This article studies citizens’ support for deliberative democracy in Belgium. It examines it, first, from the perspective of Belgian citizens in general. In a second step, it looks specifically at the attitudes of citizens from four... more
This article studies citizens’ support for deliberative democracy in Belgium. It examines it, first, from the perspective of Belgian citizens in general. In a second step, it looks specifically at the attitudes of citizens from four disadvantaged groups (women, lower educated citizens, citizens with precarious job conditions and younger citizens). Regarding these groups we want to see whether they show different levels of support for deliberative democracy than the rest of the population and if their attitudes are driven by the same factors as for citizens from more advantaged groups. Regarding the general population, the main finding is that support for deliberative democracy is driven by negative attitudes towards elected politicians but mainly by positive attitudes regarding the political competence of fellow citizens. Regarding disadvantaged groups, we see first that women and younger citizens show higher levels of support than the rest of the population. Second, when it comes to the factors driving support for deliberative democracy within these disadvantaged groups, it appears that they are similar to the rest of the population except when it comes to political interest. Being more interested in politics is a determinant to be in favour of deliberative democracy for citizens from disadvantaged groups.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This chapter describes the outputs of DMPs: both the conclusions that mini-publics reach and the ways in which these are presented to wider audiences. It also investigates how these outputs are developed and how much meaning should be... more
This chapter describes the outputs of DMPs: both the conclusions that mini-publics reach and the ways in which these are presented to wider audiences. It also investigates how these outputs are developed and how much meaning should be attached to them. There are substantial variations across DMPs on these matters. Nevertheless, all mini-publics present the considered judgments of their participants on the matters before them, and many also provide valuable insights into the reasoning underlying these judgments. There is good reason to think that those conclusions are meaningful and therefore deserve to be taken seriously by decision-makers further down the policy-making process.
Research Interests:
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-psx-10.1177_00323217211055560 for What Kind of Electoral Outcome do People Think is Good for Democracy? by André Blais, Damien Bol, Shaun Bowler, David M Farrell, Annika Fredén, Martial Foucault, Emmanuel... more
Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-psx-10.1177_00323217211055560 for What Kind of Electoral Outcome do People Think is Good for Democracy? by André Blais, Damien Bol, Shaun Bowler, David M Farrell, Annika Fredén, Martial Foucault, Emmanuel Heisbourg, Romain Lachat, Ignacio Lago, Peter John Loewen, Miroslav Nemčok, Jean-Benoit Pilet and Carolina Plescia in Political Studies
Research Interests:
Lors des dernières élections, les Flamands et les Wallons ont clairement voté différemment. En Flandre, c’est surtout le parti national-populiste Vlaams Belang qui a gagné (+12,6% aux régionales), tandis que le Pvda (+2,8%) et Groen... more
Lors des dernières élections, les Flamands et les Wallons ont clairement voté différemment. En Flandre, c’est surtout le parti national-populiste Vlaams Belang qui a gagné (+12,6% aux régionales), tandis que le Pvda (+2,8%) et Groen (+1,4%) ont légèrement progressé et que les trois partis traditionnels ont perdu du terrain. En Wallonie, les trois partis traditionnels ont également reculé, mais c’est la gauche radicale avec le PTB (+7,9% aux régionales) qui a le plus progressé, suivie de près par Ecolo (+5,9%). Les flux d’électeurs semblent donc avoir évolué dans des directions opposées, et la Flandre et la Wallonie2 semblent donc s’éloigner en termes de résultats électoraux. Mais qu’en est-il des opinions politiques qui sous-tendent le comportement électoral des deux côtés de la frontière linguistique? Est-il vrai que ‘les Wallons pensent à gauche et les Flamands pensent à droite’? Pour répondre à cette question, le consortium RepResent a mené une enquête en ligne lors des semaines précédant les élections (cf. l’annexe au sujet de la méthode). Par ce biais, de larges échantillons d’électeurs flamands et wallons ont été soumis à des questions permettant de mesurer leurs opinions politiques et leurs orientations gauche-droite. Dans la présente note, nous analysons tout d’abord le comportement électoral des Flamands et des Wallons à travers un regard sur le paysage partisan belge, afin d’examiner si les partis qui ont reçu leurs votes étaient plus de gauche ou plus de droite. Ensuite, sur base de notre enquête, nous examinons dans quelle mesure les électeurs Flamands et Wallons se définissent eux-même comme de gauche ou de droite, de quelles valeurs politiques ils sont porteurs, quelles sont leurs positions par rapport à des propositions politiques de gauche ou de droite, et quels thèmes ils jugent plus importants.
