bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stelsels van sociale zekerheid : Na-oorlogse regelingen in West-Europa
Authors: Berben Theo , Roebroek Joop , Therborn Göran
Published: July 2021

Social security systems differ not only in size, hut also in form. These forms have often been more controversial than the size of social expenditure. Different social forces have different conceptions of social security.Here is looked into the post-World War II settlements with regard to social security in Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, with a further glance at Denmark, Italy, Norway and Sweden. It is argued, that the labour movement had a particular vision of social security, which was carried through where the labour had the political majority and was defeated where it was a minority. Postwar developments derive form this settlement, which is more visible in the current crisis than in the 1960s - early 1970s period of expansion.
L'Etat et les femmes en Belgique (fin XIXe - début du XXe siècle) : Propositions pour un modèle d'analyse
Authors: Delfosse Pascale
Published: July 2021

Throughout the 19th. century and at the beginning of the 20th various European states, including those of Britain, Germany, France and Belgium, undertook fairly similar measures affecting women. These had a bearing on their civic status, political rights and rights at work.The aim of this study is to seek a pattern of these farms of intervention. Though the case of Belgium is used to illustrate this proposed pattern, it can be held valid for other European countries, despite slight differences in their application or the fact that these steps took place at varying dates according to the precise stage of development of the countries concerned.
Politieke kennis van laatste-jaars-humanioraleerlingen
Authors: Pattyn Hilde
Published: July 2021

Our research concerns political knowledge among eighteen-year-old pupils (last year secondary school) in Belgium ( sample size : 600) and the variables that may cause a differential level of political knowledge.The results point out that the average level of political knowledge is really low (54 %), though some elementary items (like the prime minister, Mitterrand and Greenpeace) score up to 98 %. The studyreveals as the most significant independent variables : the sex (boys score better than girls), political  participation of the parents, mass media, and (in a negative way) school. Mass media are most  frequently mentioned as the most important sources of political information. Moreover, respondents with a high level of newsmedia exposure do indeed score best. Political education at school shows to have low impact, on the contrary, respondents that mention school as their most important source of political information tend to score worst.
Over de mogelijkheid tot het houden van referenda met meer dan twee alternatieven
Authors: De Geest Gerrit
Published: July 2021

In most referenda, only two alternatives are used ( «yes» and «no»). In this article, the possibility to find procedures for three and more alternatives is discussed.The Swiss voting system for the revision of the constitution is not logically correct. Most procedures used in Swiss cantons are not either. Voting systems with two rounds, with points, or based on a relative majority are not defendable too. Nevertheless, a workable and logically correct procedure for 3 alternatives exists.Using 4 of more alternatives is only possible in case of single-peakedness or some kinds of value-restrictedness. When this is not the case, systems which are logically correct, are getting too complex to be workable.
De politicus, de diplomaat en de deskundige in het veiligheidsbeleid
Authors: Tobback Louis
Published: July 2021

Who makes decisions concerning defence policy in Belgium? Not the public opinion, because otherwise there would be no Cruise missiles.Not the Parliament, because the parliamentarians only ratify international treaties. Not the Minister of Foreign Affairs, because the Minister of Defence makes decisions without contacting Foreign Affairs. Even the Government as a whole and the Prime Minister do not much take care about the defence policy. The so-called experts concerning defence policy are the militaries, the diplomats and the NATO-bureaucrats.Yet, the political problems with respect to the Atlantic Alliance and the division of the European continent, wilt constrain the politicians to reconsider the basic options of the policy.
Taken van Buitenlandse Zaken
Authors: De Schoutheete de Tervaerent Philippe
Published: July 2021

A first comment on the contribution of Professor Franck concerns the fact that the coordination of European alfairs is entrusted to the political section of the Foreign Ministry. This should not be attributed mainly to historical consideration but to the fact that the « paradigma » of that section does not come into conflict with the « paradigma » of other ministries implicated in European affairs. A second comment concerns the difficult relationship in external relations between the Foreign Ministry and the administration of the Communities and Regions in Belgium. The law is open to varying interpretation and a solution can only be found on a pragmatic basis, accepting that problems in international relationsare not always purely cultural or purely political.
Les avatars du marxisme
Authors: Petermann Simon
Published: July 2021

Marxism has been for a long time the reference of the European Worker's Movement. It took the form of a millenarist faith and was embodied in large organizations. Orthodox marxism had no more reason for existence when the working class was integrated in the modern society.Communism gave a new inspiration but at the expense of an intellectual degeneration. When it became a state religion, marxism stopped to be creative and became a Gnosis. The varied forms of leftisms which emerged in the sixties are the last avatar of marxism in the developped countries. But they have only a remote relationship with Marx's doctrine.  The same process took place in the Third World where the marxist-leninist vulgate was absorbed by nationalism.
Het Belgisch ministerieel carrièrepatroon : Proeve tot internationale vergelijking
Authors: Das Erwin
Published: July 2021

