Ireland to increase voter turnout: Polls open on a Saturday for the first time in over a century
Ireland is scheduled to hold a general election on Saturday, February 8. It will be the first time since 1918 that the election is held on a Saturday rather than on a Friday. Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar announced the date earlier last week, arguing that it will increase [...]
Making democracy more inclusive – two city’s plans with Universal Basic Income
Among the long-standing visions of democracy, and gaining traction in recent years, is the Universal Basic Income (UBI). UBI is an unconditional monthly payment suggested to be a way of making democracy more inclusive. If individual’s basic needs are taken care of, the argument goes, people will be empowered to [...]
New CUNY scholarship: Ostracizing anti-immigrant parties – a vision for democracy?
Can a strategy of ostracizing far-right anti-immigrant parties contribute to their containment or do these strategies have the opposite effect. A new paper by Baruch political scientist Till Weber, published jointly with Joost van Spanje in the journal Party Politics, suggests that the effects of boycotting far-right anti-immigrant parties are [...]
A new prime minister in Russia and a proposal for constitutional reform by President Putin
Mikhail Mishustin has been elected Prime Minster of Russia by the Russian parliament on Thursday. He follows Dmitri Medvedev who resigned on Wednesday just hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed major changes to the Russian constitution. The move by Mr. Putin who has been in power for twenty years [...]
The Crisis in Venezuela and a Struggle over Democracy
Venezuela continues its struggle over the country’s leadership. On Tuesday, Juan Guaido was sworn in as the country’s interim president by a group of lawmakers in Venezuela’s National Assembly. Guaido had been declared interim president last year after the country’s opposition declared president Nicolas Maduro’s rule illegitimate, citing the constitution [...]
UK elections, Brexit and the changing party landscape
Still dominating the news is Brexit. The Conservative party of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson scored a major electoral victory in last week’s general election, now enjoying a 80 seat majority in the House of Commons. The Tories were able to crack the “red wall”, a stretch of constituencies in [...]