Abstract: Negative ads have become increasingly common in presidential campaigns. Figure 1 well illustrates this point (see also West 2009). The upcoming 2012 elections will almost surely augment this upward trend of more and more negativity. In fact, with the emergence of Super Pacs, the share of attack ads in 2012 will likely be significantly higher than in 2008, which in and of itself was the high-water mark for attack ads in the modern era. The harsh tone of the battle for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination certainly points toward an exceptionally nasty fall campaign.

Abstract: Research suggests that the integrative complexity of political rhetoric tends to drop during election season, but little research to date directly addresses if this drop in complexity serves to increase or decrease electoral success. The two present studies help fill this gap. Study 1 demonstrates that, during the Democratic Party primary debates in 2003–2004, the eventual winners of the party nomination showed a steeper drop in integrative complexity as the election season progressed than nonwinning candidates. Study 2 presents laboratory evidence from the most recent presidential campaign demonstrating that, while the complexity of Obama's rhetoric had little impact on college students' subsequent intentions to vote for him, the complexity of McCain's rhetoric was significantly positively correlated with their likelihood of voting for him. Taken together, this research is inconsistent with an unqualified simple is effective view of the complexity-success relationship. Rather, it is more consistent with a compensatory view: Effective use of complexity (or simplicity) may compensate for perceived weaknesses. Thus, appropriately timed shifts in complexity levels, and/or violations of negative expectations relevant to complexity, may be an effective means of winning elections. Surprisingly, mere simplicity as such seems largely ineffective.

Abstract: The article explores the factors influencing the nomination and selection of heritage sites in the World Heritage List. Using country panel data and a unique dataset with individual site nominations, we provide evidence that the nomination of heritage sites to the List depends on the institutional and economic conditions of countries, and site selection is subject to rent-seeking by states and experts involved in the decision-making process. In particular, we test whether political factors, such as the involvement of countries in the World Heritage Committee, influence the inscription of national heritage sites in the List. The article contributes to the cultural economics literature by providing new insights into the political economy of conservation and promotion of heritage at the international level.

Abstract: Competition for the executive leadership of a political party and the distribution of state patronage in Ghana is influenced by factional alignments and group interests. In December 2008 the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regained political power, and within months rifts appeared over the allocation of ministerial portfolios. The intra-party murmurings became public when two factions supported rival candidacies for the party's presidential nomination. The pro-Rawlings faction supported the candidacy of Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, and the anti-Rawlings bloc backed President John Evans Atta Mills. Drawing on Boucek's (2009) typology of factionalism, this article argues that factionalism within the NDC is a dynamic and complex process of informal groupings competing and jockeying for power to satisfy members' interests. It draws three conclusions: party factions are ad hoc groupings that are nurtured into a power bloc, and are constellated around particular individuals; factional conflicts are not rooted in ideology, but are based on differences in policy goals, interests and patronage; and, finally, factionalism fluctuates between cooperative and competitive phases.

Abstract: The nature and the practice of local political leadership are undergoing rapid change. In the UK, policy initiatives have included the adoption of executive leadership systems in the form of the directly elected mayor or the increasing selection of council leaders for four-year terms rather than through annual nomination. The drive toward elected mayors and other reforms of local management continues under the current coalition government. This article draws from extensive research in the UK, other European countries and the USA, in order to propose and develop a matrix for the analysis of both local and national political leadership. Illustrations are offered of how the matrix might be used in such analysis, alongside a consideration of prospects for further research in this area.

Abstract: Elected officials have difficulty controlling politically insulated institutions, leaving the appointment process as perhaps their most effective means of influence. Yet, history shows that actors on these institutions—especially the Supreme Court—often behave unpredictably. Our goal is to determine whether variation in two components of cognitive style, prior to a justice’s nomination to the Court, predicts ideological drift once on the Court. Using linguistic software created by cognitive psychologists, we examined over 1000 speeches, articles, and separate opinions written by Supreme Court justices before they were nominated to the Court. Our results show that justices whose prenomination words revealed cognitive inconsistency drift more than those with stable world views.

