bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Freedom and Culture
Authors: Kymlicka Will
Published: October 2003

Begins by explaining how individual freedom is intimately tied up with membership of certain types of societal culture, and why it is important that minority groups should have their own cultures. It then discusses whether immigrant groups should be given the rights and resources necessary to sustain a distinct societal culture, and how liberals should respond to cultures that are illiberal. It aims to show that the liberal value of freedom of choice has certain cultural preconditions, and that issues of cultural membership must accordingly be incorporated into liberal principles. This provides a context for the discussion in the next chapter, about how group‐differentiated minority rights fit within a larger theory of liberal justice.
Justice and Minority Rights
Authors: Kymlicka Will
Published: October 2003

Explores the main arguments in favour of group‐differentiated rights for ethnic groups and national minorities. In particular, it distinguishes between equality‐based arguments, which aim to show that the minority is facing some sort of unfair disadvantage that can be rectified by a group‐differentiated right, and various history‐based arguments, which aim to show that the minority has some historical claim to the group‐differentiated right, based on prior sovereignty, treaties, or some other historical agreement or precedent. It also considers arguments that appeal to the intrinsic value of cultural diversity, and how these relate to both the equality‐based and history‐based arguments.
Ensuring a Voice for Minorities
Authors: Kymlicka Will
Published: October 2003

Addresses issues of political representation, particularly, proposals to guarantee seats in the central legislature for members of certain ethnic or national minority groups. It discusses some of the practical and theoretical difficulties raised by such proposals, and considers alternative ways of ensuring a voice for minorities in political decision‐making. It also discusses the tension between self‐government rights (demanding that power be delegated from central government to the minority community) and representative rights (demanding guaranteed representation for the community within central government).
Toleration and Its Limits
Authors: Kymlicka Will
Published: October 2003

Discusses how liberals should respond to situations in which a minority demands the right to restrict the basic civil and political liberties of its own members, in violation of the liberal commitment to individual autonomy, which it does not share. Does it follow that liberal states should impose liberal norms on liberal minorities? This raises complicated issues about the meaning of tolerance and its limits. The chapter discusses the relationship between the values of tolerance and individual autonomy within liberal theory, and outlines some of the factors that need to be taken into account in evaluating the legitimacy of imposing liberal values on illiberal minorities.
The Ties That Bind
Authors: Kymlicka Will
Published: October 2003

Addresses the concern that group‐differentiated rights for minority cultures will inhibit the development of a shared identity necessary for a stable social order. There is a common worry that group‐differentiated citizenship encourages groups to focus on their differences, rather than their shared purposes and interests. Citizenship is supposed to perform an integrative function, but can it do so if it implies no common legal or political identity? The chapter argues that representation and polyethnic rights are consistent with the integration of minority groups, and may indeed assist it. Self‐government rights, on the other hand do pose a serious threat to social unity, since they encourage the national minority to view itself as distinct. However, to deny self‐government can also threaten social unity by encouraging secession. This means that the identification of the bases of social unity in multinational states is one of the most pressing theoretical issues facing liberalism today.
Conclusion
Authors: Kymlicka Will
Published: October 2003

Liberal thinking on minority rights has too often been guilty of ethno‐centric assumptions, or of over‐generalization from particular cases, or of conflating political expedience with moral principle. If liberalism is to have any chance of taking root in newly emerging democracies, it must explicitly address, and find a theoretical accommodation for, the needs and aspirations of ethnic and national minorities.
The Decline of Sovereignty? Politics and Immigration Restriction in Liberal States
Authors: Freeman Gary P.
Published: October 2003

This chapter examines the theory of declining sovereignty and pervasive restrictionism in the politics of immigration in Western nations. It is argued that the situation is not grave as it seems despite numerous obstacles to immigration control. In fact, state control of migration is increasing rather than decreasing over time. It cites the need to disaggregate this highly complex policy arena and develop particularized generalizations about each component of overall immigration policy.
European Union Migration Regimes, Established and Emergent
Authors: Koslowski Rey
Published: October 2003

This chapter analyses migration regimes in the European Union. It reviews the place of European integration and migration regimes within international relations theory, emphasizing the double challenge presented by European integration and international migration to state sovereignty. It discusses the establishment of the intra-EU migration regime, and the emerging regime governing migration to the EU.
Citizenship Rights for Non‐Citizens: France, Germany, and The Netherlands
Authors: Guiraudon Virginie
Published: October 2003

