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Journal Article 1.1: Kaun, A. & Uldam, J. (2017). Digital activism: After the hype. New Media and Society, 20, 2099-2106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817731924

Abstract: Research on digital activism has gained traction in recent years. At the same time, it remains a diverse and open field that lacks a coherent mode of inquiry. For the better or worse, digital activism remains a fuzzy term. In this introduction to a special issue on digital activism, we review current attempts to periodize and historicize digital activism. Although there is growing body of research on digitial activism, many contributions remain limited through their ahistorical approach and the digital universalism that they imply. Based on the contributions to the special issue, we argue for studying digital activisms in a way that traverses a two-dimensional axis of digital technologies and activist practices, striking the balance between context and media-specificity.

Journal Article 1.2: Arndt, C. (September 2014). Social democracy’s mobilization of new constituencies: The role of electoral systems. Party Politics, 20, 778-790.

Abstract: Social democratic parties have changed their electoral appeals substantially to cater to new voter segments. This article examines social democracy’s fortunes in attracting new voters among the salaried middle class across different electoral systems. Previous research ignored the importance of electoral systems and was inconclusive as to whether social democratic parties succeeded in mobilizing new constituencies. I argue that electoral systems play a crucial role since proportional systems enhance the electoral competiveness of left-libertarian parties, social democracy’s most serious challengers among the salaried middle class. In contrast, majoritarian systems allow social democratic parties to gain a foothold among these voters as left-libertarians remain marginalized. Using ISSP data for 11 Western democracies, the findings demonstrate that social democratic parties were outperformed by their left-libertarian challengers among the salaried middle class under highly proportional systems, but not under majoritarian systems.

Journal Article 1.3: Bowler, S. & Donovan, T. (September 2006). Direct democracy and political parties in America. Party Politics, 12, 649-669.

Abstract: We examine the origins of direct democracy in the American states and assess how direct democracy has affected American political parties. We find adoption of the most directly democratic forms of the initiative in states where Populist forces were strongest in the 1890s. Use of the initiative throughout the twentieth century led to more restrictive state legal environments for parties and was associated with weaker traditional party organizations. American parties have subsequently challenged restrictions placed on their organizations and on their ability to engage in campaigns. By the end of the twentieth century, American party organizations were visible actors in direct democracy campaigns, however their role is different from that of parties in Europe.

Journal Article 1.4: Dennis, J. & Owen, D. (October 2001). Popular satisfaction with the party system and representative democracy in the United States. International Political Science Review, 22, 399-415.

Abstract: There are a variety of explanations for diminished levels of popular support for American government, institutions, and leaders evident since the Watergate era. Prominent theories focus on the changing nature of US political culture or perceptions of economic conditions. A plausible alternative explanation is that citizens feel inadequately represented by agents of government, and that the linkages facilitating representation no longer function effectively. Although the role of political parties often is portrayed as declining, parties still have the potential to be meaningful conduits for citizen representation. The article examines explanations for public support or alienation from various dimensions of the political system, focusing on citizens' orientations toward political parties. In general, it finds a strong connection between citizens' partisanship and feelings about political parties and their support for the political regime and democratic processes.

Journal Article 1.5: Burtenshaw, C. J. (December 1968). The political theory of pluralist democracy. Political Research Quarterly, 21, 577-587.

Abstract: This article discusses the problems of pluralist theory research that are highlighted in the works of renowned political theorists Robert A. Dahl, James R Wilson, and Edward Banfield, among others. Using Dahl’s New Haven, Connecticut and Oberlin, Ohio empirical studies, the author concludes that not is it true that different persons wield the power of the state at different times, but the power is not dissolved through social structure.