Showing papers by "Center for the Study of Democracy published in 2008"
TL;DR: In this paper, an index of "effective democracy" was proposed to capture the empowering nature of democracy, and the authors found that effective democracy is most firmly embedded in empowering socioeconomic conditions that make people capable of practicing democracy and in empowering sociocultural conditions that makes them willing to do so.
Abstract: The core idea inspiring democracy is to empower people. To measure democracy in ways that capture its empowering nature one must focus on popular rights and take into account rule of law as a state quality that makes these rights effective. Based on this premise, we portray an index of "effective democracy" and test its qualities against six alternative indicators of democracy for some 150 states. We find the index of effective democracy to best represent the empowering nature of democracy because it most clearly captures democracy’s embedding in empowering conditions in the wider society. Specifically, effective democracy is shown to be most firmly embedded in (a) empowering socioeconomic conditions that make people capable of practicing democracy and (b) in empowering sociocultural conditions that make them willing to do so. In light of these findings, people empowerment appears to be a unity of empowering societal conditions and empowering regime characteristics, the latter of which are best depicted by the index of effective democracy.
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an international research programme on police stops in Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain is reviewed in the context of British and US debates on racism in police stops, and in particular t
Abstract: Findings from an international research programme on police stops in Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain are reviewed in the context of British and US debates on racism in police stops, and in particular t
34 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, an international research program on police stops in Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain is reviewed in the context of British and US debates on racism in police stops, and in particular the concepts of ethnic/racial profiling, disproportionality, and institutional racism.
Abstract: Findings from an international research program on police stops in Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain are reviewed in the context of British and US debates on racism in police stops, and in particular the concepts of ethnic/racial profiling, disproportionality, and institutional racism. The research uses surveys and qualitative interviews to examine the experiences of Roma in all three countries, and immigrants in Spain. The article finds evidence of ethnic/racial profiling in police decisions to stop. However, this does not translate into aggregate ethnic disparities in stops (disproportionality) in Bulgaria and Hungary, where they can be measured. This is because ethnic disparities are driven also by structural factors which are independent of ethnic profiling. Different kinds of institutional racism are also suggested by the poorer treatment of ethnic minority populations during stops and by evidence of under-policing of Roma-only communities in Bulgaria.
30 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors look at ways of classifying runoff methods in terms of characteristics such as number of rounds, rules used to determine which candidates advance to the next round, and rules which determine the final winner.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the demand, supply, and regulation factors that shape the structures of the vehicle theft market in Bulgaria, and smuggling patterns and offender behaviour in source countries, in particular Spain.
Abstract: Official and victimisation data show that despite falling rates for motor vehicle thefts, much of the EU ‘organized crime’ related thefts have remained almost stable. Nevertheless, the car-theft market in the EU has changed, and so has the role of traditional destinations for stolen vehicles, such as Eastern Europe. The paper examines the demand, supply, and regulation factors that shape the structures of the vehicle theft market in Bulgaria, and smuggling patterns and offender behaviour in source countries, in particular Spain. We argue that such nuanced historical approach that takes into account a wider range of factors in destination countries can help explain the recent transformations in Europe’s vehicle-theft markets.
12 citations
TL;DR: The authors studied the French presidential election of 2007 and found that the frustration of the median voter was an essentially unique occurrence in French presidential elections, at least once they take into account differential turnout on first and second round balloting.
Abstract: Abramson (2008) shows that the candidate of the median voter in the French two-round presidential election in 2007 was Francois Bayrou, but that he did not win the election — for the simple reason that he was eliminated at the first round of the balloting and so was not one of the two finalists in the second round. Looking at all eight French presidential elections in the Fifth Republic, over the period 1965–2007, we consider how typical of French presidential elections this 2007 frustration of the median voter was. While we clearly confirm Abramson's conclusions that Bayrou was the candidate supported by the French median voter in the presidential election of 2007, we find this frustration of the preferences of the median voter an essentially unique occurrence in French presidential elections — at least once we take into account differential turnout on first and second round balloting. Using a stylized model of the French political spectrum involving five electoral blocs (extreme left, left, center, right, and extreme right), we then attempt to explain why an electoral system that offers no guarantee of picking a Condorcet winner, and which has a multiplicity of first round candidates, nonetheless seems to do well in selecting Condorcet winners.
3 citations