Money, Power, and Elections

Money, Power, and Elections PDF Author: Rodney A. Smith
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807156329
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Have campaign finance reform laws actually worked? Is money less influential in electing candidates today than it was thirty years ago when legislation was first enacted? Absolutely not, argues Rodney A. Smith in this passionately written, fact-filled, and provocative book. According to Smith, the laws have had exactly the opposite of their intended effect. They have increased the likelihood that incumbents in the House and Senate will be reelected, and they have greatly diminished the chances that candidates who are not wealthy will be elected. Smith's claims are supported by convincing data; he collected and analyzed information about all federal elections since 1920. These data show clearly that money matters now more than ever. Smith thinks that reform legislation has created a new inequality for candidates that, if left unchecked, threatens to destroy the American electoral process by obliterating the foundational principle of free speech. He argues that "money buys speech" and when candidates lack money to buy media time and space they are effectively silenced. Their inability to "speak freely" violates the most significant intentions of our nation's founders: that a sovereign citizenry elect its own leaders based on a free exchange of ideas. For Smith, campaign finance reform has unwittingly unbalanced the checks and balances created by the Framers of the Constitution.After presenting a detailed historical overview of how we have reached the present crisis, Smith proposes a simple solution: institute a process that completely discloses relevant information about campaign donors and recipients of donations. All disclosures would be available to the media, which would be able to investigate and report them fully. Only then, Smith believes, will the United States have the opportunity to be the democratic republic that its founders intended.

Gendered Electoral Financing

Gendered Electoral Financing PDF Author: Ragnhild L. Muriaas
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 9780367247713
Category : Campaign funds
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Illustrated by in-depth empirical research from seven country studies, Gendered Electoral Financing is the first cross-regional examination of the nexus between money and political recruitment across the world.

Dollarocracy

Dollarocracy PDF Author: John Nichols
Publisher: Bold Type Books
ISBN: 1568587112
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
Fresh from the first 10 billion election campaign, two award-winning authors show how unbridled campaign spending defines our politics and, failing a dramatic intervention, signals the end of our democracy. Blending vivid reporting from the 2012 campaign trail and deep perspective from decades covering American and international media and politics, political journalist John Nichols and media critic Robert W. McChesney explain how US elections are becoming controlled, predictable enterprises that are managed by a new class of consultants who wield millions of dollars and define our politics as never before. As the money gets bigger -- especially after the Citizens United ruling -- and journalism, a core check and balance on the government, declines, American citizens are in danger of becoming less informed and more open to manipulation. With groundbreaking behind-the-scenes reporting and staggering new research on "the money power," Dollarocracy shows that this new power does not just endanger electoral politics; it is a challenge to the DNA of American democracy itself.

Costs of Democracy

Costs of Democracy PDF Author: Devesh Kapur
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019909313X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
One of the most troubling critiques of contemporary democracy is the inability of representative governments to regulate the deluge of money in politics. If it is impossible to conceive of democracies without elections, it is equally impractical to imagine elections without money. Costs of Democracy is an exhaustive, ground-breaking study of money in Indian politics that opens readers’ eyes to the opaque and enigmatic ways in which money flows through the political veins of the world’s largest democracy. Through original, in-depth investigation—drawing from extensive fieldwork on political campaigns, pioneering surveys, and innovative data analysis—the contributors in this volume uncover the institutional and regulatory contexts governing the torrent of money in politics; the sources of political finance; the reasons for such large spending; and how money flows, influences, and interacts with different tiers of government. The book raises uncomfortable questions about whether the flood of money risks washing away electoral democracy itself.

Democracy in America?

Democracy in America? PDF Author: Benjamin I. Page
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022672493X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
America faces daunting problems—stagnant wages, high health care costs, neglected schools, deteriorating public services. How did we get here? Through decades of dysfunctional government. In Democracy in America? veteran political observers Benjamin I. Page and Martin Gilens marshal an unprecedented array of evidence to show that while other countries have responded to a rapidly changing economy by helping people who’ve been left behind, the United States has failed to do so. Instead, we have actually exacerbated inequality, enriching corporations and the wealthy while leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves. What’s the solution? More democracy. More opportunities for citizens to shape what their government does. To repair our democracy, Page and Gilens argue, we must change the way we choose candidates and conduct our elections, reform our governing institutions, and curb the power of money in politics. By doing so, we can reduce polarization and gridlock, address pressing challenges, and enact policies that truly reflect the interests of average Americans. Updated with new information, this book lays out a set of proposals that would boost citizen participation, curb the power of money, and democratize the House and Senate.

Elections and political dynamics

Elections and political dynamics PDF Author: A. Prafullokumar Singh
Publisher: Mittal Publications
ISBN: 9788183242790
Category : Manipur (India)
Languages : en
Pages : 640

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Book Description


Electronic Voting in Government Elections to Promote Democracy

Electronic Voting in Government Elections to Promote Democracy PDF Author: K. M. Nurul Huda
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527571823
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
The manual process used in elections is weakened by human interference; it causes irregularities in the polls and delays vote counts. This book explores the benefits of replacing it with the electronic system, which has improved the quality of elections in many countries. The book has grouped democratic countries into two categories: mature democracies and new democracies. Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA represent the first group, and Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Pakistan, Russia, and the Philippines represent the second group. The first group overcomes malpractice in elections through long exercises, when they could be using technology for accurate and swift delivery of poll results. For instance, the US can overcome controversial elections by empowering the Federal Election Commission to establish a uniform system. Colonial and dictatorial legacies instigated citizens' undemocratic behavior in new democracies. Electronic voting has fixed malpractices in their elections in a shorter period. Therefore, this book argues that electronic voting should be implemented in both mature and new democracies.

Political Development in India

Political Development in India PDF Author: Shriram Maheshwari
Publisher: Concept Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 170

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Book Description


UNBIASED Writings on India

UNBIASED Writings on India PDF Author: Bhaskar Parichha
Publisher: Blue Hill Publications
ISBN: 9390788595
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 341

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Book Description
The second decade (2010-2019) of the new millennium was significant for India. Her rise in a multipolar world had its fitting moments. Powered by a rapidly expanding economy and a favorable demographic trend, India charted its own course to success with a few assertive steps for an optimistic future. Change was more glaring in India during this period when it came to politics. From several surprising debuts to quite a few shocking election wins, the last decade witnessed a massive change in the political situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power with a thumping victory in 2014 and was re-elected for a second term in 2019 with an even bigger margin. The Congress, on the other hand, was reduced to nothing. Whether it was the revocation of Article 370 or the Ram Mandir verdict, the politico-religious landscape changed a lot in these ten years. These mutable dynamics with shifting of the political narrative from liberal to the right meant one thing: the government would be decisive in action and would not hesitate from taking radical steps if something was in the national interest. Imposing the GST, demonetization were the radical steps taken which had its share of miseries as well. This book is a throwback to those episodic events – economic, social, political, and developmental plus a sundry lot.

Jayaprakash Narayan

Jayaprakash Narayan PDF Author: Madhu Dandavate
Publisher: Allied Publishers
ISBN: 9788177643411
Category : India
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Jayaprakash Narayan, 1902-1979, Indian statesman.