The sociography of the Belgian post-war minister is characterized by an upper middle-class or middle-class origin, a French-speaking and male preponderance and a university-education. The most frequent professional occupations are lawyer, professor and executive.The political career which led to a ministerial post, went in the first place through the legislative body (city-council, county-council and parliament) (the legislative type) and in the second place through thepolitical parties (the national and district-party-leader). After their ministerial career 39 % of the ministers played a promine part in the parliament; 35 %, however, prosecuted an extra-parliamentary and prestigious « after-function ».The Belgian ministerial career pattern bears some resemblances to the Dutch, German and French career pattern, but also many differences.  The most outstanding difference is the importance of the bureaucratic component in the structure of the ministerial elite in those three countries, where in Belgium this is not very important.
Vlaamse Gemeenschap : politiek jaaroverzicht 1986
Authors: Van Doren Jan
Published: July 2021

The political agenda for the first year of governing of the second autonomous Fiemish government in the history of the Belgian state, was dominated by the debate concerning the additional financial resources and authorities for the communities and regions. The immediate cause for this, was the extensive saving-plan (Saint-Anna plan) of the national government, which also hit the communities and regions. The final outcome of the debate was the so-called Saint-Catherina agreement, which not only provides a number of savings, but also the transferring of a series of public services and scientific institutions to the communities and regions.A project of decree was agreed to by the Flemish government, which creates a legal scheme for the foundation of a private TV-station in Flanders. In this way they want to cease the monopoly of the publicbroadcasting station «BRT». The bill would only pass the Flemish Parliament in 1987.A number of issues lead to tensions between the Christian-Democrats and the Liberal coalition partners, issues like the affection of green areas around the Brussels agglomerate or the construction of golflinks in Flanders. This contribution ends with a review of a number of important decisions made by the Flemish government on various subjects.
Power and satisfaction analysis : An application to the Belgian House of Representatives
Authors: Lauwers Luc , Uytterhoeven Patrick
Published: July 2021

Using post-war election results for the Belgian House of Representatives, the power relations among political parties are analysed by calculating power- and satisfaction indices. Also, a participation index has been constructed to calculate the probability that a party will join a government coalition.Since the election of 1981 the traditional parties ( christian-democrats, socialists and liberals) join the same Banzhof power and participation probability. The other parties represent no power and participation valueat all.
Stemmen in Vlaanderen op 13 december 1987 : Een statistische analyse
Authors: Swyngedouw Marc , Billiet Jaak
Published: July 2021

Taking into account the limits of such data, this study analyses the shifts in voting behaviour from the national elections in 1985 to those in 1987 in Flanders, using log-linear modelling. The use of data from poll surveys for estimating shifts between subsequent elections poses some methodological problems.The second part presents the results of the analysis. About 13,51 % of -the 1985-voters switched. Although there are significant shifts between all the political parties, the Christian Democratic Party (CVP) loses on all fronts. A log-linear analysis of party-reference by sex, age and occupational status shows the strength and weakness of each party in different societal categories. In conclusion, an interpretation of the shifts is proposed. The following factors can account for the major shifts : the desintegration of the catholic pillar, the emergence of a dual society, the affinity between neo-liberalism and yuppie-culture and the conflict between the language communities.
De stagnatie van de voorlkeurstemmen op 13 december 1987
Authors: Das Erwin
Published: July 2021

At the general elections in Belgium, the voter has the possibility to bring out a vote for a party or a vote for a candidate of the party (a preferential vote). At the general elections of December 13, 1987, for the House of Representatives, the voters have voted for 48 % by preference, whereas, for the Senate 38 % of them have done so. The evolution is still stagnating. The use of preferential votes is varying from one electoral district toanother: from 65 % in the district of Tongeren-Maaseik to 33 % in Mechelen.There is also a difference from one politica! party to another. The highest percentage is obtained by the  Christian-democratic parties : 60 % ; the lowest by the ecologists: 23 %.The preferential votes individual candidates obtain differ widely. This is not only as a result of their popularity, but also of their political position and rendering of services.Preferential voting is characteristic to politically conscious voters.
Belgian politics in 1987
Authors: Couttenier Ivan
Published: July 2021

