Electoral Reform

As democratic political systems around the world face multiple challenges, from political polarisation to voter disengagement to loss of belief in the value of democracy itself, the topic of reforming democracy's defining institution, elections, is of considerable importance. This special issue of Political Science presents five articles focused on electoral reforms in Australia and New Zealand. These are two of the world's oldest and most stable democracies. Nevertheless, they are far from immune to contemporary global challenges to democracy. As parliamentary democracies sharing many similarities, they provide useful bases for comparison. The articles address issues of early voting, majoritarian and proportional representation electoral systems, and citizens' perceptions of effective representation. Three are selected from papers presented at the sixth annual conference of the Australian Society for Quantitative Political Science (ASQPS) held (fittingly for this special issue) in Wellington, New Zealand, in December 2017. This conference is now an established feature of political science in the Antipodes and the wider region, providing a forum for scholars using rigorous analysis of quantitative data to exchange ideas, approaches and findings. We hope this special issue will represent one further contribution stemming from these yearly gatherings. The articles in this volume all focus on citizens' behaviour in the context of particular electoral institutions, and in most cases, in the context of changes in those institutions. This kind of cross-temporal examination of important cases is one valuable way in which electoral reform can be studied, and contrasts with much of the existing literature on electoral institutions that takes a cross-sectional, cross-case approach. Specifically, two papers focus on before and after assessment of early voting (Garnett, Sheppard and Beauregard), one focuses on the change from majoritarian to proportional representation (Liu), another focuses on changes in a preferential voting system meant to limit the number of fringe parties gaining seats (McAllister and Muller) and one focuses on perceived effectiveness of representation in the context of lax campaign finance rules (Cameron and Wynter). All but the latter are able to take advantage of observed voter behaviour in the wake of institutional change, while Cameron and Wynter's article

Campaign finance is a contentious issue as it deals with the fundamental value of equality, which is intrinsic to the notion of a fair democracy in the United States. Many scholars believe that the appearance of corruption is just as harmful to the state of democracy as objective corruption. To find out the average American’s belief in the democratic institution, it is imperative to observe their opinions about campaign finance as it relates to perceptions of corruption. This paper will observe how the appearance of corruption impacts voters’ opinions on campaign finance, and voters’ satisfaction in the American democratic process. Further, the paper considers partisanship and its impacts on the voters. Utilizing ANES data from 2020, the paper will analyze multiple factors to determine how the perception of corruption impacts the democratic system. It is likely that the perception of corruption impacts opinions on campaign finance. Those who believe there is corruption going on are generally unsatisfied with the democratic process. Likewise, political leanings affect how people feel about satisfaction in the democratic process and their opinions about corruption. The implications of this work demonstrate that there is a cultural issue present about the appearance of corruption in the United States and would add to the plethora of literature that suggest that there needs to  be drastic overhaul in the system.

Representative democracy derives its legitimacy from the ability of citizens to elect representatives through free, fair, and competitive elections. However, the representative character of democracy faces growing challenges that threaten political equality, accountability, and public trust. This article examines the contemporary threats confronting electoral democracy, with a particular focus on India.

Comparable institutions in similar economies (India's Election Commission introduced EVMs in 1982) demonstrate that institutional capacity can be built progressively.  International technical assistance (Carter Center, IFES, Electoral Institute of Southern Africa) was available and active in Ghana's electoral landscape. Limitations and Challenges Year Actual Margin Within Error Tolerance? Outcome Changed? Analysis 27.9 pp No No Margin far exceeds error tolerance. Rawlings wins. Opposition boycott is political -evoting cannot resolve a legitimacy crisis rooted in distrust of the incumbent. 17.6 pp No No Decisive margin. Rawlings wins. System immaturity irrelevant to the outcome. 13.8 pp (runoff) No No Kufuor wins. Historic transfer confirmed. E-voting accelerates certainty but does not alter it. 7.8 pp No No Kufuor re-elected. 7.8 pp is 39x the maximum error tolerance. Outcome certain. 0.46 pp YES -mandatory recount triggered No (same winner) CRITICAL: 0.46 pp falls within ±0.3% tolerance. Mandatory recount triggered. Mills wins after recount with full cryptographic auditability. National tension structurally deescalated. 2.96 pp No No Mahama wins. Margin is clear. Petition eliminated -massive institutional change -but outcome unchanged. 9.45 pp No No Akufo-Addo wins decisively. E-voting adds speed and transparency, not ambiguity. 4.23 pp No No Akufo-Addo reelected. Petition still plausible politically but evidentiary basis dramatically weakened. 14.99 pp No No Mahama wins decisively. E-voting showcases Ghana as continental model.