Research Interests:
A vast literature shows that voting for the winning party in elections boosts satisfaction with democracy. But in many list PR systems, voters do not only vote for a party, they can also vote for candidates within parties. Yet, we know... more
A vast literature shows that voting for the winning party in elections boosts satisfaction with democracy. But in many list PR systems, voters do not only vote for a party, they can also vote for candidates within parties. Yet, we know very little about how such votes affect voters’ satisfaction with democracy. In this paper, we analyse pre- and post-election panel survey data from Belgium, in which we asked respondents to report their vote choice for parties and for candidates. The main finding is that casting a preference vote for a winning candidate makes little difference, as party-list voters are those with the largest increase in satisfaction with democracy. Such a finding is very important as reforms that increase voters’ opportunities to vote for candidates within list have multiplied recently, and many of these reforms have been justified as being in line with voters’ demand for more candidate-centred electoral systems
Research Interests:
This chapter introduces the principal core design features of Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs): their composition; the format of their deliberations; the topics they discuss; and their outputs. Drawing mostly on the POLITICIZE inventory... more
This chapter introduces the principal core design features of Deliberative Mini-Publics (DMPs): their composition; the format of their deliberations; the topics they discuss; and their outputs. Drawing mostly on the POLITICIZE inventory of DMPs organized by national and regional public authorities across Europe since 2000, this chapter argues that DMPs take a wide variety of forms in terms of composition, format, the policy issues they discuss and the process of producing and approving their final reports. All these elements show the need for careful examination of DMPs, by scholars, political actors, practitioners and interested citizens.
Research Interests:
This chapter focuses on core design features concerned with the ‘deliberative experience.’ It starts by identifying the guiding principles in design – inclusiveness, equality in participation and integrity – and then discusses core design... more
This chapter focuses on core design features concerned with the ‘deliberative experience.’ It starts by identifying the guiding principles in design – inclusiveness, equality in participation and integrity – and then discusses core design features relating to the deliberative experience. DMPs are dynamic processes. Flexibility and appropriateness of the design to the particular DMP’s purpose, size, and mandate are critical.
Research Interests:
In most West European Democracies, parties have undertaken several internal changes. A common trend in these evolutions is the democratization of intra-party life through the empowerment of members in several respects (candidates and... more
In most West European Democracies, parties have undertaken several internal changes. A common trend in these evolutions is the democratization of intra-party life through the empowerment of members in several respects (candidates and leaders selection, etc.). For pillar parties, these modifications have a peculiar signification as it could modify some of their core characteristics (oligarchy, overlapping membership and leadership, etc.). In that context, this article examines both the internal reforms in Belgian pillar parties and their impact. The three traditional Belgian party families linked to a pillar (Christian Democrats, Socialists and Liberals) have opened their membership procedures and democratized leaders and candidates selection. Though, the changes are more formal than effective. The internal reforms of Belgian pillar parties did not affect the core elements of this type of parties, which are elite control via oligarchy, and societal segmentation via overlapping member...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The discussion and empirical analysis of the increasing citizen dissatisfaction with existing representative institutions has become a central concern for political science in recent decades (Rosanvallon, 2006; Papadopoulos, 2013; Merkel,... more
The discussion and empirical analysis of the increasing citizen dissatisfaction with existing representative institutions has become a central concern for political science in recent decades (Rosanvallon, 2006; Papadopoulos, 2013; Merkel, 2014; Thomassen, 2016). Political theory has also contributed to this debate by focusing increasingly on non-elective forms of participation and representation (Saward, 2009; Kuyper, 2016; Landemore, 2020). Paradoxically, there has not been a significant dialogue between political theory and empirical research that would aim to understandwhether these non-elective forms of participation and representation are to be conceived as a complement, a diversion or even a full-blown alternative to electoral representation (Peters, 2016). Is representation dispensable? What are the alternatives to existing institutions? How are existing institutions and their alternatives perceived by citizens, parties and elected representatives? The aim of the present coll...