In 1987 the Martens center-right cabinet had to resign over the perennial Fourons issue. The many painstakingly reached compromises each time met strong opposition from the Francophone Social Christian Party (PSC) and its ministers on the government benches. Once the government resignation accepted by the King, Parliament was dissolved and elections were held. They resulted in a Socialist victory, and a personaldefeat for Prime Minister Martens. In the election aftermath, a cabinet of Christian Democrats and Socialists became more likely.Because of the Fourons issue, the Cabinet found hardly time to address their other issues, and many of the decisions it reached were never implemented because of the government crisis ; e.g. the tax reform plan.The most important decision in the international field was the sending of minesweepers to the Gulf.
De begrotingstechnieken als instrument voor het Ministerie van Financiën
Authors: Vlerick André E. Baron
Published: July 2021

Although the method of Belgian budgeting and controlling has considerably improved during recent years, there still remain a lot of shortcommings such as: frequently late introduction into Parliament of the budget, inadequate information about expenditure, rarely application of zero base budgeting aften combined with techniques which embellish the budget. Debudgeting is the most important camouflage technique. Debudgeting appears in different manners and influences not only the height but also the evolution of the budget deficit.  An improvement of the budgeting technique in Belgium doesn't ask fundamental changes of actual law. Just a switch in applicating the law according to the original spirit and interpretation of actual legislation, would be satisfactory to obtain an efficient and effective budget-policy.
Syndicat et politique en temps de crise : Possibilités, limites et prises de décisions
Authors: Debunne Georges
Published: July 2021

As a result of economic crisis, it becomes very difficult to find a solution for conflicts of interests concerning redistribution. Nevertheless agreements between employers and trade unions remain important instruments.The financial and economic debate concerning conception and orientation of National Product is far from being wound up. Conflicts between social partners and government are seldom resolved.Moreover, the problems of « democratic participation » and « economic democracy » are waiting for a solution. In this debate trade unions are an indispensable discussion partner.
La première décènnie du Parti Social Chrétien autonome
Authors: Nothomb Charle-Ferdinand
Published: July 2021

The first ten years of the autonomous francophone Christian Democratic Party (PSC) in Belgium has pro and cons.Positive elements are the accession to power of a new generation of leaders, the reorganisation through more participation, clearer relations towards the flemish Christian Democratic Party (CVP), an open mind towards an acceptable regionalization, an active role in creating the European Christian Democratic Party and the restructuring of municipal government.Negative elements are the absence of a federal party-structure between PSC and CVP and of a satisfactory state reform, and the missing of a centrist project of handling the economic crisis and of a decentralization in favour of the local powers.
Centralisation et décentralisation en Europe de l'Ouest : esquisse d'une problématique
Authors: Seiler Daniel-Louis
Published: July 2021

The aim of this tentative article is to bring some further empirical evidence in order to validate Stein Rokkan's "Conceptual Map of Europe". Therefore a set of variables are suggested: territorial-cultural (monocephalic unitarism with two possible ways the hegemonie and the authoritarian and polycephalic) and territorial-economic (metropolitan, triangles and conurbations, and polycephalism).Some indicators are proposed to provide some measurement of the variables, such as Beaufays Federalism scale or a new Mediatie centralization scale.
Democratie en modernisatie : noodzaak of keuze ?
Authors: Hooghe Liesbet
Published: July 2021

The classical "western" model of modernization assumes that economie development in the end will lead to a more uniform world of political democracies in free market economies. However, this western model turns out to be too deterministic for non-western countries.A selective review of the theoretical and empirical literature on the question learns that the western model runs into problems because it does not make a clear distinction between preconditions for political democratization and demands posed by modernization. Empirical studies show, contrary to the western model logic, that there is no direct positive relationship between economie growth and political democratization. Cultural and structural thresholds may inhibit democratization : an intolerant culture, absence of a free market economy, external influences, a history of constantly wavering political regimes. As concerns the demands posed by modernization, modern political regimes tend to develop common characteristics, one of them being the design ofmore participatory structures and procedures. But there is no theoretical evidence whatsoever of the western model being the final destination for all modernizing societies.
Agalev en Ecolo als links-libertaire partijen : Of de partijpolitieke vertaling van een nieuwe breuklijn
Authors: Hellemans Staf , Kitschelt Herbert
Published: July 2021

A survey conducted in 1985 at the party conferences of the Belgian ecology parties Agalev and Ecolo, allows to brush an empirically based picture of the militants and the internal functioning of these parties. The "new middle class" background of the militants, the stratarchic order in the cadre party, the manifest links with the socalled "new social movements" and the specific brand of a new left-libertarian ideology all point to the new and different character of these parties, in comparison tothe established Belgian parties.
Het recente beleid inzake de audiovisuele media in België
Authors: De Bens Els
Published: July 2021