All Rights Reserved. Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. To that extent, this book is marketed/sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Cover Photograph & its design is by Bob MajiriOghene Communications, Nigeria.

This article examines Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s reform project as an attempt to move Lebanon from a confessional political order toward a citizenship-based state. Drawing on Salam’s academic work and recent governmental agenda, it analyzes the relationship between sovereignty, institutional reform, equality before the law, merit-based public administration, and the state monopoly on the use of force. The article argues that effective sovereignty in Lebanon depends on rebuilding state authority through concrete citizenship, judicial independence, administrative reform, and the reduction of sectarian patronage. It also highlights the political, institutional, and regional obstacles confronting this agenda and considers Lebanon’s relevance as a comparative case for pluralist democracies seeking to restore state capacity without sacrificing civic equality.

Pese al creciente interés sobre la observación electoral en América Latina, la región de mayor desarrollo de la actividad en los últimos años (Cuéllar y Thompson 2008; Pinilla 2008), aún se carece de una discusión conceptual acorde respecto de qué se entiende por «observación electoral». Más aún en el mismo sentido, es sabido que en los distintos países de la región se denomina a esa actividad en formas muy diversas, lo cual también impacta en la manera de investigar el tema. Este trabajo revisa casos puntuales de observaciones y discute las conceptualizaciones más utilizadas sobre la observación electoral en América Latina (Boneo, Carrillo y Valverde 2007; Thompson 2008; Muñoz-Pogossian 2013). Se propone una definición que incluye cada uno de sus elementos de base y, al mismo tiempo, evita «estiramientos conceptuales» para permitir profundizar el conocimiento sobre el tema (Sartori 1984).

Los candidatos independientes han surgido
a nivel mundial como una reacción por
parte de la sociedad civil ante la ineficacia
de los partidos políticos para satisfacer las
necesidades de los ciudadanos desde el
gobierno. De igual forma, los independientes
nacen ante la falta de receptividad por
parte de dichos organismos políticos para
considerar las opiniones y las demandas de
la sociedad al determinar el rumbo, el diseño
y la aplicación de las políticas públicas
y los programas gubernamentales, así
como la conducción del propio gobierno.
En este texto exploramos teóricamente el
surgimiento de los candidatos independientes,
partiendo desde la literatura especializada,
para después aterrizarla en
el caso mexicano, revisando los cambios
institucionales llevados a cabo a partir
de dicho fenómeno y que permiten actualmente
a los independientes competir
legalmente en procesos electorales.

En el 2012 la legislación electoral en México abrió
la posibilidad de las candidaturas independientes o
ciudadanas, o sea, candidatos a diversos cargos de
elección popular no postulados por alguna o algunas
de las fuerzas partidistas con registro. El objetivo
de este artículo es establecer si dicha figura es una
respuesta institucional genuina al reclamo de una
ciudadanía cada vez más participativa y combativa
o si, por el contrario, es una estrategia articulada por
las elites políticas en respuesta a dicho reclamo, pero
más para legitimarse y controlar la disidencia que para
abrir la arena electoral a nuevos actores políticos que
potencialmente pudieran disputarles protagonismo y
prerrogativas a los partidos políticos.

This article reconsiders the phenomenon whereby individuals feel compelled to become members of political parties through the conceptual framework of Hakki Tan's Reality Paradigm. Political party membership is commonly understood within modern political theory as an act of voluntary participation, ideological commitment or civic association. Yet in many political and social contexts, party membership may function not merely as an expression of belief, but as a code of recognition, protection, access, social survival and systemic legibility. The article does not treat party membership as a uniform act of obedience. Rather, it examines it as a contested threshold between recognition, counter-recognition, strategic action, risk, temporal opposition, cartelised opposition, high electoral turnout, selective legibility, post-party energy management, antagonistic legibility, Onopticonic interruption and opacity. It applies the concepts of the Onopticon, Homovictimus, compulsory recognition, selective legibility, the imposition of the field of possibility, weak contestability, local Onopticons, temporal opposition, cartelised opposition, energy management, symbiotic reality, antagonistic legibility, Onopticonic interruption, infrastructural collapse, biological interruption and opacity to the domains of party membership and electoral reality. in order to operate. Event, interruption, infrastructural collapse and biological limits therefore mark the boundaries of Onopticonic power.