Research Interests:
Est-ce que les reformes visant a combler l’ecart entre pouvoir politique et citoyens (democratie directe, accords de cooperation entre le secteur prive et les services publics, election directe du maire,…) menent a une revolution en... more
Est-ce que les reformes visant a combler l’ecart entre pouvoir politique et citoyens (democratie directe, accords de cooperation entre le secteur prive et les services publics, election directe du maire,…) menent a une revolution en profondeur ou plutot a une simple renovation des administrations locales ? Dans cet ouvrage, differents experts internationaux en matiere de politique locale se penchent sur la question. A travers les differentes contributions comparant la situation specifique de differents pays, le lecteur decouvrira que de nombreuses discussions ‘typiquement belges’ sont tout aussi bien valables pour d'autres pays.
Research Interests: Art, Social Sciences, Local History, Political Science, Politics, and 9 moreLocal Government, Local Government and Local Development, Regionalism, Electoral Systems, Local and regional history, Local elections, Local Politics and Local Identity, Local Politics, and State and local politics and government
Parties’ attitudes about changing the electoral system are explained in various ways. The most common approach is based upon rational-choice models stating that parties are first and foremost strategic actors considering any change to the... more
Parties’ attitudes about changing the electoral system are explained in various ways. The most common approach is based upon rational-choice models stating that parties are first and foremost strategic actors considering any change to the electoral system for its impact on the balance of power between and within parties (Boix, 1999). The dominant model was set up by Kenneth Benoit (2004) and considers that parties evaluate potential reform according to their expected impact on their future seat share (Benoit, 2004). But is this very simple logic really able to account for the positions of parties about changing the electoral system? No systematic empirical testing of the model has been offered yet. In this article, Benoit’s model has been tested for 103 parties involved in 14 different electoral reform debates (Belgium, British Columbia, Canada, Israel, Italy 1993, Italy 2005, Japan, The Netherlands, New Brunswick, New Zealand, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and the United K...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
L’une des singularités du système politique belge est qu’il ne compte quasiment plus de parti politique national. A l’exception du PTB-PVDA (Parti du Travail de Belgique-Partij van de Arbeid van België, parti communiste), les partis... more
L’une des singularités du système politique belge est qu’il ne compte quasiment plus de parti politique national. A l’exception du PTB-PVDA (Parti du Travail de Belgique-Partij van de Arbeid van België, parti communiste), les partis représentés au Parlement fédéral sont soit francophones, soit néerlandophones. Cette scission du système de partis en Belgique a débuté il y a maintenant 50 ans, lorsque le PSC-CVP (Parti social-chrétien – Christelijk Volkspartij) s’est divisé entre un PSC francophone et un CVP néerlandophone suite aux tensions autour de la scission entre l’UCL (Université Catholique de Louvain) et la KUL (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). Malgré cela, plusieurs décennies après la fin des partis nationaux, nous continuons à parler de partis frères et de familles politiques. Mais cette notion a-t-elle encore réellement un sens ?Les partis dits frères conservent-ils réellement des liens ?Présentent-ils des similitudes qui font que leur partenaire le plus proche est bien celui partageant la même couleur de l’autre côté de la frontière linguistique ?info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe
Research Interests:
There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey... more
There is perennial debate in comparative politics about electoral institutions, but what characterizes this debate is the lack of consideration for citizens’ perspective. In this paper, we report the results of an original survey conducted on representative samples in 15 West European countries ( N = 15,414). We implemented an original instrument to elicit respondents’ views by asking them to rate “real but blind” electoral outcomes. With this survey instrument, we aimed to elicit principled rather than partisan preferences regarding the kind of electoral outcomes that citizens think is good for democracy. We find that West Europeans do not clearly endorse a majoritarian or proportional vision of democracy. They tend to focus on aspects of the government rather than parliament when they pass a judgment. They want a majority government that has few parties and enjoys wide popular support. Finally, we find only small differences between citizens of different countries.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