Abstract: During a presidential election year, public attention naturally turns toward candidates and campaigns. Newscasters and media experts dissect polls and campaign strategy. The best prepared candidates, however, are thinking beyond voting day toward postelection planning. The immensity of transition planning requires that responsible presidential campaigns begin planning months and even more than a year in advance. Governor George W. Bush began planning for a transition to the presidency in April 1999, well before he had even secured a vote to become his party's nominee, much less president of the United States. Presidential candidates do the planning out of sight from the campaign and the press. If word leaks out about postelection planning, this can create uncertainty and division among the candidate's campaign staff and appear presumptuous to voters. Yet candidates who refuse to plan cannot make up for it in the short period between Election Day and inauguration. The task of transitioning to become president is enormous (Burke 2000, 2004; Patterson and Pfiffner 2001; Pfiffner 1996). On the personnel side, the president must fill 3,000 to 4,000 positions in the federal executive establishment (Lewis 2008; Patterson 2008; Patterson and Pfiffner 2001; Pfiffner 1996). One-quarter of these posts require Senate confirmation, which adds a layer of complexity to their selection. (1) Presidents do so under time constraints and tremendous scrutiny from supporters, Congress, and the press. The stakes in these decisions are high. Missteps in early appointments distract from the president's priorities and can leave the president significantly understaffed in key policy areas. For example, President Obama's nomination of former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to head the Department of Health and Human Services foundered on revelations about Daschle's tax problems, hindering the president's work on health care reform. The president was also slow to fill vacancies in the Treasury Department, where Secretary Timothy Geithner was the only confirmed nominee during the crucial early period after the nomination. (2) Missteps in these early appointments contribute to the Washington community's first impressions of the president. The willingness of Washington insiders to bend to the president's wishes depends upon insiders' assessment of whether going along with the president will cost them more than it gains them. A president who bungles appointments early in his presidency sends the signal that supporting the president is risky. Early missteps are also a distraction since media stories focus on these issues rather than the president's policy priorities. If presidents lose control of the news cycle, it is hard for the president to refocus the nation's attention on their policy agenda. Ultimately, given the substantial authority delegated to government executives in areas such as the environment, health, and foreign policy, these appointments can have a significant influence on policy outputs (Moe 1982, 1985; Randall 1979; Stewart and Cromartie 1982; Wood 1990; Wood and Anderson 1993; Wood and Waterman 1991, 1994). Picking the right persons for key appointed jobs can lead to huge policy changes that have dramatic consequences for voters and key stakeholders. It is hard to imagine any assessment of President Obama's first term divorced from the actions, advice, and infighting of his economic team (Suskind 2011). Similarly, President George W. Bush's ultimate legacy is determined in part by the actions of appointees such as Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Douglas Feith at the Department of Defense, and Michael Brown at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Cooper and Block 2007; Woodward 2002). Presidents tackle their personnel responsibilities differently. They prioritize different positions and display different levels of personal involvement. Yet, all presidents face broadly similar concerns and incentives, to manage the federal executive establishment and use the pool of available jobs to achieve policy and political goals. …

Abstract: Building on the foundational importance of its predecessor (Politics at the Periphery, 1993), Challengers to Duopoly offers an up-to-date overview of the important history of America s third parties and the challenge they represent to the hegemony of the major parties. J. David Gillespie introduces readers to minor partisan actors of three types: short-lived national parties, continuing doctrinal and issue parties, and the state and local significant others. Woven into these accounts are profiles of some of the individuals who have taken the initiative to found and lead these parties. Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, Jesse Ventura, and other recent and contemporary electoral insurgents are featured, along with the most significant current national and state parties challenging the primacy of the two major parties. Gillespie maintains that despite the infirmities they often bear, third parties do matter, and they have mattered throughout American public life. Many of our nation s most important policies and institutional innovations including abolition, women s suffrage, government transparency, child labor laws, and national healthcare were third-party ideas before either major party embraced them. Additionally, third parties were the first to break every single de facto gender, race, and sexual orientation bar on nomination for the highest offices in the land. As Gillespie illustrates in this engaging narrative, with the deck so stacked against them, it s impressive that third-party candidates ever win at all. That they sometimes do is a testament to the power of democratic ideals and the growing distain of the voting public with politics as usual."

Abstract: This article is an examination of the candidate preferences of 2008 superdelegates and of their role in determining the eventual Democratic nominee. Multivariate analysis suggests that female superdelegates were less likely to support Obama than were men; African-Americans, in contrast, were more likely to support his candidacy. A higher percentage of the popular vote received by Obama in the primary or caucus also influenced superdelegates to support him. The effect of contributions from Obama to superdelegates appeared to boost his support, but Clinton contributions had little impact. Also examined is the effect that superdelegates had on the nomination outcome. Analysis suggests that the impact of unpledged superdelegates on the 2008 Democratic nomination was significant. A substantial number of superdelegates continue to follow their own preferences, especially in states where Clinton was victorious, and this asymmetry made a difference in the nomination outcome. The race for the nomination could have...