El objetivo de este ensayo es demostrar que lejos de ser una
buena idea, la alianza del PAN y el PRD para buscar la presidencia en
el 2018 será su ruina, cuestión que, indirectamente, abona en favor
de las aspiraciones de Morena y su candidato Andrés Manuel López
Obrador.

This study compares institutional frameworks for political finance and electoral justice in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. It analyzes regulations, oversight mechanisms, and their impact on electoral integrity. In Europe, more robust and standardized regulatory frameworks promote transparency and oversight. In Africa and the Americas, newer democracies have made progress in institutionalization processes but still face challenges in consolidating effective regulations. While these models are key to democratic quality, they require strengthening institutions to improve transparency and electoral integrity.

Hoy éste libro resulta relevante porque reúne el único análisis nacional de las elecciones federales y locales que anteceden al proceso electoral de 2018 en nuestro país. En éste sentido es un testimonio históricamente relevante. Las elecciones que tuvieron verificativo en 2015 pusieron a prueba la reforma electoral que como parte del paquete legislativo llamado Pacto por México se realizó desde diciembre de 2012 y ocupó 2013 y 2014. La reforma electoral fue realizada durante una fase en la que hubo un clima de colaboración entre los tres grandes partidos políticos, de manera que su contenido implicó un consenso entre esas tres importantes organizaciones partidarias para su realización. El PRI en este periodo revivió el liderazgo interno centrado en la figura del presidente Enrique Peña Nieto, al recuperar la presidencia de la república. El PAN tuvo que pagar el costo de los acuerdos con el PRI y el presidente Enrique Peña Nieto, lo que implicó fuertes enfrentamientos internos y críticas importantes dirigidas hacia los responsables de haber llevado al partido por la senda del Pacto. Sin embargo, para el PRD esta vía de acuerdos y negociaciones con el ejecutivo federal y el PRI representó un costo institucional más alto. El Pacto por México le significó a este el desprendimiento de una parte importante de su militancia y de sus dirigentes, así como, el abandono de una parte relevante de su ideología nacionalista y mucha de su orientación popular. La formación del Partido Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (MORENA) fue obra de la dirigencia que rompió con el PRD; MORENA, como no podía ser de otra forma, nació opuesto al Pacto por México y al contenido de la reforma institucional que dicho acuerdo planteaba como proyecto político para el país. La elección tuvo un elemento novedoso, la figura de las candidaturas independientes, mismas que habían sido reguladas por la nueva legislación en materia electoral; en este proceso, la llegada de Jaime Rodríguez Calderón, "El Bronco", a la gubernatura de Monterrey, de Manuel Clouthier Carrillo a la diputación federal por el distrito V de Sinaloa y de Pedro Kumamoto al congreso local de Jalisco por el distrito 10 de esa entidad, ejemplifican cómo la vía independiente pudo ser una carta fuerte en el proceso democrático nacional, que los candidatos independientes representan una alternativa electoral frente a los partidos políticos, así como, también, que las candidaturas independientes pueden jugar un papel importante frente al control que las burocracias políticas de los partidos políticos. Además, en esta elección aparecieron en la escena política tres nuevos partidos políticos: el partido MORENA, el Partido Humanista (PH) y el Partido Encuentro Social (PES). Con estos precedentes, la elección de 2015 representó la prueba fundamental para que el Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) mostrara su capacidad como "nuevo órgano" encargado de la realización de los comicios a nivel local y federal. La historia y la evaluación de esta elección es fundamental para conocer el período que va de 2015 a 2018. El libro que el lector tiene en sus manos es una aportación que la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa, a través del Centro de Estudios de la Democracia y Elecciones (CEDE), ha realizado para enriquecer el pensamiento crítico y el análisis del proceso electoral y democrático vivido en el país durante 2014-2015.

En el ámbito investigativo, fue ganador del primer concurso histórico sobre la Villa Republicana de Chiquinquirá (1995) y ponente en el IX Congreso de Historia de Colombia. Es autor del artículo «Innovación pedagógica en Chiquinquirá», incluido en la obra colectiva Los maestros construimos futuro (1989), y coautor del libro Saboyá, pueblo de indios (2000).