During recent years, the audiovisual landscape in Belgium has been going through a number of drastic changes.The monopoly of the public broadcasting system, standing for over 40 years, was breached. Several hundreds of private radio stations, two new commercial television stations and a number of private local television stations saw the light.  The advent of all these newcomers has created a competitive media system. Therivalry between the public broadcasting companies and the commercial stations is very severe and unfortunately the PBS are imitating the commercial model: they sacrifice more time for fiction and entertainment. Moreover, the Belgian media policy is very permissive and favours commercialisation.
Een economische benadering van pressiegroeperingen
Authors: Naert Frank
Published: July 2021

This article tries to provide a dynamic interest group theory. Using the economic method of the 'homo economicus' demand for and supply of policy catering to the needs of pressure groups are analysed. Central are the notions of information and organisation costs that face latent groups treatened by already existing groups. These notions permit to integrate the existing theories on pressure group into one global dynamic theory. The economists' rent seeking theory and the political scientists' pluralism and neo-corporatism can thus be  understood as stages in a continuing process.
Politieke uitdagingen aan de vergelijkende politieke wetenschap
Authors: Daalder H.
Published: July 2021

The study of comparative European politics since the 1930s shows a shift from a largely normative and institutional concern with a few larger European countries towards a clear subdiscipline of modern political science. Marked influences were the need to rethink democratie development in the light of the rise of totalitarianism and the rapid decline of democracy in most emerging new states after 1945.The field shows a strand influence of the wish to bring the particular experience of individual countries onto the map of general comparative politics.Thus, one finds the effect of a typical cross-Channel dialogue contrasting Britain and France, the extrapolation of 'polarised pluralism' from an Italian background, the deliberate challenge to the Westminster model from consociational democracy theorists, and the transposition of Norwegian experience onto a Macro-Model of Europe in center-periphery terms. More recent developments also mirror new political developments, e.g. , neo-corporatism, the rise and crisis of the welfare state, and concerns about public policy generally. Yet such challenges pale compared to the potential effect which processes of European integration, the decline of bipolar international polities, and above all problems of democratic development in post-totalitarian Eastern and Central Europe, must haveon comparative politics in and on Europe.
De omzetting van EG-richtlijnen in de Belgische rechtsorde en de Europeanisering van de Belgische politiek
Authors: Devuyst Youri
Published: July 2021

Under EC law, directives are often used to harmonize legislation of the member states. White directives are binding as to the result to be achieved, they leave the "choice ofform and methods" to the  member states. These must then transpose or implement the directives in their national legal order  within a fixed period of time. According to 1992 data of the Commission of the European Communities, Belgium occupied a seventh place in the transposition ofdirectives in general (93.6% of the total  number of directives transposed). With regard to the implementation of White Book directives  concerning the European internal market however, Belgium, in June 1992, occupied the last place.A wide variety of administrative and structural problems were responsible for Belgium's delay in the implementation of EC directives. Late 1992, an urgency programme set up by the Belgian government  early 1992 began to succeed in making up for part of the arrearage with regard to the transposition of White Book directives.However, only through the further adaption its political and administrative structures to the actual Europeanization of Belgian political life wilt Belgium become adequately prepared for the timely and correct transposition of EC directives. This implies an active administrative and parliamentary participation in the preparation of EC legislation and an early dissemination of information concerning the EC's legislative process.
Restructurations sectorielles et intervention publique en Belgique
Authors: Balasse Alain , Pagano Guiseppe
Published: July 2021

Since 1974 Belgian traditional sectors (steel, textile, glass, coat,.. .) have been facing important financial difficulties, which compelled them to seek both increased productivity through more capital intensive techniques, and goods with higher valued added.This twofold evolution implied investments and job-reductions that could hardly have been possible without adequate public policies. As far as steel and textile are concerned those policies used mainly a common scheme based on public financial intervention and social measures.  Public financial support required to cover annual losses and investments consisted of either grants or state equities. It  amounted to over 200 billions BEF.Besides, policies were designed in favour of people losing their jobs : early retirement was made  possible and was even accompanied with tax cuts.  However the budgetary cost of those policies is  very high, they may be considered successful as Belgian producers now seem able to stand  unternational competition.
Structure sociologique de l'électorat écologiste en Wallonie : Une première exploration
Authors: Doutrelepont René , Jacquemain Marc , Vandekeere Michel
Published: July 2021

At first sight, the ecologist voters in Wallonia present some remarkable characteristics : they are much younger, better educated, less religious and less interested in polities than the 'average' voter.When one constructs three- or four ways cross-tables, the high level of education among ecologist  voters appears mainly as a 'by-product' of their very low average age. On the contrary, general interest for politics and religious attitudes maintain an effect on their own. So the model that fits the data best is the one that retains those three variables.Those characteristics bring some support to the idea that ecologist vote is mainly a protest vote. On the other side, it may be considered that Ecolo contributes to maintain in the 'electoral field' a  potentialy abstentionist population.
Politieke informatie in het bereik van de burger
Authors: Deweerdt Mark
Published: July 2021