Abstract: Synopsis Gender inequality is a pervasive global phenomenon, particularly in the political sphere. Previous scholarship sought explanations for the low female representation in countries' development levels, political regimes and/or electoral systems. Some scholars searched for answers within societies' religious and cultural value systems or political culture. These arguments, singularly or combined, can explain the pattern and predict broadly female representation across countries of different income levels and political systems. However, they overlook observed variations in middle income countries and cannot explain the presence of overachievers and underachievers. They also fail to explain variations within societies of the same religious family, or across political parties within the same country. Previous explanations do not fully account for observed variations in women's political participation, which begs for additional explanation, one that examines the primary institutional vehicles for individual advancement in the political world – political parties – and highlights the factors that determine parties’ support for women's leadership and nomination to public office. My work on women in politics departs from prior scholarship in that it explains variations in women's leadership and nomination to public office by looking at party-level variation in religiosity across countries and political parties. Parties are the main vehicles for recruiting, selecting, and promoting women. They are gatekeepers for nominating them to public office. However, different parties offer women different opportunities. For instance, most of the five Nordic countries have social democratic parties with high shares of female legislators, indicating the important role they play in advancing women and nominating them to public office. Thus, not only do parties offer a plausible explanation for variations in female representation, but also in providing an answer to why are some parties superior to others in advancing women's political career. Party variation in religiosity is the missing link in this body of research. I have argued elsewhere that as party religiosity increases, women's leadership falls within parties’ internal decision-making bodies. Party religiosity, as distinct from individual religiosity, is the extent to which religious goals penetrate political platforms. The qualitative and quantitative findings of in-depth research conducted in Lebanon, as a focused single country case-study, are robust and support the theory of party variation in religiosity and women's leadership. Further, in a separate and additional cross-national quantitative study using multiple cases, the theory is found to travel, hence allowing for generalizations and predictions. It is tested on 330 parties across 26 countries in the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe: 13 Arab countries, seven non-Arab Muslim-majority countries, and five European countries with Christian democratic parties plus Israel, the only Jewish state in the world. 1 This permitted studying the influence of three world religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) on women's political leadership. In this article, I take the extra mile and extend the theory of party variation in religiosity from women's leadership within parties’ inner structures to the logical ‘outcome’ of nominating women for public office. I move the research beyond the institutional party-level to the national and local levels of analyses and explore religiosity as the main explanatory variable for female party nominations to parliaments and municipalities. Other party-level characteristics of import to women's nominations include democratic practices and pluralism in membership. The main research question posed in this paper is whether municipalities – compared to parliaments – constitute a breakthrough for women in politics. Lebanon serves as a useful a case-study with its multiparty system. A single country case-study makes it possible to investigate variations in female nominations within a controlled socio-political environment, while holding constant the potential influence of the political regime and electoral system. Nonetheless, the findings of field research in Lebanon support the focus on party religiosity as an explanatory variable for female nominations. It also reveals quite different dynamics governing female nominations for municipal as opposed to parliamentary elections. These findings point to a potential breakthrough for women seeking a career in politics. This article is organized in three sections with an introduction, summary and concluding remarks. The introductory part covers the theoretical background motivating the main research question and lays out the variables and hypotheses to be tested. Section A examines patterns of female candidacy for parliaments. Section B focuses on women in municipalities in comparative perspective to parliaments. In Section C, I estimate a regression model for female nominations to parliaments and another one for municipalities. The findings support the theory of party variation in religiosity to explain variations in female nominations for municipalities. However, it is not borne out for parliaments. The concluding remarks highlight the main findings and provide supporting evidence that municipalities may very well constitute a breakthrough for women, if they choose a career in politics. Thus, responding positively to the main research question that this article poses: “Women in municipalities: Can women break through?”

