Abstract: This article explores the nature of devolution unfolding in England following on from the September 2014 Scottish Referendum. It argues that the process of devolution can best be understood as one of elite co-option. Limited attention is being paid to the interest of citizens and the nature of the process to date reveals little evidence to suggest that the existing structures of power in the British political system are being challenged. These dynamics are explained through the conceptual lens offered by the British political tradition (BPT), which stresses the importance the Westminster class places on maintaining central power and control in the context of current devolutionary pressures. This is revealed by the absence from the devolutionary agenda of any meaningful, subsidiarity-informed democratic settlement. The article concludes by suggesting that what is unfolding is a process of economic and administrative rather than democratically informed devolution which will do little to arrest the rise of ‘...

Abstract: In this research note we test the argument that centralised and exclusive nomination methods result in more diverse lists of candidates than do those organised with a more inclusive, decentralised selectorate. We do so using a database of candidate information compiled for the 2010 and 2013 Australian federal elections and an analysis of the House of Representatives selection rules for every state and territory branch of the Labor and Liberal parties. The Australian parties provide an excellent opportunity to examine this proposition as there is significant diversity in the types of selection methods used, both within and between the major parties. Our findings reveal significant differences between the two parties, even when similar methods of selection are used. We show that methods of preselection where authority is shared between local members and the central party are more likely to select female candidates, but only when this is supported by a willing party culture.

Abstract: It is quite clear that the devolutionary settlement negotiated between the UK chancellor George Osborne and the leaders of the Greater Manchester Combined Authorities (GMCA) required local political actors to agree to oversight of the new arrangements by an elected metro mayor. In the intervening months since that announcement, governance arrangements for a Greater Manchester (GM) ‘metro mayor’ have proved to be both unique and fluid, drawing on earlier arrangements for electing mayors in Greater London, other city mayors, the Police and Crime Commissioner arrangements and the existing arrangements in the ten local authorities making up the GMCA. This article maps the development of the GM metro mayor and argues the unique governance arrangements set a path for other areas who want to extend a devolutionary agenda and negotiate enhanced devolutionary powers. However the governance arrangements developing for the GM metro mayor pose questions about the checks and balances built into these new executive arr...

Abstract: Economic and political developments in Greece have been at the forefront of the international mass media coverage of the European financial and economic crises. Contrary to fashionable interpretations of the malaise, our findings suggest that the main causes of the many ‘crises’ hitting the country are social and political, rather than economic or financial. Employing the ‘institutional theory of generalised trust', we examine the roots of the current crises in political corruption, confidence in institutions and interpersonal trust. Data show that, for nearly two decades, Greece has consistently ranked last in Europe on almost all indicators for trust, confidence and corruption. The analysis pinpoints civic pathogenies that require immediate action. We suggest a number of policy measures that provide a starting point for further developing more concrete public policy solutions on how citizens’ trust and Greek civil society can be strengthened in order to obtain lasting societal, political and economic improvements.

Abstract: An election inversion occurs when a party, or coalition of parties, wins more seats in the legislature than another party, or coalition of parties, despite the fact that the other party, or coalition of parties, won a larger number of votes cast in an election. It is well known that such inversions can and do occur under the kind of ‘majoritarian’ electoral systems commonly used in English-speaking countries. It has recently been observed that such inversions not only can and do occur also under party-list proportional representation (PR) systems, but also that they are unavoidable due to the ‘whole number problem’. This finding raises the question of whether and how the problem of election inversions under PR systems might be solved or mitigated. We consider a number of options and point out their relative advantages and disadvantages.

Abstract: The inclusion of health and social care as part of Greater Manchester devolution took many by surprise. Health and social care practitioners and managers have been working together in differing ways across the conurbation for many years. The formalisation of this working in a set of new organisational structures brings both opportunities and challenges. The Health and Social Care Act 2012 created new organisations within the English National Health Service (NHS) and added greatly to the complexity of the health and care system. Since the 1990s, this system has been characterised by the split between purchasers and providers of care. The devolution proposals add an extra layer of organisational complexity and they rely heavily on collaboration and co-operation rather than competition. We explore areas of potential tension and difficulty focussing on: public participation in health and care devolution; the imperative to simultaneously compete and collaborate; and blurred lines of responsibility and accounta...