This chapter analyses the causes of convergence in the area of foreigner’s rights in Western Europe, based on a comparative study of foreigner’s rights in France, Germany, and the Netherlands since 1974. The Netherlands is shown to have granted the most rights to foreigners by allowing them to vote in local elections, and guaranteeing their cultural rights under the country’s minority policy. Domestic and international explanations on immigration and citizenship inferred from literature are reviewed, and a new model on controlling the expansion of political debate on foreigner’s rights is discussed.
Multicultural Race Relations in Britain: Problems of Interpretation and Explanation
Authors: Favell Adrian
Published: October 2003

This chapter analyses race relations in Britain. It discusses Muslims and multiculturalism in Britain, British Europhobia, British and European immigration politics, and the history of multicultural race relations in Britain. Much of the problems of British multiculturalism are attributed to its support for the concept of “multiculturalism in one nation,” which hinges on the shaky idea of British national unity. It raises the possibility of British blacks and Asians being excluded from a re-emerging English nationalism.
Poverty and Undernutrition
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

A large share of the population in many developing countries suffers from chronic undernutrition. This book provides a detailed comparative study of undernutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia, the two worst affected areas, and provides policy advice for those concerned in nutrition‐cum‐development worldwide. The book concentrates on five theoretical and empirical challenges that undernutrition poses: what undernutrition is, who and how many the undernourished are, where they are, when they are undernourished, and why. Two main measurement methods are conventionally used for estimating the prevalence of undernutrition by country and providing answers to the other w‐questions. One of the methods, proclaimed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), is focused on the distribution of national food supplies (calorie availability) across households and a minimum per person calorie norm. The other method, championed mainly by the World Health Organization (WHO), is based on anthropometric assessments of individuals’ heights and weights. The two methods that provide conflicting answers to all the w‐questions are critically examined from theoretical, conceptual, as well as empirical (data) perspectives. The aggregate food‐supply approach is found to be the least reliable and, moreover, irrelevant for some urgent policy purposes, such as targeting undernourished households in intervention schemes. Also, the anthropometric indicators of undernutrition have serious limitations, but these are less difficult to rectify, and they have more policy relevance. A main conclusion of the policy analysis is that undernutrition is mainly a problem of food affordability at the household level, rather than food availability at the national level. Hence, however measured, undernutrition can never be seriously alleviated unless its root cause, poverty, is attacked.
Background and Introduction
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

In this introductory chapter, a road map of the contents of the book is provided. The reasons for focusing the investigation of poverty and undernutrition on countries in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia, with contrasts to developing countries in other parts of the world, are given. The main objectives and limitations in the scope of the book are spelt out.
Characterization and Measurement of Undernutrition: Controversies and Consensus
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

Some of the basic nutrition and economics concepts to be used later in the book are defined and explained. These include the energy identity and the energy balance, as well as the genetic potential and the adjustment paradigms of what constitute undernutrition. The two main methods for measuring and quantifying undernutrition are briefly presented. Some of the long‐standing measurement controversies, to be analysed at length in subsequent chapters, are mentioned here.
Related Empirical Evidence
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

Relationships similar to the ones contained in the model developed in Ch. 3 have been examined empirically in several previous studies. In this chapter, it is argued that causality has been misinterpreted in some of these earlier works. Moreover, some previous empirical results seem implausible in the light of the theory and model presented in Ch. 3. It is further argued that some of the studies suffer from omitted variable bias and that simultaneity has not been properly controlled. Suggestions for improvements in empirical testing are offered.
Calorie Availability in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

The national per‐capita food (calorie) availability is by far the most important parameter in the FAO estimations; it explains 97% of the variation in the inter‐country estimates of the prevalence of undernutrition. In this chapter, the methods used by the FAO to gauge national food supplies (the food balance sheets) are scrutinized, with special attention to sub‐Saharan Africa (where undernutrition is by far the most prevalent according to the FAO). The FAO method is found to be very subjective and the estimates for this region are highly unreliable and, most probably, downward biased. The most compelling evidence of bias comes from South Asia, where the primitive methods still in use in sub‐Saharan Africa for estimating acreage under crops were replaced by scientific methods in the 1960s. It was then found that crops (acreage) had previously been underestimated by some 25% in India and Pakistan.
Calorie Intake and Distribution: Estimates from the Consumption Side
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

