Hasil untuk "Political institutions and public administration (General)"

T. Besley, T. Persson

Anna M. Crawford

n/a

Xuechen Niu

The contemporary governance discourse on Artificial Intelligence often emphasizes catastrophic loss-of-control scenarios. This article suggests that such framing may obscure a more immediate failure mode: chancellorization, or the gradual hollowing out of sovereignty through administrative mediation. In high-throughput, digitally legible organizations, AI-mediated decision support can reduce the probability that failures become publicly legible and politically contestable, even when underlying operational risk does not decline. Drawing on the institutional history of Imperial China, the article formalizes this dynamic as a principal-agent problem characterized by a verification gap, in which formal authority (auctoritas) remains downstream while effective governing capacity (potestas) migrates to intermediary layers that control information routing, drafting defaults, and evaluative signals. Empirical support is provided through a multi-method design combining historical process tracing with a cross-national panel plausibility probe (2016-2024). Using incident-based measures of publicly recorded AI failures and administrative digitization indicators, the analysis finds that higher state capacity and digitalization are systematically associated with lower public visibility of AI failures, holding AI ecosystem expansion constant. The results are consistent with a paradox of competence: governance systems may become more effective at absorbing and resolving failures internally while simultaneously raising the threshold at which those failures become politically visible. Preserving meaningful human sovereignty therefore depends on institutional designs that deliberately reintroduce auditable friction.

Nathan Junzi Chen

Amidst the rapid normalization of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), intelligent systems have come to dominate political discourse across information media. However, internalized political biases stemming from training data skews, human prejudice, and algorithmic flaws continue to plague this novel technology. This study employs a zero-shot classification approach to evaluate algorithmic political partisanship through a methodical combination of ideological alignment, topicality, response sentiment, and objectivity. A total of 1800 model responses across six mainstream large language models (LLMs) were individually input into four distinct fine-tuned classification algorithms, each responsible for computing one of the aforementioned metrics. The results show an amplified liberal-authoritarian alignment across the six LLMs evaluated, with notable instances of reasoning supersessions and canned refusals. The study subsequently highlights the psychological influences underpinning human-computer interactions and how intrinsic biases can permeate public discourse. The resulting distortion of the political landscape can ultimately manifest as conformity or polarization, depending on the region's pre-existing socio-political structures.

David Exler, Mark Schutera, Markus Reischl et al.

With the increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence, careful evaluation of inherent biases needs to be conducted to form the basis for alleviating the effects these predispositions can have on users. Large language models (LLMs) are predominantly used by many as a primary source of information for various topics. LLMs frequently make factual errors, fabricate data (hallucinations), or present biases, exposing users to misinformation and influencing opinions. Educating users on their risks is key to responsible use, as bias, unlike hallucinations, cannot be caught through data verification. We quantify the political bias of popular LLMs in the context of the recent vote of the German Bundestag using the score produced by the Wahl-O-Mat. This metric measures the alignment between an individual's political views and the positions of German political parties. We compare the models' alignment scores to identify factors influencing their political preferences. Doing so, we discover a bias toward left-leaning parties, most dominant in larger LLMs. Also, we find that the language we use to communicate with the models affects their political views. Additionally, we analyze the influence of a model's origin and release date and compare the results to the outcome of the recent vote of the Bundestag. Our results imply that LLMs are prone to exhibiting political bias. Large corporations with the necessary means to develop LLMs, thus, knowingly or unknowingly, have a responsibility to contain these biases, as they can influence each voter's decision-making process and inform public opinion in general and at scale.

Vera Sosnovik, Caroline Violot, Mathias Humbert

YouTube has emerged as a major platform for political communication and news dissemination, particularly during high-stakes electoral periods. In the context of the 2024 European Parliament and French legislative elections, this study investigates how political actors and news media used YouTube to shape public discourse. We analyze over 100,000 video transcripts and metadata from 74 French YouTube channels operated by national news outlets, local media, and political figures. To identify the key themes emphasized during the campaign period, we applied a semi-automated method that combined large language models with clustering and manual review. The results reveal distinct thematic patterns across the political spectrum and media types, with right-leaning news outlets focusing on topics like immigration, while left-leaning emphasized protest and media freedom. Themes generating the most audience engagement, measured by comment-to-view ratios, were most often the most polarizing ones. In contrast, less polarizing themes such as video games and nature showed higher approval, reflected in like-to-view ratios. We also observed a general tendency across all media types to portray political figures in neutral or critical terms rather than favorable ones.

