In this article we examine the opinion structure of Irish Labour party members and supporters. Our purpose is to test May's law of curvilinear disparity by dividing party members into two groups as outlined by Kitschelt. By focusing on ideological differences within political parties Kitschelt identifies two types of members: ideologues and pragmatists. We use two individual‐level data sets: the Labour Leadership Election Study (LLES) and the Irish National Election Study (INES), to test May's law. We find some limited support for May's law and Kitschelt's extensions to this model.
A BSTRACT Conventional wisdom suggests that Irish people tend to be very positive about the European Union. However, the reality of Irish opinion is more nuanced. Using individual level data (Eurobarometer 61), we examine whether or not the factors that are held to shape opinion toward European integration have similar influences on differing aspects of opinion toward integration: (1)
an affective orientation to EU membership and (2) items that embody European integration. A second contribution of this paper is that while we consider a number of familiar explanations of opinion toward European integration (i.e. utilitarianism, identity, evaluations of institutions, political knowledge), we also examine the influence of attitudes to globalisation on opinion. Our results show that opinion toward European integration is not a single entity but a complex set of opinions. To understand opinion toward integration, it is important to consider a wide range of characteristics of the European project.
Experience suggests that enthusiasm for acting early to prevent a policy challenge from emerging or worsening often wanes when confronted with the reality of implementing effective policies. This paper draws on insights from the policy making literature to identify key themes that support the development of prevention and early intervention as an approach to public policy. Using qualitative data from two dialogue sessions, this paper shows how these themes reflect policy experts' and practitioners' conceptualisations of such an approach. Finally, this paper identifies opportunities for policy-makers to improve the design and implementation of such policies through greater understanding of the perspectives and roles of stakeholders and the use of public resources.
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