- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Annual Review of Political Science
- Previous Issues
- Volume 16, 2013
Annual Review of Political Science - Volume 16, 2013
Volume 16, 2013
-
-
The Political Theory License
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 1–9More LessMy purpose here is to argue that political theorists have a kind of professional permit to move back and forth between the academic and political worlds and to expound and defend particular political positions. I then describe my own engagements, political and theoretical, and the books and articles that have come out of them—about war, social justice, pluralism, social criticism, and nationalism (with Zionism the key example of the last of these).
-
-
-
Reconsidering Judicial Preferences
Lee Epstein, and Jack KnightVol. 16 (2013), pp. 11–31More LessAmong political scientists, not only is it uncontroversial to say that judges seek to etch their political values into law; it would be near heresy to suggest otherwise. And yet this article does just that because research conducted by scholars (mostly outside of political science) has demonstrated that the policy goal is not the only motivation; it may not even be dominant for many judges. The evidence is now so strong that it poses a serious challenge to the extremely (un)realist(ic) conception of judicial behavior that has dominated the study of law and legal institutions for generations. In addition to reviewing this evidence, we offer a more realistic conception of judicial motivations and suggest how different approaches to the study of courts can contribute to this new avenue of research.
-
-
-
Social Networks and Political Participation
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 33–48More LessIn recent years, the study of political participation has benefited from growing attention to the study of social networks. Historically, most explanations for political participation have focused on characteristics of individuals. Although these individual-level correlates do a “pretty good” job of predicting who participates, incorporating social networks deepens our understanding of the factors that lead people to express voice in the democratic process. Even though the participation literature has long been split between scholars who favor a focus on individuals and others who emphasize social networks, the two approaches need not be in tension. Instead, they complement one another. The individualistic factors known to correlate with participation—including education, religious attendance, political knowledge, political conviction, and civic duty—all have a social dimension.
-
-
-
Why Social Relations Matter for Politics and Successful Societies
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 49–71More LessPolitical science can gain from incorporating richer conceptions of social relations into its analyses. In place of atomistic entities endowed with assets but few social relationships, social actors should be seen as relational entities embedded in social and cultural structures that connect them to others in multifaceted ways. Understanding those relationships requires a deeper understanding of how institutional and cultural frameworks interact to condition the terrain for social action. More intensive dialogue with sociology can inform such an understanding. We review the analytical tools cultural sociology now offers those interested in such a perspective and illustrate it in operation in studies of inequalities in population health and the effects of neoliberalism. We close by outlining several issues to which this perspective can usefully be applied, including the problems of understanding social resilience, how societies build collective capacities, and why some institutions remain robust while others deteriorate.
-
-
-
Distributive Politics Around the World
Miriam Golden, and Brian MinVol. 16 (2013), pp. 73–99More LessWe inventory more than 150 studies of distributive politics in more than three dozen countries other than the United States. We organize existing studies under two theories: theories of democratic accountability and theories of government responsiveness. Studies that concern democratic accountability conceptualize distributive allocations as attempts by politicians to protect themselves electorally by targeting specific groups of voters. We identify four subsets: (a) studies of whether politicians target goods to core or swing voters; (b) studies of general political favoritism in targeting government goods; (c) studies of whether goods are disbursed according to the electoral cycle; and (d) studies of whether elected officials gain votes from the disbursement of government goods. We illustrate each with examples from the literature. We then discuss distributive politics as responsiveness to the median voter. This perspective entails a focus on the redistributive consequences of government policy and investigates whether special interests capture a disproportionate share of goods coming from government. To illustrate the utility of both perspectives, we analyze original data on electricity provision in India's largest state.
-
-
-
Media and Political Polarization
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 101–127More LessThis article examines if the emergence of more partisan media has contributed to political polarization and led Americans to support more partisan policies and candidates. Congress and some newer media outlets have added more partisan messages to a continuing supply of mostly centrist news. Although political attitudes of most Americans have remained fairly moderate, evidence points to some polarization among the politically involved. Proliferation of media choices lowered the share of less interested, less partisan voters and thereby made elections more partisan. But evidence for a causal link between more partisan messages and changing attitudes or behaviors is mixed at best. Measurement problems hold back research on partisan selective exposure and its consequences. Ideologically one-sided news exposure may be largely confined to a small, but highly involved and influential, segment of the population. There is no firm evidence that partisan media are making ordinary Americans more partisan.