Filip Bialy, Mark Elliot, Robert Meckin

This paper offers a domain-mediated comparative review of 251 studies on public attitudes toward AI, published between 2011 and 2025. Drawing on a systematic literature review, we analyse how different factors including perceived benefits and concerns (or risks) shape public acceptance of - or resistance to - artificial intelligence across domains and use-cases, including healthcare, education, security, public administration, generative AI, and autonomous vehicles. The analysis highlights recurring patterns in individual, contextual, and technical factors influencing perception, while also tracing variations in institutional trust, perceived fairness, and ethical concerns. We show that the public perception in AI is shaped not only by technical design or performance but also by sector-specific considerations as well as imaginaries, cultural narratives, and historical legacies. This comparative approach offers a foundation for developing more tailored and context-sensitive strategies for responsible AI governance.

Frederik J. Zuiderveen Borgesius, Judith Möller, Sanne Kruikemeier et al.

Online political microtargeting involves monitoring people's online behaviour, and using the collected data, sometimes enriched with other data, to show people-targeted political advertisements. Online political microtargeting is widely used in the US; Europe may not be far behind. This paper maps microtargeting's promises and threats to democracy. For example, microtargeting promises to optimise the match between the electorate's concerns and political campaigns, and to boost campaign engagement and political participation. But online microtargeting could also threaten democracy. For instance, a political party could, misleadingly, present itself as a different one-issue party to different individuals. And data collection for microtargeting raises privacy concerns. We sketch possibilities for policymakers if they seek to regulate online political microtargeting. We discuss which measures would be possible, while complying with the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Riya Sinha, Amelia Acker, Hanlin Li

Wikidata, an open structured database and a sibling project to Wikipedia, has recently become an important platform for information professionals to share structured metadata from their memory institutions, organizations that maintain public knowledge and cultural heritage materials. While studies have investigated why and how peer producers contribute to Wikidata, the institutional motivations and practices of these organizations are less understood. Given Wikidata's potential role in linking and supporting knowledge infrastructures and open data systems, we examined why and how information professionals in memory institutions use Wikidata as part of their organizational workflow. Through interviews with 15 participants, we identified the three archetypal roles of Wikidata users within memory institutions, providers, acquirers, and mutualists, and the different types of contributions that these institutions bring to Wikidata. We then explored potential collaboration opportunities between memory institutions and other volunteers in Wikidata, discussed the value of the data work conducted by these professionals, and examined how and why they track their contributions. Our work contributes to the wider discussions around collaboration and data work in CSCW by (1) studying the motivations and practices of information professionals, their differences from those doing volunteer work, and opportunities for the Wikidata community to promote more collaborative efforts within memory institutions and with other volunteers and (2) drawing attention to the important data work done by memory institutions on Wikidata and pointing out opportunities to support the contributions of information professionals.

Jingyu Hu, Mengyue Yang, Mengnan Du et al.

Studies of LLMs' political opinions mainly rely on evaluations of their open-ended responses. Recent work indicates that there is a misalignment between LLMs' responses and their internal intentions. This motivates us to probe LLMs' internal mechanisms and help uncover their internal political states. Additionally, we found that the analysis of LLMs' political opinions often relies on single-axis concepts, which can lead to concept confounds. In this work, we extend the single-axis to multi-dimensions and apply interpretable representation engineering techniques for more transparent LLM political concept learning. Specifically, we designed a four-dimensional political learning framework and constructed a corresponding dataset for fine-grained political concept vector learning. These vectors can be used to detect and intervene in LLM internals. Experiments are conducted on eight open-source LLMs with three representation engineering techniques. Results show these vectors can disentangle political concept confounds. Detection tasks validate the semantic meaning of the vectors and show good generalization and robustness in OOD settings. Intervention Experiments show these vectors can intervene in LLMs to generate responses with different political leanings.