Abstract: Thailand's politics in the early twenty-first century has seen considerable contestation. Underlying the street protests, military interventions and considerable bloodshed has been a struggle over the nature of electoral politics, popular sovereignty and representation. The military and monarchy have maintained a royalist alliance that opposes elections, popular sovereignty and civilian politicians, proposing Thai-style democracy as an alternative. Those who promote elections and popular sovereignty argue that these are a basis for democratisation.

Abstract: Electoral systems are critical to the political representation of public opinion. Most existing work has examined the differences between proportional and majoritarian systems. The debate has centered on whether proportional representation produces greater ideological congruence between the positions of the government and the public. The focus has been on the immediate aftermath of elections, however—the existing literature on electoral systems has largely ignored the fact that representation occurs (or not) in the years between elections as well. Here, we argue for a shift in focus to the impact of electoral systems on representation throughout the electoral cycle, that is, during the tenure of governments. This shift, capturing the period during governments actually govern, leads to quite different expectations.

Abstract: In this short paper we place Greater Manchester (GM) in two ways. First, we place historically the current construction of ‘Greater Manchester’ which has formed the territorial basis of the recently created Combined Authority. This reveals the work that has gone on by actors of varying geographical reach to build, maintain and nourish a particular set of governing arrangements, particular in the institutional vacuum created by the mid-1980s abolishing of the Greater Manchester Council. Second, we consider the geography of the GM metropolitan city-region and the competing spatial imaginaries that underlie it. That is, the ways in which spatial scales are imagined by different actors and over which there may be conflict and contestation. With the Greater Manchester Combined Authority increasingly presented as a model for others, including neighbouring Leeds and Liverpool, the argument is that the experience of GM reveals the broader set of forces that are shaping and structuring new state formations elsewhe...

Abstract: This article mainly fills a gap in the English-speaking literature on the recall in Switzerland in order to allow for future comparative work. After a historical introduction, the reasons for the introduction, institutional rules as well as practice of the recall are assembled in an inductive but systematic way. Currently the recall in Switzerland only exists in a minority of 6 of 26 cantons but not on the national level. The procedure is usually directed at parliament, the government or both. So far there was only one successful recall vote in the Canton of Aargau in the year 1862. This particular case is therefore described in more detail. Furthermore, a comprehensive overview of all recall attempts and votes is drawn up. As a conclusion stemming from the Swiss case, we can come up with three main functions the recall fulfils in a political system: (a) catharsis in case of scandals or mismanagement, (b) political weapon to gain public attention or to maximise votes in the next election, (c) indirect mea...

Abstract: The 2012–14 reform of the Belgian state has deeeply transformed its Senate. Not only does the reform reduce the legislative powers of the Belgian upper chamber, but it also alters its composition. The former appointment of Senators based on a system of direct and community-based election is replaced by a system of indirect and mixed regional and community-based designation. This article presents this important reform. On the basis of a comprehensive dataset of federal and regional political careers, it also comparatively analyses the profile of the Senators, before and after the reform. Overall, although rules regarding seats allocation have been thoroughly remodelled, we conclude that the reform had neither dramatically affected the subtle balances upon which the Belgian federal state relies nor altered the patterns of Senators’ profiles.

Abstract: Voting Advice Applications (VAAs) are online tools designed to help citizens decide how to vote. They typically offer their users a representation of what is at stake in an election by matching user preferences on issues with those of parties or candidates. While the use of VAAs has boomed in recent years in both established and new democracies, this new phenomenon in the electoral landscape has received little attention from political theorists. The current academic debate is focused on epistemic aspects of the question how a VAA can adequately represent electoral politics. We argue that conceptual and normative presuppositions at play in the background of the tool are at least as important. Even a well-developed VAA does not simply reflect what is at stake in the election by neutrally passing along information. Rather, it structures political information in a way that is informed by the developers’ presuppositions. Yet, these presuppositions remain hidden if we interpret the tool as a mirror that offers...

