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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:48 pm
Time: 8:48 pm
Results for politics
11 results foundAuthor: Gerber, Alan S. Title: Can Incarcerated Felons Be (Re)integrated into the Political System? Results from a Field Experiment Summary: How does America's high rate of incarceration shape political participation? Few studies have examined the direct effects of incarceration on patterns of political engagement. Answering this question is particularly relevant for the 93% of formerly incarcerated individuals who are eligible to vote. Drawing on new administrative data from Connecticut, we present evidence from a field experiment showing that a simple informational outreach campaign to released felons can recover a large proportion of the reduction in participation observed following incarceration. The treatment effect estimates imply that efforts to reintegrate released felons into the political process can substantially reduce the participatory consequences of incarceration. Details: New Haven, CT: Yale University, Department of Political Science, 2014. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2014 at: http://www.davidhendry.net/research-supplemental/gerberetal2014-ctfelons_fieldexperiment/gerberetal2014-ctfelons_fieldexperiment.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://www.davidhendry.net/research-supplemental/gerberetal2014-ctfelons_fieldexperiment/gerberetal2014-ctfelons_fieldexperiment.pdf Shelf Number: 132536 Keywords: Ex-OffendersPoliticsVoting |
Author: Sugie, Naomi F. Title: Chilling Effects: Diminished political participation among romantic partners of formerly incarcerated men Summary: Over the past four decades, the criminal justice system has emerged as a key institution structuring social, economic, and political inequalities in the United States. The political dampening of ex-offenders resulting from legal and non-legal barriers has likely altered election outcomes and has critical implications for our democratic principles; yet, the focus on individuals may underestimate the reverberating consequences of diminished political participation. In this paper, I propose that criminal justice contact, and specifically incarceration, diminishes political behavior among not only formerly incarcerated individuals but also their romantic partners. To examine this, I use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing survey. I find that partner incarceration is associated with reduced political participation that is not explained by socioeconomic characteristics and is robust to different modeling approaches. Diminished participation is not fully explained by partner's political participation nor is it one aspect of broader withdrawal from spheres of civic and religious participation. Rather, reduced participation appears to be the product of political socialization processes, specific to retreat from government, that result from partner's criminal justice involvement. Details: Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, 2014. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper WP11-19-FF: Accessed July 3, 2014 at: http://crcw.princeton.edu/workingpapers/WP11-19-FF-2.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United States URL: http://crcw.princeton.edu/workingpapers/WP11-19-FF-2.pdf Shelf Number: 132619 Keywords: Ex-OffendersPolitical ParticipationPolitics |
Author: Kumari, Ranjana Title: Violence against Women in Politics. (A study conducted in India, Nepal and Pakistan) Summary: As India's weeks-long federal election continues, the fear of violence prevents many women from participating in the political process, according to a new study. The number of women who vote and contest elections has increased in India, Nepal and Pakistan, but the share of female representatives in national governments decreased, according to a study released Wednesday by UN Women and New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research. This is because more than 60% of women were afraid they would face violence if they participated in politics, said the study, conducted between 2003 and 2013. In India's federal elections in 2009, 556 women ran for office, but only 59, or 10% were elected, a drop in almost 7% from the 1999 election, in which 49 of 284 women were elected, according to the report titled "Violence against Women in Politics." Most victims of violence were poor, lower caste, young women who entered politics, according to the study. India's small share of powerful female politicians are eyeing central roles in the new government once polls end in May, but a majority of Indian women did not enter the male-dominated political circles because they thought it made them vulnerable to violence, the study said. The most widespread risks faced by women in politics include the expectation of sexual favors and threats of violence, according to 800 male and female respondents surveyed across the three countries. Character assassination, verbal harassment and emotional blackmail were also used against women who contest elections. "When men fail to find fault in women's activities or progress, they raise questions on women’s chastity," said Netra Prasad Panthi, a politician from the Rupendehi district of Nepal, according to the study. While physical violence, verbal abuse and the threat of violence were higher for India, character assassination was seen as the greatest threat in Pakistan and Nepal. The attitude that a woman's primary responsibility is at home also kept women out of politics. 70% of respondents in India said that even as an elected candidate, a woman should not ignore her domestic responsibilities, and 53% said that a woman's family should decide if she can participate in elections. Another finding in the study showed that 53% of Indian respondents said the country lacked adequate laws to prevent violence against women, and 81% said that the real problem was poor implementation of existing laws. Details: New Delhi: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women; Centre for Social Research; 2014. 105p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 25, 2014 at: http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/assets/VAWIP-Report.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Asia URL: http://www.unwomensouthasia.org/assets/VAWIP-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 132771 Keywords: PoliticsSexual ViolenceVerbal AbuseViolence Against Women |
