'posh boys' against the 'toxic' hardliners; UKIP's only MP against the rest of the party; Michael Gove's former lieutenant Dominic Cummings against almost everyone else.Charting the crusade from the massing of the UKIP foot soldiers after the general election to the arrival of the Cabinet cavalry after Cameron's Brussels deal and the dramatic final weeks' fighting on battle buses, The Brexit Club reveals the truth behind the campaign that divided friends, families and, ultimately, the country.

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Book SynopsisFULLY UPDATED Arron Banks enjoyed a life of happy anonymity flogging car insurance in Bristol until he dipped his toes into the sharkinfested waters of politics and decided to plunge right in. Charging into battle for Brexit, he tore up the political rule book, sinking £8 million of his personal fortune into a mad-cap campaign targeting ordinary voters up and down the country. His anti-establishment crusade upset everyone from Victoria Beckham to NASA and left MPs open-mouthed. Lurching from comedy to crisis (often several times a day), he found himself in the glare of the media spotlight, fending off daily bollockings from Nigel Farage and po-faced MPs. From talking Brexit with Trump and trying not to embarrass the Queen, to courting communists and wasting a fortune on a pop concert that descended into farce, this is his honest, uncensored and highly entertaining diary of the campaign that changed the course of history.Trade Review'Every Remainer should steel themselves to read it, because the mindset that it captures - one they don't like or understand - is driving change on both sides of the Atlantic.' - Gaby Hinsliff, The Guardian

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Book SynopsisIn the crucible of the 2017 general election, a small group of progressive activists set about trying to change British political life for the better. Armed with the conviction that the old politics was irretrievably broken, the progressive alliance set itself the task of breaching the walls of Britain's tribal political culture. Over the seven weeks of the campaign, even as the struggle between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn built up to a stunning and utterly unexpected climax, the progressive alliance fought its own battle. Its aim was to bridge divides, start conversations and forge alliances on the ground between progressives - socialists, social democrats, liberals, Greens, Welsh and Scottish nationalists - working together against their common foe instead of competing self-destructively against one another. Based on first-hand testimony, All Together Now tells the dramatic story of how the progressive alliance helped shape the story of the 2017 election - and why its aims, its methods and above all its values will shape the future of 21st century politics.

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Book SynopsisThe 2017 general election was supposed to be a walkover for the Conservative Party – but the voters had other ideas. In The Lost Majority, Lord Ashcroft draws on his unique research to explain why the thumping victory the Tories expected never happened. His findings reveal what real voters made of the campaign, why Britain refused Theresa May’s appeal for a clear mandate to negotiate Brexit and where the party now stands after more than a decade of `modernisation’ . And, critically, Ashcroft examines the challenges the Tories face in building a winning coalition when 13 million votes is no longer enough for outright victory. This is an indispensible guide that will provide food for thought to anyone wishing to examine in detail what really happened on 8 June, 2017, and how this will impact on future elections.

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Book SynopsisChris Rennard's long relationship with the Liberals, and later the Liberal Democrats, began when a compassionate Liberal candidate helped his disabled mother receive her widowed mother allowance. By his 20s Rennard was the most successful election campaigner his party has ever known. He helped the Liberal Party win power in Liverpool in the 1970s and campaigned for Shirley Williams and Roy Jenkins in famous by-elections which helped the Liberal SDP Alliance to compete for power before its acrimonious collapse in the late 80's. He was then responsible for a series of spectacular by-election victories that rescued his party's fortunes and he oversaw a huge increase in the party's number of MPs and elected representatives. Liberal leaders Paddy Ashdown, Charles Kennedy, Menzies Campbell and Nick Clegg would all rely on him as the party grew to the peak of its success. This volume of memoirs spans his first 30 years in politics (to 2006) and includes the highs and lows of his party during the leaderships of Paddy Ashdown (including his hopes for coalition with Tony Blair) and Charles Kennedy, (including the latter's enforced resignation after revealing publicly his problem with alcohol). There will never be a better inside account of a political party, or contemporary history of the Liberal Democrats. Winning Here is a record that shows how election campaigns are really fought and won and how party leaders change and parties develop. Similarly, there will never be a commentator better placed to tell this story.Trade Review“A valuable record of the sort of political activism and the specific methods of communications peculiar to an era in western democratic politics.”- Michael Steed, Journal of Liberal History