-
-
-
Media Bias by the Numbers: Challenges and Opportunities in the Empirical Study of Partisan News
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 129–151More LessPartisan bias in the news is a perennial matter of concern and debate for scholars, journalists, politicians, and citizens. Although there are abundant opinions about the magnitude, direction, and even existence of media bias, producing a scholarly consensus on the issue has proven difficult for several reasons. In particular, scholars studying media bias empirically must overcome problems of subjectivity, strategic behavior by the actors involved in the process, and especially the absence of suitable baselines against which to assess bias. This article reviews some approaches to studying media bias and explores several promising strategies and tools scholars have developed to help overcome these obstacles. I conclude with suggestions for future research in the area.
-
-
-
The Political Economy of the Euro
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 153–170More LessThe Eurozone's present state of crisis originated from decisions made at its creation. The decision to create a monetary union was motivated by political objectives and completely disregarded the economics of a monetary union. Political leaders did not understand the necessary economic conditions for a successful monetary union and did not recognize the inherent fragility of the monetary union they established. They showed the same disturbing lack of understanding of the economics of the sovereign debt crisis in 2010. They misdiagnosed the problem, and their response included disastrous decisions that intensified the crisis. This review explains these errors and concludes with recommendations for saving the euro.
-
-
-
Empowerment of the European Parliament
Simon Hix, and Bjørn HøylandVol. 16 (2013), pp. 171–189More LessOne of the most remarkable democratic developments in Europe in recent decades has been the empowerment of the only directly elected supranational assembly in the world: the European Parliament (EP). We first review the development of the legislative powers of the EP vis-à-vis the other European Union (EU) institutions, discussing the theoretical models of the power of the EP and the main empirical methods that have been used to evaluate these models. We then turn to the impact of the growing power of the EP on political organization and behavior inside the legislature. We demonstrate that the “electoral connection” is weak and discuss what this means for understanding legislative politics in the EP. The concluding section demonstrates differences in behavior across policy areas, which have received scant attention, and suggests avenues for further research.
-
-
-
The Use and Misuse of the “Minorities at Risk” Project
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 191–208More LessThe “Minorities at Risk” (MAR) project and data have offered an innovative, systematic view of communal and ethnic groups. By collecting detailed information on groups that are mobilized and/or discriminated against, and thus “at risk,” MAR has allowed researchers to offer new insights in many areas dealing with relationships among groups. However, scholars have also used this dataset in ways for which it was not designed or is hardly appropriate. This article offers an overview of the main contributions of MAR and identifies research questions for which the MAR data have to be used with care.
-
-
-
Looking Back to See Ahead: Unanticipated Changes in Immigration from 1986 to the Present and Their Implications for American Politics Today
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 209–230More LessThis article explores how issues of immigration—and particularly undocumented immigration—have evolved since the enactment of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act and how they have changed US politics in significant and often unexpected ways. In particular, our review explores five themes: (a) the failure of comprehensive immigration reform over the past quarter century; (b) the shift in immigration policy making toward state and local governments; (c) the identification of ethno-racial minorities around immigration status and immigrants as racialized groups; (d) the political mobilization of undocumented immigrants; and (e) the emergence of transnational political ties between the United States and sending countries. The article concludes by assessing possible blind spots within the contemporary discussion of immigration and how we might fail to anticipate possible changes or trends in the making.
-
-
-
The Changing Landscape of US Unions in Historical and Theoretical Perspective
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 231–257More LessIn certain states, most notably Wisconsin and Ohio, attempts have been made to eliminate public sector collective bargaining. Although the all-out attack on public sector unions is relatively new, it is best seen in the context of long-term trends. These include the long-standing assault on private sector unions; the ongoing conservative political critique of the public sector; and neoliberal policies that contract government services, deregulate virtually all economic activities, and privatize many government programs, as well as decreasing workers' wages and benefits (allegedly to make them more globally competitive). The racial and gender dimensions of these trends are worthy of note and at times central to the narrative. We discuss these issues in detail, within the broader context of the role of unions in modern society and the history of labor organization in both the private and public sectors in the United States.