El presente capítulo analiza la participación de las mujeres en el ámbito de la seguridad pública en México, destacando los desafíos históricos, sociales e institucionales que han enfrentado para integrarse en espacios tradicionalmente dominados por hombres. El estudio inicia con una revisión histórica de la participación femenina en el espacio público, resaltando la influencia de los movimientos feministas, las políticas de igualdad de género y las reformas democráticas que favorecieron el acceso de las mujeres a instituciones y espacios de toma de decisiones.
Asimismo, el capítulo examina la incorporación gradual de las mujeres en las instituciones de seguridad pública y reflexiona sobre los estereotipos culturales y las barreras estructurales que continúan limitando su desarrollo profesional. Aunque en las últimas décadas se ha incrementado la presencia femenina en las corporaciones policiales y de seguridad, las mujeres aún enfrentan situaciones de discriminación, desigualdad de oportunidades, violencia de género y resistencia institucional dentro de estructuras organizacionales predominantemente masculinas.

Las autoras sostienen que la inclusión de las mujeres en la seguridad pública genera beneficios importantes para las instituciones y para la sociedad. La participación femenina fortalece la confianza ciudadana, mejora la atención comunitaria y favorece enfoques más empáticos e integrales en la resolución de conflictos y en la gestión de la seguridad. Además, las mujeres han demostrado capacidades de liderazgo, habilidades de mediación y competencias operativas que contribuyen a una mayor efectividad institucional.

Finalmente, el capítulo enfatiza la necesidad de incorporar una perspectiva de género en las políticas públicas de seguridad, los procesos de reclutamiento, la capacitación y las estructuras de liderazgo. También subraya la importancia de promover culturas organizacionales inclusivas, igualdad de oportunidades y mecanismos que garanticen el desarrollo profesional de las mujeres dentro de las instituciones de seguridad pública. En conjunto, se concluye que una mayor participación femenina es fundamental para construir instituciones más democráticas, equitativas y eficientes frente a los desafíos contemporáneos de la seguridad pública.

The Linda Mwananchi movement has intensified the push for 'ethical and quality' leadership in Kenya, led by Hon Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, James Aggrey Orengo, Babu Owino, Richard Onyonka, Caleb Amisi, Osotsi and other technocrats marks a departure from traditional "money-for-votes" tactics through its "cashless politics" strategy. This approach emphasizes ideological conviction over financial handouts, aiming to install leadership based on ethical standards and governance quality.

The claim is regularly made that voter personation was a significant feature of the 1918 general election outcome in Ireland. The results of this election were crucially important for the replacement of Home Rule devolution by republican independence as the goal of the Irish nationalist mass movement. The personation claims tend to devalue and delegitimise this critical change. Systematic evidence relating to personation is notoriously hard to find. Here the Bureau of Military History Witness Statements are searched for evidence as to how common the practice was. This source indicates that the abuse was uncommon and that its occurrence was highly concentrated in a few constituencies.

The Second Reform Act ushered in the age of democratic politics in the UK by expanding the voting franchise to include the working classes and providing new representation to industrialized cities. Using unsupervised topic model analysis of parliamentary debates and quantitative analysis of roll call votes, we use new historical data to investigate why electoral reform successfully passed the House of Commons in 1867. Specifically we consider why reform passed under a minority Conservative government while a similar bill failed under a majority Liberal government despite no election or change in membership of the House of Commons. We find that party, not constituency, is responsible for explaining votes on reform and that, ultimately, it was the reduction in the number of aspects in the debate over reform that allowed a minority Conservative government to enact the Second Reform Act.

The Second Reform Act ushered in the age of democratic politics in the United Kingdom by expanding the voting franchise and remedying legislative malapportionment. Analyzing parliamentary debates and divisions, we investigate why reform successfully passed the House of Commons in 1867. We consider why reform passed under a minority Conservative government yet failed under a majority Liberal government despite no election or change in membership. Though partisanship is most influential for parliamentary voting, it is an incomplete explanation given the absence of modern party institutions. Rather, we argue that the narrowed scope of debate under the Conservatives was crucial in passing reform.

October 4, 2026. General election day in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Depending on where they live, voters choose between three and seven layers of government simultaneously: the Presidency of BiH, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, the Parliament of the Federation of BiH or the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, cantonal assemblies in the Federation, and the President and Vice Presidents of Republika Srpska.

The literature on electoral system change has focused on the motivations of the political actors who initiate these legislative processes. However, less is known about how contextual factors impact electoral reform approval. The Portuguese case is especially interesting for investigating this question. In the 38-year period studied in this article, only one reduction in the number of MPs and two amendments to the rules governing changes in the electoral system oc-curred, despite the 11 episodes in which political parties attempted to reform the electoral system. Using a strategy that prioritizes the contextualized analy-sis of a long period, the goal is to explore the mechanisms – barriers and catalysts – that underlie reform and non-reform. We conclude that the maintenance of the status quo is the result of the combined effectiveness of the barriers – high constitutional and legal barriers, as well as inter and intra-party veto play-ers – and the ineffectiveness of the catalysts – the electoral system ensured political and electoral stability, while simultaneously lowering the risks faced by the main political parties – during the analysed period. We also conclude that the extreme results obtained in the intra-party dimension of the electoral sys-tem, which has been the driving force behind the country's debate on electoral reform, are the only exception to this trend.