Abstract: The conduct of a credible election has been hinged on many factors. One of them is a well-developed internal party democracy. This assertion underscores the quest for internal democracy among the various political parties in Nigeria. Before the enactment of the Electoral Act 2010, stakeholders had argued that Nigeria needs an Electoral law that will incorporate procedures / steps that will guarantee internal party democracy. This explained the robust acceptance of the Electoral Act 2010. This Act, contained specific provisions dealing with internal party democracy particularly, as it affect the nomination of candidates for elections. The Act further provides that where these procedures are not followed, an aggrieved candidate can apply to the High Court of a State or the Federal High Court for redress. Also, the Act provides that where cases of non-compliance and violations of its provisions particularly those sections dealing with internal party democracy has been established before a court, the court is empowered by the Act to make an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the name(s) of such candidate(s) for that election. This paper therefore seek to examine the recent amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 particularly the sections dealing with the nomination of candidate for election and posit that the amendment were an albatross to the quest for internal party democracy in Nigeria. Key word: Credible election, political party, internal party democracy, Nigerian electoral acts.

Abstract: The presidential nomination process continues to change, and so too does our understanding of which factors drive nomination outcomes. The most recent changes have come in the form of drastic adjustments to the schedule of state contests. Nomination campaigns have become increasingly front-loaded, compressed, and nationalized (Mayer and Busch 2004), making the preprimary campaign, or what is also termed the invisible primary or the exhibition season, a powerful force in the selection of party nominees for president. Indeed candidates for nomination often withdraw in this period, and party nominations are clinched within, what was until recently, mostly shorter and shorter time periods (Haynes et al. 2004; Norrander 2006). Recent scholarship now emphasizes that a candidate's level of funding and national political support at the beginning of the primary season largely determine who wins the nomination (Adkins and Dowdle 2001, 2005; Cohen et al. 2008; Mayer 1996, 2003; Steger et al. 2004; Steger 2007). As a result, long shots have less of a chance to compete with early front-runners (Steger 2000), leading some scholars to conclude that parties have essentially turned back previous electoral reforms (Aldrich 2009; Cohen et al. 2008). While the national invisible primary appears to hold greater importance, the role of the traditional early state bellwethers, Iowa and New Hampshire, is now in doubt. Recent analyses of what predicts nomination success have painted the contribution of New Hampshire as small and Iowa as nonexistent (Adkins and Dowdle 2001; Steger et al. 2004; Steger 2007), to the point some scholars liken these contests to "bumps in the road" (Adkins and Dowdle 2001, 2004). The minor role of these states thus pales in comparison to that of national party endorsements, campaign cash reserves, and national poll standings at the end of the invisible primary period. Although convincing, these findings present a puzzle: why then are candidates still devoting a substantial amount of attention and resources to these contests? (1) We propose that Iowa and New Hampshire continue to be powerful players within nomination contests, because the increasingly visible invisible primary grants these states a different means of influence. National levels of candidate viability and exposure are responsive to the dynamics of these state contests, since long-shot candidates and the media predominately focus on these two states throughout the invisible primary. As a result, the happenings of the Iowa and New Hampshire campaign have an important say within the national invisible primary before the votes in these states are actually tallied. Using data from the 2008 presidential nomination campaign, we evaluate these claims with daily measures of candidate prominence in national news coverage, national polls, and Iowa and New Hampshire polls during the last half of 2007. We accommodate for missing data, sampling error, and reciprocal influences by estimating a Bayesian state space vector autoregression model. We find that a candidate's early performance within Iowa and New Hampshire is equally if not more of a contributing factor to national polls and national media coverage as they are a reaction to them. The subsequent analysis of weekly campaign contribution totals also shows that polling performance within these early states has a strong influence on campaign contributions during the invisible primary that equals the contribution of national polling performance. Although these findings do not dispute the importance of candidates needing sufficient national support entering an election year to win a party's nomination, they provide evidence that states like Iowa and New Hampshire still have a profound but indirect influence on the process. To the extent a candidate can gain early support in these states, they will likely increase their national popular support and campaign contributions before any election is held. …

Abstract: Historically, the SEC has allowed public companies to exclude from their proxy materials shareholder proposals for the nomination of directors by shareholders. This rule has allowed the nomination of directors to remain under the control of the board of directors and its nominating committee. However, under amended Rule 14a-8(i)(8), shareholders will now be able to include proposals on proxy access in a public company’s proxy materials. Public companies can now expect to receive such proposals for inclusion in their proxy materials for the 2012 proxy season. When voting on proxy access proposals, shareholders need to understand that proxy access is a fundamentally flawed tool of accountability. That is, it is a very inefficient means to promote good corporate governance in a public company. As argued in this article, it is expected that proxy access will lead to increased error in the nomination of directors as decision-making is moved from the board of directors to shareholders who will make their nominations based on significantly less information and a shifting of the potential for certain opportunistic behavior, such as the extracting of private benefits from the corporation, from an independent board and nominating committee to certain shareholders who, unlike directors, are not subject to fiduciary duties. Such an argument also makes the case for the SEC not to waste its resources on revisiting the idea of mandatory proxy access.