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Book SynopsisAn urgent and timely exploration of a British political system in peril – and what we must do to save it. For centuries, British identity has been shaped by ideas of exceptionalism, grandeur and competence. Yet British democracy is failing. Governments supported by a minority of voters are elected with enormous majorities under a deeply unrepresentative first-past-the-post system. The result has been failed leaders delivering wounding blows to the country's economy, prosperity and international image. Britain Is Better Than This explores what lies beneath this sense of malaise, revealing the structural and constitutional failures at the heart of a sclerotic political system. It sheds light on a culture of lies, distrust and corruption. It reveals fundamental flaws in core institutions, including the media, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. It draws on events such as the MP expenses scandal, Brexit, 'Partygate' and the farcical premiership of Liz Truss, as symptoms of a great nation at a turning point yet unsure of which way to turn. And it looks ahead, offering practical solutions to answer the key question of our time: What do we need to do to build a better future? 'The most compelling, lacerating description of the Muppet Show that is British public life I have yet read.' Will Hutton 'There can be no book more urgently needed than this one.' Steve RichardsTrade ReviewThe most compelling, lacerating description of the Muppet show that is British public life I have yet read. Esler on occasion reaches the heights of Tom Paine in his devastating mockery of the British system – from the corners of the House of Lords to the playing fields of Eton. You laugh out loud while violently agreeing – we are better than this. * Will Hutton, author of The State We're In *Gavin Esler rightly asserts that Britain is better than this, shows with vivid insight why it is a country in deep crisis and what can be done about it. There can be no book more urgently needed than this one. * Steve Richards, author of The Prime Ministers We Never Had *As Gavin Elser writes, ‘many of us feel that our demonstrably clever and competent country has lost its way’. I am certainly amongst their number. And I share his view that much of our problem is bound up with our outdated and unwritten constitution and our distorted media landscape. We can be better than this. We can be a stronger democracy and a kinder society. Gavin Esler’s important book points the way to that better future for our country. * Professor Molly Scott Cato, Vice Chair of the European Movement *This powerful and passionate book sets out a searing account of why our political system is broken, and what needs to be done to repair the damage and restore our international reputation. I strongly recommend it! * Lord Peter Ricketts *PRAISE FOR HOW BRITAIN ENDS: 'A wonderful book which will be quoted in years to come' New European. 'An eloquent, forensic examination of resurgent English nationalism as the force that has driven Brexit and may now break up the United Kingdom' Jonathan Coe. 'A fascinating book that draws on poetry, literature and on-the-ground reporting' The Times. 'Packed with broad cultural and literary insight to go with hard-nosed political evaluation' GQ. 'A cool-headed contribution to this often emotional debate' * Sunday Business Post *

