The entry into force of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) pushed state obligations to counter prejudice and stereotypes concerning people with disabilities to the forefront of international human rights law. The CRPD is underpinned by a model of inclusive equality, which views disability as a social construct that results from the interaction between persons with impairments and barriers, including attitudinal barriers, that hinder their participation in society. The recognition dimension of inclusive equality, together with the CRPD’s provisions on awareness raising, mandates that states parties target prejudice and stereotypes about the capabilities and contributions of persons with disabilities to society. Certain human rights treaty bodies, including the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and, to a much lesser extent, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, require states to eradicate harmful stereotypes and prejudice about people with disabilities in various forms of interpersonal relationships. This trend is also reflected, to a certain extent, in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. This article assesses the extent to which the aforementioned human rights bodies have elaborated positive obligations requiring states to endeavour to change ‘hearts and minds’ about the inherent capabilities and contributions of people with disabilities. It analyses whether these bodies have struck the right balance in elaborating positive obligations to eliminate prejudice and stereotypes in interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, it highlights the convergences or divergences that are evident in the bodies’ approaches to those obligations. |
Search result: 287 articles
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Journal | Erasmus Law Review, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | CRPD, Disability Discrimination, ECHR, Stereotypes, Interpersonal Relations |
Authors | Andrea Broderick |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Article |
Building Legislative FrameworksDomestication of the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations |
Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | domestication, legislative processes, functionality, efficacy |
Authors | Tshepo Mokgothu |
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As the international financial framework develops it has brought with it dynamic national legislative reforms. The article establishes how the domestication of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations directly affects national legislative processes as the FATF mandate does not have due regard to national legislative drafting processes when setting up obligations for domestication. The article tests the FATF Recommendations against conventional legislative drafting processes and identifies that, the proposed structures created by the FAFT do not conform to traditional legislative drafting processes. Due regard to functionality and efficacy is foregone for compliance. It presents the experience of three countries which have domesticated the FATF Recommendations and proves that the speed at which compliance is required leads to entropic legislative drafting practices which affects harmonisation of national legislation. |
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Political Sophistication and Populist Party SupportThe Case of PTB-PVDA and VB in the 2019 Belgian Elections |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | populist voters, political sophistication, voting motivations, Belgium, elections |
Authors | Marta Gallina, Pierre Baudewyns and Jonas Lefevere |
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In this article, we investigate the moderating role of political sophistication on the vote for populist parties in Belgium. Building on the literature about the diverse determinants of populist party support, we investigate whether issue considerations and populism-related motivations play a bigger role in the electoral calculus of politically sophisticated voters. |
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How Issue Salience Pushes Voters to the Left or to the Right |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | voting behaviour, salience, ideological dimensions, elections, Belgium |
Authors | Stefaan Walgrave, Patrick van Erkel, Isaïa Jennart e.a. |
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Recent research demonstrates that political parties in western Europe are generally structured along one dimension – and often take more or less similar ideological positions on the economic and cultural dimension – whereas the policy preferences of voters are structured two dimensionally; a considerable part of the electorate combines left-wing stances on one dimension with right-wing stances on the other. These ideologically ‘unserved’ voters are the main focus of this study. Using data from a large-scale survey in Flanders and Wallonia, we demonstrate how the salience of the two dimensions explains whether these unserved voters ultimately end up voting for a right-wing or a left-wing party. Specifically, we show that these voters elect a party that is ideologically closest on the dimension that they deem most important at that time. To summarise, the findings of this study confirm that salience is a key driver of electoral choice, especially for cross-pressured voters. |
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Drivers of Support for the Populist Radical Left and Populist Radical Right in BelgiumAn Analysis of the VB and the PVDA-PTB Vote at the 2019 Elections |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | populism, voting, behaviour, Belgium, elections |