Abstract: In fundraising, potential candidates who do not collect sizable amounts of “early money” may be effectively eliminated even before the start of the Iowa Caucus. This winnowing raises concern about the impact money has on narrowing the field of candidates from whom voters can choose. To better grasp patterns of successful fundraising, we explore where candidates obtain funds during the preprimary and primary periods. We use individual contributions data from the Federal Election Commission during the preprimary and primary periods of the 2008 Republican presidential nomination contest. Findings suggest that although California, New York, and Texas provide disproportionate amounts of early financing, the ability of presidential aspirants to broaden their support is indicative of campaign success.

Abstract: The paper is a critical review of the two aspects of inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List that have a direct influence on the development of sites and monuments: i.the requirements of the Convention in respect of protection and management before nomination, and ii.the consequences of inscription on monuments and sites.

Abstract: After almost seventy years of debate, on August 25, 2010, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a federal proxy access rule. The D.C. Circuit promptly invalidated the new rule before it ever went into effect. This Article examines the ill-fated rule and concludes that, although the D.C. Circuit did not identify its flaws, the rule was ambiguous in its application and unlikely to increase shareholder input into the composition of corporate boards. More troubling was the SEC's ambiguous justification for its rule, which was neither grounded in state law nor premised on a normative vision of the appropriate role of shareholder nominations in corporate governance.Although the federal proxy access rule in its current form is now dead, had it gone into effect, its practical significance would have been minimal. The SEC's ambiguous approach to proxy access, an approach that significantly predates its adoption of Rule 14a-11, is particularly problematic because its rules continue to burden issuer-specific innovations in nominating procedures. The SEC has acknowledged this criticism but has refused to remove existing regulatory burdens.The core of the problem, as illustrated by the SEC's experience with proxy access, is that federal regulation is poorly suited for regulating corporate governance. Private ordering offers a more flexible mechanism for maintaining equilibrium in the allocation of power between shareholders and managers. Absent federal regulatory interference, existing state law permits issuer-specific innovation regarding the shareholder role in nominating director candidates. This Article concludes by outlining the federal regulatory changes necessary to enable effective private ordering.INTRODUCTIONUnder U.S. corporate law, the shareholders elect the board of directors.1 In most cases, however, those shareholders do not nominate director candidates. Instead, the nominating committee of the board chooses a slate of candidates, and those candidates are submitted to the shareholders for approval.2 Absent the infrequent phenomenon of an election contest,3 shareholders do not participate in the nomination process.4The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has struggled for years to regulate the shareholders' role in nominating directors.5 As early as 1942, the SEC proposed a rule that would have required issuers to include shareholdernominated candidates in their proxy statements.6 Ultimately, the SEC abandoned the proposal. In the ensuing almost-seventy years, the SEC revisited the issue at least five times but failed to adopt a rule allowing proxy access.7Adoption of a shareholder nomination rule faced several obstacles. First, from the outset, the rule faced strong opposition from business interests. Indeed, measured by the number of comment letters, proxy access is, by far, the SEC's most controversial rule-making initiative.8 Second, as the SEC refined the federal proxy rules in response to ongoing marketplace developments, the details of a proxy access rule became both increasingly important and impossible to perfect. Fundamentally, the SEC was unable to drafta proxy access rule that would satisfy everyone. Third, the D.C. Circuit declared in its 1990 decision in Business Roundtable v. SEC that the SEC lacked the authority to regulate corporate governance through the proxy rules.9 A shareholder nomination rule was likely to raise a potential conflict with this holding and to trigger litigation seeking to invalidate the rule.10When Congress authorized the SEC to adopt a federal proxy access rule as part of the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reforms,11 it removed the last of these hurdles, clearing the way for the SEC both to adopt proxy access and, more importantly, to consider explicitly the corporate governance implications of increasing shareholder access to the proxy. Yet Rule 14a-11,12 the SEC's proxy access rule, adopted on August 25, 2010, when the ink on Dodd-Frank was barely dry,13 was limited in scope and ambiguous in both its application and its justification. …