Abstract: This article maps the history of health organisation across Greater Manchester (GM), primarily since the Second World War, to show how against a continuing backdrop of health inequalities, services have been driven (and constrained) by the needs and the politics of each period. Defining ‘success’ as benefits for patients the article identifies examples such as Salford’s mental health services (1950s and 1960s), public health in North Manchester (1970s and 1980s), the creation of centres for diabetes, sickle-cell and thalassaemia (1980s) and the formation of the Joint Health Unit in 2002. What this history shows is that over the period the common factors influencing the ‘success’ of health organisation across GM have been the championing of particular issues by multi-disciplinary groups working across health and social care and stability in structures and personnel.

Abstract: This article represents an attempt to investigate the Greek elections of January 2015 within the political context of Greece. The outcome of this election illustrated the main features of the exact previous election of 2012 including the fragmentation of the party system and the rise of anti-bailout forces. In this context for the first time since 1974 and for the first time since the entry of Greece in the rescue bailout mechanism of the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in 2010, an anti-bailout party, the radical left SYRIZA, won the elections forming a coalition government with the right-wing ANEL on an anti-bailout platform.

Abstract: Deliberative democratic theorists addressed the practical issue of combining representation and deliberation, leading to a number of institutional inventions and theoretical debates. James Fishkin, for example, invented and advocated deliberative polling (DP) technique to reconcile deliberation and representation. Adolf Gundersen, John Parkinson, and Crisitna Lafont, however, have criticised DP in the light of the democratic ideas of representation and legitimacy. This paper aims at joining in this debate on DP by examining how Chinese local practitioners have employed and modified DP techniques to address the practical questions on representation and deliberation in their decision-making process, and how they make contribution to the debates in the politics of public deliberation. China's local experiments reveal and confirm the law of political empowerment, that is, citizens are empowered to make their own decision on the condition that their deliberation must be based on elected representation.

Abstract: Embracing the future is second nature in the North West and Greater Manchester in particular is no stranger to innovation and change—as long ago as the 1600s residents were adopting vegetarianism a...

Abstract: Local Government in England has long bridled at the restraints on its activities imposed by an over centralised state. Yet now, with the Government proposing to devolve powers and responsibilities to newly established city region governance arrangements, is it a case of be careful what you wish for? In this paper we argue that the devolution from central government to local city regions marks the end of the old ‘politics as usual’ approach that has underpinned the resilience and effectiveness of the local government institution but failed to engage and energise local politics. In this context we pay particular attention to the Manchester model as the ‘poster city’ for devolution yet we question if even this model is sufficient to re-cast local relationships between market and state and state and citizen to enable devolution to bring real economic and social benefits to all in the city region. We conclude by suggesting there are empirical and theoretical grounds for alternative governance approaches more s...

Abstract: The 17th presidential race in South Korea (2012) resulted in the election of Conservative Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye—the daughter of the country's longest ruling dictator Park Chung-hee—defeating her progressive rival Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party. This article analyses the results of the presidential election and its aftermath and thereby identifies problems and challenges for Korea's democratic consolidation. By focusing on three sets of issues in the consolidation of democracy—(1) democratic accountability, (2) policy responsiveness and (3) political legitimacy—I discuss the ways in which the political institutions do or do not live up to public expectations.

Abstract: This article reviews the radical changes in voter turnout and political support levels evident at the May 2014 Local and European electoral contests in the Republic of Ireland. This analysis considers the degree to which such trends might be reflective of the classic second-order election model. But it also considers whether something deeper may be at play here, shaped by the dramatic political changes in Ireland that have accompanied the period of financial austerity following the onset of the European debt crisis in the 2007–08 period. These contests could prove to be more austerity elections rather than classic second-order contests. Support for the more mainstream political parties (Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour) has collapsed over the past few years. This suggests that the May 2014 election results could reflect a more radical transformation of the Irish political system, rather the temporary, mid-term, decline in government popularity that characterises the second-order election model.