Each day, the political world - parliament, government, parties, pressure groups - procuces a lot of information. Compared with other European countries, the Belgian authorities inform their citizens rather parsimoniously. Political information is also available in the media, but only apart of the information produced by the political system is reaching the citizen. The media make a first selection. The citizen too selects : he buys a newspaper or not, and if he buys a paper, he reads the political information entirely, partly or not.
The failure of constitutionalism in Canada
Authors: Brooks Stephen
Published: July 2021

An obsession with constitutional reform characterized Canadian politics between 1987 and 1992. This reflected the failure of traditional mechanisms for bridging linguistic and regional differences in Canada, and the spirit of contentiousness and rightsconsciousness that has been encouraged since the passage of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.  These efforts to reform the constitution failed. In the 1992 referendum a majority of both French- and English-speaking Canadians, and majorities in 6 of the 10 provinces, rejected proposals supported by the country's political and economic elites. Support for the reform proposals was greatest among the more affluent parts of Canadian society. Despite the fact that both French and English Canada rejected the proposed reforms, their reasons for doing so were quite different. In the wake of this failure, the terms of a reconciliation between the aspirations of French and English Canada are elusive as ever.
La "Saga des Ducs". Naissance, vie et mort de l'expérience "bicéphale" au Parti Réformateur Libéral (1989-1992)
Authors: D'Hoore Marc
Published: July 2021

In January 1990, the Parti Réformateur Libéral (PRL) inaugurated a brand new management, called "bicephalism ": instead of the traditional presidentialsystem, one "ticket" with a president (Antoine Duquesne) and a vice-president (Daniel Ducarme) was commissioned to ensure the leadership of the party.The bicephalism was only the result of a tricky internal compromise, stemming from the discontent following the return of the party in the opposition (May 1988) and strengthened after the defeat at the European polls (fune 1989).The "two-headed" system wanted to restore the credibility and to reinforce the cohesion of the PRL. In fact, this genuine political "curiosity" mainly revealed the structural and ideological deficiency which made its coming possible. lts ultimate defeat - at the 24 November1991 polls - caused itsfalling down.The bicephalism was bound to an identity problem of the french Belgian liberalism but also some features of the experience refer to a more general crisis of the values carried by the old traditional political movements.
Politieke voorkeur en antwoordgedrag van respondenten in politieke opiniepeilingen
Authors: Loosveldt Geert
Published: July 2021

In this article a typology of respondent's ability to participate in a survey interview is created by means of a latent class analysis. The indicators in the analysis are: the interviewer's evaluation of the respondent's ability, the use of the "don't know" response category and inconsistent answers. It was possible to fit a latent class model with three classes or types of respondents. The three types are clearly differentiated concerning ability. As expected, this typology is related to respondent's education and age. Ability to participate is higher for better educated and younger respondents. Given the fact that political preference is also related to these two background characteristics, there is a relationship between the respondent's typology and the political preference of the respondents.
Ontwerpen van beleid en beleidsproblemen
Authors: Van Heffen Oscar
Published: July 2021

The main question of this article is : Which methods ofdesigning a policy are fit to solve or diminish complex and certain, complex and uncertain, simple and certain, simple and uncertain policy problems ? On the basis of a contingency approach hypotheses are formulated with regard to this question. These hypotheses are confronted with the field of Dutch municipal policies for marginal adolescents (in the period 1980-1990).This study intends to point out:- that a diagnosis-modelfor designing a policy is appropriate to tackle complex and certain problems;- that a learning-model for designing a policy is appropriate to tackle complex and uncertain problems;- that a fitting policy theory is a necessary, but insufficient condition for an effective policy;- that a lack ofconsensus in the political! environment of the process of designing a policy has a negative effect on the goal attainment, if the opponents of the policy have the power to obstruct the process of implementation;- that a lack professional qualities of implementers has a negative effect on the goal attainment.
De structuur van de besluitvorming in de Raad van de Europese Unie
Authors: Beyers Jan
Published: July 2021

In spite of its importance in European Union decision making, research on the functioning of the Council is scarce (Wessels, 1991). Based on empirical findings this article gives some new insights in the way Council decision making is institutionalized. The first part focusses on the characteristics of Council working groups and the different positions of actors in the decision making network. Our findings confirm the definition of the Council as a highly bureaucratized institution. Interesting is that the diversity of tasks of the different actors(working groups, Coreper, CSA etc.) strengthens the impact of national administrations in Council decision making. The second part explores the reasons for this impact. This article adds to the functional approach, which over-emphasizes the adaptive character of the Council, the perception of the Council as an intergovernmental component in a supranational system.
Het gezondheidsbeleid in België in handen van corporatieve organisaties
Authors: Peeters Guy
Published: July 2021