Abstract: The nomination process for federal judges is broken. The problem is acute in the trial courts: At the recent pace of new appointments, the federal district bench will be almost half empty within a decade. Given where this is headed, how can we get back on track?This article proposes to address the failing district judge nomination process by breaking it apart from the process for circuit judges. To date, the Senate has procedurally treated the 861 Article III judgeships on lower courts (all judgeships other than those on the Supreme Court) as a block. For most of the last century, that worked fine while neither circuit nor district judgeships attracted much public interest or partisan debate. But, as the 179 circuit judgeships have received greater political attention — witness the failed circuit nominations of John Roberts (1992), Elena Kagan (1999), Miguel Estrada (2001), and Goodwin Liu (2010) — the historic norms that allowed a smooth flow of confirmations have changed to keep many judgeships empty for prolonged periods. Because the machinery of confirmation is shared for circuit and district judges, those new norms also have been applied to the process for filling 673 district judgeships. The result has been needless and harmful delay. Lawyers and political leaders alike understand that the jobs of district judges — and the stakes for those who depend on the courts — are different. I therefore propose to treat their nomination process differently.This article explores the failing state of the district judge nomination process (Part I) and synthesizes the history of its development (Part II). With that background, the article proposes a package for reform of the district judge process (Part III) consisting of: (1) public listing by the administration of the status of Senators’ recommendations to discourage delay as a bargaining tool in selections; (2) a distinct public questionnaire for district judges limited to questions on legal experience; (3) elimination of the routine Senate committee hearing on nominations; and (4) a mechanism for expedited consideration on the Senate floor.

Abstract: This research takes the case of Public Nomination and Direct Election, currently being rolled out in the People9s Republic of China, to explain the function of elections in China. We believe that the goal of implementing this election system is to increase the governing ability of the Chinese Communist Party, thus sustaining the survival of the party-state system.

Abstract: In this essay, Professor Tobias responds to Professors Gerhardt and Painter, praising their work and providing further suggestions for how the judicial nominations process might be improved. The essay begins with a brief examination of judicial selection problems that have arisen since the failed nomination of Judge Robert Bork in 1987. Finding that partisan politics have frustrated the nomination process for a quarter century, Professor Tobias engages in a critical analysis of President Barack Obama’s efforts to make improvements. He first explains the changes that the Obama administration has implemented and then critically analyzes the benefits and failings of those changes. While Professors Gerhardt and Painter focus on the deterioration of the “Gang of 14” and propose means of reinvigorating its mission, Professor Tobias concentrates on improvements that the executive branch, the Senate, and the judiciary might undertake to expeditiously fill judicial vacancies. Because the judicial nomination process tends to stall during election years, the essay concludes with the recommendation that these suggestions be implemented immediately.

Abstract: This article examines the presidencies of Erskine Childers, Cearbhall O Dalaigh and Patrick Hillery during the period 1973–1990. Each of the presidential terms is examined in terms of the background of the incumbent, the circumstances of his nomination as president and his role in office. Commencing with the election of Erskine Childers, the role assumed a higher public profile, with national engagements and international travel, and this activity has become a defining feature of all subsequent presidencies. Nonetheless, each of the presidents covered in this article adopted a narrow interpretation of the role, sought to avoid conflict with the government of the day and was strongly guided by governmental definition of the role and its powers. Moreover, during the term of the Fine Gael–Labour coalition led by Liam Cosgrave (1973–1977) evidence was found of uncomfortable cohabitation between presidents and an administration from different political traditions, leading in one case to a presidential resignat...

Abstract: This report describes statutory requirements for allocating congressional nominations to service academies. It also identifies the qualifications that must be met by potential nominees, as established by statute and each academy. Finally, sample documents that could be used by congressional offices at various stages of the nomination selection process are included. These documents provide basic information and can be customized to fit the specific needs of individual office policies.

Abstract: The purpose of this report is to present background information to participants of the OECD Russia Corporate Governance Roundtable organized for October 25 and 26, 2012 in Moscow, Russian Federation. This paper addresses the main elements of the framework for nominating and electing members to the board of companies. This is accomplished, first, by describing the relevant corporate governance standards developed by the OECD, which are also complemented with selected best practices of jurisdictions participating in the work of the OECD Corporate Governance Committee and the OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices. Then, the report turns to the Russian Federation and aims to describe the current rules and practices in board formation. It also describes some of the key aspects of the manner in which board of directors operate in Russia. Finally, the report aims to facilitate the identification of areas where Russian rules and practices could benefit from OECD standards and country experiences.

