Book Review | Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland by Jonathan S. Blake
By 28/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

Book Review | Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland by Jonathan S. Blake

In Contentious Rituals: Parading the Nation in Northern Ireland, Jonathan S. Blake offers a new examination of the complex phenomenon of Protestant parading in Northern Ireland, drawing on carefully compiled sociological and ethnographic data to argue that, in the words of his participants, what motivates the majority of paraders, musicians and spectators is not political, ethnic or religious chauvinism, but rather commitment to a longstanding cultural practice positioned as antipolitical. This is a nuanced and rich study, writes Nicholas Baker, that will be of great value to anyone interested in contemporary politics in Northern Ireland.

Posted in: Book reviews, Northern Ireland
Not all scrutiny is equal: how parliaments vary in scrutinising the implementation of legislation
By 26/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

Not all scrutiny is equal: how parliaments vary in scrutinising the implementation of legislation

Parliaments can contribute to more accountable governance, not just by questioning government ministers in the chamber, but also by monitoring the implementation and impact of the laws they pass. This post-legislative scrutiny can be divided into four categories: passive, informal, formal and independent forms. Comparatively, parliaments vary according to the extent to which they carry out post-legislative scrutiny. Franklin De Vrieze discusses these variations and argues that to be effective parliaments should both look at the implementation of legislation, its impact and at unintended consequences of some laws. At the time of the Covid-19 crisis, good-quality scrutiny of policies and legislation in all areas, including legislation on public health and government’s response to Covid-19, has become all the more important.

Posted in: Achieving accountable government, Parliament
Why resilience to online disinformation varies between countries
By 24/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

Why resilience to online disinformation varies between countries

There are widespread concerns about so-called ‘fake news’ and its impact on citizens and democracy. The current crisis caused by the corona pandemic demonstrates how quickly disinformation can spread. Edda Humprecht argues that differing media environments, including levels of political polarisation and economic incentives to produce fake news, create varying levels of susceptibility to disinformation, with the US uniquely vulnerable. Any policy responses to increase resilience to online disinformation need to take these structural differences into account.

Posted in: Informing and engaging citizens, Populism
Assessing England’s metro-mayors: a mixed picture
By 23/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

Assessing England’s metro-mayors: a mixed picture

Directly elected mayors for Combined Authorities have been introduced in a piecemeal fashion across England since 2017. Jane Roberts analyses how they have operated, and finds that there is considerable variation in their effectiveness, depending on local circumstances and individual leadership, but to understand these differences, better evaluation of their performance is needed.

Posted in: Building sub-national government
Book Review | Other People’s Politics: Populism to Corbynism by J.A. Smith
By 21/03/2020 1 Comments Read More →

Book Review | Other People’s Politics: Populism to Corbynism by J.A. Smith

In Other People’s Politics: Populism to Corbynism, J.A. Smith seeks to critically analyse and historicise our contemporary political moment, tracing the conditions that made movements like Corbynism possible, while also diagnosing their shortcomings and mapping out potential strategies for a new Left Populism. This is a welcome critical intervention into debates on populism and should be read by scholars across the social sciences and humanities, recommends Paul Ewart.

Posted in: Book reviews, Populism
How Covid-19 is altering our conception of citizenship
By 19/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

How Covid-19 is altering our conception of citizenship

The Covid-19 pandemic is a public health emergency, but it also has the potential to impact on many other elements of European societies beyond health services. Jelena Dzankic and Lorenzo Piccoli write on the effect the outbreak is having on the uses and meanings of citizenship.

Posted in: Covid-19 and democracy, Extending human and civic rights
It was right to delay England’s local elections, but we must consider the wider impact of Covid-19 on electoral administration
By 16/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

It was right to delay England’s local elections, but we must consider the wider impact of Covid-19 on electoral administration

Local and mayoral elections across England have been delayed from May 2020 to May 2021. Postponing them was necessary, writes Alistair Clark, but we must also look at the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on administering elections in the UK and globally to maintain democratic accountability under difficult circumstances.

Posted in: Covid-19 and democracy, Elections and electoral systems
Book Review | The New Populism: Democracy Stares into the Abyss by Marco Revelli
By 14/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

Book Review | The New Populism: Democracy Stares into the Abyss by Marco Revelli

In The New Populism: Democracy Stares into the Abyss, Marco Revelli explores the definitions, historical development and electoral geography of populism across much of Europe and the United States, focusing particularly on the relationship between populist politics and neoliberalism. While the book provides a wealth of detail on the ideology and history of populism and is particularly strong in examining Italy and its various populist vehicles, its reiteration of familiar themes in the literature risks the book falling behind the cutting edge of populism studies, writes Ben Margulies.

Posted in: Book reviews, Populism
General election 2019: a postcode lottery
By 13/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

General election 2019: a postcode lottery

The 2019 general election produced a strong Conservative majority in the House of Commons, with the first-past-the-post electoral system delivering the party 56% of parliamentary seats on the basis of 43.6% of all votes. Beyond this national figure, Ian Simpson explains, the nations and regions of the UK returned some even more disproportional results, meaning millions of voters across the UK are left unrepresented in Parliament.

Posted in: Elections and electoral systems, General election 2019
Reforming Whitehall: bluff, bluster, brilliance and brains
By 12/03/2020 0 Comments Read More →

Reforming Whitehall: bluff, bluster, brilliance and brains

Geoff Mulgan assesses Dominic Cummings’ proposals for reforming government and argues that, while bringing new people and ideas into Number 10 can be welcome, there are several pitfalls, not least in failing to learn from past attempts at reform.

Posted in: Achieving accountable government
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