As representative democracy is increasingly criticized, a new institution is becoming popular among academics and practitioners: deliberative citizens’ assemblies. To evaluate whether these assemblies can deliver their promise of... more
As representative democracy is increasingly criticized, a new institution is becoming popular among academics and practitioners: deliberative citizens’ assemblies. To evaluate whether these assemblies can deliver their promise of re-engaging the dissatisfied of representative politics, we explore who supports them and why. We build on a unique survey conducted with representative samples of 15 Western European countries and find, first, that the most supportive respondents are those who are less educated, have a low sense of political competence and an anti-elite sentiment. Thus, support does come from the dissatisfied. Second, we find that this support is for a part ‘outcome contingent’, in the sense that it changes with people’s expectations regarding the policy outcome from deliberative citizens’ assemblies. This second finding nuances the first one and suggests that while deliberative citizens’ assemblies convey some hope to re-engaged disengaged citizens, this is conditioned to...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
PART 1. ARE ELECTORAL SYSTEMS BECOMING MORE PERSONALIZED? PART 2. WHAT EXPLAINS ELECTORAL SYSTEM PERSONALIZATION? PART 3. DO PERSONALIZING ELECTORAL REFORMS HAVE ANY EFFECTS?
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
... Publication/Series, Comparative Local Politics. Editor, Herwig Reynaert [801000801824] - Ghent University Herwig.Reynaert@UGent.be; Kristof Steyvers [801001585197] - Ghent University Kristof.Steyvers@UGent.be; Jean-Benoit Pilet;... more
... Publication/Series, Comparative Local Politics. Editor, Herwig Reynaert [801000801824] - Ghent University Herwig.Reynaert@UGent.be; Kristof Steyvers [801001585197] - Ghent University Kristof.Steyvers@UGent.be; Jean-Benoit Pilet; Pascal Delwit. ISBN, 978 90 8584 937 7. ...
Most of the literature asserts that political parties rationally define their preference for electoral reform with respect to their possible gains and the balance of power between and within parties. Other scholars moderate this... more
Most of the literature asserts that political parties rationally define their preference for electoral reform with respect to their possible gains and the balance of power between and within parties. Other scholars moderate this rationality, underlining the role of the uncertainty inherent to any change in the electoral system. This article shows how risk and expected gains interact. Through an analysis of the preferences of 84 parties in 13 different electoral reform debates, it shows that risk impedes parties from supporting even advantageous ...
Research Interests:
DI-fusion, le Dépôt institutionnel numérique de l'ULB, est l'outil de référencementde la production scientifique de l'ULB.L'interface de recherche DI-fusion permet de consulter les publications des chercheurs de... more
DI-fusion, le Dépôt institutionnel numérique de l'ULB, est l'outil de référencementde la production scientifique de l'ULB.L'interface de recherche DI-fusion permet de consulter les publications des chercheurs de l'ULB et les thèses qui y ont été défendues.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Democratic innovations, such as deliberative mini-publics, are designed to encourage public engagement in policymaking. They are increasingly being used to inform decision-making on the environment, climate change, and other... more
Democratic innovations, such as deliberative mini-publics, are designed to encourage public engagement in policymaking. They are increasingly being used to inform decision-making on the environment, climate change, and other sustainability issues. Research on support for democratic innovations has focused on identifying citizens in favor and understanding whether they are “enraged” or “engaged” with politics. However, this approach ignores potential differences between citizens expressing more (or less) positive attitudes towards democratic innovations. In an online vignette study, respondents from four Western European countries rated varying descriptions of a local mini-public, indicating both their support for the decision-making process and their willingness to get involved. Four distinct groups were identified based on a latent profile analysis: (1) those who are truly engaged, in that their support for mini-publics is reinforced by intentions to participate, correspond to one-...