Abstract: What determines the preferences of members of parliament (MPs) for increased discipline in new democracies characterised by low levels of party unity? Using an original survey that includes half of the Romanian deputies, this study assesses through bivariate and multivariate analyses the impact of role perceptions, party career and experience, nomination-related views, and institutional preferences (electoral system) on the likelihood that an MP will support an increase in party discipline while also controlling for age and education effects. Although the strongest predictors of such attitudes are role orientations and age, previous leadership positions and the perception of a centralised nomination procedure in the party also indicate support for increased discipline.

Abstract: The author explores the events involved in the Democratic Party primary campaign of 2007-2008. Well before the campaign began, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was seen as the odds-on favorite to capture the nomination. But, that did not happen. Not only did she trail a relatively politically unknown, but she lost favor with many of those who would normally have supported her, such as advocates of gender progressivism, including many women. The author attempts to explain what happened by examining voter behavior, large group identity and its corollary of political identity, and the relation of large groups to leaders. Noting the effect of the sexual scandals during the Presidency of her husband, the author postulates that particular scenarios that have been repetitive throughout history, in art and literature, and reflected in mythology were graphed onto the perception of the Clintons. These narratives, much like Jung's archetypes, have evocative potential. Freud's early formulation of oedipal betrayal is used to explain the dynamics of infidelity and how that weakened Senator Clinton in the eyes of the public.

Abstract: Social democratic parties have thrived in most democracies, but the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) has declined to such an extent that it has become almost electorally irrelevant. Explanations for this involve such factors as the party's ideological rigidity and poor leadership, which have kept it from responding effectively to the increased electoral competition it has faced. While such explanations are generally accurate, this essay shows that there is more to the story of the JSP's electoral decline, by investigating the socialists' decline in Japan at the election district level from 1958 through 1993. This is where the JSP's endorsed candidates won and lost district seats; our investigation shows that, during this period, the JSP faced increased electoral competition on its left and right flanks, which hurt it electorally in both direct and indirect ways. It hurt the JSP directly by inhibiting the ability of the party's candidates to win legislative seats in district elections, and indirectly by leading the party to commit too many nomination errors, which, in turn, led to the loss of district seats that it otherwise would have obtained. Overall, the study's results suggest that, while the JSP could not have stopped its electoral decline completely, it could have preserved more of its support if it had been able to bridge its internal ideological gaps to keep itself from fragmenting.

Abstract: The Chicago Tribune headline "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN" remains infamously wrong about the outcome of the 1948 presidential election. But, as Andrew Busch reveals, there is much more to this story than the well-worn image of a victorious and beaming President Harry Truman parading the newspaper's erroneously headlined front page for all to see. Primarily a contest between Truman and challenger Thomas Dewey, the 1948 presidential race offered something for everyone, including two third-party candidates (Strom Thurmond and Henry Wallace), triumphant grit, tragic hubris, dangerous naivete, accidents of fate, accusations of betrayal, foreign crises, the birth of Israel in the Middle East, a dramatic special session of Congress, internecine battles among unions and liberals, spies, extremists galore (including Ku Klux Klansmen and Communists), the first televised convention, wayward polls, and, of course, a final result that surprised many. Amid a small library of books on the topic, Busch's stands out by offering the best scholarly study available--and the most readable. His fresh account goes beyond previous work by examining more closely the nomination season, key congressional elections, and the state of public opinion. He also digs into splits in both parties--the Democrats seeing Southern segregationists and the far left run their own candidates and the Republicans facing a division between philosophical wings representing the 80th Congress and the presidential ticket--and tells why the Republican schism proved more damaging. He concludes that the election was especially significant as an affirmation of the New Deal, of anti-Communist containment, and of gradual progress in civil rights--all of which established the political baseline for postwar America. Even readers knowledgeable about Truman's 1948 victory will discover new findings in this fresh and revealing account of that dramatic race. Truman's Triumphs recalls a contest with more twists and turns--and a different outcome--than most contemporaries anticipated, and makes engaging reading for scholar and history buff alike.