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the inconclusive May 2010 general election Lord Adonis and other senior Labour figures sat down for talks with the Liberal Democrat leadership to try to persuade them to govern Britain together in a Lib - Lab coalition. The talks ultimately resulted in failure for Labour amid recriminations on both sides and the accusation that the Lib Dems had conducted a dutch auction, inviting Labour to outbid the Tories on a shopping list of demands. Despite calls for him to give his own account of this historic sequence of events, Adonis has kept his own counsel until now. Published to coincide with the third anniversary of the general election that would eventually produce an historic first coalition government since the Second World War, 5 Days In May is a remarkable and important insider account of the dramatic negotiations that led to its formation. It also offers the author's views on what the future holds as the run-up to the next election begins. 5 Days in May presents a unique eyewitness account of a pivotal moment in political history.Trade ReviewRevelatory and quietly shocking. The Guardian Details with breathless energy the plotting, late - night phone calls and the desperately fading hopes of Brown's government from inside Number 10 - Fascinatingly candid - Adonis's description of the hectic negotiations is absorbing for its detail and the palpable sense of chaos at the heart of the British establishment - Flashes of irony and slapstick - Convincing book by a man generally more interested in ideas than tribal loyalties - This book may prove to be his most important work. The Telegraph If anyone is going to spend five days inside the head of anyone, Adonis is a good candidate. He is intelligent, moderate and nice. The Spectator A West Wing-style thriller. New Statesman [An] invaluable book on the negotiations that led to the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. The Observer This is a political thriller with a twist. Times Literary Supplement It is a book full of anger, recrimination and justice...But this adds to the interest as the words crackle with barely concealed rage. Total Politics 'as gripping as any Dan Brown page-turner.' Choice Magazine 'Without a doubt the political book of the summer, alongside Charles Moore's Thatcher biography - As both a tell-all (it's peppered with key details about Labour front benchers) and an examination of coalition governments, it makes for a compelling read. Unsurprisingly, Nick Clegg doesn't come off well.' GQ '[T]here is a revelation on almost every page of Adonis's book.' The Independent 'All Adonis' books are important, and now is the time to read one.' Independent on Sunday " [It] challenges conventional wisdom about the forming of the coalition. Anyone who might be near the leadership of the Labour Party in 2015 needs to read this now."Independent on Sunday "An inside account of how the coalition was formed [ - ] It is advice the Labour leader would be wise to take." New Statesman

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Book SynopsisFox 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.Trade ReviewAn eyewitness, behind-the-scenes account of exactly how the wheels can fall off any bandwagon. Ukippers ought to read it, but they won't dare. Everyone else will wet their pants. Fleet Street FoxTable of ContentsAcknowledgements ixPart 1: SkirmishesChapter 1 From Hoddesdon to Eternity 3Chapter 2 A Bloom Too Far 11Chapter 3 Do You Hear the People Swear They Are Not Racist? 25Chapter 4 Damnatio Memoriae 41Chapter 5 Dr Frankenstein Will See You Now 49Chapter 6 The Strange Case of Mr Carswell 61Chapter 7 Heart of Doncaster 81Chapter 8 Saving Private Reckless 101Chapter 9 The Man Who Would Be Champ 133Chapter 10 Hunting High and Low 159Chapter 11 Janice Atkinson - My Part in Her Downfall 181Chapter 12 Unlocking the War Chest 209Chapter 13 The Ego Has Landed 235Part 2: WarChapter 14 The General Election Campaign 243Part 3: DefeatChapter 15 Oh! What a Lovely War 335Chapter 16 Farage Explains It All 351Epilogue 371

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Book SynopsisIn the wake of the most unprecedented election result in recent memory, the question on everyone's lips is: what just happened to the UK's political landscape - and why? And who are the 182 new faces on the House of Commons benches?In The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015, public affairs consultant Tim Carr teams up with editors of the bestselling Politicos Guide to the 2015 General Election Iain Dale and Robert Waller to present an all-inclusive and essential post-election document for academics, journalists, students and political enthusiasts alike in the wake of the poll-defying 2015 general election.Wide-ranging and accessible, this essential guide provides, amongst much else:* Biographies of the class of 2015, alongside details of their majorities and constituencies;* Demographic analysis by age, gender, ethnic origin, education and background;* Lists of new marginal constituencies, possible targets seats, defeated MPs, and more;* Expert commentary from political journalists and pollsters, exploring the role of the media, the historic result in Scotland and the future impact of fixed-term parliaments.Ranging from the disastrous pre-election polls to the failure of UKIP to make a breakthrough - and the massacre of Scottish Labour - The Politicos Guide to the New House of Commons 2015 is a must-read for anyone eager to know the details of the election result that has so dramatically re-shaped the country's political landscape.

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Book SynopsisIn the months before the 2015 election, Lord Ashcroft Polls conducted focus groups all over the country to find out whether the parties' frenetic campaigning was having any effect on the people it was supposed to impress: undecided voters in marginal seats. The reports, collected here for the first time, show what was going on behind the polling numbers - what people made of the stunts, scandals and mishaps, as well as the policies, plans and promises that constitute the race to Number Ten. As well as shedding light on voters' hopes and fears, the book asks crucial questions: which party leader is like a Chihuahua in a handbag? Which cartoon character does David Cameron most resemble? What would Ed Miliband do on a free Friday night? And is Nigel Farage more like Johnny Rotten or the Wurzels?