Abstract: Skills policy has consistently played a central part in Greater Manchester’s (GM) vision for devolution. From New Labour in the late 1990s to the Conservatives following their General Election victory in May 2015, GM’s leaders have lobbied Westminster for devolved powers over a wide range of areas. Skills policy and funding has been at the heart of this vision for the city and its wider region. This paper explores the rationale for doing so as well as providing an account of how decisions have been made at both the local and national level. Key players and policy moments are described as this is an account of ‘policy actors’ and ‘policy windows’. From Sir Howard Bernstein and Sir Richard Leese to Tony Blair and George Osborne, this has been a story of preparation and persistence but also of the identification and seizing of key moments and opportunities. The paper also considers the present and the approaching future, the precise powers that are now being established and the new models of democratic accou...

Abstract: The aim of this article is to analyse democracy, legitimacy and interest representation within the European Union. Taking the recent rise of populist parties within the European Parliament and declining levels of public support for the European Union as a starting point, the article probes the relationship between levels of support for the European Union and the interests the European integration process represents. In doing so, it applies a political sociology approach to the EU's governance matrix to two periods: the revival of European integration from the mid-1980s up until the outbreak of the Eurozone crisis, and from 2008 onwards. It argues that the European Union has constitutionalised a system of economic governance that prioritises the objectives of liberalisation and deregulation and their actors. This sidelines more socially oriented actors and has resulted in the erosion of employment and social policy across the member states. As a result, European citizens do not believe that the European Un...

Abstract: The right home environment is essential to health and well-being, throughout life. To secure the greatest and fastest possible improvement to the health of Greater Manchester (GM) citizens, homes need to be warm and safe, affordable and accessible, secure and supportive. Devolution provides an opportunity to improve housing, and the Prevention and Early Intervention Memorandum signed in July 2015 recognises housing as an ‘enabling’ priority. For the first time (under devolution) different parts of the public sector are coming together across the conurbation to identify new, different and integrated ways of working that will bring financial and health benefits. It is proposed that a programme will be developed and directed by a multi-disciplinary task and finish group, representing the housing, health and social care sectors. This paper sets out some of the challenges, solutions and what this programme is hoping to achieve in relation to housing under the new devolution deal for GM.

Abstract: Many young democracies make strenuous efforts, embodied in successive changes of their electoral laws, aimed at achieving a representative electoral system that does not hinder governability. Poland represents an illustrative example of such changes, with the implementation of a total of four electoral laws since 1991 to the present day. This paper serves to (a) explore the electoral changes implemented in Poland during recent years to detect the distortions produced, and to (b) present a proposal of amendment of the Polish electoral system based on biproportionality that corrects the previously identified deficiencies in representation. The results reveal that the proposed modification does not only maintain the positive levels of governability already achieved in Poland, but it also yields a more proportional system that is more equitable to small and medium parties.

Abstract: This comment shows that the positive vote transfer (PVT) system—deemed a preferable alternative to the mixed-member proportional electoral system—suffers from a fundamental flaw. The problem with this system combining elections within single-seat districts and the allocation of compensation seats is that parties may find it rational to try to lose district races in order to gain greater parliamentary representation. The PVT system may suffer from strategic manipulation and in the process can cause a vote cast for a party to be detrimental to its success. The general lesson is that in multitier electoral systems the relative value of votes in different tiers may induce strategic behaviour notwithstanding the number of votes at the voter's disposal.

Abstract: This article speculates on democratic values of the Internet in South Korea in the context of inter-Korean relations. For a theoretical clarification, external and internal democratic values are conceptualised. The former represents democratic values that are seen by members of global communities, whereas the latter are the democratic values perceived by national citizens. The present article contends that the external democratic value of the Internet concerns soft power in that information and communications technology-driven politics and high connectivity of social network service appear to attract members of global communities with the country's positive image. The internal value of the Internet in South Korea is considered to be social capital as it bridges diverse social groups of the country and fosters altruistic public attitudes to embrace the citizens of North Korea.