Research Interests:
This chapter examines the variety of electoral systems in Europe. Electoral systems lie at the heart of democratic politics, influencing who citizens’ representatives are and having profound effects upon politics at large. The authors... more
This chapter examines the variety of electoral systems in Europe. Electoral systems lie at the heart of democratic politics, influencing who citizens’ representatives are and having profound effects upon politics at large. The authors start by presenting the variety of electoral systems used across Europe, focusing on three key dimensions: electoral formulas, district magnitudes, and ballot structures. Then they discuss some of the main developments in electoral systems in Europe since 1945, highlighting shifts towards limited proportional systems and more ‘personalized’ systems. Finally, they probe deeper into the consequences of electoral systems, looking at effects on the nature of competition both between and within political parties.
Research Interests:
This article investigates the determinants of public support for consultative and binding mini-publics at the local level in Belgium. The study demonstrates that while enraged (politically dissatisfied) and engaged (politically... more
This article investigates the determinants of public support for consultative and binding mini-publics at the local level in Belgium. The study demonstrates that while enraged (politically dissatisfied) and engaged (politically efficacious) citizens are more supportive of both forms of deliberative mini-publics, citizens who are at once enraged and engaged are more likely to support more radical reforms of representative democracy, including binding uses of sortition that would lead to the replacement of elected politicians by citizens selected by lot.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Despite their multiplication over the last 15 years, studies on the support for assemblies composed of citizens selected by lot are rare and the few that exist analyse citizens’ attitudes towards such mini-publics as consultative bodies... more
Despite their multiplication over the last 15 years, studies on the support for assemblies composed of citizens selected by lot are rare and the few that exist analyse citizens’ attitudes towards such mini-publics as consultative bodies associated with traditional representative institutions. In this article, we examine support for citizens selected by lot as new policymakers who take the most important political decisions instead of political representatives. We contrast support for this radical democratic innovation with support for two other reforms that increase citizen participation: generic support for a greater involvement of citizens in policymaking, and specific support for citizen-initiated referendums. The goal is to understand whether the drivers of support for citizens selected by lot overlap or differ from the drivers of support for other forms of citizen participation. We rely upon data from the 2017 French Election Study.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This article offers a comparative analysis of electoral intra-party competition in four countries – Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland and Luxembourg – based on an original data set of 79,621 candidates and 3150 party lists covering the... more
This article offers a comparative analysis of electoral intra-party competition in four countries – Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland and Luxembourg – based on an original data set of 79,621 candidates and 3150 party lists covering the last quarter century (1994–2017). We use two measures to describe the nature of intra-party competition over time, across countries and across party lists: a Gini coefficient and a measure of the effective number of candidates. First, in terms of change over time (personalization) – unlike hypothesized in the presidentialization thesis – there is no concentration of intra-party competition around a few leaders over time. Second, in terms of the dynamics of concentration of votes (personalized politics), the results invite to move beyond the clear-cut divide found in the literature between centralized and decentralized forms of personalized politics. Instead, personalized politics is best described by the concept of ‘elitization’, meaning the concen...
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: European History, European Studies, Comparative Politics, Democratic Theory, Urban History, and 38 moreLocal History, Political Science, Regional and Local Governance, Politics, Identity politics, Local Government, Urban Studies, Local Economic Development, Local Government and Local Development, Local Development, Deliberative Democracy, European Politics, European Union, Regionalism, Electoral Systems, Democracy, Direct Democracy, Participatory Democracy, European Union Politics, City politics, Local and regional history, Local governance, Local Goverment and Local Development, Local Governance & Participatory Planning, Municipal Planning, Democratic Governance, Municipalities, Local elections, Local Politics and Local Identity, Local Democracy, Local Politics, Democratic Theory, citizenship and identity politics, Local/Municipal government, Women and Local Politics, State and local politics and government, Local government elections, Cities Urbanism Technology Security Infrastructure Politics, and Muncipalismo
Making use of a unique data set that includes more than 1000 leadership elections from over 100 parties in 14 countries over an almost 50 year period, this volume provides the first comprehensive, comparative examination of how parties... more
Making use of a unique data set that includes more than 1000 leadership elections from over 100 parties in 14 countries over an almost 50 year period, this volume provides the first comprehensive, comparative examination of how parties choose their leaders and the impact of the different decisions they make in this regard. Among the issues examined are how leaders are chosen, the factors that result in parties changing their selection rules, how the rules affect the competitiveness of leadership elections, the types of leaders chosen, the impact of leadership transition on electoral outcomes, the factors affecting the length of leadership tenures, and how leadership tenures come to an end.