Ihor Chumak

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the experience of strategic planning in the field of national security of the United States of America, which is considered one of the most developed and structured in the world. The historical evolution of this process is considered, its key stages and factors that influenced the formation of the modern US approach to national security are identified. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the conceptual principles underlying the American model of strategic planning and their adaptation to changes in the international security situation. The essence and content of the basic categorical concepts of «state policy» and «strategy» in the field of security are revealed, and the features of their interpretation in the scientific discourse of the United States are highlighted. The interrelation of these concepts is emphasized, where policy determines the general goals and directions of state actions, and strategy formulates the means of achieving these goals in specific conditions. Various approaches of American researchers to the interpretation of these concepts and their role in the formation of an effective national security system are analyzed. The structure of strategic planning in the United States is outlined, including an analysis of the mechanisms for developing, coordinating, and implementing strategic documents. The functions of key actors in the formation of state policy and strategy in the security sector are determined, in particular, the National Security Council, the Pentagon, Congress, think tanks, and the executive branch. The processes of interagency interaction and their importance for ensuring the unity of strategic vision and actions are highlighted. The procedures for preparing strategic documents, in particular, the US National Security Strategy, its role in shaping the general course of security policy, as well as methods for classifying strategies by levels and areas of action are studied. The legislative foundations of strategy are analyzed, in particular, the significance of the National Security Act of 1947, which initiated the modern strategic management system, and the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, which radically reformed the structure of defense planning and laid the foundation for interagency coordination. The key principles of strategic thinking inherent in the American model are revealed, in particular, the emphasis on a clear distinction between political goals (what exactly needs to be done) and the implementation strategy (how to do it). The views of leading American scholars and practitioners are analyzed, who emphasize the need to take into account national interests, assess risks and threats, as well as achieve synergy between all actors in the security and defense sector. The effectiveness of the existing strategy system in the United States is assessed, in particular its advantages, such as institutional stability, transparency, scientific validity and the involvement of think tanks. At the same time, a number of shortcomings are indicated, including excessive bureaucratization, insufficient flexibility to new threats, the complexity of integrating actions at the tactical level, and political influences that can weaken strategic unity.

Salsa Agustin, Rizki Maharani, Rizki Ramadhani

The 2024 general election in Indonesia is not only a democratic event, but also presents significant challenges related to political stability and democracy. Presents significant challenges related to political stability and democracy. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the dynamics of political tensions emerging post-2024 elections and their impact on democratic stability in Indonesia. This research uses a qualitative approach by collecting data from various sources, including interviews with political stakeholders, media analysis, and related literature. The results highlighted increasing political polarization, inter-group conflicts, as well as efforts to form a stable governing coalition. In addition, the analysis also explored the role of political communication in easing or exacerbating post-election political tensions. Overall, the analysis of the dynamics of political tensions after the 2024 elections highlights the complexities and challenges faced in maintaining democratic stability in Indonesia. Through the study of political structure, power, legitimacy and political communication, we can understand that elections are not the end of the political process, but the beginning of an important stage in building a stable and inclusive political order. The analysis shows that post-election political tensions do not only include competition between political parties, but also involve various factors such as political polarization, government formation, legitimacy of power, and public political participation.

Yuliana Palagnyuk, O. Faichuk, T. Kostieva et al.

The article outlines the ways of engaging young people in the development of civil society in Ukraine. Socially and politically active young people are one of the necessary conditions for forming a democratic society and establishing sustainable and functioning civil society institutions. Therefore, in this paper, the scholars aim to identify the ways of youth interaction with public authorities in Ukraine and general levels of youth civic engagement, as well as to characterize the culture of citizenship as a factor in involving young people in civil society development. The research reveals the relevant issue regarding the prominent role of civil society in various spheres of activity of state authorities and local self-government bodies, a qualitatively new level of interaction between civil society, especially youth as an active part of it, and state and local self-government bodies in order to establish effective dialogue and partnership relations of state bodies authorities, local self-government bodies with civil society organizations. The research combined interdisciplinary approaches of several related scientific fields (political science, public administration and education), which allowed to set broader goals and find new ways for improving youth engagement in the development of civil society in Ukraine. The authors developed and conducted an expert survey on youth engagement in the development of civil society and identified possible ways to improve youth participation in public and political life. Authors interviewed 24 experts aged from 18 to 60 years from various fields who are interested in building a democratic state governed by the rule of law: leaders and members of public organizations, teachers of higher education institutions, scholars, deputies of regional and local councils, civil society activists and businessmen. It was determined that the effective participation of youth in decision-making processes consists in creating opportunities to involve youth in influencing, shaping, developing and promoting policy and development of services and programs. These opportunities are created by developing a range of formal and informal mechanisms for youth participation, from youth advisory groups to focus groups, from ongoing consultation work to supporting youth projects. As a result of the study, the authors developed a set of conclusions and recommendations addressed to educational institutions, public authorities, local governments and civil society organizations.