Authors | Ine Goovaerts, Anna Kern, Emilie van Haute e.a. |
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This study investigates how protest attitudes and ideological considerations affected the 2019 election results in Belgium, and particularly the vote for the radical right-wing populist party Vlaams Belang (VB) and for the radical left-wing populist party Partij van de Arbeid-Parti du Travail de Belgique (PVDA-PTB). Our results confirm that both protest attitudes and ideological considerations play a role to distinguish radical populist voters from mainstream party voters in general. However, when opposed to their second-best choice, we show that particularly protest attitudes matter. Moreover, in comparing radical right- and left-wing populist voters, the article disentangles the respective weight of these drivers on the two ends of the political spectrum. Being able to portray itself as an alternative to mainstream can give these parties an edge among a certain category of voters, albeit this position is also difficult to hold in the long run. |
Research Note |
Campaigning Online and Offline: Different Ballgames?Presidentialization, Issue Attention and Negativity in Parties’ Facebook and Newspaper Ads in the 2019 Belgian General Elections |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | political advertising, Belgium, social media, newspapers, campaign |
Authors | Jonas Lefevere, Peter Van Aelst and Jeroen Peeters |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This Research Note investigates party advertising in newspapers and on social media (Facebook) during the 2019 general elections in Flanders, the largest region of Belgium. The 2019 elections saw a marked increase in the use of social media advertising by parties, whereas newspaper advertising saw a decline. Prior research that compares multiple types of advertising, particularly advertising on social and legacy media remains limited. As such, based on a quantitative content analysis we investigate not just the prevalence of party advertising on both types of media, but also compare the level of negativity, presidentialisation, and issue emphasis. Our analysis reveals substantial differences: we find that not only the type of advertisements varies across the platforms, but also that social media ads tend to be more negative. Finally, parties’ issue emphasis varies substantially as well, with different issues being emphasized in newspaper and Facebook advertisements. |
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Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | Belgian politics, democratic reforms, elections, populist voters, representative democracy |
Authors | Lisa van Dijk, Thomas Legein, Jean-Benoit Pilet e.a. |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Recently, studies have burgeoned on the link between populism and demands for democratic reforms. In particular, scholars have been debating the link between populist citizens or voters and support for referendums. In this article, we examine voters of populist parties (Vlaams Belang (VB) and Parti du Travail de Belgique-Partij van de Arbeid (PTB-PVDA)) in Belgium in 2019 and we look at their attitudes towards various types of democratic reforms. We find that voters of populist parties differ from the non-populist electorate in their support for different kinds of reforms of representative democracy. Voters of VB and PTB-PVDA have in common stronger demands for limiting politicians’ prerogatives, for introducing binding referendums and for participatory budgeting. While Vlaams Belang voters are not significantly different from the non-populist electorate on advisory referendums, citizens’ forums or technocratic reform, PVDA-PTB voters seem more enthusiastic. |
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Emotions and Vote ChoiceAn Analysis of the 2019 Belgian Elections |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | Belgium, elections, emotions, voting behaviour |
Authors | Caroline Close and Emilie van Haute |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This article digs into the relationship between voters’ political resentment and their electoral choice in 2019 by focusing on the respondents’ emotions towards politics. Using the RepResent 2019 voter survey, eight emotions are analysed in their relation to voting behaviour: four negative (anger, bitterness, worry and fear) and four positive (hope, relief, joy and satisfaction). We confirm that voters’ emotional register is at least two-dimensional, with one positive and one negative dimension, opening the possibility for different combinations of emotions towards politics. We also find different emotional patterns across party choices, and more crucially, we uncover a significant effect of emotions (especially negative ones) on vote choice, even when controlling for other determinants. Finally, we look at the effect of election results on emotions and we observe a potential winner vs. loser effect with distinctive dynamics in Flanders and in Wallonia. |
Editorial |
Explaining Vote Choice in the 2019 Belgian ElectionsDemocratic, Populist and Emotional Drivers |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Authors | Patrick van Erkel, Anna Kern and Guillaume Petit |
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Article |
The ILC Draft Articles on Crimes Against HumanityAn African Perspective |
Journal | African Journal of International Criminal Justice, Issue 2 2020 |
Keywords | Africa, norm creation, crimes against humanity, colonial crimes, official immunity |