Elections lie at the heart of democratic governance, yet Nigeria's electoral journey has been a tortuous one, marked by recurring dysfunctions that undermine the legitimacy of governance itself. From the colonial elections of the 1950s through the crises of the First Republic, and into the complex dynamics of post-1999 elections, Nigeria's electoral experience reflects not merely technical failures but systemic betrayals of democratic ideals. 1 From the first post-independence election through till the Fourth Republic, the story has largely been one of fraud, violence, manipulation, and ineffective legal safeguards. However, scholars note that right from independence through to 2007 only the Babangida-annulled 1993 poll was ever broadly accepted; other contests were beset by fraud and manipulation. 2 In the Fourth Republic (post-1999), numerous challenges such as ballot-box stuffing, violence, intimidation, "Sit-tightism" syndrome, prebendalism, godfatherism, and irregularities have repeatedly tainted the outcomes of elections in Nigeria. For example, in the April 2007 presidential election, independent observers condemned the vote as a "charade". In their words, it was a "poor election organization…lack of transparency [and] significant evidence of fraud, voter disenfranchisement [and] violence and bias". 3 This pattern of flawed elections followed by sporadic reforms, and persistent malpractice underscores deeper structural problems: a combination of paper tiger laws, misapplication of legal provisions, poor enforcement mechanisms, and political interference.

The aim of the study is to find out about the strategies used in the dissemination of misinformation and fake news in the digital age by using the critical discourse analysis (Henceforth CDA) by Wodak, (2015) and the socio-cognitive approach of van Dijk (2008). A methodology marker of the research was the demonstrated utilization of a mixed corpus-linguistic and critical discourse analytic qualitative research method to explicate the linguistic properties, discursive devices, and social-contextual features at play. Research data were gathered from the different social media platforms featuring the viral misinformation cases.This research found that misinformation regularly employs emotional language, ambiguous syntactic structures, and persuasive devices, and familiar discourse strategies identified involved selective framing, decontextualization, or circular argumentation. Beyond the linguistic strategies, the research analyses the role of the platform algorithms, echo chambers, and cultural biases in the spread of misinformation. What this investigation adds to the literature on misinformation is a discourse-analytical synthesis, an account of the possible interventions to address misinformation, and a focus on how critical media literacy is important. This was deemed noteworthy by the researchers as it presents an innovative perspective about how linguistic choices, discourse strategies, and socio-technical networks are interconnected in the spreading of misinformation in the context of contemporary societies. The findings from this research speak to the researchers’ call for attention from policymakers, educators, and media professionals to intervene and counter misinformation in contemporary society

The article is dedicated to the new aggravating circumstance, which is a qualitative characteristic of a number of crimes provided for by the new Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia adopted on May 5, 2021, namely, committing the act with the use of a weapon or an object or means prepared or adapted in advance to cause bodily harm. The relevance of the chosen topic is evidenced by the existence of contradictory legal practice on the issue in question, numerous cases of non-uniform application of the law, as well as the need for a comprehensive interpretation of the legislation, which is the main goal of the article. The work attempts to comprehensively interpret the legislation, paying special attention to problematic issues and ones that have caused disagreement among specialists. In particular, the following questions are raised: What are the criteria for considering whether an object or means is prepared or adapted in advance to cause bodily harm? For what purpose should the object or means be adapted or prepared for the presence of an aggravating circumstance? By whom should the object or means be adapted or prepared? Can the use of an object taken from the scene of the crime cause an aggravating circumstance? In addition, the results of the practice of applying the aforementioned aggravating circumstance were discussed.

