UCD School of Politics & International Relations

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SPIRe’s Prof. David Farrell examines campaign effectiveness in the 2009 European Parliment elections with co-authors Maria Laura Sudulich and Matthew Wall in a new paper at Electoral Studies.

Abstract

This paper explores the effectiveness of European Parliament candidates’ campaigns. We analyze the relationship between candidates’ spending and their likelihood of success, controlling for a range of relevant co-varying factors. We then investigate whether the effects of electoral spending are conditioned by two variables: ballot design and incumbency. We find that, ceteris paribus, spending was positively related to a candidate’s likelihood of electoral success in the 2009 campaign, though this effect is small in scale. We also reveal that the electorally positive effects of spending are observable across both ‘party-centered’ and ‘candidate-centered’ ballot structures, and that there is some evidence that incumbent spending is less effective than challenger spending.

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SPIRe’s Prof. David Farrell reflects on the ‘We the citizens’ experiment in deliberative democracy with co-authors Eoin O’Malley and Jane Suiter  in a recent paper at Irish Political Studies.

Abstract

The research reported here sets out in some detail an experiment in deliberative democracy that took place in Ireland in 2011. The We the Citizens initiative featured a nationwide pilot citizens’ assembly, the first of its kind in Ireland. It recruited a random selection of Irish residents to deliberate on specific issues relating to the economy and also reform in Irish politics. The paper explains the background to this, setting out how it was done and presenting some headline results. The results also tell us something about contemporary Irish attitudes to the political system.

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SPIRe’s Dr. Vincent Durac analyses the political dynamics of the Arab Spring in a recent paper at the Journal of Contemporary African Studies.

Abstract

The Arab uprisings of 2011 challenge received wisdom concerning Arab political dynamics. The character of the movements at the heart of the revolts, and the speed with which they despatched four autocratic leaders from office, raise questions of the most basic kind about the relationship between ruler and ruled in North Africa and the Middle East. This article explores such questions following events in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen. It argues that the closure of political systems combined with socio-economic distress to stimulate broad demands for regime change. New movements mobilised largely without formal institutional structures, using new communication tools, and evaded the repressive apparatus of the state. However, the novel character of these movements limited their potential to exploit the political openings they created. Indeed, the post-revolutionary setting is one in which the dominant theme is the return of the ‘old’: established elites, including Islamists, who are reasserting their interests and are well-positioned to secure advantage.

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SPIRe’s Dr. Melanie Hoewer reflects on the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in Ireland in a new paper at Irish Political Studies.

Abstract

The development of United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 marked a significant step in recognising women’s role in peace processes. While it has affected the drafting of peace agreements since its enactment, the question remains as to how to create appropriate structural spaces within a political system to give effect to 1325. This article reflects on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 on the island of Ireland. It considers the different interpretations of two sovereign governments on its applicability to post-conflict politics on the island of Ireland. It also evaluates the opportunities and challenges involved in applying this international framework to women, peace and security in a local context.

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SPIRe’s Dr. Samuel Brazys examines the cost of removal of tax and trade provisions for the Federated States of Micronesia from a treaty of free association with the United States in a new paper at Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies.  A write up of the article can be found on the blog of the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University here.

Abstract

Upon implementing the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Federated States of Micronesia the US Congress unilaterally stripped tax and trade provisions that would have encouraged investment in the FSM.  I quantify what was lost to the FSM by arguing that the provisions would have made the FSM an explicitly sanctioned tax haven through empirical estimates of the impact of tax havens on growth and a comparison of performance of similarly situated entities, the American Samoa and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, who did have preferential access to the US market.  The estimates suggest that the FSM lost from $700 million to over $1 billion in GDP from 1986-2001.  I conclude by suggesting that growth can occur in the FSM, if the US releases the remaining funds of an Investment Development Fund (IDF) meant to compensate for the removal of preferential tax and trade provisions.