Daily Eastern News: September 24, 2019

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Ireland and immigration: explaining the absence of the far right

This article seeks to explain the absence of far-right political formations in the history of the Republic of Ireland, especially in relation to immigration. I argue that the ‘mainstream’ nationalist parties have implemented a racialized governance of Ireland via the issue of citizenship (in the referendum of 2004). While hegemonic ideas on the racial purity of indigenous populations and the highly ambivalent attitudes and policies on immigration pursued over the last decade are characteristic of a broader European trend, this has not, in the Republic, been accompanied by meaningful far-right political mobilization. Ireland has frequently been seen as sui generis in political terms, and indeed emerges in some ways as a counter-case: increasing hostility towards Others has been identified in the midst of rapid economic growth and political stability. A variety of issues related to the country's political development have given rise to an especially small left-wing vote, a nationalist centre ground and longlasting domination by a single populist party, Fianna Fáil. This party has been partnered in government since 1997 by a free-market party, the Progressive Democrats, who have contributed to Ireland's movement towards neo-liberal policies and a highly functional approach to immigration. The transition from country of emigration to country of immigration has thus taken place against an ideological backdrop in which the imperatives of labour demand and consolidating domestic support for reform have made an uneasy match, resulting in the racialization of Irishness. The state has, however, amended the Constitution in order to qualify jus soli citizenship entitlement in the case of particular categories of people: those whose parents are not Irish nationals. The significant stakes of these changes are analysed in the context of state responses to Eire's transition to a country of immigration, and the role of nationalist-populism in the country's political culture

Daily Eastern News: September 24, 2019

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/den_2019_sep/1015/thumbnail.jp

Comments on expanding civic participation in voting by expanded use of the Internet

Hoke\u27s comments to the FCC on expanding civic participation in voting by expanded use of the Internet. Hoke recommends that the FCC not become involved in election regulatory issues concerning the Internet, but will support a different federal regulatory agency with national security and technical-cybersecurity expertise receiving primary jurisdiction over election cybersecurity

Intergenerational social mobility and anti-system support: the journey matters

Seminal sociological works propose that a high level of social mobility within a society underpins democracy. The salience of this relationship is particularly poignant in contemporary politics. Fewer individuals are upwardly mobile and more downwardly mobile than in previous generations. There is now also a political outlet for dissatisfied voters, anti-system parties. I analyse the European Social Survey with diagonal reference models, which separate origin and destination effects from mobility effects. My findings show that one’s origins, measured by parental educational attainment, are an important predictor of anti-system right support. Mobile individuals with lower educated parents are more likely to vote for the anti-system right than their immobile counterparts. There is an additional mobility effect, upward social mobility reduces support for the anti-system right whereas downward mobility increases support. Contrastingly, anti-system left support derives from a wider cross-section of society, and there is no evidence that parental origin or social mobility is statistically significant. Finally, I show that origin effects are consistent across Western European countries

Voting matters:An analysis of the use of electoral-assistive devices through the lens of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

This study adopts an evidence-based approach and a mixed research design to explore the de facto realization of the right to vote by persons with disabilities, or the ‘opportunity’ to enjoy this right on an equal basis with others. To date, this has been a relatively unexplored topic of research, but the study ‘Voting Matters’ aims to bridge this gap. The focus of the study is on exploring the link between the provision and use of electoral-assistive devices (e.g., easy-to-read voter education guides and tactile ballot guides) by voters with disabilities and the positive obligations of States Parties under international human rights instruments, and primarily Article 29(a) CRPD. This study, which is a contribution to the research in the field of political participation of persons with disabilities

La automatización del voto. Entre el miedo y la pasión: un análisis de cuatro casos europeos

En este artículo se presenta el análisis de cuatro casos empíricos sobre el despliegue de las tecnologías de votación electrónica, resaltando sus diferentes contextos y resultados. El caso de Irlanda, donde el proceso de implementación “desde arriba” activó un debate en la opinión pública que llevó a que se cancelara. Gran Bretaña es el caso donde se experimentaron diversas soluciones tecnológicas, incluso en procesos electorales con valor legal, pero se renunció a su uso en amplia escala. En Holanda, donde ya existía el uso de máquinas electrónicas de votación se enfrentaron a diversos elementos de discusión de grupos de presión que pugnaron por la reintroducción del uso de boletas de papel y lápiz. Finalmente en el caso de Estonia donde se presentó el voto por internet como uno de los diversos canales de votación, obteniendo cierto grado de confianza por parte de los ciudadanos. La comparación de estos casos muestra la importancia que tienen los valores, ideas y expectativas hacia las instituciones en torno al derecho de votar y su relación con el éxito o no de la implementación de los esquemas de e- y i-voting