Politics and Governance最新文献

{"title":"Transparency Against Democracy: The Sweden Democrats, Radical‐Right Populism, and Political Trust","authors":"Stéphane Paquin","doi":"10.17645/pag.9792","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.9792","url":null,"abstract":"Existing explanations for the rise of populist radical‐right parties often focus on two primary factors: economic insecurity, driven by globalization, financial crises, and technological disruptions; and cultural backlash, which stems from intergenerational and immigration‐related value conflicts. While these perspectives offer valuable insights, there is little doubt that the growth of populist radical‐right parties is also closely linked to political distrust and declining confidence in democratic institutions. Supporters of populist radical‐right parties tend to exhibit lower political trust as compared to voters in mainstream parties. However, these explanations often overlook the complex relationship between anti‐establishment populist radical‐right parties and the very democratic accountability mechanisms designed to uphold transparency and institutional integrity. This study explores the paradoxical role of public transparency and press freedom in facilitating the rise of populist radical‐right and anti‐establishment movements, with a particular focus on Sweden—a country with exceptionally strong public transparency mechanisms. Traditionally regarded as pillars of democratic governance, these mechanisms have been strategically repurposed by the Sweden Democrats, an anti‐establishment, radical‐right party, to expose political scandals and erode trust in traditional elites. Leveraging alternative media platforms and even troll factories, the party has effectively weaponized transparency to amplify anti‐elite populist narratives. This research critically examines whether transparency and media freedom serve to strengthen democracy or instead enable the politicization of scandals, reinforcing populist distrust of institutions. By analyzing the intersection of transparency mechanisms, free press dynamics, and anti‐establishment populist strategies, this study provides a new perspective on how accountability tools can be manipulated for partisan gain. In doing so, it sheds light on the broader implications of transparency policies in an era of rising populism and increasing democratic polarization.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/download/9792/4464","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147919298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Populist Rhetoric and Hate Speech: Analyzing Xenophobic Narratives in Vox’s 2023 Election Campaign","authors":"Marta Pérez Escolar, Noemí Morejón Llamas, Purificación Alcaide‐Pulido","doi":"10.17645/pag.9346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.9346","url":null,"abstract":"Under the guise of being “concerned citizens,” populist leaders often feel untouchable when demonizing ethnic minorities or expressing contempt for immigrants. This purported concern places them beyond moral scrutiny. Within this sphere of political (ir)responsibility, parties aligned with the radical populist right seek to polarize society using nativist strategies. This phenomenon significantly affects ethics, democratic principles, and political leadership in Europe. The most recent European elections revealed growing support for radical right-wing populist parties like Vox in Spain, which exploit societal fears and economic insecurity through divisive rhetoric that threatens social cohesion and democratic values. This study analyzes the political discourse of Vox’s regional candidates during the 2023 electoral campaign, focusing on racist and xenophobic hate narratives published on their official X accounts. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates descriptive quantitative analysis with critical discourse analysis. Findings reveal regional variations in hate speech, with coastal candidates focusing heavily on Moroccans, while criticisms of unaccompanied minors are more prevalent in Madrid. Vox also violated electoral law by publishing hate messages on the reflection day, May 27. The use of self-defensive discursive strategies—such as victimist, alarmist, and dehumanizing rhetoric—constructs a deliberate binary narrative of “us versus them,” further intensifying ideological polarization. These tactics raise serious ethical concerns within the framework of European integration, which is built upon cooperation, solidarity, and mutual respect. Addressing these challenges requires fostering inclusive, just, and democratic societies capable of resisting populist divisiveness.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/download/9346/4400","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147885462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Followers First: Rethinking the Legitimacy of Political Leadership","authors":"Femke van Esch, Rudolf Metz","doi":"10.17645/pag.10412","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.10412","url":null,"abstract":"The study of political leadership has traditionally focused on leaders, often overlooking how followers actively shape legitimacy through attribution and contestation. In this thematic issue, the focus shifts from leaders to followership and legitimacy, examining how citizens construct and challenge political authority. The first set of articles explores the role of leadership attribution, populism, and negative personalisation, showing how charismatic appeal, ideological predispositions, social identification, and emotional biases influence how citizens evaluate leaders. The second group of articles focuses on different dimensions of legitimacy and investigates how leadership distance, representation styles, and visual de-demonisation affect followers’ assessment of leaders. The final set extends the discussion from the democratic to the autocratic context and shows how legitimacy and followership also play an essential role in autocratic politics. By using different and novel methodologies, introducing conceptual innovations, and applying these to a wide variety of cases and contexts, the contributions collectively advance the relational approach to political leadership and legitimacy. Ultimately, it lays the groundwork for a new research agenda that redefines leader–follower dynamics, highlighting the contested and evolving nature of political legitimacy across democratic and non-democratic contexts.