Author: Brodeur, Abel Title: Terrorism and Employment: Evidence from Successful and Failed Terror Attacks Summary: This paper examines the economic consequences of terror attacks and the channels through which terrorism affects local economies. I rely on an exhaustive list of terror attacks over the period 1970-2013 in the U.S. and exploit the inherent randomness in the success or failure of terror attacks to identify the economic impacts of terrorism. The findings suggest that successful attacks, in comparison to failed attacks, reduce the number of jobs in targeted counties by approximately 5% in the year the attack takes place. The effects fade away after 2 years and I find no evidence that neighboring counties suffer from the successful attack. Analyzing the channels, I find suggestive evidence that the decrease in the physical capital stock of a county partially explains the temporary reduction in jobs. I also focus on economic attitudes and political preferences since these preferences have been shown to be related to economic outcomes. The results suggest that successful attacks decrease temporarily vote share for Democrat candidates in gubernatorial elections and bring a leftward shift in attitudes in targeted counties. Details: Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), 2015. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: IZA Discussion Paper No. 9526: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp9526.pdf Year: 2015 Country: United States URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp9526.pdf Shelf Number: 137359 Keywords: Economics of Crime Jobs PoliticsTerrorism Terrorists Voting |
Author: Larson, Anna Title: Women and power: mobilising around Afghanistan's Elimination of Violence Against Women Law Summary: This case study examines changes to women's voice, leadership and access to decision-making in Afghanistan over the last decade. It engages with two central questions: (i) what are the enabling factors for women's voice, leadership and decision-making in Afghan political processes? And (ii) what do we know about whether and how women's voice, leadership and presence in decision-making roles within these processes actually result in greater gender equality for Afghan women? In particular, this report focuses on one example of an attempt to achieve political change in recent years: the formation and promotion of the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW), which was brought to parliament in 2013. In unpacking the political processes and relationships that have determined the course of EVAW, this study makes several observations regarding women's greater influence over political processes in Afghan politics. The study concludes with a number of recommendations for how the international development community may better assist parliamentary activities in Afghanistan and help strengthen the role of women in Afghan politics, in a less prescriptive manner than it may have been in the past. Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2016. 39p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 19, 2016 at: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/10277.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Afghanistan URL: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/10277.pdf Shelf Number: 137895 Keywords: Gender PoliticsViolence Against Women |
Author: Daniele, Gianmarco Title: Strike One to Educate One Hundred: Organized Crime, Political Selection and Politicians' Ability Summary: A central question in terms of political (self-)selection relates to the incentives leading high ability individuals to enter - or abstain from entering - into politics. In this article, we use data from Italian municipalities over the period 1985-2012 to empirically assess how changes in individuals' expected payoffs affect political (self-)selection. Identification derives from murders of local politicians by the mafia, and indicates that such a negative shock to politicians' expected payoffs induces a strong decrease in first-time elected politicians' human capital. The effect is not limited to the municipality where a political murder takes place, but also extends to nearby municipalities. Details: Barcelona: Institut d'Economia de Barcelona Facultat d'Economia i Empresa Universitat de Barcelona, 2015. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: IEB Working Paper N. 2015/37 : Accessed July 25, 2016 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2706594 Year: 2015 Country: Spain URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2706594 Shelf Number: 139823 Keywords: HomicidesMafiaOrganized CrimesPolitical AssassinationsPolitics |