Статья посвящена анализу нововведений, примененных на досрочных парламентских выборах в Кыргызской Республике в ноябре 2025 года. В центре внимания находятся изменения избирательного законодательства, цифровизация избирательного процесса, гендерные механизмы, переход к мажоритарной модели, а также институциональные и технологические барьеры доступа к выборам. Особое внимание уделено сравнительному анализу с парламентскими выборами 2020 и 2021 годов, что позволяет выделить ключевые векторы трансформации политической системы страны. Ключевые слова: парламентские выборы, Кыргызская Республика, электоральная система, политическая культура, гендерное представительство, избирательное законодательство, цифровизация выборов. Авторы Мурзахалилов Канатбек Сайтмуратович Кандидат исторических наук, управляющий партнер PR-агентства «Гуров и партнеры -Центральная Азия» Бишкек, Кыргызская Республика Гуров Филипп Никитич Кандидат философских наук, старший преподаватель кафедры коммуникационных технологий Московского государственного лингвистического университета Москва, Россия Введение

This paper introduces CEOS-E, a strategic intelligence metamodel designed for the analysis, monitoring, and interpretation of electoral campaigns in complex competitive environments. Unlike predictive models focused on vote estimation, CEOS-E provides a second-order analytical architecture aimed at improving decision-making within electoral war rooms under conditions of uncertainty. The model conceptualizes electoral campaigns as complex adaptive systems characterized by the interaction of four core dimensions: order signals, decisional energy, political entropy, and cognitive friction. These dimensions collectively shape the degree of decisional structuring of the electorate, understood as the increasing legibility and interpretability of the competitive environment. In its applied form, CEOS-E adopts a sequential analytical-operational expression that distinguishes three distinct moments within the electoral process: competitive positioning, majority aggregation, and governability viability. This distinction enables a more precise interpretation of campaign dynamics, separating visibility from viability, openness from structural consolidation, and novelty from effective competitive reconfiguration. The model does not aim to replace empirical tools such as polling, territorial intelligence, or digital analytics, but rather to integrate them into a coherent strategic framework. In doing so, CEOS-E contributes to the field of political strategy by providing a structured approach to interpreting complex electoral dynamics and enhancing strategic decision-making under conditions of uncertainty in real-time campaign environments. The gap it addresses is therefore not merely informational, but structural in nature.

Este informe muestra los alcances de la penalización del aborto en la vida de las niñas y mujeres en México, y también busca contribuir a una mejor comprensión de los patrones que sigue la criminalización a fin de combatirla y garantizar la toma decisiones en un marco de libertad y justicia.

This article argues that in the contemporary Middle East, legal narratives have become an operational tool of alliance management rather than merely a constraint on the use of force. Through the lens of “conflict without labels,” it shows how terms such as self-defense, limited strike, or incident allow governments to preserve coalition cohesion, reduce diplomatic costs, and manage escalation. Gaza illustrates how intense legal contestation and humanitarian scrutiny can coexist with resilient alliances through strategic compartmentalization.

The Iran file demonstrates how escalation can be prepared in advance through legal framing combined with diplomacy, military signaling, and domestic volatility. For Gulf states, this dynamic raises structural concerns about sovereignty and exposure to retaliation. The article concludes that the normalization of force occurs gradually through linguistic adjustment; disciplining escalation therefore requires disciplining the language that defines it.

Este capítulo introductorio tiene como objetivo ofrecer una delimitación conceptual que permita establecer parámetros mínimos a partir de los cuales las relaciones clientelares adoptan su respectivo carácter y diferenciar entre distintas prácticas clientelares. Con esto, no sólo deseamos brindar claridad sobre los sentidos que adoptan las contribuciones de las y los colaboradores de la obra, sino aportar un recurso conceptual para cualquier estudioso en la materia.

Cet article explore le parcours politique et l’impact socio-économique de Geneviève Inagosi Bulo Ibambi Kassongo, figure emblématique du leadership féminin en République démocratique du Congo. Native de Wamba, dans la province du Haut-Uélé, elle s’est imposée comme une actrice majeure du développement local, en particulier dans sa circonscription natale.À travers une approche qualitative fondée sur l’analyse documentaire, les entretiens et les observations de terrain, cette étude met en lumière les réalisations concrètes de Madame Inagosi en tant que députée nationale et ancienne ministre du Genre, de la Famille et de l’Enfant. Elle a notamment œuvrée pour l’amélioration de l’accès à l’éducation, aux soins de santé, aux infrastructures de base et à l’autonomisation économique des populations rurales.Le mémoire insiste particulièrement sur le territoire de Wamba, qui constitue le cœur de son engagement politique. Il analyse également les défis structurels auxquels cette région est confrontée, tout en proposant des perspectives et recommandations pour un développement durable et inclusif.

