Government - Book Chapters
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- ItemIreland: Understanding gender quotas as a stepping-stone to gender transformation and empowerment(Palgrave Macmillan, 2022-12-02) Brennan, Mary; Buckley, Fiona; Galligan, Yvonne; Lang, Sabine; Meier, Petra; Sauer, BirgitOstensibly, gender quotas have had a transformative effect on women’s political candidacy and election in Ireland. Since the inaugural “gender quota election” of 2016, the number of women candidates contesting general elections has increased by 90% while the number of women elected has increased by 44%. Yet, in 2022, men outnumber women by a ratio of 3.44:1 in Dáil Eireann (the lower house of parliament). This chapter discusses the implementation of legislative gender quotas in Ireland. It shows that political parties have met the letter of the law in fielding the requisite numbers of women candidates, but questions remain as to the extent to which the spirit of the law has been embraced to transform candidate selection processes within political parties. The chapter argues that legislative gender quotas should therefore be understood as the start rather than the culmination of efforts to achieve gender equality within political parties in Ireland. But beyond political parties, we conclude that the introduction of candidate gender quotas in Ireland flagged a significant shift in political culture, which carried through into later political reforms on the unresolved issue of abortion and the newer issue of marriage equality.
- ItemGender quotas in Ireland: A first for proportional representation by the single transferable vote(Oxford University Press, 2021-08-01) Buckley, Fiona; Brennan, MaryThis chapter considers the implementation and effect of legislative gender quotas in the 2016 general election, a first for Ireland and a first for the proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote electoral system (PR-STV). It focuses on political parties and examines how they integrated the formal gender quota law into their candidate selection processes. Particular attention is paid to whether the law changed existing candidate selection practices, many of which are guided by informal candidate selection norms, such as a preference for incumbents and those exhibiting localist traits. The chapter concludes that the gender quota law did engender change in the candidate recruitment, selection, and election of women, but, as scholars of feminist institutionalism would describe, the change was â nestedâ and â boundedâ within existing practices surrounding candidate selection, thereby denting but not dismantling the gendered norms of this process.
- ItemIndependents and the party system(Oxford University Press, 2021-08-01) Weeks, Liam; Farrell, David M.; Hardiman, NiamhThe presence of independents in the Irish political system is unusual from a comparative perspective. Sometimes seen as an idiosyncratic phenomenon, they are analysed in terms of their relation to the party system, and categorized in a manner similar to that applied to party families. Why independents do not form parties is analysed from an institutional and behavioural perspective, showing that there are a number of incentives for political entrepreneurs to remain as independents rather than transition to a new party. The nature of support for independents is assessed through a populist lens, considering if independents take the place of populist parties in the electoral marketplace. It is found that independents have more in common with left-wing progressives than right-wing nativists. The final section examines the role of independents in the government formation process, showing that the levels of stability and output are not as low as might be expected.
- ItemExperiences of academic leadership in Ireland 2008-2014(Brill, 2021-06-22) Gannon, Anne; Broucker, Bruno; Pritchard, Rosalind M. O.; Melin, Göran; Milsom, ClareThe focus of this paper is on experiences of academic leadership in Ireland between 2008-2014 sustaining academic values and culture. Institutional developments have led to change in what constitutes academic success, a situation which creates challenges for academic leaders. In recent years, arising from the requirements to generate income and the focus on marketplace positioning, qualities sought in hiring and promotion decisions have altered significantly. This research presents the challenges faced by Irish university-based academic leaders in balancing the requirements of the university and the needs of academic colleagues. The research evidences the protection and support shown by academic leaders in effectively maintaining academic values and cultures. However, it also highlights the academic leadership deficit evident in the failure of some academic leaders to both adequately and effectively engage with academic colleagues which then can lead to the destabilisation of academic values and culture.
- ItemEconomics, social neuroscience, and mindshaping(Routledge, 2020-09-24) Ross, Don; Stirling, Wynn; Harbecke, Jens; Herrmann-Pillath, CarstenWe consider the potential contribution of economics to an interdisciplinary research partnership between sociology and neuroscience (‘social neuroscience’ or ’social neuroeconomics’). We correct a misunderstanding in previous literature over the understanding of humans as ‘social animals’, which has in turn led to misidentification of the potential relevance of game theory and the economics of networks to the social neuroscience project. Specifically, it has been suggested that these can be used to model mindreading. We argue that mindreading is at best a derivative and special basis for social coordination, whereas the general and pervasive phenomenon on which it depends is mindshaping. We then outline the foundations of Conditional Game Theory as a mathematical model of mindshaping, which extends game theory without displacing its classic solution concepts, and which exploits economists’ experience in modeling networks.