Author: New York (City). Department of Investigation Title: An Investigation of NYPD's Compliance with Rules Governing Investigations of Political Activity Summary: The Department of Investigation's ("DOI") Office of the Inspector General for the New York City Police Department ("OIG-NYPD") has issued a Report detailing the findings of its review of the New York City Police Department's ("NYPD") compliance with the court-mandated rules governing the investigation of political activity. These rules, also known as the Handschu Guidelines, are codified in the NYPD Patrol Guide. In the course of this investigation, OIG-NYPD examined highly confidential intelligence files never before subject to review or available to non-police entities. OIG-NYPD's investigators examined, among other things, whether NYPD's Intelligence Bureau satisfied the established standard for opening investigations, met deadlines for extending investigations, and obtained necessary approvals for the use of human sources, which include confidential informants and undercover officers. The investigation found that the NYPD Intelligence Bureau failed to renew investigations before the authorization expired more than half of the time, resulting in investigations of political activity that continued without the requisite authorization. More than 25% of the extensions reviewed exceeded the required deadline by more than 31 days. Further, requests to use human sources were frequently approved despite failing to document the particularized role of confidential informants and undercover officers, as required. However, OIG-NYPD found that in all cases NYPD met the informational threshold required to open an investigation. Details: New York: New York City Department of Investigation, 2016. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 26, 2016 at: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/oignypd/downloads/pdf/oig_intel_report_823_final_for_release.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/oignypd/downloads/pdf/oig_intel_report_823_final_for_release.pdf Shelf Number: 140052 Keywords: Police IntelligencePolice InvestigationsPolitics |
Author: Bobea, Lilian Title: Democratizing Violence: The Case of the Dominican Republic Summary: The state of democracy in the Dominican Republic cannot be analyzed exclusively according to how closely its institutional functions and procedures conform to classic ideals of representative democracy. Instead, the Dominican Republic can perhaps best be described as a "contested democracy" in acknowledgement of certain of its characteristics: informal forms of citizenship, conflicting governability, and precarious institutionalization. The quality of its democracy must be viewed in the context of its ability to offer basic civil guarantees, such as access to security and social justice. This paper focuses primarily on these factors, which determine actual governability in the Dominican Republic. An understanding of the challenges facing Dominican democracy requires an examination at the structural and policy levels. The issues to be considered include mechanisms for the resolution of conflicting interests among actors with asymmetrical access to power, as well as the resilience of nondemocratic institutional cultures within the police, political parties and other key institutions. Such conditions typically inhibit democracy but could be redirected to reach the "positive equilibrium" that John Bailey discusses elsewhere. Security and judicial policies tend to be directed from the top down, but an official attitude that recognizes and nurtures local initiatives and reforms that involve a variety of strategic stakeholders could be more effective. Similarly, the Dominican state must take greater efforts to identify positive role models at the local and national levels, starting by establishing a more responsible law enforcement system that guarantees fair sanctions against predators and compensation to the victims of criminal acts. These steps could have a dramatic impact on curbing violence, crime and injustice. The greatest challenge for the Dominican state, however, is to disrupt the growing nexus between criminal elements and political, economic and governmental actors. Details: Miami: Florida International University, Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center, 2011. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Western Hemisphere Security Analysis Center. Paper 34. Accessed October 6, 2016 at: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=whemsac Year: 2011 Country: Dominican Republic URL: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=whemsac Shelf Number: 140537 Keywords: CrimePoliticsViolence |
Author: Briscoe, Ivan Title: Protecting Politics: Deterring the Influence of Organized Crime on Elections Summary: Elections are essential elements of democratic systems. Unfortunately, abuse and manipulation (including voter intimidation, vote buying or ballot stuffing) can distort these processes. However, little attention has been paid to an intrinsic part of this threat: the conditions and opportunities for criminal interference in the electoral process. Most worrying, few scholars have examined the underlying conditions that make elections vulnerable to organized criminal involvement. This report addresses these gaps in knowledge by analysing the vulnerabilities of electoral processes to illicit interference (above all by organized crime). It suggests how national and international authorities might better protect these crucial and coveted elements of the democratic process. Case studies from Georgia, Mali and Mexico illustrate these challenges and provide insights into potential ways to prevent and mitigate the effects of organized crime on elections. Details: Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance; The Hague: Clingendael, 2016. 76p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2016 at: http://www.idea.int/publications/protecting-politics-organized-crime-elections/index.cfm?css=new2013 Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://www.idea.int/publications/protecting-politics-organized-crime-elections/index.cfm?css=new2013 Shelf Number: 144810 Keywords: ElectionsOrganized CrimePolitical CorruptionPolitics |
