Multipartidismo, federalismo robusto y presidencialismo en Brasil

En este ensayo argumento que el presidencialismo brasileño se ha visto afectado por la combinación de cuatro características institucionales. Primero, los presidentes han tenido poderes constitucionales avasalladores, en especial con la Constitución de 19In this paper, I argue that Brazilian presidentialism has been affected by the combination of four institutional features. First, presidents have had sweeping constitutional powers, especially under the 1988 constitution. The 1988 constitution gives pres

Leakiness and Creepiness in App Space: User Perceptions of Privacy and Mobile App Use.

Mobile devices are playing an increasingly intimate role in everyday life. However, users can be surprised when in- formed of the data collection and distribution activities of apps they install. We report on two studies of smartphone users in western European countries, in which users were confronted with app behaviors and their reactions assessed. Users felt their personal space had been violated in “creepy” ways. Using Altman’s notions of personal space and territoriality, and Nissenbaum’s theory of contextual integrity, we account for these emotional reactions and sug- gest that they point to important underlying issues, even when users continue using apps they find creepy

The Dynamic Nationalisation of Voting for United Russia:the Stability / Instability of Regional Deviations from National Results

Based on the results of Duma and Presidential elections over the period 2003–2016, this article examines cross-regional variation in static and dynamic nationalisation of voting for United Russia (UR). The main finding is that in an overwhelming majority of Russian regions, a high level of static nationalisation is accompanied by a high level of dynamic nationalisation. In most of the regions, voting for UR rises or falls in a consistent manner across the elections. Cross-regional variations in both static and dynamic nationalisation of UR’s support are mostly explained by the degree of authoritarianism in Russian regions

Digital Transformation in the Age of COVID-19: What Should Credit Unions Deliver? (Filene Blog Post)

Digital transformation is here with a vengeance, whether we like it or not. The global COVID-19 pandemic has people paying with mobile apps instead of cash, applying for and receiving assistance online, and coping with anxieties around housing, employment, debt, and even bankruptcy. The cascading consequences of the pandemic means that credit unions must urgently engage with business reinvention in order to continue their mission of service to their members’ financial well-being. How can this mission be sustained even as online becomes the dominant way they deliver products, offer support, and work with members to solve problems?The old era of neighborhood branch gathering places no longer looks tenable as a new era dawns of self- and curbside-service, constant online connectivity, and conversation in virtual spaces

The Case for Multiparty Presidentialism in the United States

For many Americans, anything besides our two-party electoral system is hard to imagine. Multiple parties and proportional representation, the main alternative, might seem more fitting for a parliamentary system than our presidential one. But the truth is, how a country elects its legislature and how it selects its executive are two separate decisions. Multiparty presidentialism—the system the United States would have if it adopted proportional representation—is common around the world.In a sweeping new review of electoral system combinations published by New America and Protect Democracy, Scott Mainwaring, a leading scholar of presidential systems, and Lee Drutman, a prominent expert on proportional representation, conclude that multiparty presidentialism is the best fit for the United States. In particular, they find that it would:Functionally eliminate gerrymandering, increasing the competitiveness of elections and decreasing electoral incentives to entertain extremism to defeat primary challengers;Allow for parties and governing institutions to more flexibly respond to ongoing challenges; andAttenuate hyperpartisan polarization by empowering compromise-oriented officials.Democracy in the United States is an outlier in many ways—most democracies around the world use some form of proportional representation, and rarely is presidential democracy paired with a two-party system. This unique combination is exacerbating factionalism and political brinkmanship, pushing our democracy beyond inefficiency and towards autocracy.

Aesthetic Journeys

Researchers and designers are increasingly creating technologies intended to support urban mobility. However, the question of what mobility is remains largely under-examined. In this paper we will use the notion of aesthetic journeys to reconsider the relationship between urban spaces, people and technologies. Fieldwork on the Orange County bus system and in the London Underground leads to a discussion of how we might begin to design for multiple mobilities

Objetivos de los partidos bajo regímenes autoritarios con elecciones o democracias frágiles: un juego dual

No cuenta con resume

Supervivencia democrática en América Latina

En este artículo documento un marcado incremento en el número de democracias y una caída del autoritarismo en América Latina en el período que se inicia eu 1978. Sostengo que tres factores ayudan a explicar la creciente superviue11cia de la democracia en América Latina. La primera explicación gira alrededor de las transformaciones estructurales impulsadas por la modernización: la urbanización, la creciente alfabetización, la mayor riqueza, el crecimiento de la clase obrera y la reducción gradual en el poder político de la clase terrateniente. En segundo lugar, las actitudes políticas en el espectro de izquierda a derecha cambiaron en América Latina, avanzando hacia una creciente valoración de la democracia. Finalmente, el apoyo internacional a la democracía, especialmente de parte de los Estados Unidos, aumentó en la segunda mitad de los ochenta. En una era de creciente internacionalización en América Latina, se hafl formado mecanismos internacionales para proteger a la democracia. &nbsp

Two sword lengths apart: Credible commitment problems and physical violence in democratic national legislatures

Ideally, national legislatures in democracies should be venues for peacefully resolving conflicts between opposing groups. However, they can become places of physical violence. Such violence can be an indication that countries’ legislative institutions are functioning far from the democratic ideal of being venues for peaceful conflict reconciliation. In some cases, such as Ukraine prior to the 2014 outbreak of armed conflict in the country’s east and south, violence can indicate and possibly fuel deeper political divisions. In this first global study of legislative violence, I show that brawls are more likely when legislators find it difficult to credibly commit to follow peaceful bargains. Credible commitment problems are more acute in countries with new democracies and disproportionate electoral outcomes – that is, when electoral votes for parties do not closely correspond to the legislative seats they are given. I find robust support for this argument by first examining a case study of legislative violence in the antebellum United States Senate. Pro- and anti-slavery senators became increasingly unable to maintain credible commitments in the lead-up to the 1856 caning of Senator Charles Sumner as the allocation of seats in the legislative body became more disproportional. Second, I find further support for my argument in a new global dataset of contemporary instances of violence in national legislatures. In addition, I find strong evidence that violence is more likely in legislatures with small minority governments. Despite reasonable expectations, civil wars are not associated with more legislative violence