Given the importance of national per‐capita calorie availability in the FAO estimations of undernutrition, this chapter takes a second look at this parameter; now from the consumption side. Estimates of per‐capita calorie consumption from various food and expenditure surveys in several countries are compared with corresponding supply‐side estimates derived by the FAO, and huge mismatches are found. The main methodological flaws in most food consumption surveys from developing countries are identified and the conclusion is that these surveys are, with notably few exceptions, as unreliable as the FAO's food balance sheet estimates. It is also found that the estimates of the distribution of available calories across households, one of the three key parameters in the FAO model, are highly unreliable and in no single case, nationally representative. The evidence on peoples’ actual calorie expenditures by the only reliable method there—the Doubly Labelled Water Method—is unfortunately far too scant to permit any generalizations whatsoever.
Minimum Calorie‐Expenditure Requirements for Individuals
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

The calorie norm set up by the FAO to delineate the undernourished in a population has, as its foundation, estimates of the minimum calorie‐expenditure requirements of individuals of different ages and sexes, which are subsequently aggregated to the household level (see Ch. 9). The individuals’ minimum calorie requirements are those needed to maintain the lowest body weight that medical studies have found to be consistent with unimpaired health and also to pursue some relatively light physical (work) activity. In this chapter, the many difficulties encountered in the estimations of these minimum requirements are analysed. It is further revealed that the FAO has based its requirements for adults on obsolete data on the basal metabolic rate (BMR), taken from sample populations that are not representative for people living in a tropical climate. The FAO has hence overestimated the calorie requirement in its norm by some 10%.
From Individual Calorie Requirements to Per‐Capita Calorie Cut‐Off Points
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

The hurdles encountered in going from estimating calorie requirements for individuals to establishing a minimum per person calorie norm for households are analysed in Ch. 9. Households’ per person minimum calorie requirement differs according to household structure (size, age, and sex composition), but the FAO has no data for a single population on this distribution, or its correlation to the distribution of households’ availability of calories. Therefore, the FAO has established a uniform norm for all households in respective populations, which reflect the minimum per person calorie requirement of a household with the same age and sex composition as the population as a whole in the respective country. This short cut invariably means that a bias is introduced in the estimates of the prevalence of undernutrition; some households with below‐average requirements will be erroneously classified as undernourished, while other households with above average requirements will erroneously be classified as well nourished. The net bias will be large for certain combinations of values of the key parameters, and also of varying size for different countries, signifying compromised comparability across countries.
Anthropometric Indicators of Undernutrition: Measurements and Evidence
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

This chapter sets out by assessing the uniform height and weight norms established by the WHO, which are conventionally used to gauge the anthropometric status of people of different age and sex, worldwide. The available estimates of the prevalence of undernutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia are compared to estimates from other regions. Most observations are for young children and, to a lesser extent, for females of reproductive age. The anthropometric status of these population groups in the various countries, along age and gender lines and also the rural/urban divide, are mapped. A puzzling finding is that the prevalence of undernutrition, when measured by anthropometrics—both in young children and adult women—is by far the highest in South Asia, while the (FAO) food‐supply‐based estimates find the incidence to be the highest in sub‐Saharan Africa (also see Ch. 18).
Anthropometric Indicators: Measurement and Selection Biases?
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

In this chapter, the main technical measurement problems encountered in assessing the anthropometric status of people are analysed. While anthropometric height and weight observations are simple and inexpensive to collect, and the measurements can be derived reasonably accurately (unbiased) even under field conditions, there are unresolved problems. One such problem is to establish the exact age of children; another is to obtain nationally representative samples. There is also the deplorable fact that practically no anthropometric assessments have been made of school‐age children, adolescents, male adults, and elderly people, inducing a selection bias. A further problem is that in most developing countries, only infrequent assessment of anthropometric status has been made, which makes monitoring of changes over time unreliable.
Anthropometric Failure: Morbidity and Mortality Risks
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

Starts with the question of whether anthropometric failure as such, or the consequences of being stunted and/or underweight, should be the main concern (there are different schools of thought). Another issue discussed is that inadequate anthropometric status can be the consequence of primary illness rather than under‐ or malnutrition. Furthermore, the links from anthropometric failure in various dimensions and increased risks for impaired health and functions in subsequent periods are identified. A simple model for delineating the share of child mortality that is attributable to anthropometric failure is suggested, and some tentative estimates are produced for sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia. Also, the consequences of child anthropometric failure (for those surviving) later in adult life are analysed (e.g. cognitive ability, labour productivity, and reproductive capacity).
On Reasons for Child Mortality and Anthropometric Failure
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