Before the so-called 'bill Moureaux ', the health insurance policy in Belgium was contracted out by the government to the health workers and the health funds. Also in other sectors (hospitals), government contracted out. This subsidiarity has advantages and disadvantages.  Especially because of the unbearable budgetary excesses, this situation started to change since the beginning of the eighties, starting with the hospital sector. In the early nineties, the management of the sickness insurance also went through some radical changes. The budgetary envelope (budget objective) is now mainly established by those who finance the system, e.g. the government and the social partners (employers and workers), who must take their responsibilities. In this new perception, all partners must be made truly accountable.Government must pass on statistic material in order to be able to pursue a well-informed policy. It must also crank up some social debates, namely about the demographic ageing.Health funds and organisations of physicians need a further democratization. The health funds must accomplish at the same time several functions: pressure group, service and consumer defence.
Het sociaal-economisch overleg als besluitvoering
Authors: Deleeck Herman
Published: July 2021

In an economy of concertation, organisations of employers and of employees are legally involved in the process of decision making on economic and especially on social policy.  Government recognises officially the so called social partners as the autonomous represents of the industry. They leave them a number of tasks in the creation and administration of social regulations. Within a legal institutional framework of councils, on national, sectoral and local level, bargaining between social partners is aimed to consensus, which is formalized in social pacts or collective agreements on wage formation, working hours, social insurance etc.Social legislation is always advised and often written by the socialpartners (in the National Council of Labour). From 1960 up to now (with an interruption in the period of crisis 1981-86) social development has been shaped by national and sectoral pacts. In the evolution of social insurances for workers the influence of the social partners was also eminent. This model was also working in matters of national health policy, linked to health insurance. The overall evaluation of this system is positive. The role of government and parliament has beenrestrained. But, on a legal base, free cooperation between virtual antagonists has been realised, and the number of conflicts minimized. Trade-unions were integrated in the process of decision making.
Het onbehagen in de democratie
Authors: Scheffer Paul
Published: July 2021

Democratic institutions are under pressure as was also the case at the end of the sixties. But where in those days the critique was left-liberal and seeking to extend democracy, now the discomfort with democracy has concervative-populist overtones, related to the reaffirmation of exclusive, mostly national, identities. The populist critique of liberal achievements and institutions has raised questions of ethnicity and identity. The historical tension between national identiy and parliamentary democracy offers a broader frame against which the emergence of nationalist and populist movements, like the Republikaner, Front National and the Vlaams Blok can be understood.  These considerations lead to some important questions : is a parlementary democracy in the European Union possible? Does democracy need a specific cultural society? If so, European unification would break the historical link between parliamentery democracy and the nation, without realizing a democracy on a higher multi-national level. Those who want to defend the liberal democracy against the challenge of populist and nationalist political movements, will need to study more closely the cultural foundations of democracy.
Vote Front National et malaise urbain
Authors: Mayer Nonna
Published: July 2021

In ten years the National Front's scores rose from less than 2 percent to more than 13 percent of the valid votes and the number of its electors from a hundred thousand to almost four millions. On the basis of two surveys conducted by CEVIPOF (Centre d'étude de la vie politique française) and OIP (Observatoire interrégional du politique) (1988-1989) , this paper analyses the factors that account for this electoral rise. If the National Front vote is more frequent in urban areas, it is not so much because of objective factors (more contacts with immigrant populations, exposure to crime and violence, drugs) than because of subjective factors (fear and feeling of insecurity, pessimism) in relation with sociocultural and political specificities of the National Front's electorate (poor education, atomization, limited sociability, lack of trust in institutions etc.).
What has happened to the extreme right in Britain ?
Authors: Heath Anthony
Published: July 2021

Support for the extreme right in Britain has been relatively low in Britain in recent years and has not shown the surge apparent in a number of other European countries. The paper uses data from the 1979 British Election survey to examine the characteristics of care and peripheral National Front supporters at the time of their last surge in support, and then goes on to consider why support has remained low in recent years. The 1979 evidence shows that support for the National Front was strongly linked to racist attitudes but in other respects had a 'protest' character. It is suggested that the subsequent weakness of the extreme right in Britain may be due to its single-issue character and to the availability of more attractive alternatives for protest voters such as the Liberal Party.
De keuze tussen groen en extreem rechts in Vlaanderen : Sporen van een nieuwe breuklijn
Authors: Billiet Jaak , Swyngedouw Marc
Published: July 2021

Studies about the Flemish voter's perceptions and attitudes revealed that the ecologist (green) party "Agalev" and the radical right-wingparty "Vlaams Blok" were each other's antipodes. These two parties were perceived by the voters as extreme poles on dimensions that were mainly formed by the parties' (perceived) viewpoint about the rights of immigrants, about Flemish political autonomy, and about materialistic versus postmaterialistic policy alternatives. According to the voters' attitudes, the two electorates were polarized by their attitudes towards immigrants, (post)materialism, economic conservatism, and Flemish nationalism. The electorates of these two 'extreme' parties were very similar in age composition (more in youngest generations), urban/rural environment (more living in large urban agglomerations), and church involvement(more non-Catholics). The voters of the ecologist party were more likely to have finished higher education and to have a high occupational status. Blue collar workers with little educational formation were over-represented among the electorate of the right-wing party.Using the data collected among 2,691 Flemisch voters after the 1991 General Elections, this study analyses relevant attitudes and socio-demographic characteristics within one global logistic-regression model. The focus is on the Vlaams Blok versus Agalev with the other electorates as reference category. Controlled for social characteristics, four attitudinal variables still show significant (and opposite) net effects on the likelihood of votingfor Agalev or for the Vlaams Blok and not for the other parties: the attitude towards immigrants, Belgian/Flemish nationalism, (post)materialism, and readiness to make efforts for the preservation of the physical environment. This findings support Swyngedouw's thesis about the emergence of two new cleavages: the so called universalistic/particularistic and postmaterialistic/materialistic cleavages that are capable tocatch about 20% of the Belgian-Flemish voters in the early 90s.
Rational choice, sociaal dienstbetoon en de mythe van de collectieve probleemoplossing : De invloed van het politiek dienstbetoon van Vlaamse parlementsleden op de parlementaire functievervulling in 1992-93
Authors: Depauw Sam
Published: July 2021

According to rational choice theory casework is a rational form of political participation for both voter and Member of Parliament. It increases the voter's chance to a redress of grievance and it is an important means for MPs to maximize their votes, which parliamentary activities fail to contribute to. Though rational for individual actors, casework is far from optimal for society as a whole. Disregarding isolated cases, casework does not constitute an important source of inspiration for legislative and oversight activities. A written survey among 101 Flemish MPs tends to show that a collective solution for grievances in great demand is not pursued, as casework seems electorally and personally so much more rewarding. A cure for casework cannot befound, unless it ends this structural attractiveness of constituency service. Disregarding its rationality in isolated cases, casework, because it does not result in collective measures, seems to be a meager substitute for political participation.
Electoral Reform and electoral Behaviour in Belgium: Change within Continuity... or conversely
Authors: Rihoux Benoît
Published: July 2021

Since the November 1991 elections, it has become a common statement to argue that Belgium has entered a -possibly unprecedented- period ofchange and instability. This article focuses on the evolution of the electoral system and electoral behaviour, in order to test this widely agreed-upon judgement.  All things considered, one observes that the electoral system has not been radically modified since World War II. In spite of the transformation of the country into a federal state and several severe conflicts, political decision-makers have opted for the 'fine-tuning" of the electoral system instead of radical reforms.As far as electoral behaviour is concerned, the picture is less clear. On one hand, relying on various indicators, one does observe that the early 1990s were characterised by change and transformation. On the other hand, one cannot conclude that the amplitude of change or instability in the early 1990s has been "exceptional" or "unprecedented" as compared with earlier periods.Building upon this ambiguous diagnosis, the author speculates on the probability of a major breakdown of the Belgian political system at the turn of the century.
Controlling political corruption in Italy : What did not work, what can be done
Authors: Della Porta Donatella , Vannucci Alberto
Published: July 2021

The paper dealt with the control on political corruption in Italy, in particular with the reasons why most of the control mechanisms did not work for a long time, allowingfor the development of"tangentopoli". First of all, we  briefly discussed the reasons why the controls ''from below"--that is, from citizens or electors--did not function in Italy: the pervasive occupation of the administration and the civil society by the political parties, as well as "secret" agreements between political parties in order to avoid political scandals were discussed.The paper continued by analyzing two types of institutional control: the administrative controls and the judiciary controls. In the second part, we presented some main characteristics of the Italian public administration that hampered internal controls, the informal control of parties over the bureaucrats through clientelism and complicity in corruption being one among them. In the third part, we focused on the peculiar characteristics of a magistracy that enjoyed of a very high degree of format autonomy from the political power, but was "pushed" towards politics for reasons as different as complicity in corruption and the need to "substitute" for the weak policy making capacity of political parties. In the fourth part, we reviewed some (implemented of planned) reform bills to deal with the control of political corruption.
La Citoyenneté dans la pensée politique Européenne : Eléments pour une histoire doctrinale du concept
Authors: Magnette Paul
Published: July 2021

This article tries to describe the conceptual evolution of the concept of citizenship. Following the history of the word, it defines the succeeding meanings of this idea from Aristotle to Marx. It argues that this history shows that the concept is inherent in the republican tradition, which affirms that man's freedom is an illusion without the institution of the State. The modern concept, in particular, brings together the ideas of the Rule ofLaw and Popular Sovereignty and demonstrates that they are conceptually undividable. This, it is concluded, means that opposing "liberal" and "republican" concepts of citizenship is a contradiction in terms.
De onderwijsproblematiek op lokaal vlak
Authors: Moerman Fientje
Published: July 2021

Gent is the second largest flemish city, which entails typical metropolitan issues such as the concentration of underprivileged and migrant workers. lts educational network of city schools therefore has a far greater proportional share of migrant students than other schools. The local public education network, by definition has the strongest ties with the local community. Having lifted obstacles of open or concealed discrimination, it still remains difficult to assess what determines school choice, for native pupils as well as for pupils of foreign origin.It is therefore necessary to part from the assumption that education of migrant children is necessarily of inferior quality. City schools start from the basic idea that high quality education is obtained by getting the best out of every child in accordance with his or her talents. Gent has chosen to work with heterogeneousgroups. Social and racial segregation does not prepare students adequately for "real life" in society. This concentration of pupils of underprivileged and deprived origin implies that one necessarily has to keep education as inexpensive as possible.
The Question of Identity in a Divided Media Landscape : The Case of Cyprus
Authors: Gumpert Gary , Drucker Susan J.
Published: July 2021

The military operations of 1974 in Cyprus led to the formation of two autonomous areas houding Turkish Cypriots in the north and the Greek Cypriots in the south. The island is divided by the "Green Line", patrolled by U.N. peace keeping forces.Movement is blocked and communication severed. There are multiple and conflicting Cypriot identities and feelings of nationalism ranging from pride in being Cypriots, to feelings of connection to Hellenic heritage, and cultural along with political and economic ties to Greece. A Turkish Cypriot identity linked to a distinct religious and linguistic background co-exists with Turkish settlers living in the independent north yet tied to Turkey.  This article examines the division from a communication perspective taking into account language, religion, the visual landscape and the media landscape on each side ofthe "Green Line" along with interlocking media landscapes with Greece or Turkey in order to explore influences shaping collective identity and nationalism.
Media, Nationalism and Identity in Canada and Quebec
Authors: Raboy Marc
Published: July 2021

The relationship between media, nationalism and identity is increasingly problematic, even in the most politically stable countries. In Canada, media policy has been an integral part of political strategies for preserving the coherence of the Canadian state, with respect to external pressures towards North American continental integration, and internal pressures towards fragmentation and, most recently, disintegration. The alternative project of political indepéndence for Quebec, which nearly achieved a majority in a referendum held in October 1995, represents a threat to the Canadian state that media policy has sought to contain. But media practices reflect the real tensions in Canadian society and can not be held to account for the more or less failed agendas of politicians.  The article explores some aspects of the relationship between media and the complexities of national identity in the framework of a political culture where different visions of nationhood must inevitably coexist.
Tussen hervorming en patstelling : de Europese Unie in 1996
Authors: Kerremans Bart
Published: July 2021

1996 was a y ear of both gridlock and reform for the European Union. The EU experienced one of its major institutional crises with the Mad Cow Disease. ltwas equally confronted with only minor progress in the ongoing Intergovernmental Conference for institutional reform as no major breakthroughs could be expected before the UK elections of May 1997.  However, some major achievements occured as well. The adoption of the Stability Pact at the Dublin Summit in December increased the credibility of the EMU-project seriously. At the same time, the EU intensified its efforts to improve its trade relations with different parts of the world, especially South and South-East-Asia. At the same time however, the Commission bas been confronted with increasing disputes on the way in which it uses its prerogatives in competition policy and the enforcement of implementation.
De werking van het eerste rechtstreeks verkozen Vlaams Parlement, 13 juni 1995 - 20 september 1997
Authors: De Batselier Norbert
Published: July 2021

The first general elections for the Flemish Parliament have given this institution a new dynamic. In its first session (1995-1996) several ambitious reforms were approved in order to modernise the internalfunctioning of the Flemish Parliament. It has become a place for debate beyond party borders. In its classic functions like voting laws and controlling government improvement is also visible. However, there are some disappointing results: the attraction of the plenary session stays low and the number of interpellations is still considerable.In its second session the Flemish Parliament was very active in trying to improve democracy in Flanders. Those innovations have still to be implemented in 1997 and 1998. The modernizing of Flemish Parliament in the last two years has structural characteristics. The end of 1997 and 1998 must show if that is sufficientfor a lasting change in mentality.