Máté Marcell Tóth

Cél: A rohamos ütemű technológiai fejlődés és annak következményei a jog világát, így a büntető igazságszolgáltatást is új kihívások elé állítják. A büntetőeljárásban a digitalizáció megkerülhetetlen a modern, hatékony igazságszolgáltatás iránti társadalmi igény szempontjából, ugyanakkor arra is megoldást kell találnunk, hogy az információs technológiák térnyerésére adott válasz miként egyeztethető össze a tisztességes eljárást biztosító garanciális szabályokkal. Jelen tanulmányban a digitális technológiák és a büntetőeljárás egyes alapelveinek összefüggéseire kíván rávilágítani a szerző, különös tekintettel a bizonyításra, ahol az olyan követelmények, mint a közvetlenség elve az utóbbi években némileg talán háttérbe szorultak az eljárás időszerűségének javára. Módszertan: A digitalizáció a jog számára is új kihívásokat teremt. A jogtudomány egyes sarkalatos kérdéseknek jogágtól függetlenül különös figyelmet szentel; a teljesség igénye nélkül ilyenek különösen az úgynevezett Big Data formában történő tömeges adatelemzés, a közösségi platformokon zajló kommunikáció, az adatbiztonság és magánszféra védelme, a kriptovaluták, s végül, de nem utolsó sorban a mesterséges intelligencia kérdésköre. A szerző tanulmányában a témát feldolgozó jogirodalmi munkák megállapításaira építve törekszik levonni következtetéseit, figyelemmel az elmúlt évtizedekben megalkotott, és a jövőben várhatóan lefektetésre kerülő releváns jogi aktusokra, jogalkalmazói gyakorlatra.  Megállapítások: A digitalizáció beférkőzése az élet szinte minden területére egyre inkább áthatja globális társadalmunk kollektív tudatát. A digitális forradalom átírta a kommunikációról, az információáramlásról vagy az adatvédelemről alkotott elképzeléseinket, de alapvető változást hozott többek között a munka, az oktatás vagy a kereskedelem terén is. A technológiai vívmányok számtalan felhasználási lehetőséget rejtenek magukban a büntetőeljárás során eljáró szervek számára, rendkívüli mértékben elősegítve az időszerűség iránti igény kielégítését. Mindez ugyanakkor – különösen talán a nyomozás és az annak eredményein alapuló bizonyítás terén – felerősítheti azt a tendenciát, hogy a hatékonyság oltárán háttérbe szorulnak az olyan garanciális jelentőségű alaptételek, mint a közvetlenség elve. Érték: Az elektronikus ügyvitel, az egyre sokoldalúbb digitális eszközök jelentős mértékben hozzájárulnak a büntetőeljárás hatékonyságához, egyúttal az újfajta bűnözési formák felderítése, bizonyítása sajátos kihívások elé állítják az eljáró hatóságokat, de a téma kapcsán a jelen tanulmányban írtakat meghaladóan is számos további kérdés merül fel, melyeket a jogtudomány is kiemelt figyelemmel kísér (például prediktív rendészet).

Seyid Abdellahi Ebnou Abdem, Rida Azmi, El Bachir Diop et al.

Access to waste management services is crucial for urban sustainability, impacting public health, environmental well-being, and overall quality of life. This study employs logistic regression analysis on survey data collected from 1,032 household heads residing in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. The survey investigated key household factors that determine access to waste management services. The findings reveal a significant interplay among waste service provision, the presence of cisterns, housing type and size, and access to electricity. Socioeconomic disparity in service access, with poorer housing formats like shacks receiving substandard services. In contrast, areas with robust electrification report better service access, although inconsistencies remain amid power outages. The research highlights the challenges faced by Riyadh municipality, particularly rapid growth and inadequate infrastructure, which hinder waste management efficiency. Overall, the results not only illuminate Nouakchott’s unique challenges in service provision but also propose actionable recommendations for a sustainable urban future. These recommendations aim to inform and guide targeted policies for improving living conditions and environmental sustainability in urban Mauritania.

Tobias Rohrbach, Mykola Makhortykh, Maryna Sydorova

Search engines like Google have become major information gatekeepers that use artificial intelligence (AI) to determine who and what voters find when searching for political information. This article proposes and tests a framework of algorithmic representation of minoritized groups in a series of four studies. First, two algorithm audits of political image searches delineate how search engines reflect and uphold structural inequalities by under- and misrepresenting women and non-white politicians. Second, two online experiments show that these biases in algorithmic representation in turn distort perceptions of the political reality and actively reinforce a white and masculinized view of politics. Together, the results have substantive implications for the scientific understanding of how AI technology amplifies biases in political perceptions and decision-making. The article contributes to ongoing public debates and cross-disciplinary research on algorithmic fairness and injustice.