An econometric model is set up with the aim of explaining the inter‐country difference in child mortality, and also in the prevalence of underweight among young children. The subsequent tests suggest that (low) per‐capita income is by far the most significant determinant of both mortality and underweight. Also, income‐level adjusted measurements of adult literacy, provision of basic public services (health care, sanitation, and safe water), and a dummy variable for sub‐Saharan African countries, turn out significant. All in all, the model explains some 80% of the inter‐country (73 observations) variation in child mortality. The test of child underweight is somewhat less powerful: per‐capita income, degree of urbanization, and a dummy for the six South Asian countries, explain some two‐thirds of the inter‐country variance.
Excess Mortality, Economic Growth, and Public Action in Sub‐Saharan Africa
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

Following up on the quantitative analysis in the preceding chapter (15), revealing excess child mortality in sub‐Saharan Africa, a more qualitative analysis of the public sector in the countries in this region is provided in Ch. 16. The public resources spent on health care and education, in these countries, are not abnormally small (given the income levels), but the quality of the services is, with few exceptions, dismal. Moreover, the resource allocation is biased towards curative health care in big cities and higher education. Often, less than half the rural population has access to basic health care and primary education. Lack of economic growth and political misallocation of resources are found to be at the bottom of the problem.
Growth, Public Action, and Well‐Being: What Can Sub‐Saharan Africa Learn from Others?
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

The basic question is what governments in sub‐Saharan Africa can learn from researched experience in other parts of the world so as to break the present deadlock. If ever the political urge to seriously reduce the plights of the population (ill health, undernutrition, illiteracy, excess mortality) is to come forth in the sub‐Saharan African countries, there are two main (not mutually excluding) policy routes ahead. One is a reallocation of existing resources to these ends, while simultaneously improving the quality of the public services. This, it is argued, could help to some extent, but present income levels in these countries are far too low for resource reallocation to be a final remedy. From both supply and demand perspectives, the only long‐term solution is to accomplish economic growth (with an equitable profile) that alleviates the root cause for undernutrition and other health and social plights, i.e. economic poverty.
Synthesis and Conclusions
Authors: Svedberg Peter
Published: October 2003

This final chapter first summarizes the main reasons why the FAO method for estimating undernutrition fails and why the anthropometric approach—despite shortcomings—is to be preferred. It also offers some tentative answers to some of the puzzles identified earlier, e.g. why the incidence of undernutrition is by far the largest in sub‐Saharan Africa while in South Asia, it depends on what indicator of undernutrition is consulted. Finally, this chapter critically discusses the main policy advice emanating from the FAO on how to alleviate undernutrition: enhancement of national food production. It is argued that the emphasis should be on food affordability rather than food availability. Food affordability for the poor can only be accomplished through equitable and broad‐based economic growth that reduces poverty. Economic poverty is the basic cause of not only undernutrition but also of most other social and health‐related plights facing people in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Introduction: New Challenges, New Questions, New Directions
Authors: Carroll Susan J. , Liebowitz Debra J.
Published: October 2003

This chapter suggests general research needs and directions for research on women and American politics. The authors call upon researchers to think in more complicated ways about the category “women,” employ a more diverse range of research methods, expand existing conceptions of the “political,” conduct research that is relevant to activists as well as academics, and add a comparative perspective to their work.
Accounting for Women's Political Involvement: The Perennial Problem of Recruitment
Authors: Githens Marianne
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research about women's political recruitment focusing on women's participation in electoral politics and social movements and civic organizations. Githens proposes an agenda for future research on women's political recruitment that includes attention to the importance of identity politics, reference groups, perceptions of opportunity structures, political role styles, and role models.
Money and Women's Candidacies for Public Office
Authors: Burrell Barbara C.
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research about campaign finance and the funding of the campaigns of women candidates for public office. Burrell discusses the role of women's political action committees (PACs), reviews the findings regarding campaign contributions to women candidates, and proposes an agenda for future research on money and women's candidacies for office.
The Impact of Women in Political Leadership Positions
Authors: Thomas Sue
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research about women in political leadership positions, especially women public officials. Thomas proposes an agenda for future research that includes analysis of the impact of women leaders on policy issues and the political process as well as the psychological tools they utilize.
The Gender Gap: Old Challenges, New Approaches
Authors: Norris Pippa
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research about the gender gap in voting and partisanship, focusing on explanations that emphasize issue voting, socio‐economic differences, feminist mobilization, and value change. Norris suggests a research agenda for examining women's voting behaviour and public opinion that employs multi‐method approaches, is sensitive to social context, and that analyses data over time and cross‐nationally.
Assessing the Media's Impact on the Political Fortunes of Women
Authors: Kahn Kim Fridkin
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research about the media's treatment of women in politics. Kahn suggests an agenda for future research that includes analysis of: news treatment of women public officials, the effectiveness of women candidates’ media strategies, gender differences in politicians’ relationship with the press, gender differences among journalists in reporting on political news, and the effects of media on the political socialization of children.
A Portrait of Continuing Marginality: The Study of Women of Color in American Politics1
Authors: Cohen Cathy J.
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research about the political behaviour of women of colour while arguing that women of colour are still largely invisible and thus experience continuing marginality in studies of American politics. Cohen suggests that future researchers should disaggregate the category of women of colour, broaden of the definition of the “political,” utilize research findings to help improve the lives of women of colour, and continue to develop basic knowledge on the political participation of women of colour.
Broadening the Study of Women's Participation
Authors: Ackelsberg Martha A.
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews existing research on women's political participation outside electoral politics and traditional forms of participation. Ackelsberg suggests an agenda for future research that includes a focus on: the mobilization of women activists, the changes in consciousness that activism brings, the effectiveness of various strategies employed by activists, and the possible contributions of activism to resolving theoretical dilemmas.
National Identity
Authors: Miller David
Published: October 2003

Nations must be clearly distinguished from states on the one hand and ethnic groups on the other. A nation is a community (1) constituted by shared belief and mutual commitment, (2) extended in history, (3) active in character, (4) connected to a particular territory, and (5) marked off from other communities by its distinct public culture. The modern idea of nationality is distinguished from older beliefs about cultural differences between peoples by its emphasis on collective self‐determination. Although national identities involve elements of myth, this does not show that it is irrational to embrace them. Nor do they prevent individuals making their own choices about how to live.
The Ethics of Nationality
Authors: Miller David
Published: October 2003

Ethical universalism—the view that at the basic level our moral duties to others do not depend on our relationships to them—cannot accommodate special duties to fellow‐countrymen. The strength of the rival view, ethical particularism, is that it connects people's duties to their identity, and thus better explains moral motivation. The content of national obligations is in itself somewhat indeterminate, but is given concrete form within the public culture of each nation, and in formal practices of reciprocity. Finally, ethical particularism is compatible with the recognition of universal human rights.
National Self‐Determination
Authors: Miller David
Published: October 2003

From the perspective of the nation, national self‐determination is valuable (1) as a means of implementing social justice; (2) as a means of protecting the national culture; (3) as an expression of collective autonomy. States, moreover, are likely to function most effectively when they embrace a single national community. This helps create trust between citizens, allowing them (1) to solve collective action problems, (2) to support redistributive principles of justice and (3) to practice deliberative forms of democracy. National self‐determination does not entail state sovereignty, and is consistent with recognizing international obligations, including duties of justice. It licences secession only in cases where the claims of the would‐be secessionists cannot be met by institutions of partial self‐determination (e.g. devolved government).
Nationality and Cultural Pluralism
Authors: Miller David
Published: October 2003

The principle of nationality defended in this book is contrasted with conservative nationalism on one side and radical multiculturalism on the other. Conservative nationalists treat national identities as rigid and authoritative, and therefore resist the changes in identity that immigration, for example, requires. Radical multiculturalists support the political expression of group identity, but fail to see how a secure sense of national identity can benefit minority groups. It is a defensible aim of public policy to integrate groups into such an identity, in particular, through the education system. Cultural minorities can legitimately demand equal treatment, but special rights for such groups are in general unjustified.
Conclusion
Authors: Miller David
Published: October 2003

Cultural cosmopolitanism is superficially attractive, but the opportunity to sample diverse cultures is realistically open only to members of the economic elite. For everyone else, the arguments in defence of nationality advanced in this book should carry weight. The principle of nationality defended here is not illiberal in its implications, although liberals who embrace it may have to change their opinions on issues such as the value of political participation and the cultural neutrality of the state.
The Ethics of Secession as the Regulation of Secessionist Politics
Authors: Norman Wayne
Published: October 2003

This chapter argues that just‐cause theories of secession are superior to nationalist and choice rivals because only it represents a reasonable institutional response to secessionist politics. It also examines the possibilities for a secession clause within domestic constitutions.
Secession and the Principle of Nationality
Authors: Miller David
Published: October 2003

This chapter argues that the principle of nationality offers a perspective on the secession issue that avoids condoning a secessionist free‐for‐all without forcing us to defend existing state boundaries regardless. It suggests the need for a contextual approach to secession, examining the extent to which different groups have or have not evolved separate national identities, how minorities are likely to fare under various possible regimes, and whether partial autonomy regimes might be more justified than secession.
Liberal Nationalism and Secession
Authors: Naielsen Kai
Published: October 2003

This chapter defends the right of nations to some form of political self‐governance on the grounds that cultural‐national membership is of deep significance to individuals and justifies the establishment of political self‐governance for nations.
Self‐Determination: Politics, Philosophy, and Law
Authors: Horowitz Donald L.
Published: October 2003

This chapter examines the empirical complexities of territorially based ethnic separation (boundaries) against the growing philosophical justifications for self‐determination. Horowitz argues that ‘clean breaks’ are not likely, not least because ethnicity itself is a contextual and therefore mutable affiliation, and argues that more attention should be paid to encourage domestic measures of interethnic accommodation.
‘Orphans of Secession’: National Pluralism in Secessionist Regions and Post‐Secession States
Authors: McGarry John
Published: October 2003

This chapter focuses on the problem of national pluralism and the implications for secessionist politics and governing post‐secession states. It outlines institutional arrangements within and between states for recognizing national communities when there is likely to be disaffected national minority groups created by the act of secession.
Myths and Misconceptions in the Study of Nationalism
Authors: Brubaker Rogers
Published: October 2003

This chapter examines six pernicious myths and misconceptions about nationalism, which are prevalent in the new literature. The chapter focuses most attention on ‘groupism’, the tendency to talk and write about ethnic groups and nations as if they are real, homogenous, externally bounded entities, and ‘the architectonic illusion’, the view that the right grand architecture—the right territorial and institutional framework—would conclusively satisfy nationalist demands.
The Tale of a Comparative Political Science Project
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter summarizes the inception, planning and implementation of the ‘Beliefs in government’ project. It sets out the logic of the research programme, its approach and methods, and the relationship of each published volume in the series to the project as a whole.
Theories of Crisis and Catastrophe, Change and Transformation
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter sets out and compares two groups of theories. One the one hand, there are the pessimistic theories of ‘crisis and catastrophe’ that predict, in one way or another, the imposition of strains and stresses on Western liberal democracies that may even lead to their collapse. On the other hand, there are the more optimistic theories – such as the ‘end of ideology’ in the early 1960s, the ‘end of history’ in the early 1990s, and the theory of post‐materialism – which predict a stabilizing transformation. This sets the scene for the following three chapters, which examine these theories in greater detail.
Political Attitudes and Political Behaviour
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews the hypotheses, examined by the volumes in the ‘Beliefs in government’ project, of trends in social and political attitudes in Western Europe. It examines the theoretical issues concerning the identification of comparative trends, about interest in participation in the political process, from the interpretation of the empirical data.
The Growth and Decline of the State?
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter reviews the finding of the ‘Beliefs in government’ project regarding the comparative development of public attitudes towards the welfare state in the countries of Western Europe: whether the scope of government should contract, who are the main opinion‐formers, and how far their views are shared by the general public. The key question at issue is whether a new era of restricted or minimal government is on the horizon.
International Government
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter is divided into four sections. First, it examines attitudes of support or opposition to three agencies of international government which have the most importance for Western Europeans – the UN, NATO and the EU – and how these attitudes have changed since the early 1950s. Second, it examines the problems of mass ignorance about international affairs, and how this affects the reliability of survey data. Third, it considers the structure of public opinion: whether it is inchoate, or organized coherently around distinct themes. Fourth, it considers the extent to which public is original or derivative, simply echoing elite views.
Citizens and the State
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter addresses the key issue of political sophistication of how far citizens in the countries of Western Europe regard themselves as citizens in the sense of accepting civic responsibilities and exerting influence over government. The tensions caused by the growing complexity of the modern world, and by the increasing amount of knowledge necessary to deal with it, are not easily coped with by most citizens. The problem that arises in consequence is one of representation and participation in the political process.
A Crisis of Democracy?
Authors: Kaase Max , Newton Kenneth
Published: October 2003

This chapter summarizes and assesses the various theories which suggest that democratic government in Western Europe is increasingly coming under strain, first, from an increasing complexity of political issues and interactions, and second, from a growing individualism and self‐centredness on the part of a public opinion that is increasingly well‐informed and politically active. The evidence collected by the ‘Beliefs in government’ project indicates that a new transnational public awareness may be emerging so that public policy issues (for example, environmental protection) can no longer be adequately addressed at the national level.
Electoral Participation
Authors: Topf Richard
Published: October 2003

Examines trends in electoral turnout across Western Europe during the post‐war period. It first tests the hypothesis that a strengthening of individualist values is taking place at the expense of collectivist values, and that this predicts a general trend towards lower levels of turnout. It then proceeds to examine the relationship between changes in turnout levels and demographic changes. Its main findings raise serious doubts about the declining turnout hypothesis, concluding that such changes in turnout levels, as there have been, can be primarily accounted for by demographic changes.
Political Parties in Decline?
Authors: Schmitt Hermann , Holmberg Sören
Published: October 2003

Discusses the theory and concepts of partisanship. Using indicators of the strength of party identification—or party attachment—as its main analytical tool, it traces the development of partisanship in some 15 party systems in post‐war Western Europe, noting changes across time and between countries. While some countries show partisanships to be in steady and steep decline, in others the trend is cyclical, and in the newer democracies (such as Spain) it is even on the increase.
Relationships Between Citizens and Political Parties
Authors: Biorcio Roberto , Mannheimer Renato
Published: October 2003

Aims to analyse the relationship between citizens and political parties in the five most populated countries in the European Community (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK), and to specify its dynamic processes. It proposes a typology combining the affective orientation (party identification) and the instrumental orientation (interest representation) voters, yielding four types of relationship: integrated, pragmatic, identifying, and de‐aligned. It examines the empirical distribution of these relationships across these five countries, and finds the de‐aligned relationship to be the dominant form, particularly in Spain and Italy, and particularly among the younger generation.
Intermediate Organizations and Interest Representation
Authors: Aarts Kees
Published: October 2003

Political and social linkages are widely regarded as indispensable for the stability of political regimes. If such linkages deteriorate, stability can suffer. This chapter investigates some indicators of linkage health, considering first the development of organizational membership in a general sense, and then turning to the development of trade union membership, which is the most widespread traditional form of linkage. The final section deals with new social movements creating new types of linkage.
The Dynamics of Trust in Politicians
Authors: Listhaug Ola
Published: October 2003

The literature, both scholarly and non‐scholarly, abounds with allegations that mass public is losing confidence in politicians and in many aspects of the political system. This chapter investigates such concerns. It first reviews some of the arguments for the decline of trust, and discusses where trust should be placed within the hierarchy of political support. It then discusses general characteristics of the data used, emphasizing issues of dimensionality and comparability across country and over time. It then describes the main trends in support from the late 1960s and early 1970s, focusing on sociological as well as political explanations. It concludes that the empirical evidence provides no firm guidance as to which factors are crucial in explaining variations in trust levels.
Confidence in Political and Private Institutions
Authors: Listhaug Ola , Wiberg Matti
Published: October 2003

Examines patterns in public confidence in the major institutions of Western Europe during the decade of the 1980s. It first addresses some conceptual and theoretical issues about the measurement of confidence in institutions, and reviews the European Values Surveys used as data sources. It then presents evidence for the period 1981–90, and explores the factors that can account for the observed variations in the levels of confidence in various institutions, notably in respect of government and major companies. The finding that not all confidence levels move in tandem should direct attention to the possibility that inter‐institutional linkages might be important for determining overall confidence in the political order.
Political Support in East–Central Europe
Authors: Tóka Gábor
Published: October 2003

Examines the relevance for the new democracies of Eastern Europe of arguments about challenges to representative democracy in Western Europe, focusing on mass attitudes conventionally thought to affect the stability of political regimes. The analysis focuses on four countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia), and suggests that their levels of public support for government are lower than in Western Europe, with economic dissatisfaction having particular salience. However, these democracies are still too young for firm conclusions to emerge from the available evidence.
Introduction: The Broader View
Authors: Olson Mancur , Kähkönen Satu
Published: October 2003

This introduction to the book discusses the reasons for the expansion of economic thinking into the other social sciences, and argues that an integrated concept of economics and social sciences is not only possible but is indispensable. This is because there is no other way to do justice to the integrated lives of individuals and their choices in trading off objectives in the traditional domains of different disciplines, and no other way to understand all the options for (and implications of) human ambition. Thomas Carlyle's attitude to economics as the ‘dismal science’ is then outlined. The chapter goes on to discuss the content of each of the ten succeeding chapters in detail, under five main headings: broader theories of the firm and the state; the structure of incentives in the modern welfare state; ethnic conflict, discrimination, and coordination in social groups; the state versus the market; and theory, ideology, and cumulative research.
Innovation and Its Enemies: The Economic and Political Roots of Technological Inertia
Authors: Mokyr Joel
Published: October 2003

Provides additional reasons (other than those advanced in the last chapter) for concluding that the rate at which a country grows is not predetermined by its endowments, but depends much more on the extent to which it adopts superior technologies. The economic and political reasons for purposeful resistance to innovation adoption are discussed, and two basic propositions are established—that technological inertia is usually (1) a characteristic widely observed in complex systems that follow an evolutionary dynamic, and (2) the outcome of rational behaviour by utility‐maximizing individuals. Thus, it is not necessary to fall back on differences in preferences to explain why some societies are more amenable to technological change than others.
Economic Institutions and Development: A View from the Bottom
Authors: Williamson Oliver E.
Published: October 2003

The transaction‐cost economics approach to governance is outlined, and it is explained how this helps to inform the study of the institutional environment at the level of the firm, and especially the corporate hierarchy. Three core governance concepts—credible commitment, bureaucracy/bureaucratization, and remediableness—are then described. The lessons of each, for understanding the institutional environment (mainly the polity) and economic development and reform are then developed.
The Swedish Model: A Comment on Mancur Olson's Analysis
Authors: Moberg Erik
Published: October 2003

Sweden is a famous example of the modern democratic welfare state. This chapter discusses the rise and fall of the ‘Swedish model’ and disputes Olson's analysis (in two separate publications) of the successful pre‐crisis period and the subsequent crisis. Olson's analysis emphasizes the important long‐run effect of encompassing interest organizations in the decline of the Swedish model. In contrast, Moberg, emphasizes the importance of the country's particular constitutional structure, and discusses the role of this structure in the emergence of encompassing organizations. He also points out the lack of flexibility in Swedish society, and in particular, in the labour market, which has increased the country's vulnerability to price shocks, and its subsequent dependence on the welfare state.
Communities and Development: Autarkic Social Groups and the Economy
Authors: Hardin Russell
Published: October 2003

Issues of social group autarky are addressed, with particular reference to their economic costs. The different sections of the chapter address the social interests of such groups, give some American examples (the Lubavitch Jewish community of Brooklyn, and American farmers—the need for which has declined as agricultural productivity has risen dramatically), individual versus group economic benefits, special status for social groups, conflict between special‐status social groups (exemplified by professional, religious, status, linguistic, and ethnic groups), and conflict within special‐status groups.
Law from Order: Economic Development and the Jurisprudence of Social Norms
Authors: Cooter Robert D.
Published: October 2003

Considers how social norms affect the respective roles of private and public sectors. It is shown how private‐market interaction can sometimes give rise to social norms that are better than those that would arise through an initiative from a local government, so that the government at its best, sometimes codifies, strengthens, and enforces a social norm emerging from a private sector that shares in the task of enforcing this norm.
The Nature of Institutional Impediments to Economic Development
Authors: Bardhan Pranab
Published: October 2003

Consideration is given to the impediments to economic development and the social dysfunctions that market mechanisms cannot cure because the large number of collective actions required cannot emerge spontaneously. The focus of the chapter is to a large extent on differing emphases on (1) institutional impediments as outcomes of distributive conflicts, (2) the collective action problems these impediments exacerbate, and (3) in view of the critical need for coordination, a more complex and nuanced role of the state, which many (but not all) states fail to adopt. Recent Indian economic history provides the context of the discussion.