Manipulating Democracy

Author : Wayne Le Cheminant,John M. Parrish
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2010-09-22
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781136994456

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Manipulating Democracy by Wayne Le Cheminant,John M. Parrish Pdf

Manipulation is a source of pervasive anxiety in contemporary American politics. Observers charge that manipulative practices in political advertising, media coverage, and public discourse have helped to produce an increasingly polarized political arena, an uninformed and apathetic electorate, election campaigns that exploit public fears and prejudices, a media that titillates rather than educates, and a policy process that too often focuses on the symbolic rather than substantive. Manipulating Democracy offers the first comprehensive dialogue between empirical political scientists and normative theorists on the definition and contemporary practice of democratic manipulation. This impressive array of distinguished scholars—political scientists, philosophers, cognitive psychologists, and communications scholars—collectively draw out the connections between competing definitions of manipulation, the psychology of manipulation, and the political institutions and practices through which manipulation is seen to produce a tightly-knit exploration of an issue at the heart of democratic politics.

Author : Serena Giusti,Elisa Piras
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 232 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2020-12-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000286731

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Democracy and Fake News by Serena Giusti,Elisa Piras Pdf

This book explores the challenges that disinformation, fake news, and post-truth politics pose to democracy from a multidisciplinary perspective. The authors analyse and interpret how the use of technology and social media as well as the emergence of new political narratives has been progressively changing the information landscape, undermining some of the pillars of democracy. The volume sheds light on some topical questions connected to fake news, thereby contributing to a fuller understanding of its impact on democracy. In the Introduction, the editors offer some orientating definitions of post-truth politics, building a theoretical framework where various different aspects of fake news can be understood. The book is then divided into three parts: Part I helps to contextualise the phenomena investigated, offering definitions and discussing key concepts as well as aspects linked to the manipulation of information systems, especially considering its reverberation on democracy. Part II considers the phenomena of disinformation, fake news, and post-truth politics in the context of Russia, which emerges as a laboratory where the phases of creation and diffusion of fake news can be broken down and analysed; consequently, Part II also reflects on the ways to counteract disinformation and fake news. Part III moves from case studies in Western and Central Europe to reflect on the methodological difficulty of investigating disinformation, as well as tackling the very delicate question of detection, combat, and prevention of fake news. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, law, political philosophy, journalism, media studies, and computer science, since it provides a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of post-truth politics.

Author : Lawrence R. Jacobs,Robert Y. Shapiro
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 454 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2000-06-21
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0226389839

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Politicians Don't Pander by Lawrence R. Jacobs,Robert Y. Shapiro Pdf

In this provocative and engagingly written book, the authors argue that politicians seldom tailor their policy decisions to "pander" to public opinion. In fact, they say that when not facing election, contemporary presidents and members of Congress routinely ignore the public's preferences and follow their own political philosophies. 37 graphs.

Author : Serena Giusti,Elisa Piras
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 44,8 Mb
Release : 2020-12-30
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000286816

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Democracy and Fake News by Serena Giusti,Elisa Piras Pdf

This book explores the challenges that disinformation, fake news, and post-truth politics pose to democracy from a multidisciplinary perspective. The authors analyse and interpret how the use of technology and social media as well as the emergence of new political narratives has been progressively changing the information landscape, undermining some of the pillars of democracy. The volume sheds light on some topical questions connected to fake news, thereby contributing to a fuller understanding of its impact on democracy. In the Introduction, the editors offer some orientating definitions of post-truth politics, building a theoretical framework where various different aspects of fake news can be understood. The book is then divided into three parts: Part I helps to contextualise the phenomena investigated, offering definitions and discussing key concepts as well as aspects linked to the manipulation of information systems, especially considering its reverberation on democracy. Part II considers the phenomena of disinformation, fake news, and post-truth politics in the context of Russia, which emerges as a laboratory where the phases of creation and diffusion of fake news can be broken down and analysed; consequently, Part II also reflects on the ways to counteract disinformation and fake news. Part III moves from case studies in Western and Central Europe to reflect on the methodological difficulty of investigating disinformation, as well as tackling the very delicate question of detection, combat, and prevention of fake news. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, law, political philosophy, journalism, media studies, and computer science, since it provides a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of post-truth politics.