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Book SynopsisWe will not achieve net zero in the cafes, dinner parties and wine bars of our inner cities.' Little infuriated the forgotten people of the twenty-first centurywomen and younger voters, especiallymore than Scott Morrison's deluge of disparagement on the issues that mattered to them. The May 2022 election marked the great re-engagement of those ignored and patronised for too long on climate, integrity and gender equity. The electoral map has been dramatically redrawn. However, the triumph of the teals' was not entirely unexpected to those assisting their rise, such as Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes à Court. As Australia entered its lost decade on climate action, he observed that conventional advocacy had become a case of diminishing returns, and that Cathy McGowan's election as a community independent in 2013 provided a template for direct political engagement. The result was Climate 200, a crowdfunded outfit intended to provide the money and expertise to better match the major parties and turbocharge the grassroots movement emerging in thirty-plus electorates. Despite a relentless and increasingly shrill campaign of vilification aimed at Holmes à Court and the candidates by the Liberals, assisted by their media mates, we saw the election of six new community independent MPs and one senator. It was a victory of facts over fear, priorities over prejudice. It was a blow to the unfit-for-purpose majoritariat', a rejection of the false binary choice between parties that no longer reflect the hopes and complexity of modern democratic Australia. This is the story of how a team of inspired young tech-heads and older sages used their real and virtual-world experience to help a cluster of communities get the representation they wanted.

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Book SynopsisIn 2023, debate about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament swirls around us as Australia heads towards a referendum on amending the Constitution to make this Voice a reality. The idea of a First Nations Voice' was famously raised in 2017, when Indigenous leaders drafted the Uluru Statement from the Heart. It was envisioned as a representative body, enshrined in the Constitution, that would advise federal parliament and the executive government on laws and policies of significance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. But while Indigenous people may finally get their Voice, will it be heard? In Time to Listen, Melissa Castan and Lynette Russell explore how the need for a Voice has its roots in what anthropologist WEH Stanner in the late 1960s called the Great Australian Silence', whereby the history and culture of Indigenous Australians have been largely ignored by the wider society. This forgetting' has not been incidental but rather an intentional, initially colonial policy of erasement. So have times now changed? Is the tragedy of that national silencea refusal to acknowledge Indigenous agency and cultural achievementsfinally coming to an end? The Voice to Parliament can be a transformational legal and political institutional reform, but only if we really listen to Indigenous people, and they are clearly heard when they speak.