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/download/9187/4315","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147904122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Character, Gender, and Populism: How Female Populist Voters Judge the Character of Political Leaders","authors":"Cristine de Clercy, Gerard Seijts, Ana C. Ruiz Pardo","doi":"10.17645/pag.9079","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.9079","url":null,"abstract":"Many voters choose to follow political leaders based on an assessment of character. However, political scientists employ relatively few tools to precisely measure character, and there is even less study of the key factors that influence such voter assessments. We employ an analytical framework drawn from the management sciences to examine how a sample of voting-age, anglophone Canadians judged the character of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2020–2021 Covid-19 pandemic time frame. We propose and find support for the assertion that gender and right-wing populism are important explanatory variables. Importantly, and controlling for a host of demographic variables, the interaction of gender and populism suggests that subscription to right-wing populist attitudes may more significantly corrode character assessments among female voters than among male voters.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/download/9079/4248","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147921861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Territorial Configurations of School‐to‐Work Outcomes in Europe","authors":"R. Cefalo, R. Scandurra, Y. Kazepov","doi":"10.17645/pag.7441","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.7441","url":null,"abstract":"Comparative research on school-to-work transitions mainly focused on country differences, examining the variation in institutional design and its impact on shaping youth labour market outcomes. The field has been dominated by a sort of methodological nationalism assuming nation states as homogeneous objects of comparison, while the territorial variations in youth transitions among sub-national territories have been less explored, notwithstanding their potential impact on life chances. In this article, we look at the outcomes of transitions in EU regions, comparing regional configurations of school-to-work transitions and their change over time. Is it possible to identify differences among groups of regions? To what extent do these patterns change over time? In order to answer these questions, we construct and analyse a longitudinal and systematic set of indicators that combine regional aggregated outcomes of transitions from education to work and regional contextual traits at the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics level 2 for the period 2007–2019. We perform two cluster analyses to describe regional differences and trends over time. The findings provide novel insights into the characteristics and patterns of an unequal geography of youth opportunities in Europe.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"11 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139439807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Strategies for Engaging and Outreaching NEETs in Italy: Insights From Active Labour Policies","authors":"Adriano Mauro Ellena, D. Marzana, Maura Pozzi","doi":"10.17645/pag.7499","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.7499","url":null,"abstract":"Outreaching and engaging young people who are not in education, employment, or training (i.e., NEETs) represents a significant challenge for public policies. They often belong to marginalized and disadvantaged categories and find themselves isolated with low levels of trust in the future, in their capacities of finding a job, and, above all, in institutions. Much research has emphasized how insufficient and unsuitable the strategies used so far have proved to be. However, there is a lack of clear mapping in the literature of what approaches have been suggested and addressed by the different guidelines. This study explores the strategies that a specific active labour policy uses to intercept and engage vulnerable youth and NEETs. This research employed a qualitative methodology that centres on the examination of official documents of the regional plans for the guaranteed employability of workers (Garanzia di Occupabilità dei Lavoratori). To conduct the analysis, the MAXQDA software package was utilized, and a content document analysis was implemented. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: capillarity of services, digitalization, and communication, each with its respective sub-themes. These themes provide valuable insights into the current strategies employed to engage vulnerable NEET youth, as well as other demographic categories, highlighting the potential strengths and weaknesses of these policies. The study holds the potential to contribute significantly to the development of more targeted and sustainable public policies, aiming to address the challenges faced by vulnerable NEET youth in Italy.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"73 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139440559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"NextGenerationEU and the European Semester: Comparing National Plans and Country‐Specific Recommendations","authors":"Mattia Guidi, M. Piccinetti, Luca Verzichelli","doi":"10.17645/pag.v11i4.7351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v11i4.7351","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the main features of the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) that member states have presented to access NextGenerationEU (NGEU) funds, and it explores the relationship between NGEU and the European Semester. Relying on a dataset collected for this purpose, which coded all RRPs and all recommendations received by the member states in the years preceding NGEU, we explore quantitatively the variation in the countries’ resource allocation and reform agendas and the congruence between RRPs and the recommendations issued in the European Semester. Our analysis reveals three key findings. First, substantial variation exists across member states, reflecting the diverse economic and political contexts shaped by a decade of crises. Second, by disaggregating RRPs into the six policy pillars indicated by the Commission, we show differences in the member states’ patterns of intervention. Third, we offer insights into the extent to which member states address the Semester recommendations. The data we present is a relevant tool for understanding NGEU and generating research questions aimed at exploring its nature and its implementation in the years to come.