Volume 14, Issue 3

This essay responds to recent critiques of the U.S. State Department’s inconsistent application of congressionally mandated foreign-aid restrictions following several successful coups d’état in countries receiving USAID foreign assistance. This demographic analysis, which conforms to an age-structural modeling and forecasting protocol that was originally developed for U.S. strategic intelligence efforts, finds: (1.) a disproportionately high level of coup vulnerability (the probability of experiencing a successful coup) among youthful countries (median age equal to or less than 25.5 years), particularly among states in the early-youthful segment of this phase (median age equal to or less than 20.5 years); and (2.) a dramatic one-time decline in coup vulnerability among all phases of the age-structural transition following the end of the Cold War. This essay’s two-decade forecast of an expected gradual decline in coups is consistent with the slow and halting pace of age-structural change that is currently projected by the 2022 revision of the UN Population Division’s medium scenario for countries along the equatorial midriff of Africa, and in parts of the Middle East and southcentral Asia. These findings support an alternative criticism – not of the U.S. State Department’s reluctance to restrict foreign assistance to coup perpetrators, but of currently mandated restrictions that neglect to exempt USAID programs known to advance the age-structural transition (i.e. those that extend girls’ educational attainment, improve access to family planning and other reproductive health services, or expand women’s autonomy and rights).

This research note highlights the underrepresentation of younger people in parliaments across the globe, which has been a persistent issue for decades. We introduce a novel open-access dataset containing information on mean and median age as well as the share of MPs in specific age brackets in party parliamentary groups in lower houses or single chambers of national parliaments. The dataset covers 163 cases from 30 countries and features variables that present these aforementioned shares in relation to the respective group’s presence in the voting-age population (Age Representation Index). Furthermore, the dataset includes the share of women within the party parliamentary groups as well as identifiers that enable matching the dataset with indicators from the Political Party Database (PPDB), the V-Party dataset, PartyFacts and the Manifesto Project Database. Our main finding underlines the importance of research focusing on party level factors influencing youth representation as there is not only variation between countries, but also within them on the party-level. Additionally, we show that most party parliamentary groups in which women are underrepresented also have low relative shares of young people, which is in line with theoretical arguments on party behavior.

This article provides an overview of the current state of digitization of public services in Ukraine, exploring its impact on service quality and availability. The rapid advancements in information and communication technology have created opportunities for streamlining bureaucratic processes and improving service delivery. The study aims to analyze the progress and potential of digitization in public services in Ukraine, comparing it with successful examples in Estonia. The research seeks to identify best practices and address existing gaps and challenges in digitalizing public services. The research utilizes various methods, including a comprehensive literature review, analysis of academic articles, government reports, and quantitative data from primary sources such as surveys and databases. A comparative analysis of Estonia’s digitalization efforts is conducted to gain insights into potential lessons and best practices. The findings show that digitization of public services in Ukraine has emerged in response to advancements in technology and citizens’ demand for user-friendly and accessible services. Initiatives like the Diia platform have positively impacted service quality and availability. However, Ukraine’s level of digitization still lags behind some European counterparts. The Ukrainian government’s commitment to digital transformation is evident through various initiatives and targets to improve the digitization rate of public services. Despite the progress made, ongoing efforts are needed to address challenges and invest in digital infrastructure. Prioritizing digital transformation can enhance service efficiency, transparency, and citizen engagement, ultimately improving the quality of life for Ukrainians and aligning with EU standards.

The study was carried out to model factors that affect the Internally Generated Funds of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly using Factor and Confirmatory Factor analysis. The study involved 403 categories of respondents using probability and non-probability sampling techniques. The results from the Factor analysis confirmed a four-factor structure model to accurately represent the observed data without substantial loss of information. The Factor analysis revealed that the four factors affecting Internally Generated Funds in the metropolis are a proper database on revenue mobilisation , effectiveness and efficiency of revenue collectors , revenue monitoring and utilisation , and specific tools deployed for revenue mobilisation . Further examination of the Factor analysis using Confirmatory Factor analysis revealed that some modifications to the four-factor structure model in terms of correlating the measurement errors provide a good fit to the observed data as compared to a four-factor structure model with uncorrelated measurement errors. Findings from the Sattora-Bentler parameter estimates conclude that all paths of the selected model were significant, thus confirming a relationship between all latent variables and each measured variable of Internally Generated Funds. The findings from the study suggest further research on the use of the Structural Equation Model in an analogous area to be instituted to measure and analyse relationships between measured and latent variables.