Author : Lovise Aalen,Ragnhild L. Muriaas
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 182 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2017-10-12
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781315472393

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Manipulating Political Decentralisation by Lovise Aalen,Ragnhild L. Muriaas Pdf

Can autocrats establish representative subnational governments? And which strategies of manipulation are available if they would like to reduce the uncertainty caused by introducing political decentralisation? In the wake of local government reforms, several states across the world have introduced legislation that provides for subnational elections. This does not mean that representative subnational governments in these countries are all of a certain standard. Political decentralisation should not be confused with democratisation, as the process is likely to be manipulated in ways that do not produce meaningful avenues for political participation and contestation locally. Using examples from Africa, Lovise Aalen and Ragnhild L. Muriaas propose five requirements for representative subnational governments and four strategies that national governments might use to manipulate the outcome of political decentralisation. The case studies of Ethiopia, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda illustrate why autocrats sometimes are more open to competition at the subnational level than democrats. Manipulating Political Decentralisation provides a new conceptual tool to assess representative subnational governments' quality, aiding us in building theories on the consequences of political decentralisation on democratisation.

Author : Alberto Simpser
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 303 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2013-03-18
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781107030541

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Why Governments and Parties Manipulate Elections by Alberto Simpser Pdf

This book documents the widespread use of blatant and excessive manipulation of elections and explains what drives this practice. Alberto Simpser shows that, in many instances, governments and parties manipulate elections not only to gain votes, but also to transmit or distort information. This manipulation conveys an image of strength, shaping others' behavior to the benefit of the manipulators, increasing the scope for the manipulators to pursue their goals while in government and mitigating future challenges to their hold on power.

Author : Irene L. Gendzier
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2017
Category : Developing countries
ISBN : 1786801450

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Development Against Democracy - New Edition by Irene L. Gendzier Pdf

A classic, radical study of development via US foreign policy from the post-war period.

Author : H. Kriesi
Publisher : Springer
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2011-12-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780230343214

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Political Communication in Direct Democratic Campaigns by H. Kriesi Pdf

Analyzes the communication processes in direct democratic campaigns and their effect on the opinion formation of the voters. Based on a detailed analysis of the politicians' strategies, media coverage and the opinion formation of the public in three campaigns, this book argues that the campaigns are more enlightening than manipulating.

Author : Adam Przeworski,Susan C. Stokes,Bernard Manin
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 1999-09-13
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 0521646162

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Democracy, Accountability, and Representation by Adam Przeworski,Susan C. Stokes,Bernard Manin Pdf

6 Party Government and Responsiveness: James A. Stimson

Author : Irene L. Genozier
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 246 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 1995-09-01
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1884723047

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Development Against Democracy by Irene L. Genozier Pdf

Author : Irene L. Gendzier
Publisher : Pluto Press (UK)
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2017-08-20
Category : Developing countries
ISBN : 0745337295

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Development Against Democracy by Irene L. Gendzier Pdf

This new, updated edition of the influential Development Against Democracy is a critical guide to postwar studies of modernisation and development. In the mid-twentieth century, models of development studies were products of postwar American policy. They focused on newly independent states in the Global South, aiming to assure their pro-Western orientation by promoting economic growth, political reform and liberal democracy. However, this prevented real democracy and radical change.Today, projects of democracy have evolved in a radically different political environment that seems to have little in common with the postwar period. Development Against Democracy, however, testifies to a revealing continuity in foreign policy, including in justifications of 'humanitarian intervention' that echo those of counterinsurgency decades earlier in Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.Irene L. Gendzier argues that the fundamental ideas on which theories of modernisation and development rest have been resurrected in contemporary policy and its theories, representing the continuity of postwar US foreign policy in a world permanently altered by globalisation and its multiple discontents, the proliferation of 'failed states,' the unprecedented exodus of refugees, and Washington's declaration of a permanent war against terrorism.

