Politics and politicians are unpopular, with low turnout marking recent election cycles, and hostility following our representatives around every corner. Many theories have been advanced as to why this might be the case, but here Southampton University’s Will Jennings, Gerry Stoker, Jonathan Moss, and Nick Clarke argue that it could be to do with failure in appreciating the moral […]
In election campaigns, parties and candidates want to get their message across to the public, and the central means of doing so is by generating media coverage. Yet, the media does not slavishly pay attention to each party’s campaign messages. Which actors are most likely to hit the media? And which campaign messages are most […]
Strengthening the role of the European Parliament has often been proposed as a method for addressing the EU’s alleged democratic deficit. Sergio Fabbrini writes that while there are legitimate criticisms to be made about the intergovernmental model of European integration, any attempt to create a system approximating national parliamentary democracy at the European level would […]
Smartphones are now ubiquitous, making it possible to connect with the internet permanently and without hindrance. But can they be used to create a climate of public participation? Dr Carolin Schröder and Anna Schuster used an app – Flashpoll – to test what does and doesn’t work, and found that various factors can influence how high participation […]
The majority of the populations of many countries, the US included, identify with some kind of religion. At the same time, anti-immigrant sentiments are on the rise in many countries. Does religion foster intolerance towards migrants or encourage greater acceptance of them? In new research which uses experiments conducted with a variety of religious groups, […]
In Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party could be about to elect its most left-wing leader in a generation. But would it be a disaster as the mainstream press are arguing? Alun Wyburn-Powell argues that he could well out-perform expectations provided the Conservatives, as many suspect, split over Europe. Similar PostsPredicting the 2020 election? We are […]
This edited volume is not a comprehensive overview of the role and experience of sexual politics in modern Ireland, but rather a diverse range of topics that explores the gaps in gender studies within Irish history, writes Muireann O’Dwyer. Sexual Politics in Modern Ireland sets out to explore gender, sex and sexuality using new data to explore stories that […]
The UK is a centralised, and largely unitary state, despite the existence of an increasingly powerful Scottish parliament and government, as well as devolution for Wales, Northern Ireland, and London. Recent moves by the government have seen Greater Manchester empowered, too, but nonetheless most decisions are made in Whitehall. Tony Travers argues that the UK […]
Decentralisation is much in vogue at present, with effeorts underway to do something about the highly centralised nature of the UK state. Here PwC’s Tina Hallett argues that a ‘decentralisation by design’ approach should be taken to ensure a coherent approach. She argues that will require behavioural change by civil servants, a strong focus on achievable […]
The radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary is facing charges following his arrest for comments made in support of the Islamic State. Here, Bill Durodié argues that arresting people for the things that they say is probably, in the long-term, counter-productive, as it will not help win the battle of ideas against Islamism. Furthermore, he argues that causing […]
Democratic Audit's core funding is provided by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. Additional funding is provided by the London School of Economics.
This work by Democratic Audit is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 UK: England & Wales.