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Book SynopsisUkraine's 2004 presidential election was falsified, spurring the Orange Revolution. To many observers, the Orange Revolution was a shock, and the stolen elections a recent development. However, both the election fraud and the effort to topple the government of Leonid Kuchma emerged from political dynamics that had appeared in earlier Ukrainian elections. In this path breaking volume, leading scholars place Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution in the longer perspective of Ukraine's post-Soviet electoral politics. Covering both presidential and parliamentary elections over the entire post-Soviet period, the chapters clarify the manner in which earlier elections had emerged as part of the battle for power in Ukraine well before 2004. The opposition that came to power in 2004 had also won the 2002 elections and had developed its strategies during opposition protests that had been catalysed by the Kuchmagate crisis in 2000. The evolution of the dynamics that led to the fraudulent 2004 election reveals that the events of 2004 represented continuity as well as change. By placing the 2004 elections within a longer trajectory, the volume enriches our understanding of the Orange Revolution and helps us to understand the difficulties faced in consolidating Ukraine's democratic breakthrough following the Orange Revolution. The volume contains an introduction to Aspects of the Orange Revolution I-VI by Andreas Umland followed by eight chapters by Robert K. Christensen, Edward R. Rakhimkulov and Charles Wise, Paul D'Anieri, Robert Kravchuk and Victor Chudowsky, Paul Kubicek, Taras Kuzio, Lucan Way, and Anna Makhorkina. These authors bring complex and varied perspectives that situate Ukraine's post-Soviet elections in economic reforms, constitutional law, foreign policy objectives of integrating into Europe, as well as in the broader context of the rough and tumble competition for political control of Ukraine.Trade Review"These 45 papers and supplemental election reports provide an excellent overview of the Ukrainian 2004 events, as well as their historical and political context." -- Uwe Dathe, OsteuropaTable of ContentsIntroduction to Aspects of the Orange Revolution I-VI: Ukraine's Second Transition in the Russian Mirror, by Andreas Umland Ukraine's 1994 Elections as an Economic Event, by Robert S. Kravchuk and Victor Chudowsky Regime Type and Politics in Ukraine under Kuchma, by Taras Kuzio Rapacious Individualism and Political Competition in Ukraine, 1992-2004, by Lucan A. Way The Ukrainian Orange Revolution Brought More than a New President: What Kind of Democracy Will the Institutional Changes Bring?, by Robert K. Christensen, Edward R. Rakhimkulov, and Charles R. Wise The Last Hurrah: The 2004 Ukrainian Presidential Elections and the Limits of Machine Politics, by Paul D'Anieri Ukrainian Political Parties and Foreign Policy in Election Campaigns: The Parliamentary Elections of 1998 and 2002, by Anna Makhorkina The European Union and Democratization in Ukraine, by Paul Kubicek

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Book SynopsisThe third volume of Aspects of the Orange Revolution complements the essays of the first two collections providing further historical background on, and analytical insight into, the events at Kyiv in late 2004. Its seven contributions by both established and younger specialists range from electoral statistics to musicology, and deal with, among other issues, such questions as: Why had blatant election fraud not generated mass protest before 2004, but, in that year, did? How was Viktor Yushchenko able to collect enough votes to defeat the establishment candidate Viktor Yanukovych, and become the new President of a socially, geographically and culturally divided country? How was it possible to prevent large-scale violence, and which role did the judiciary play during the quasi-revolutionary events in autumn-winter 2004? What legal foundations and court decisions made the repetition of the second round of the presidential elections possible? Which campaign instruments, and political 'technologies' were applied by various domestic and foreign actors to activate the Ukrainian population? How did the internet and music become factors in the emergence of mass protests involving hundreds of thousands of people? To which degree and how did external influences affect the Orange Revolution? Erik S Herron, Paul E Johnson, Dominique Arel, Ivan Katchanovski, Ralph S Clem, Peter R Craumer, Hartmut Rank, Stephan Heidenhain, Adriana Helbig and Andrew Wilson present a multifarious panorama of the origins and dynamics of the processes that changed the nature of political and civic life during and between the three rounds of Ukraine's fateful 2004 presidential elections.Trade Review"These 45 papers and supplemental election reports provide an excellent overview of the Ukrainian 2004 events, as well as their historical and political context." -- Uwe Dathe, OsteuropaTable of ContentsIntroduction Approaches to a 'Watershed' in Ukrainian Politics, by Ingmar Bredies, Andreas Umland and Valentin Yakushik Part 1. Prelude to a Mass Rebellion Fraud before the 'Revolution': Special Precincts in Ukraine's 2002 Parliamentary Election, by Erik S. Herron and Paul E. Johnson Part 2. Why and How It Happened Orange Ukraine Chooses the West, but Without the East, by Dominique Arel Regional Political Cleavages, Electoral Behavior, and Historical Legacies in Post-Communist Ukraine, by Ivan Katchanovski Shades of Orange: The Electoral Geography of Ukraine's 2004 Presidential Elections, by Ralph S. Clem and Peter R. Craumer Part 3. The Context of a Mass Uprising The Legal Evolution behind the Orange Revolution, by Hartmut Rank and Stephan Heidenhain The Cyberpolitics of Music in Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, by Adriana Helbig Foreign Intervention in the 2004 Elections: 'Political Technology' versus NGOs, by Andrew Wilson

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