Donald Trump’s conduct throughout his campaign for President of the United States has brought into renewed focus a question made famous by Pontius Pilate: what is truth? Trump has exploited the 24/7 symbiotic news cyclone in which social media and the professional journalism of traditional media are both caught up. He first creates social media...

Despite the claim that money and especially Rural Constituency Development Fund (RCDF) disbursement have played a major role in influencing political choices in the Solomon Islands national parliamentary elections, empirical evidence and election data suggest that political alliances in some rural constituencies are based more on kin relationship rather than gift exchanges and RCDF disbursements...

This paper examines the potential for e-petitions to enhance the political engagement function of petitioning and assesses the procedural and technical requirements that have to be taken into account in planning an e-petition system.

Whitlam’s policy program was compelling because he had a clear and principled conception of social democracy that was relevant for the times. It was a conception of social democracy that straddled two eras: (1) the development of the post-war welfare state that married the tasks of post-war reconstruction and the democratization of industrial capitalism; and...

People don’t trust politicians much, so simply asking citizens if they trust government in general elicits some pretty negative reactions. Look a little deeper, beyond this simplified view that lumps everything from all tiers of government together, and the situation isn’t nearly as bad. And some researchers think the unelected public officials need to play...