Author: Wazir, Burhan Title: Fear and the Ballot Box: How Political and Media Responses to Terrorism Influence Elections Summary: Cities like New York, Madrid, London, Paris, and Mumbai have long been home to protests, riots, and wars. As recent terrorist attacks have shown, cities can also turn into theaters of violence and high-profile targets of terrorist actions. These events exert pressure on both the media - who must quickly report on the incidents while providing accuracy, context, and analysis - and politicians, who are bound to enact new laws and security measures. And now, as social media has become pervasive, citizens across the world are active participants in the media when these acts occur, not just a passively consuming audience. The purpose of this paper is to examine how actions taken by politicians and members of the media have shaped recent elections in the wake of acts of terrorism and how the growth of social media platforms and web-based news has become part of the picture. One disturbing aspect of the current fight against terrorism is the disintegration of previously defined margins separating times of war from times of peace and civilians from combatants. While civilians have previously been frequently killed in wars - the bombing of Dresden in 1945 is just one example - they are usually nominally protected. Terrorism, on the other hand, deliberately exhibits no prohibition against the intentional targeting of civilians. The evolving, real-time nature of a terrorist attack also has an undeniable effect on the media, which finds itself acting as both filter and participant in the face of such violence, especially in an era when social media platforms have become a dominant new source of information for audience and journalist alike - and indeed sometimes even the attackers themselves. In the following report, I will examine four key elections - those which took place in Israel in 1996, the United States and Spain in 2004, and India in 2009 -to explore the relationship between terrorism and how it is portrayed in the media. Three of these elections took place in the wake of unique terror incidents: the 2008 siege of Mumbai, carried out by terrorists from Lashkar-e-Taiba; the 2004 Madrid bombings, which bore the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda; and the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, which was conducted by an Israeli extremist disillusioned with the recently signed Oslo Accords. The fourth case, the 2004 election in the United States, was fought around the theme of security - the first American presidential election held since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, in the midst of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The release of a videotaped statement directed at the American public by Al-Qaeda's Osama bin Laden - known as an "October surprise" in US political shorthand - left an indelible impression on the election. Details: New York: Tow Center for Digital Journalism, Columbia Journalism School, 2016. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 12, 2017 at: http://cjrarchive.org/img/posts/Political%20and%20Media%20Responses%20to%20Terrorism%20%28Wazir%29.pdf Year: 2016 Country: International URL: http://cjrarchive.org/img/posts/Political%20and%20Media%20Responses%20to%20Terrorism%20%28Wazir%29.pdf Shelf Number: 145456 Keywords: JournalismMediaPoliticsSocial MediaTerrorismVoting |
Author: White, Ariel R. Title: Voter Behavior in the Wake of Punitive Policies Summary: Millions of people in the US have direct experience with the machinery of immigration enforcement or criminal courts, and millions more have seen family members, friends, or neighbors face these experiences. What do these experiences mean for political behavior in the United States? Do these proximate observers decide that government is a dangerous and capricious force to be avoided, and withdraw from political participation entirely? Or is there sometimes a mobilization response, where some people organize to push back against what they see as unjust government actions? This is an important policy feedback story. Large-scale punitive policies could either "lock themselves in" via community disengagement, or hasten their own demise by fueling political responses. The three papers of this dissertation examine policies at varying distances (people living in an area where the policy is introduced, those directly affected, and those living with people directly affected), and with different time-frames and geographic coverage. The results of these papers, and the approach of using administrative datasets and finding causal leverage from "natural experiments," point us toward a new understanding of policy feedbacks. In the first paper, I find that Latino voters living in counties where a new deportation program was introduced before the 2010 election became more likely to vote. This effect seems driven not by personal experience seeing deportation activities, but by activists mobilizing voters in affected counties. In the second paper, I use random courtroom assignment to measure the causal effect of short jail sentences (from misdemeanor cases) on voting. I find that even short jail sentences can deter people from voting in the next election, with particularly large effects among black voters. In the third paper, I find that the household members of incarcerated people also become several percentage points less likely to vote. This finding is particularly striking given the narrow scope of the effect measured: this is only the additional effect of seeing a household member jailed for a short period, among a set of people that have already seen their household member arrested and charged with a crime. Details: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 2016. 127p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed September 19, 2017 at: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33493481/WHITE-DISSERTATION-2016.pdf?sequence=1 Year: 2016 Country: United States URL: https://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/33493481/WHITE-DISSERTATION-2016.pdf?sequence=1 Shelf Number: 147411 Keywords: Collateral ConsequencesDeportation PolicyFelony DisenfranchisementImmigrantsImmigration EnforcementPoliticsVoting Rights |