Abstract: Transport policy sits high on the devolution agenda in Greater Manchester. Of the many big ticket items in successive devolution agreements, transport stands out both in terms of the powers devolved and the funding attached. Through the newly constituted Transport for the North body it sits at the heart of the broader ‘Northern Powerhouse’ agenda. The pre-eminence of transport in the devolution agenda is justified. A more comprehensive and evolving transport network can enhance life in city-regions; it has the potential to underpin environmental sustainability, public health, social inclusion and economic growth. But the argument for transport devolution is not premised simply on transport’s importance. There is a strong and coherent argument for devolution of transport powers in order to plan, invest and manage an integrated and coherent transport network. Crucially this is something which cannot be left either to an unregulated market, or a centralised state, and which local government is ideally positi...

Abstract: Parties instrumentally shape or realign electoral support in competitive elections to underpin a vigorous party system. Assessing whether parties are strategic versus ignorant, then, is essential to the viability of the parties and particularly relevant in emergent democracies to eliminate unfounded biases against ignorant parties. The dramatic, lopsided results of Taiwan's 2008 legislative elections following electoral reform are particular useful in this regard: they suggest that the Kuomintang's Pan Blue coalition was strategic while the Democratic Progressive Party's Pan Green coalition failed to be strategic. We contradict this, using simulated electoral results and a strategic interaction model. This paper makes three contributions: first, it adds to a limited literature that considers parties influence, particularly parties’ strategic actions. Party-centric explanations are rare so that when results are highly disproportionate, the question of whether party choices are strategic versus ignorant add...

Abstract: Traditional representative models of democracy are ill-suited to the new decision-making systems which are spreading in English local government—particularly the emerging ‘devolution deals’ between local authorities and the UK Government (Whitehall). Rather than assuming that the public are not interested in an agenda that can be seen as dry and esoteric, or that complex issues around devolution and policy development can be resolved through a yes/no vote in a local referendum, local policy-makers need to think more creatively about how they use overview and scrutiny, and deliberative methods, to give voice to the aspirations of local people.

Abstract: We are delighted to introduce this edition of Representation to mark the 50th anniversary of this journal. The first edition, published in 1960, was started as an in-house journal for the Electoral Reform Society. It served to give members news of recent elections and by-elections, informed members of upcoming annual general meetings, reported back on educational projects and advocated for the imposition of proportional representation providing advice on how to press members of the Labour Party to discuss this issue. The publication was four pages long and read only by a few people, all members of the Electoral Reform Society. The journal has come a very long way in the last 50 years. As a publication of the McDougall Trust, it is now recognised as one of the premier journals of empirical democratic theory. It is a peer-reviewed journal where all manuscripts received are sent for double-blind review by independent anonymous referees. It boasts an Editorial Board of 22 political scientists and political philosophers from around the world who are indisputably leaders in their fields. The journal has two editors, an associate editor and an editorial assistant. Routledge now publishes four issues per year with each issue typically offering five or six academic papers, an election report and a critical review of a recent book on democracy or representation widely construed. Every year since 2008, Representation has offered a mini-symposium or devoted an entire edition to a relevant and important topic concerned with democratic representation often guest edited by an expert in this field. Representation’s readership is now global with members of the following influential groups—the American Political Science Association (APSA), International Political Science Association (IPSA) Elections, Public Opinion and Parties Association (EPOP), Political Science Association (PSA) and Political Science Association Ireland (PSAI)—receiving individual print subscriptions at a special rate. The Journal has also been adopted by the ‘Representation and Electoral Systems’, specialist section of the APSA where members of the section can access the journal online as part of their subscription. As a result, we now receive submissions from across the globe on all areas of democracy and representation and this covers both empirical and theoretical concerns. Since 2008 Representation has aimed at and succeeded in achieving the following aims. It has and continues to publish cutting-edge articles about the study of elections and voting systems throughout the world. It encourages debate about democratic practices around the world and seeks to explore the interface between democratic practice and theory. It has produced a number of important symposia whose titles give an indication of the rich range of topics and international concerns. Since 2008 the following symposia have been published: