Estimating the Policy Position of Political Actors
Estimating the Policy Position of Political Actors

Author: Michael Laver

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2003-12-16

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1134541902

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This book gives an up to date reference on the state of the art in this highly important methodological area, which is central both to theoretical models of party competition and to empirical accounts, whether these are case studies or comparative analyses. It looks at subjects including tracking estimates of public opinion and party policy intentions in Britain and the USA; the policy space of party manifestos; and party platforms and voters' perceptions. Its panel of respected contributors reviews the refinements which have been made to established techniques as well as considering the potential and early successes of computer coding.

Text as Data
Text as Data

Author: Justin Grimmer

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2022-03-29

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13: 0691207550

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A guide for using computational text analysis to learn about the social world From social media posts and text messages to digital government documents and archives, researchers are bombarded with a deluge of text reflecting the social world. This textual data gives unprecedented insights into fundamental questions in the social sciences, humanities, and industry. Meanwhile new machine learning tools are rapidly transforming the way science and business are conducted. Text as Data shows how to combine new sources of data, machine learning tools, and social science research design to develop and evaluate new insights. Text as Data is organized around the core tasks in research projects using text—representation, discovery, measurement, prediction, and causal inference. The authors offer a sequential, iterative, and inductive approach to research design. Each research task is presented complete with real-world applications, example methods, and a distinct style of task-focused research. Bridging many divides—computer science and social science, the qualitative and the quantitative, and industry and academia—Text as Data is an ideal resource for anyone wanting to analyze large collections of text in an era when data is abundant and computation is cheap, but the enduring challenges of social science remain. Overview of how to use text as data Research design for a world of data deluge Examples from across the social sciences and industry

Party Policy in Modern Democracies
Party Policy in Modern Democracies

Author: Kenneth Benoit

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-10-16

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 1134206186

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A new and wide-ranging empirical overview of party policy in 47 modern democracies, including all of the new democracies of Eastern Europe. It updates and radically extends Policy and Party Competition (1992), which established itself as a key mainstream data source for all political scientists exploring the policy positions of political parties. This essential text is divided into three clear parts: Part I introduces the study, themes and methodology Part II deals in depth with the wide range of issues involved in estimating and analyzing the policy positions of key political actors. Part III is the key data section that identifies key policy dimensions across the 47 countries, detailing their party positions and median legislators, and is complemented by graphical representations of each party system. This book is an invaluable reference for all political scientists, particularly those interested in party policy and comparative politics.

Advances in the Spatial Theory of Voting
Advances in the Spatial Theory of Voting

Author: James M. Enelow

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1990-06-29

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9780521352840

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This volume brings together eight original essays designed to provide an overview of developments in spatial voting theory in the past ten years. The topics covered are: spatial competition with possible entry by new candidates; the "heresthetical" manipulation of vote outcomes; candidates with policy preferences; experimental testing of spatial models; probabilistic voting; voting on alternatives with predictive power; elections with more than two candidates under different election systems; and agenda-setting behavior in voting. Leading scholars in these areas summarize the major results of their own and other's work, providing self-contained discussions that will apprise readers of important recent advances.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties
The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties

Author: Neil Carter

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-04-25

Total Pages: 509

ISBN-13: 0429554419

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The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of the study of political parties provided by leading experts in the field. In an era of widespread political disillusionment, political parties are often the main targets of citizen dissatisfaction, yet they are the key institutions that make democracy work. Analysing political parties in unrivalled depth and breath, with comparative thematic chapters throughout, as well as a dedicated section on political parties and party politics in specific country and regional settings, this handbook examines and illuminates the key questions around: how parties organise; how their ideologies have evolved over time; their relationship with society; how they differentiate themselves and how they respond to new social, economic, and political developments. The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties is essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in and actively concerned about research in the study of political parties, party systems, and party politics.