1963, aunque sin dejar de lado algunos momentos previos. La importancia del trabajo radica en mostrar la gradual apertura que ha tenido el sistema, originalmente poco competitivo, dentro de la institución que ha sido la punta de lanza de los cambios hacia una pluralidad política: la Cámara de Diputados. En México, a pesar de que desde la reforma electoral de 1946 se reconoció a los partidos políticos como vías para canalizar demandas, el sistema electoral se podía caracterizar por su falta de competitividad. Un autor señala que "una comunidad política sigue las normas de la competencia cuando en el momento de las elecciones casi todos, si no todos, los escaños se disputan entre dos o más candidatos al puesto". 2 Sin embargo, la escasa competencia electoral en esos años tiene explicación, en parte, por la existencia de un sistema relativamente cerrado, y también porque, a pesar del gran número de partidos que entonces entraron en la arena electoral, éstos no tenían los cuadros suficientes como para poder cubrir con éxito la totalidad de los distritos. Asimismo, aunque los primeros pasos hacia una mayor participación de los partidos minoritarios en la Cámara de Diputados tuvo lugar con la serie de reformas llevadas a cabo entre 1963 y la primera

L'année 2024 est celle des cinquante années de l'instauration à l'Assemblée nationale des Questions au Gouvernement (QAG). Sous la V e République, une double spécificité s'observe entre les deux chambres du Parlement. Une première en ce sens que, à l'époque, les QAG n'ont pas été mises en place au Sénat. Pour la seconde assemblée, le cinquantenaire ne sera célébré qu'en 2032. La deuxième tient à la terminologie employée. En effet, l'Instruction générale du Bureau de l'Assemblée nationale (IGB) fait mention des « Questions au Gouvernement » 2 , tandis que le règlement du Sénat (RS) fait référence aux « Questions d'actualité au Gouvernement » 3. Quelle que soit l'appellation retenue, les QAG peuvent être définies comme un procédé par lequel les parlementaires interpellent oralement les membres du Gouvernement sur un sujet d'actualité. Ces questions se présentent comme « un échange de vues » 4 et constituent la forme la plus immédiate du contrôle parlementaire sur l'action gouvernementale. Il s'agit d'une procédure sans vote et d'un droit non collectif propre à chaque parlementaire. Le bicamérisme est égalitaire puisque les députés (1974) et les sénateurs (1982) disposent identiquement d'un tel droit. Les QAG permettent l'information des élus du Parlement sur des sujets ponctuels et sur des points d'actualité sans mise en jeu de la responsabilité politique du Gouvernement. Au moment de leur instauration, il s'agissait du seul mécanisme de contrôle parlementaire à faire l'objet d'une retransmission en direct sur les chaînes nationales de la télévision publique. Les QAG permettent alors aux parlementaires de placer le Gouvernement face à ses responsabilités en prenant l'opinion publique à témoin. À l'origine, le dernier alinéa de l'article 48 de la Constitution disposait : « une séance par semaine est réservée par priorité aux questions des membres du Parlement et aux réponses du Gouvernement ». Or, non seulement les questions ne portaient pas sur des sujets d'actualité, mais elles commençaient à susciter le désintérêt des parlementaires. De plus, contrôlée par la majorité, la Conférence des Présidents de l'Assemblée nationale s'était arrogé un rôle de filtre. En vue d'éviter une censure du Conseil constitutionnel, les QAG ont été mises en place en marge du règlement des assemblées. Le procédé a connu un grand succès tant du point de vue des élus que de l'opinion. En effet, ces questions ne sont « ni déposées, ni notifiées, ni préalablement publiées » 5. En principe, leur contenu n'est pas communiqué au Gouvernement. Le caractère spontané des questions et la présence d'un grand nombre de membres du Gouvernement assurent une large audience à ces séances. Aujourd'hui la retransmission a lieu sur les chaines parlementaires spécialisées, les sites officiels des Assemblées et sur les réseaux sociaux ce qui leur confère toujours une large médiatisation. Toutefois le procédé est souvent décrié comme un exercice de « communication politique » 6. Souvent réduites à un exercice

