AbstractThe effective functioning of legislative bodies is essential to democratic systems. While the performance of Members of Parliament (MPs) has been widely studied, a
significant gap remains regarding the skills and competences required to effectively fulfill their duties. [...]
AbstractThe 2024 Irish general election had shaped to be the most consequential in the history of the Irish state. Much was at stake, as the previous general election had witnessed
the left-wing, anti-partitionist Sinn Féin party take a plurality of first-preference votes and left-wing parties securing a historically unprecedented number of [...]
AbstractThis article explores the attitudes of Poles living abroad who decided not to participate in the national referendum, even though they voted in simultaneously held
parliamentary elections. Their abstention is viewed as a manifestation of their (anti) party identification. [...]
AbstractThis article explores whether representatives from minority groups feel under pressure to represent the group they are associated with. We use a representative survey
experiment in South Africa (N = 1,252), combined with semi-structured interviews with elected representatives (N = 25). [...]
AbstractWhy was compulsory voting (CV) adopted in a moment when the Left was mobilized and enfranchisement was extended? We answer this apparent paradox by developing an argument
explaining that making voting mandatory, in fact, benefited the parties that sponsored that policy. [...]
AbstractThis article reconsiders the longer-term legacy of David Cameron’s attempts to ‘modernize’ the Conservative Party. In doing so, we aim to make three main contributions
to existing scholarship. Firstly, whilst Cameron’s modernization project is judged to have been a failure by most scholars, we show that Conservative leaders post-Cameron [...]
AbstractAnother European election, another ‘earthquake’ in France. For the third time in a row, the far-right Rassemblement National has won and for the third time, the
reaction from the mainstream elite only serves to further mainstream its politics. [...]
AbstractCitizens’ legislative initiatives (CLIs) are vital instruments of direct democracy that allow citizens to participate in decision-making and influence the legislative
agenda. Despite the growing interest globally, there has been limited scholarly attention on Portugal, which implemented this tool in 2003. [...]
AbstractThe Elections Act 2022 requires voters to present photo identification at general elections in Great Britain and local elections in England. In this article, we use
data from the British Election Study Internet Panel to identify who does and does not own the necessary photo documents and how this affected turnout in the 2023 [...]