Authors | Alhagi B.M. Marong |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Africa’s contribution towards the development of the International Law Commission (ILC) Draft Articles should not be assessed exclusively on the basis of the limited engagement of African States or individuals in the discursive processes within the ILC, but from a historical perspective. When analysed from that perspective, it becomes clear that Africa has had a long connection to atrocity crimes due to the mass victimization of its civilian populations during the colonial and postcolonial periods and apartheid in South Africa. Following independence in the 1960s, African States played a leading role in the elaboration of legal regimes to deal with international crimes such as apartheid, or in the development of accountability mechanisms to respond to such crimes. Although some of these efforts proved unsuccessful in the end, the normative consensus that was generated went a long way in laying the foundations for the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which, in turn, influenced the conceptual framework of the ILC Draft Articles. This article proposes that given this historical nexus, the substantive provisions and international cooperation framework provided for in the future crimes against humanity convention, Africa has more reasons to support than to oppose it when negotiations begin at the United Nations General Assembly or an international diplomatic conference. |
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The Development of Human Rights Diplomacy Since the Establishment of the UNMore Actors, More Efficiency? |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | human rights, diplomacy, international organizations, NGOs, corporate social responsibility |
Authors | István Lakatos |
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This study gives a comprehensive picture of the development of human rights diplomacy since the establishment of the UN, focusing on the dilemmas governments are facing regarding their human-rights-related decisions and demonstrating the changes that occurred during the post-Cold War period, both in respect of the tools and participants in this field. Special attention is given to the role of international organizations, and in particular to the UN in this process, and the new human rights challenges the international community must address in order to maintain the relevance of human rights diplomacy. |
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Challenges Arising From the Multi-Level Character of EU CitizenshipThe Legal Analysis of the Delvigne and Tjebbes Cases |
Journal | Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law, Issue 1 2020 |
Keywords | Union citizenship, supranational status, voting rights in the European Parliament elections, dual citizenship, loss of citizenship |
Authors | Laura Gyeney |
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Studies on the relationship between EU citizenship and Member State legal orders speak either of the loss of control over national sovereignty or, on the contrary, the judicial deconstruction of Union citizenship. These firm positions on how EU citizenship should be perceived fit well with the two markedly different mindsets represented in legal literature: while representatives of the federalist view envision a politically integrated, supranational community behind the treaty provisions on EU citizenship, sovereignists oppose the extension of EU powers via judicial interpretation tooth and nail. This study aims to find an answer to the question whether the CJEU, in its latest judgments on EU citizenship issues, has succeeded in consolidating the constitutional basis of EU citizenship in a way that is reassuring for Member States, i.e. by respecting the principle of conferral. In this respect, it may be established that in both cases analyzed below, such as the Delvigne and Tjebbes cases, the CJEU made well-balanced decisions keeping EU as well as Member State interests in mind, which, although has brought no substantial progress in the process of recognizing EU citizenship as an autonomous status, makes efforts to consolidate the fundamental characteristic thereof. |
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Journal | European Journal of Law Reform, Issue 2 2020 |
Keywords | Parliament of Albania, law reform, Standing Committees, European Integration, Council on the Legislation, National Council for European Integration, Committee on European Integration |
Authors | Dr. Oriola Sallavaci |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This article throws light on the parliamentary scrutiny of law reform in Albania, which so far has not received sufficient attention in academic literature. The article provides a review of the bodies, procedures and mechanisms for the scrutiny of legal reform, as specified in the Constitution of Albania, Parliament’s Rules of Procedure and other specific statutes. Research on the activities of these bodies during the past three years, as reported by the official sources, throws light on the problematic aspects of their work and enables recommendations to be made which will lead to a more effective role of Parliament in legal reform. This is paramount considering the past few years of political instability in the country, at a time when Albanian’s European Integration is at stake |
Research Note |
Caretaker Cabinets in Belgium: A New Measurement and Typology |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue Online First 2020 |
Keywords | caretaker government, Belgium, cabinets, political crisis |