Democratic Politics and Party Competition
Democratic Politics and Party Competition

Author: Judith Bara

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2006-09-27

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 1134173423

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This new book introduces innovative research on democracy from the leading Comparative Manifestos Project (CMP). It details the key achievements of the project to date, illustrates how its findings may be applied, lays out the future challenges it faces and examines how the field as a whole can advance. It also presents a special assessment of the dimensionality of party competition, presenting ways in which research can be extended and related to broader approaches in Political Science and Theory. Although CMP research is widely used and constitutes the major comparative data set on party positions and ideological location, it is also subject to challenge. The volume therefore provides the reader with a clear sense of the key debates and questions surrounding its work. This volume also honours the life-time achievement of Professor Ian Budge, who has provided distinguished intellectual leadership for the CMP over the last twenty-five years. This is an essential point of reference for all comparative research on the functioning of democracies. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of politics and of democracy in particular.

Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe
Radical Right-Wing Populist Parties in Western Europe

Author: Tjitske Akkerman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-05-18

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1317419782

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Radical right-wing populist parties, such as Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom, Marine Le Pen’s National Front or Nigel Farage’s UKIP, are becoming increasingly influential in Western European democracies. Their electoral support is growing, their impact on policy-making is substantial, and in recent years several radical right-wing populist parties have assumed office or supported minority governments. Are these developments the cause and/or consequence of the mainstreaming of radical right-wing populist parties? Have radical right-wing populist parties expanded their issue profiles, moderated their policy positions, toned down their anti-establishment rhetoric and shed their extreme right reputations to attract more voters and/or become coalition partners? This timely book answers these questions on the basis of both comparative research and a wide range of case studies, covering Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Analysing the extent to which radical right-wing populist parties have become part of mainstream politics, as well as the factors and conditions which facilitate this trend, this book is essential reading for students and scholars working in European politics, in addition to anyone interested in party politics and current affairs more generally.

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning
Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning

Author: Carl Patton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-26

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 1317350006

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Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.

Party Competition
Party Competition

Author: Michael Laver

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0691139040

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Party competition for votes in free and fair elections involves complex interactions by multiple actors in political landscapes that are continuously evolving, yet classical theoretical approaches to the subject leave many important questions unanswered. Here Michael Laver and Ernest Sergenti offer the first comprehensive treatment of party competition using the computational techniques of agent-based modeling. This exciting new technology enables researchers to model competition between several different political parties for the support of voters with widely varying preferences on many different issues. Laver and Sergenti model party competition as a true dynamic process in which political parties rise and fall, a process where different politicians attack the same political problem in very different ways, and where today's political actors, lacking perfect information about the potential consequences of their choices, must constantly adapt their behavior to yesterday's political outcomes. Party Competition shows how agent-based modeling can be used to accurately reflect how political systems really work. It demonstrates that politicians who are satisfied with relatively modest vote shares often do better at winning votes than rivals who search ceaselessly for higher shares of the vote. It reveals that politicians who pay close attention to their personal preferences when setting party policy often have more success than opponents who focus solely on the preferences of voters, that some politicians have idiosyncratic "valence" advantages that enhance their electability--and much more.

Issue Salience in International Politics
Issue Salience in International Politics

Author: Kai Oppermann

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2011-06-02

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1136725776

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This book analyses the salience of foreign and security policy issues to domestic actors, its role in the analysis of international politics and its consequences for foreign policy decision-making. It provides a comprehensive and systematic overview of issue salience and develops the state of the art. Beginning with a chapter on the concept of issue salience and its role in analysing international politics, it has a strong comparative framework and focuses on different domestic actors: the general public; political parties/parliaments; and the media. It features empirical studies drawn from countries in Western Europe and North America and addresses the salience of different issue areas in three key areas of international politics: European Integration Foreign and Security Policy Transatlantic Relations Finally the book offers critical appraisals of the theoretical underpinnings of the concept of issue salience and the methods for measuring it. This volume makes an important contribution to scholarly debates on the role of public opinion in foreign affairs and on the prospects of parliamentary control of foreign and security policy. It will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, international relations and foreign policy. Kai Oppermann is Assistant Professor at the Institute for Political Science and European Affairs, University of Cologne, Germany and the Managing Editor of Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik. Dr. Henrike Viehrig is Assistant Professor and Chair of International Politics and Foreign Policy at the University of Cologne, Germany.