Ian Budge – författare

With drastic action needing to be taken now, rather than over the 30 years to 2050, this book addresses the crucial question of how to get action from governments who will always put short-term considerations (e.g. post Covid economic growth) over longer term climate priorities – unless forced to do otherwise.

How might governments be persuaded to implement policies that will result in effective action? And how can this be achieved at an international, as well as national, level? These are the questions that this book focuses on. Taking a systematic political science point of view and drawing on collective choice and other theories of political action, this book analyses the key political and economic dynamics shaping climate policies around the world, identifying major political opportunities that can be exploited by well-informed and determined political actors, such as NGOs and social movements.

This book describes how to advance and accelerate climate action around the world and will be of interest internationally to climate change campaigners, activists, political and environmental scientists.

With drastic action needing to be taken now, rather than over the 30 years to 2050, this book addresses the crucial question of how to get action from governments who will always put short-term considerations (e.g. post Covid economic growth) over longer term climate priorities – unless forced to do otherwise.

How might governments be persuaded to implement policies that will result in effective action? And how can this be achieved at an international, as well as national, level? These are the questions that this book focuses on. Taking a systematic political science point of view and drawing on collective choice and other theories of political action, this book analyses the key political and economic dynamics shaping climate policies around the world, identifying major political opportunities that can be exploited by well-informed and determined political actors, such as NGOs and social movements.

This book describes how to advance and accelerate climate action around the world and will be of interest internationally to climate change campaigners, activists, political and environmental scientists.

First published in 1983, Explaining and Predicting Elections is the first cross-national and comprehensive explanation of election results. It considers why one election differs from another and attempts to account for party gains and losses in the elections which have taken place in twenty-three democracies in the post-war period. Budge and Farlie base their study on a radically new view of party behaviour—Parties not arguing or debating over the same issues but ‘talking past each other’. Their book shows why it is in the parties’ interest to do this, how parties might improve their appeal, and how electors react in a broadly ‘rational’ manner by supporting one party alternative rather than another. The discussion also considers important topics—for example whether electors are abandoning old partisan loyalties and becoming more volatile.

The usefulness of these ideas is measured and checked against new evidence from twenty-three countries. These ideas are then used to produce advance predictions of ten elections in different countries which are then checked against actual results. The reader can use the methods to make his own predictions for elections which interest him. In many ways this makes Explaining and Predicting Elections the most comprehensive and useful investigation of the election process yet produced. It will interest the general reader, political practitioner, historians, and election and area specialists.

First published in 1983, Explaining and Predicting Elections is the first cross-national and comprehensive explanation of election results. It considers why one election differs from another and attempts to account for party gains and losses in the elections which have taken place in twenty-three democracies in the post-war period. Budge and Farlie base their study on a radically new view of party behaviour—Parties not arguing or debating over the same issues but ‘talking past each other’. Their book shows why it is in the parties’ interest to do this, how parties might improve their appeal, and how electors react in a broadly ‘rational’ manner by supporting one party alternative rather than another. The discussion also considers important topics—for example whether electors are abandoning old partisan loyalties and becoming more volatile.

The usefulness of these ideas is measured and checked against new evidence from twenty-three countries. These ideas are then used to produce advance predictions of ten elections in different countries which are then checked against actual results. The reader can use the methods to make his own predictions for elections which interest him. In many ways this makes Explaining and Predicting Elections the most comprehensive and useful investigation of the election process yet produced. It will interest the general reader, political practitioner, historians, and election and area specialists.