(Press-News.org)
Political violence is eroding the overall health of democracy in the United States, according to more than 100 global scholars surveyed for a new report.
The report, released today by Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute and Protect Democracy, identifies how and to what extent experts believe violence is interfering with American democracy. Those surveyed were most concerned about elections, with more than half suggesting that U.S. electoral processes have a high potential of breaking down in the future.
“Political violence is occurring, and it comes in waves,” said co-author Lilliana Mason, an associate professor of political science at Johns Hopkins. “Hopefully, this report and future data collection can put it in context. Where do experts think we are right now? Where is the threat to American democracy currently? Without knowing the full landscape, it’s difficult to know which concerns to prioritize.”
The report is based on a July survey of more than 100 experts in political violence from around the world.
Respondents were asked to rate the impact of political violence on freedom of expression, freedom of association, voting access, election processes, equality before the law, protection of individual liberties, the independence of the judiciary to act without political interference, and the ability of the legislature to provide oversight of the executive branch of the U.S. government. They were also asked to rate the overall threat to democracy and to identify the aspect of political violence that most threatens democratic stability.
In most categories, those surveyed reported political violence to be “moderately threatening,” meaning they believed violence was interfering with how those areas functioned, but not so severely that the systems were completely ineffective. The threat to electoral processes was rated the highest, followed by the overall threat to democracy.
A healthy democracy is supported by voting access, equality before the law, protection of individual liberties, and freedom of expression. When violence in the form of threats, intimidation, or physical harm is aimed at these rights and freedoms, it can undermine the ability of democracy to function properly. Escalating threats against poll workers, for example, undermine elections. When members of one party intimidate election officials into quitting, their actions raise the potential to create an imbalance of power.
“Once the parties take sides on this particular issue, if they are actually fighting each other in an organized way, every election becomes an opportunity to use violence to achieve what you need to get,” said Mason, who studies American social polarization and partisan extremism.
Passing legislation to protect election workers could help maintain the democratic integrity of elections. The report also recommends that law enforcement coordinate more closely with election administrators to understand and protect against threats.
“The data emphasize the need to protect our electoral process in its entirety, from planning to administration to the transfer of power. Federal and state authorities, local law enforcement across the country, and civil society will need to expand and align their work to protect free and fair elections,” said co-author Jennifer Dresden, a Protect Democracy policy advocate who previously studied democracy and armed conflict.
The team will survey experts quarterly. Ongoing findings will be available on the team’s Violence and Democracy Impact Tracker.
“The experts are telling us that we have violence affecting our politics and that aspects of democracy are at risk,” Mason said. “With this project, we're trying to get a better picture of which parts of our complex political system are bearing the brunt of its effects.”
This work was supported in part by funding received from Protect Democracy and completed as part of a joint effort between Protect Democracy and the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
END
Food allergies can quickly turn a casual meal into a life-threatening situation.
Anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction that may include a skin rash, nausea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and shock – from a food allergy sends 200,000 people to the emergency room annually in the United States.
Because pinpointing a food allergy could mean life or death, an accurate diagnosis is critical.
Oral food challenges – when a patient ingests increasing doses up to a full serving of the suspected food allergen under ...
A study involving the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has found that the use of applications for depression can have a significant effect on treating the symptoms of this increasingly prevalent mental illness, especially when used in hybrid treatments, i.e. those that combine technology with the involvement of a professional. That is one of the main conclusions from the research done by the team led by Carme Carrion, principal investigator at the eHealth Lab, based on their compilation and analysis of the most painstaking scientific research in this field in recent years.
The members of this research group, which is affiliated ...
Boston (Nov. 7, 2023) — Teens from low-income families experiencing food insecurity are developing the most common form of liver disease twice as often as those who have easier access to food, likely because they rely on low-cost, ultra-processed foods, according to a study scheduled for presentation at The Liver Meeting, held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Participation in the food assistance program Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, seems to protect young people against liver disease.
“The ...
Boston (Nov. 7, 2023) — The most common form of chronic liver disease is expected to steadily rise over the next 25 years, adding significant burden to the medical system as a new model predicts nearly twice as many liver cancers and almost triple the need for liver transplantation by 2050, according to a study scheduled for presentation at The Liver Meeting, held by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Rising rates of obesity and diabetes are blamed for the anticipated increase ...
Bethesda, MD (Nov. 7, 2023) — The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) has released a rapid clinical practice update addressing the management of patients taking glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) prior to endoscopy. Published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, AGA finds no data to support all patients stopping GLP-1 RAs prior to elective endoscopy procedures. This guidance is in response to American Society of Anesthesiologists’ call for patients to stop taking GLP-1 RAs prior to elective procedures ...
Most organizations and companies have two main goals — fulfill a purpose and generate profit. In some cases, profit is prioritized over purpose. However, for researchers at Texas A&M University and their partners with the Southwest-Midwest Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC), the purpose transcends profit.
The SWPDC was established in 2018 with $6.75 million in funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to address the pediatric device development and innovation deficit. Following five ...
NASA’s short-form, narrative podcast, NASA’s Curious Universe, returns for its sixth season Nov. 7. This season will bring listeners on new “wild and wonderful” adventures from the farthest reaches of the cosmos to right here on planet Earth.
In season six, listeners will meet researchers who are using sounds from the Sun to learn crucial details about our star, explore the “dark side” of the universe with scientists who study dark matter and dark energy, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the first NASA mission to deliver an asteroid sample to Earth.
Listen to the ...
Bronchiectasis, a condition defined by widened lung airways, cough and sputum production, and frequent infections, often presents along with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This overlap is associated with airflow obstruction and higher mortality in adults. As healthcare systems now provide access to lung image data more commonly than before, bronchiectasis can be detected incidentally on radiological scans of patients with mild or no symptoms.
A team led by researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, studied the association ...
Princeton University has launched a new Ph.D. program in Quantum Science and Engineering (QSE), providing graduate training in an emerging discipline at the intersection of quantum physics and information theory. This new field of quantum information science has broad implications and may enable fundamentally new technology, including new types of computers that can solve currently intractable problems, communication channels guaranteed secure by the laws of physics, and sensors that offer unprecedented sensitivity and spatial resolution.
Applications from prospective students are due December 15 for an incoming ...
The innovation by chemists, resulting in the creation of a long polyethylene chain out of the small chemical monomer ethylene, has been a ground-breaking discovery, awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963. This remarkable discovery paved the way for highly useful industrial processes and set the stage for widespread use of plastics, which transformed our world in once unimaginable manners.
Today, exactly six decades later, the extensive use of plastics and their products is posing a threat to human health and the environment ...