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":" 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139144585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Public Policy Europeanisation in Response to the Covid‐19 Crisis: The Case of Job Retention Schemes","authors":"André Sønstevold, Marianne Riddervold, Elsa Lilja Gunnarsdottir","doi":"10.17645/pag.v11i4.7390","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v11i4.7390","url":null,"abstract":"To what extent and how did the Covid-19-pandemic trigger the Europeanisation of public policy in the EU member states? This article addresses this question by exploring member states’ responses to the labour market implications of the pandemic. Although the EU due to its free movement principles in effect has a common labour market, labour market policies have remained in the hands of the member states. Nonetheless, we find that they responded in a surprisingly similar manner to rising unemployment caused by lockdowns. Was this policy change linked to Europeanisation processes, and if so, in what way? We find that member states’ responses were related both to economic incentives and to contingent learning playing out in largely informal settings at the EU level. Our findings shed light on how crises may function as a critical juncture that triggers policy change, and how the EU may play a key role in such change. Our study thus also adds insights to our understanding of the mechanisms that underpin Europeanisation, in particular by shedding light on the importance of informal learning processes and the influence of the European Commission also in formally less integrated policy areas.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":" 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139142679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tested by the Polycrisis: Reforming or Transforming the EU?","authors":"Edoardo Bressanelli, David Natali","doi":"10.17645/pag.v11i4.7894","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v11i4.7894","url":null,"abstract":"This thematic issue addresses the question: To what extent have the latest crises—the pandemic crisis and Russia’s war in Ukraine—triggered institutional and policy change in the EU? It contributes to the literature on the impact of crises on integration and the EU political system, presenting new research based on fresh theoretical insights, empirical data, or a combination of both. Theoretically, the contributions collected in the thematic issue explore whether the crises represent a critical juncture for the EU, leading to institutional and/or policy innovations or, rather, set in motion more incremental processes of adaptation. Empirically, all articles—some of which are qualitative, while others are quantitative—are based on original or new data. The first group of contributions deals with institutional change, focusing both on formal (i.e., treaty reform) and informal (i.e., codes of conduct) institutions. A second group moves the focus to policy change, looking at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on several policy areas and the energy crisis. Overall, the key lesson is that the EU can now manage and absorb new shocks quite effectively. At the same time, however, it does not promote ambitious and coherent political models or policy paradigms. Instead, it provides room for experimentation through patchwork-like strategies where old and new instruments and settings mix.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"55 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139145940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The National Recovery and Resilience Plans: Towards a Next Generation of Fiscal Coordination?","authors":"Matilde Ceron","doi":"10.17645/pag.v11i4.7359","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.v11i4.7359","url":null,"abstract":"The Recovery and Resilience Facility reflects unprecedented solidarity through common financing paired with an innovative governance framework. Member states can access grants and loans through the formulation of National Recovery and Resilience Plans, under a set of conditions that include minimum allocation targets and addressing country-specific recommendations. The analysis evaluates whether the governance of the Recovery and Resilience Facility mitigates one of the longstanding weaknesses of the Economic and Monetary Union architecture: fiscal coordination. Assessing the prevalence of green, digital, and social priorities in the (a) National Recovery and Resilience Plans, (b) the country-specific recommendations, and (c) party manifestos through a quantitative and qualitative text analysis shows some convergence toward supranational preferences, albeit only in the green domain. I provide preliminary evidence at the stage of the formulation of the plans of the effectiveness of the Recovery and Resilience Facility fiscal policy coordination by testing whether recovery agendas in the National Recovery and Resilience Plans reflect EU or national priorities. Deviating from the limited implementation of country-specific recommendations within the European Semester, the analysis indicates the governance of the Recovery and Resilience Facility orients the National Recovery and Resilience Plans toward fostering a green recovery. Findings contribute to the assessment of how pandemic recovery instruments innovate EU fiscal governance and longstanding discussions on the ineffectiveness of fiscal coordination within the Economic and Monetary Union, informing the ongoing debate on the reform of the Stability and Growth Pact and a permanent successor to the Recovery and Resilience Facility.","PeriodicalId":51598,"journal":{"name":"Politics and Governance","volume":"3 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2023-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139147503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}