Russian Attitudes Toward the West

In the late 1980s, the vast majority of Russians supported pro-Western economic and political transformation. Although transition to market and democracy has eventually delivered economic benefits, most Russians are now skeptical about Western economic and political values. In this article we use polls and microeconomic data to understand what determines Russians’ attitudes to the US, the West, private property, market, democracy, etc. The negative attitudes to the Western values are strikingly uniform across economic and social strata – and across time. The negative sentiment towards the West has increased over the last four years, but the change is not substantial. While the oldest and the youngest Russians are more anti-Western than those in their 30s and 40s, all age cohorts are quite negative. On a more positive note, while most Russians do dislike the West, many of them do practice Western pragmatism in their everyday economic lives.

Voters, Candidates, and Campaigns in the New Information Age

New information technologies are slowly changing the conduct of campaigns and elections in the United States. This article provides an overview and synthesis of extant research on the use of this technology by candidates, journalists, and voters and discusses the implications for elections and democratic governance in the United States

U.S. Human Rights Policy in the Post-Cold War Era

Historically, the implementation of US human rights policy has been a case of two steps forward, one step back. From its earliest days, the US has attempted, at least to some degree, to include morality, the protection of individual rights, and the spread of democracy in foreign policy calculations. These efforts became more prominent after World War II. By the late 1980s, human rights concerns were firmly embedded in US foreign policy rhetoric, policy making institutions, and global actions. Dietrich examines US human rights policy in the post-Cold War era

Hablar de política en la Red: los newgroups políticos.

Sin resume

Open up Internet Research

Nel 2007 il Times sceglieva l’utente del web come persona dell’anno: Yes, You. You Control the Information Age. Welcome to Your World. Dal 2007 molta acqua sotto i ponti della Rete è passata e, a otto anni da quella copertina, il nuovo mondo è cresciuto in mole e complessità, così come si sono moltiplicati i tentativi da parte della ricerca, pubblica e privata, di mettere ordine nella comprensione dei meccanismi che lo governano. Obiettivo di questa rubrica è fornire alcuni primi riferimenti per orientarsi nel mondo della ricerca e dello studio intorno alla Rete. Ognuno di questi costituisce un hub di collegamento a network e comunità professionali ampie ed accreditate da cui imparare e con cui confrontarsi

Media capture in a democracy: the role of wealth concentration

Since objective news coverage is vital to democracy, captured media can seriously distort collective decisions. The current paper develops a voting model where citizens are uncertain about the welfare eþects induced by alternative policy options and derive information about those eþects from the mass media. The media might however secretly collude with interest groups in order to in.uence the public opinion. In the case of voting over the level of a productivity-enhancing public bad, it is shown that an increase in the concentration of firm ownership makes the occurrence of media bias more likely. Although media bias is not always welfare worsening, conditions for it to raise welfare are restrictive. --Mass Media,Public Bads,Voting,Wealth Inequality

Media Capture in a Democracy: The Role of Wealth Concentration

Since objective news coverage is vital to democracy, captured media can seriously distort collective decisions. The current paper develops a voting model where citizens are uncertain about the welfare effects induced by alternative policy options and derive information about those effects from the mass media. The media might however secretly collude with interest groups in order to influence the public opinion. In the case of voting over the level of a productivity-enhancing public bad, it is shown that an increase in the concentration of firm ownership makes the occurrence of media bias more likely. Although media bias is not always welfare worsening, conditions for it to raise welfare are restrictive.mass media, public bads, voting, wealth inequality