Author : Jamie Bartlett
Publisher : Random House
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2018-04-05
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 9781473559127

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The People Vs Tech by Jamie Bartlett Pdf

**Winner of the 2019 Transmission Prize** **Longlisted for the 2019 Orwell Prize for Political Writing** ‘A superb book by one of the world’s leading experts on the digital revolution’ David Patrikarakos, Literary Review ‘This book could not have come at a better moment... The People Vs Tech makes clear that there is still time – just – for us to take back control’ - Camilla Cavendish, Sunday Times The internet was meant to set us free. Tech has radically changed the way we live our lives. But have we unwittingly handed too much away to shadowy powers behind a wall of code, all manipulated by a handful of Silicon Valley utopians, ad men, and venture capitalists? And, in light of recent data breach scandals around companies like Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, what does that mean for democracy, our delicately balanced system of government that was created long before big data, total information and artificial intelligence? In this urgent polemic, Jamie Bartlett argues that through our unquestioning embrace of big tech, the building blocks of democracy are slowly being removed. The middle class is being eroded, sovereign authority and civil society is weakened, and we citizens are losing our critical faculties, maybe even our free will. The People Vs Tech is an enthralling account of how our fragile political system is being threatened by the digital revolution. Bartlett explains that by upholding six key pillars of democracy, we can save it before it is too late. We need to become active citizens; uphold a shared democratic culture; protect free elections; promote equality; safeguard competitive and civic freedoms; and trust in a sovereign authority. This essential book shows that the stakes couldn’t be higher and that, unless we radically alter our course, democracy will join feudalism, supreme monarchies and communism as just another political experiment that quietly disappeared.

Author : Andrea Castagnola
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 140 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-31
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781351986076

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Manipulating Courts in New Democracies by Andrea Castagnola Pdf

When can the Executive manipulate the composition of a Court? What political factors explain judicial instability on the bench? Using original field data from Argentina's National Supreme Court and all twenty-four Provincial Supreme Courts, Andrea Castagnola develops a novel theory to explain forced retirements of judges. She argues that in developing democracies the political benefits of manipulating the court outweigh the costs associated with doing so. The instability of the political context and its institutions causes politicians to focus primarily on short-term goals and to care mostly about winning elections. Consequently, judiciaries become a valuable tool for politicians to have under their control. Contrary to the predictions of strategic retirement theory, Castagnola demonstrates that there are various institutional and non-institutional mechanisms for induced retirement which politicians have used against justices, regardless of the amount of support their party has in Congress. The theoretical innovations contained herein shed much needed light on the existing literature on judicial politics and democratization. Even though the political manipulation of courts is a worldwide phenomenon, previous studies have shown that Argentina is the theory-generating case for studying manipulation of high courts.

Author : Steven Levitsky,Lucan A. Way
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2010-08-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781139491488

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Competitive Authoritarianism by Steven Levitsky,Lucan A. Way Pdf

Based on a detailed study of 35 cases in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and post-communist Eurasia, this book explores the fate of competitive authoritarian regimes between 1990 and 2008. It finds that where social, economic, and technocratic ties to the West were extensive, as in Eastern Europe and the Americas, the external cost of abuse led incumbents to cede power rather than crack down, which led to democratization. Where ties to the West were limited, external democratizing pressure was weaker and countries rarely democratized. In these cases, regime outcomes hinged on the character of state and ruling party organizations. Where incumbents possessed developed and cohesive coercive party structures, they could thwart opposition challenges, and competitive authoritarian regimes survived; where incumbents lacked such organizational tools, regimes were unstable but rarely democratized.

Author : Shoshana Zuboff
Publisher : PublicAffairs
Page : 658 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2019-01-15
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781610395700

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The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff Pdf

The challenges to humanity posed by the digital future, the first detailed examination of the unprecedented form of power called "surveillance capitalism," and the quest by powerful corporations to predict and control our behavior. In this masterwork of original thinking and research, Shoshana Zuboff provides startling insights into the phenomenon that she has named surveillance capitalism. The stakes could not be higher: a global architecture of behavior modification threatens human nature in the twenty-first century just as industrial capitalism disfigured the natural world in the twentieth. Zuboff vividly brings to life the consequences as surveillance capitalism advances from Silicon Valley into every economic sector. Vast wealth and power are accumulated in ominous new "behavioral futures markets," where predictions about our behavior are bought and sold, and the production of goods and services is subordinated to a new "means of behavioral modification." The threat has shifted from a totalitarian Big Brother state to a ubiquitous digital architecture: a "Big Other" operating in the interests of surveillance capital. Here is the crucible of an unprecedented form of power marked by extreme concentrations of knowledge and free from democratic oversight. Zuboff's comprehensive and moving analysis lays bare the threats to twenty-first century society: a controlled "hive" of total connection that seduces with promises of total certainty for maximum profit -- at the expense of democracy, freedom, and our human future. With little resistance from law or society, surveillance capitalism is on the verge of dominating the social order and shaping the digital future -- if we let it.