Lisa Gutwenger, Stephan Keller, Martin Dolezal et al.

The representation of politics in media influences societal perceptions and attitudes. Video games, as a pervasive form of media, contribute significantly to this phenomenon. In this work, we explore political themes within video games by analyzing politically-themed games on game distribution platforms including Steam. We conducted a statistical examination of games with political context to identify patterns and use this as a basis to introduce a first taxonomy to categorize and better understand the interplay between politics and video games. This taxonomy offers a first framework for analyzing political content in games and also sets a foundation for future research in this field.

Jan Batzner, Volker Stocker, Stefan Schmid et al.

Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly shaping citizens' information ecosystems. Products incorporating LLMs, such as chatbots and AI Companions, are now widely used for decision support and information retrieval, including in sensitive domains, raising concerns about hidden biases and growing potential to shape individual decisions and public opinion. This paper introduces GermanPartiesQA, a benchmark of 418 political statements from German Voting Advice Applications across 11 elections to evaluate six commercial LLMs. We evaluate their political alignment based on role-playing experiments with political personas. Our evaluation reveals three specific findings: (1) Factual limitations: LLMs show limited ability to accurately generate factual party positions, particularly for centrist parties. (2) Model-specific ideological alignment: We identify consistent alignment patterns and the degree of political steerability for each model across temperature settings and experiments. (3) Claim of sycophancy: While models adjust to political personas during role-play, we find this reflects persona-based steerability rather than the increasingly popular, yet contested concept of sycophancy. Our study contributes to evaluating the political alignment of closed-source LLMs that are increasingly embedded in electoral decision support tools and AI Companion chatbots.

D. Vagapov

The article is devoted to the analysis of the results and trends of reforming methods and mechanisms of public administration in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus from the perspective of integration processes in the Union State of Belarus and Russia in the period from 2020 to mid-2024 On the basis of consideration of amendments to the constitution, laws, decrees and resolutions adopted by states aimed at reorganizing the power systems in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, A comparative analysis of the directions of transformation is carried out. The general and specific features of the ongoing reforms are revealed. The long-term causes and goals of public administration reform laid down by the states are determined. An assessment is given of the transformations of public administration in the most relevant and priority areas today (security, migration policy, import substitution). The duality of the importance of the ongoing reforms in relation to deepening cooperation within the framework of the Union State is emphasized. On the one hand, the reforms contribute to the rapprochement of states in a number of key areas of interaction within the framework of the Union State, but at the same time they continue to postpone the deepening of political integration, without assuming a strengthening role of supranational institutions. At the same time, the single strategic goal of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus is emphasized, which essentially unites the aspirations of states and consists in the long-term preservation of sovereignty, conditions for the safe economic, technological and spiritual development of societies.

Nazar Diakiv

The article deals with the problem of protecting Ukraine’s national interests in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The Internet is seen as a space for free expression of opinions, but often turns into a battlefield in the information war. The article analyses the processes of informatisation of society and the increase in the number of Internet users. The impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the leading Internet providers and their political position is analysed. Today, Ukraine enjoys great support from leading campaigns in this area, but the aggressor country is heavily funding war propaganda. Attention is drawn to the results of statistics on cyberattacks on state institutions and the public by the Russian Federation. It is emphasised that today state institutions, business and society in Ukraine have united to counteract the negative information influence of Russia. The structure of Ukraine’s national interests, priorities and directions of their protection are defined. Attention is focused on the fact that the Russian Federation attracts teenagers to extremist and radical activities on the Internet. This additionally threatens the national interests of Ukraine. Prevention of extremism is based on raising the legal, political and general culture of citizens, and shaping a positive image of the state. Therefore, it is justified to take effective measures to develop a powerful ideological corpus, a national idea and to adhere to the state’s strategy for European integration. It is important to establish systematic training of specialists in the field of protecting national interests in the Internet space, enhancing the preventive role of the media and institutional support for analytical, educational, propaganda and information work. The author proposes to develop a powerful system of countering manipulations on the Internet, which will include technological developments, methodology, ideological component, legal and educational measures. The author substantiates the necessity of Ukraine’s integration into the global and regional European information space; integration into international information and telecommunication systems and organisations; modernisation and certain changes in the information policy; improvement of legislation on harmonisation of national legislation with international standards; introduction of modern information and communication technologies into public administration processes, etc.