Authors | Régis Dandoy and Lorenzo Terrière |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Belgium is probably the world’s best known case of where caretaker governments reside. Yet a clear scholarly definition and measurement of this concept is missing. Based on a detailed analysis of the Belgian federal cabinets, this research note explores the main characteristics and measures the length of the various caretaker periods. We find that Belgium was governed for no less than 1,485 days by a caretaker government between 2007 and 2020, which equals more than four full calendar years. This research note also presents a novel typology of caretaker periods based on the institutional and political practice within the Belgian legislative and executive branches. This typology can be used to assess caretaker periods at other levels of government as well as in other countries in order to improve our understanding of the many ‘faces’ that a caretaker government can take on. |
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Getting Party Activists on Local ListsHow Dutch Local Party Branches Perform Their Recruitment Function |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2020 |
Keywords | municipal politics, political parties, candidate lists, local party branches, recruitment |
Authors | Simon Otjes, Marcel Boogers and Gerrit Voerman |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This article examines what explains the performance of Dutch local party branches in the recruitment of candidates for municipal councils. Fielding a list of candidates is the most basic function of political parties. In the Netherlands, party branches are under pressure from the low number of party members. To analyse how branches fulfil their role in recruitment, we employ our own survey of the secretaries of party branches held in the run-up to the 2018 municipal election. We find that party membership drives the successful fulfilment of the recruitment function but that, more than the absolute number of members, the crucial factors are how these party members cooperate, the number of active members and the development of this number. |
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Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2020 |
Keywords | local politics, local party branches, local elections, gender quotas, Belgium |
Authors | Robin Devroe, Silvia Erzeel and Petra Meier |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This article investigates the feminisation of local politics. Starting from the observation that the representation of women in local electoral politics lags behind the regional and federal level, and taking into account the relevance of local party branches in the recruitment and selection of candidates for elections, we examine the extent to which there is an ‘internal’ feminisation of local party branches and how this links to the ‘external’ feminisation of local electoral politics. Based on surveys among local party chairs, the article maps patterns of feminisation over time and across parties, investigates problems local branches encounter in the recruitment of candidates for local elections, and analyses the (attitudes towards the) measures taken to further the integration of women in local electoral politics. We conclude that internal and external feminisation do not always go hand in hand and that local politics continues to be a male-dominated political biotope. |
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Introduction: Parties at the GrassrootsLocal Party Branches in the Low Countries |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2020 |
Authors | Bram Wauters, Simon Otjes and Emilie van Haute |
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PhD Review |
‘Between party and parliament: The roles of parliamentary party group leaders in partitocratic Belgium’PhD by Benjamin de Vet (Ghent University), supervisors: Bram Wauters & Carl Devos |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2020 |
Authors | Tom Louwerse |
Author's information |
Article |
Between Party Democracy and Citizen DemocracyExplaining Attitudes of Flemish Local Chairs Towards Democratic Innovations |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2020 |
Keywords | democratic innovations, citizen participation, local politics, Flanders, Belgium |
Authors | Didier Caluwaerts, Anna Kern, Min Reuchamps e.a. |
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As a response to the perceived legitimacy crisis that threatens modern democracies, local government has increasingly become a laboratory for democratic renewal and citizen participation. This article studies whether and why local party chairs support democratic innovations fostering more citizen participation. More specifically, we analyse the relative weight of ideas, interests and institutions in explaining their support for citizen-centred democracy. Based on the Belgian Local Chairs Survey in 2018 (albeit restricting our analysis to Flanders), the central finding is that ideas matter more than interests and institutions. Ideology is alive and kicking with regard to democratic innovation, with socialist and ecologist parties and populist parties being most supportive of participatory arrangements. By contrast, interests and institutions play, at this stage, a minor role in explaining support for participatory innovations. |
PhD Review |
‘From decline to revival? An analysis of party membership fluctuations in Western Europe (1990-2014)’PhD by Vivien Sierens (Université libre de Bruxelles) supervisors: Emilie van Haute, Silvia Erzeel |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 2 2020 |
Authors | Audrey Vandeleene |
Author's information |