Research Interests:
Computer voting was introduced in Belgium in 1994. Paradoxically, no action had been taken to ascertain the opinion of electors confronted with this original method of voting. This article verifies the social and empirical dimensions of... more
Computer voting was introduced in Belgium in 1994. Paradoxically, no action had been taken to ascertain the opinion of electors confronted with this original method of voting. This article verifies the social and empirical dimensions of legitimacy of this new method through several empirical indicators used in a survey conducted on the occasion of the federal elections of 18 May 2003: (a) how easy/difficult it was for electors to vote on a computer; (b) to what extent they trust voting on a computer; (c) if they have a philosophical/social opposition to voting on a computer.
Research Interests: Electronic Voting, Political Science, Politics, Electoral Behavior, Electoral Systems, and 9 morePolitical History of Belgium, Elections, Electoral systems (History), Elections and Voting Behavior, Electoral Studies, Voter Turnout (Electoral Behavior), Belgium, Electoral Reform, and Electoral System
This book explores the ways in which political parties, in contemporary parliamentary democracies, choose their leaders and then subsequently hold them accountable. The authors provide a comprehensive examination of party leadership... more
This book explores the ways in which political parties, in contemporary parliamentary democracies, choose their leaders and then subsequently hold them accountable. The authors provide a comprehensive examination of party leadership selection and accountability both through examination of parties and countries in different institutional settings and through a holistic analysis of the role of party leaders and the methods through which they assume, and exit, the office.
The collection includes essays on Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Norway and the United Kingdom which have important differences in their party systems, their degree of democratization, the role assigned to party leaders and their methods of leadership selection. Each country examination provides significant data relating to party rules and norms of leadership selection, leadership tenures and leadership contests. The book concludes with a chapter that merges the country data analyses to provide a truly comparative examination of the theoretical questions underlying the volume.
This book will be of strong interest to students and scholars of legislative studies, elections, democracy, political parties, party systems, political elites and comparative politics.
The collection includes essays on Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Norway and the United Kingdom which have important differences in their party systems, their degree of democratization, the role assigned to party leaders and their methods of leadership selection. Each country examination provides significant data relating to party rules and norms of leadership selection, leadership tenures and leadership contests. The book concludes with a chapter that merges the country data analyses to provide a truly comparative examination of the theoretical questions underlying the volume.
This book will be of strong interest to students and scholars of legislative studies, elections, democracy, political parties, party systems, political elites and comparative politics.
Research Interests:
Full codebook of the ESCE dataset
Research Interests:
The project 'Electoral System Change in Europe since 1945' (ESCE) is coordinated by Jean-Benoit Pilet (Université libre de Bruxelles) and Alan Renwick (University of Reading). The ESCE project aims at contributing to our understanding of... more
The project 'Electoral System Change in Europe since 1945' (ESCE) is coordinated by Jean-Benoit Pilet (Université libre de Bruxelles) and Alan Renwick (University of Reading).
The ESCE project aims at contributing to our understanding of electoral systems in Europe in two respects. The website gives access for 30 European countries to the details of the electoral system they have used since their first democratic elections for the lower chamber.
The full dataset of the project is also available on the website.
Check out: http://electoralsystemchanges.eu/Public/FilesPage.php?ID=69
The ESCE project aims at contributing to our understanding of electoral systems in Europe in two respects. The website gives access for 30 European countries to the details of the electoral system they have used since their first democratic elections for the lower chamber.
The full dataset of the project is also available on the website.
Check out: http://electoralsystemchanges.eu/Public/FilesPage.php?ID=69