A Constituição Federal de 1988 (CF/88) erigiu os Tribunais de Contas a pilares essenciais da República, conferindo-lhes um papel multifacetado e de grande importância na fiscalização e no controle da gestão dos recursos públicos. Para além de exercer auxílio ao Poder Legislativo, essas instituições, presentes em todas as esferas federativas, desdobram suas competências em um vasto leque de atribuições que visam assegurar a legalidade, a legitimidade e a economicidade dos atos da administração pública. Dentre as diversas funções que lhes são atribuídas, destaca-se, sobremaneira, a jurisdicional. Esta não se confunde com a função judicial de "dizer o direito em definitivo", que é incumbência do Poder Judiciário. Contudo, qualifica-os como tribunais com poder de julgar as contas dos administradores e demais responsáveis por dinheiros, bens e valores públicos (art. 71, II, da CF/88). Nesse contexto, o julgamento das contas públicas pelos Tribunais de Contas adquire uma relevância ainda maior no cenário político-eleitoral brasileiro, especialmente em razão da sanção de inelegibilidade. A rejeição de contas pode impedir que um cidadão concorra a cargos eletivos, impactando diretamente a dinâmica democrática do país. Este artigo visa analisar a repercussão eleitoral do julgamento das contas pelos Tribunais de Contas, com foco na sanção da inelegibilidade contida na LC nº 64/1990. Para tanto, será escrutinada a redação da alínea "g" do art. 1º, I, abordando os principais requisitos legais para a aplicação dessa sanção. Em seguida, será examinada a evolução jurisprudencial do Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF) e do Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE) sobre o assunto, buscando compreender as nuances e os desafios na aplicação dessa importante norma. A análise incluirá a distinção entre contas do governo e contas de gestão, o esclarecimento acerca da competência dos Tribunais de Contas e do Poder Legislativo, e a interpretação do §4º-A do art. 1º da Lei Complementar nº 64/1990, que afasta a inelegibilidade em determinadas situações. Serão abordados os principais julgados que moldaram o entendimento atual sobre o tema, bem como as controvérsias e os impactos práticos dessas decisões no cenário eleitoral brasileiro.

In recent decades, human rights discourse has increasingly confronted a paradox: while interna onal human rights norms con nue to expand rhetorically, their prac cal protec on appears to be steadily weakening. This phenomenon does not usually occur through explicit legal aboli ons or overt authoritarian measures, but rather through subtle, gradual, and o en normalised prac ces that erode rights from within legal and ins tu onal frameworks. This ar cle conceptualises this process as the silent erosion of human rights and examines how temporary emergency measures, excep onal legal regimes, and security-oriented policies gradually become permanent features of governance. Drawing on socio-legal analysis, the study explores how states jus fy rights-limi ng prac ces through narra ves of security, efficiency, and public order, while simultaneously preserving the formal appearance of legality. The ar cle analyses the transforma on of excep onality into permanence, focusing on its implica ons for the rule of law, democra c accountability, and the norma ve strength of human rights. By integra ng legal theory with sociological insights, this research highlights the risks posed by the ins tu onalisa on of excep onal measures and argues for a renewed cri cal engagement with human rights as living, enforceable norms rather than symbolic commitments.

The article discusses the inter-ethnic relations of the two main ethnic groups in Kosovo and Metohija in the period of reconciliation and "normalization of relations" under the auspices of the European Union in Brussels. Based on the material obtained through the analysis of media content, results were obtained that indicate intense ethnic violence perpetrated against the Serbian people in Kosmet. Comparing it with the course of the dialogue that took place over the past ten years, the author concludes that the so-called the normalization of relations conditioned by various forms of violence, from legal and political pressures to the bare abuse of Serbs on the so-called Kosovo, which reduced them to a minority with insignificant rights within the Community of Municipalities, which is offered to them as an "empty shell" in the final agreement.

This review essay examines five recent volumes in the UBC Press Turning Point Elections series that individually cover electoral contests taking place in 1867, 1921, 1935, 1957/1958, and 1993. As Canadian elections have not received much historical attention the volumes are both groundbreaking and true to the claim of the title to the series in that they are indeed 'turning points' in Canadian electoral history, i.e. ones that signalled a significant shift in the nature of Canadian party competition. The review gives a sense of what each volume accomplishes while also assessing how the series advances, or not, the sub-discipline of political history itself.

El artículo hace referencia al entramado legal que diseñado bajo un aparente normalidad democrática, ha ido concentrando un poder desmesurado en las cúpulas de los partidos políticos. A lo largo del artículo se analizan las distintas normas que amparan este entramado legal, comenzando por la Constitución, y pasando por la Ley electoral, la Ley de financiación de partidos, y el control e influencia que tienen en el poder legislativo, ejecutivo y judicial. Se proponen, además, una serie de medidas que podrían adoptarse para recuperar el equilibrio democrático, asumiendo en todo caso que aunque las modificaciones de este entramado legal son técnicamente viables y están contrastadas en otros países, lo que falta en todo caso es la voluntad política para impulsarlas, ya que quienes tendrían que aprobarlas (los partidos) son los principales beneficiarios del sistema actual.

https://www.lawandtrends.com/noticias/constitucional/el-cuestionable-entramado-legal-de-la-partitocracia-en-espana-1.html