-
-
-
The Analytical Foundations of Collective Action Theory: A Survey of Some Recent Developments
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 259–283More LessThe theory of collective action has long since moved beyond the “free-rider problem” as originally stated by Olson (1965). It is now recognized that large-scale participation is possible even without selective incentives, but this has raised new questions. I discuss two types of contributions from the past few years. Some of the recent literature has remained close to the canonical game-theoretic framework, clarifying many analytical issues and proving important results in participation games that had remained elusive. We now know that the “turnout paradox” had been grossly overstated. Another set of contributions has expanded the original framework, incorporating results from psychology and social sciences with the aim of obtaining more realistic models with better empirical performance.
-
-
-
Retrospective Voting Reconsidered
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 285–306More LessWe review advances in the study of retrospective voting, or how citizens evaluate and act on their perceptions of government performance. As a whole, the recent literature provides a more complete and nuanced picture of the retrospective voter as sometimes, but not always, effectively incentivizing elected officials to enhance public welfare. Leveraging examples of retrospective voting in areas other than the economy, the field is heading toward a middle ground in which voters resemble decision makers in many other domains. In many cases, a coherent logic governs voters' choices. In other instances, voters make mistakes, often in predictable ways subject to well-known psychological biases. Understanding the circumstances under which retrospective voting achieves effective democratic accountability and when it fails to do so is an important task for subsequent research. We discuss two additional issues for future exploration: a better understanding of normative benchmarks, and increased attention to the relationship between retrospective voting behavior and policy outcomes.
-
-
-
Cooperative Survey Research
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 307–329More LessThe rise of the Internet has radically altered survey research by changing how we think about sampling, driving down the cost of interviewing, and creating new ways of asking questions. This technology has also opened the way to a new style of cooperatively organized survey research. Projects such as the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) and the Cooperative Campaign Analysis Project (CCAP) involve collaborations of dozens of research teams that can collect very large samples and many smaller surveys tailored to the research questions of particular teams. This review examines the organization and key findings of these projects as well as their sampling methodology and its validity. Of particular importance, this article offers a direct comparison of the CCES with actual election results and the American National Election Studies (ANES), showing that the new survey approach yields highly accurate results that replicate the correlation structure of the ANES.
-
-
-
Regime Change Cascades: What We Have Learned from the 1848 Revolutions to the 2011 Arab Uprisings
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 331–353More LessWorks on the 1848 revolutions, 1989 collapse of European communism, 1998–2005 postcommunist color revolutions, and 2011 Arab uprisings frequently cross-reference each other, implying what is called here the concept of a “regime change cascade.” Research on these “Big Four” events shows that cascading can occur in protest calling for regime change as well as revolution in the name of regime change, but these rarely lead to actual regime change. Regime change cascades can occur through demonstration effects and active mediation, although common external causes and contemporaneous domestic triggers can cause events outwardly resembling them. Regime change cascades tend to occur where (a) there exists a common frame of political reference, (b) unpopular leaderships are becoming lame ducks; (c) elites lack other focal points for coordinated defection, and (d) structural conditions supporting a new regime type are in place. Cascading to hybrid regimes or autocracy may be more likely than cascading to democracy.
-
-
-
Terrorism and Democracy
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 355–378More LessFrom 1968 to 1997, wealthy, advanced democracies generally did not suffer from high levels of chronic terrorism, with two exceptions: (a) advanced democracies that interfered in other countries' affairs through military intervention or occupations were frequent targets of transnational terrorism, and (b) poor democracies with territorial conflicts often experienced related domestic terrorist attacks. Intermediately wealthy and transitioning democracies with internally inconsistent institutions were more likely to experience domestic terrorism than advanced democracies and authoritarian regimes. There is very little agreement about why these trends persist. I identify the competing explanations that have emerged within the literature as well as remaining controversies. I also present preliminary evidence suggesting that since 9/11, terrorism persists in the usual pattern but may be increasingly prevalent in nondemocratic countries. I offer five speculative explanations for this and four suggestions for how the field should proceed.
-
-
-
Humanitarian Governance
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 379–398More LessThis review examines humanitarian governance, defined as the increasingly organized and internationalized attempt to save the lives, enhance the welfare, and reduce the suffering of the world's most vulnerable populations. Political scientists and international relations scholars are only now beginning to explain this rapidly growing global governance of humanity, which is particularly evident in the developing literatures on humanitarian intervention, emergency relief, peacebuilding, and refugee protection. As they increasingly engage this relatively unexplored area of global life, political scientists are using the familiar analytics of the global governance literature to explain the origins, design, and effectiveness of this collective activity. This essay, though, interjects an alternative perspective, one that draws from critical theory, to widen the research agenda of the study of humanitarian governance. Specifically, the essay raises six central questions: What kind of world is being imagined and produced? What accounts for the tremendous growth of humanitarian governance over the last century? Who governs? How is humanitarian governance organized and accomplished? What are the principal techniques of control? By what authority do humanitarians govern and what do they do with that authority?
-
-
-
Green Clubs: Collective Action and Voluntary Environmental Programs
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 399–419More LessVoluntary environmental programs (VEPs) are institutions that encourage participating actors to produce environmental public goods beyond the requirements of government law. Drawing on the club approach to the study of VEPs, we identify four collective action challenges facing VEPs. First, sponsoring actors must be motivated to invest resources to create a VEP despite incentives to free ride on the efforts of others. Second, VEPs need to be designed to offer firms sufficient excludable incentives to join them. Third, VEPs need monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that participants adhere to program obligations and do not free ride on the efforts of other participants. Fourth, VEPs and their sponsors need to motivate stakeholders to compensate firms for producing environmental public goods. The literature reveals considerable variability in how these challenges are addressed, suggesting that successful VEPs need to fit their institutional contexts.
-
-
-
Climate Change Politics
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 421–448More LessWithin the past 25 years, climate change has evolved from an issue of interest primarily to some natural scientists into one of the top priorities on the global policy agenda. Research in political science and related fields offers systematic and empirically well-supported explanations for why solving the climate problem has turned out to be more difficult than originally anticipated. After reviewing this research, I focus on four areas in which we know less: (a) institutional design features that may help in mitigating or overcoming fundamental problems in the global cooperative effort; (b) factors that are driving variation in climate policies at national and subnational levels; (c) driving forces of climate policy beyond the state, in particular civil society, the science–policy interface, and public opinion; and (d) sociopolitical consequences of failing to avoid major climatic changes. The article concludes by identifying key questions at the micro, meso, and macro levels that should be addressed by political scientists in the coming years. In view of the fact that governance efforts at the global level are progressing very slowly, greater attention to bottom-up dynamics appears useful, both for analytical reasons (there is lots of variation to be explained) and for normative reasons.
-
-
-
The Politics of Energy
Vol. 16 (2013), pp. 449–469More LessThe politics of energy is reemerging as a major area of inquiry for political science after two decades of relative quiet. We survey the theoretical and empirical literature on the politics of energy, as well as recent developments that have revived interest in the topic—renewed oil price volatility, the rise of China, and concern over global climate change. We also outline several avenues for future research, arguing that there are ample opportunities for scholars of political economy to apply insights developed in other fields to the study of energy.
-
Previous Volumes
-
Volume 26 (2023)
-
Volume 25 (2022)
-
Volume 24 (2021)
-
Volume 23 (2020)
-
Volume 22 (2019)
-
Volume 21 (2018)
-
Volume 20 (2017)
-
Volume 19 (2016)
-
Volume 18 (2015)
-
Volume 17 (2014)
-
Volume 16 (2013)
-
Volume 15 (2012)
-
Volume 14 (2011)
-
Volume 13 (2010)
-
Volume 12 (2009)
-
Volume 11 (2008)
-
Volume 10 (2007)
-
Volume 9 (2006)
-
Volume 8 (2005)
-
Volume 7 (2004)
-
Volume 6 (2003)
-
Volume 5 (2002)
-
Volume 4 (2001)
-
Volume 3 (2000)
-
Volume 2 (1999)
-
Volume 1 (1998)
-
Volume 0 (1932)