bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Minority in Both Centre and Periphery: An Account of the Swedish‐Speaking Finns*
Authors: ALLARDT ERIK , MIEMOIS KARL JOHAN
Published: May 2006

The Swedish‐speaking minority in Finland has its origin in population movements from Sweden to Finland during the Middle Ages. The members of this minority do not identify themselves with Sweden; they define themselves as Swedish Finns. Before the general European national awakening the Swedish Finns were united neither in action nor in selfconsciousness. Today they possess a sense of unity and a shared minority identity despite the fact that there is great variation as regards their social position and geographic location.
The Welfare State and the Economy in Periods of Economic Crisis: A Comparative Study of Twenty‐three OECD Nations
Authors: SCHMIDT MANFRED G.
Published: May 2006

While all industrial nations have been plagued by the setback to economic growth since the mid‐1970s, a wide range of variation marks the economic performance, policy outputs and policy outcomes of Western nations. The basic question addressed in this paper is the extent to which economic, socioeconomic and political variables account for the differences in economic performance, unemployment, public debt and the growth of social security expenditure. In general, the forces which shape public policies in periods of economic crisis tend to be different in character from the major determinants of policy‐making in periods of prosperity. The analysis does not support the view that bourgeois and socialist governments produce clear‐cut policy differences. It suggests that the major determinants of policies are the power relations in extra‐parliamentary arenas, the level of national economic strength prior to the crisis, the extent to which ‘solidaristic’ values characterize the political culture, and the extent to which a correspondence exists between the power relationships in the political ‘superstructure’ and in the party system and industrial arenas. An expanding capitalist order is, in theory, not incompatible with low unemployment and a developed welfare state. However, the governments’ room to manoeuvre is strongly restricted by political and technological developments. One of the major political restrictions is the ‘paradoxical’ outcome of elections.
Party Government in Public Opinion: A European Cross‐National Comparison*
Authors: SCHMITT HERMANN
Published: May 2006

On the basis of Easton's concept of political support, an indicator of diffuse support for party government is developed. This is contrasted theoretically as well as empirically with two indicators of support for political authorities: party identification and satisfaction with democracy. Data on these indicators are contrasted across the EC member countries. Specifying the sociopolitical basis of party government support, social‐structural, attitudinal, and political‐structural correlates of this support dimension are presented and discussed.
Must Power Research Be a Political Activity?*
Authors: FALKEMARK GUNNAR
Published: May 2006

Steven Lukes has advanced the bold claim that power research is a political activity. The purpose of this article is to examine the credentials for this claim. The conclusion arrived at by the present author is that Lukes's arguments are wanting, but that power research actually contains political elements. Some of these elements will be unearthed in the article. This operation is performed, time and again, by raising the crucial question: does this particular choice by the power analyst require normative justification?
Decision‐Making Involvement in Norway: The Nature and Scope of Citizen Access in a Social Democratic Polity*
Authors: LAFFERTY WILLIAM M.
Published: May 2006

The nature and scope of political participation in Norway has been the subject of considerable analysis and debate. The present study reports new findings from a nationwide sample survey carried out in early 1981. The empirical focus is expanded to cover four major areas of decision‐making involvement: political democracy, workplace democracy, special‐interest democracy and protest. Emphasis is placed on the amount and concentration of involvement within and across these areas. The results are presented and analysed within an instrumentalist perspective which views involvement as a conscious effort to influence personal or group interests. The major conclusion is that there is much more decision‐making involvement in Norway than has been previously presumed or reported.
Change and Continuity in Greek Voting Behaviour*
Authors: FEATHERSTONE KEVIN , KATSOUDAS DIMITRIS K.
Published: May 2006

The paper analyses the change and continuity in electoral support from the pre‐dictatorship period to the years following 1974. It analyses the geography of the election results both by region and by type of area, and it also examines the results of a pre‐election opinion survey in 1981 which categorized voters by age, sex, level of education, and social class. It considers the extent to which the recent support given to the Socialists parallels that of the old Centre Union party in 1963 and 1964, and it also examines a similar continuity in voting for the main right‐wing party. It concludes that there are notable parallels, though it also highlights the exceptional uniformity of recent Socialist support.
The Demand Side of Politico‐Economic Models and Politicians' Beliefs: the Italian Case*
Authors: SANTAGATA WALTER
Published: May 2006

The aim of this paper is to test vote and popularity functions in Italy. An alternative model on the demand for macroeconomic outcomes is presented. In addition, some preliminary results from a survey on Italian politicians' beliefs are illustrated. This field of research is shown to be of great interest in explaining the supply of public goods, of macroeconomic outcomes, and the relationships between the polity and the economy.
The Split Between the Established and the Non‐established Left in Germany*
Authors: BÜRKLIN WILHELM P.
Published: May 2006

The focus is on the problem of dimensionality of left–right evaluations in mass publics. Starting from findings of earlier research showing that the left–right dichotomy can be interpreted in terms of a partisan and a value/issue component, it is argued here that the latter component has to be further differentiated into a more general value preference and a pro‐/anti‐establishment component. A subsidiary hypothesis maintains that the establishment component shows substantial life‐cycle effects. This differentiation thus can help to clarify conceptually the aging–conservatism thesis. The analysis reveals an age‐specific split on the meaning of Left and Right. While older cohorts interpret these terms predominantly via the traditional partisan frame of reference, in younger cohorts the value‐ and anti‐establishment components overwhelmingly explain left–right evaluations. These effects are strongest in the group of university‐educated younger‐age cohorts. This is a reversal of the traditional alignments of the better educated; in Germany they have had a position closer to the Right. Education thus has become the basis of a new left–right conflict. In addition, in all the younger cohorts, the value components are increasingly detached from the traditional partisan frame. The ‘floating’ New Left has distanced itself from the established Left–Right camps to focus upon the new German party, the Greens.
The policy opinions of British nonvoters; a research note
Authors: STUDLAR Donley T. , WELCH Susan
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Using data from the British Election Studies of 1974 and 1979, patterns of nonvoting among the British public are explored. Nonvoters are much like voters in specific issue opinions and in social class. They do not have a strong ideology or a markedly different attitudinal structure than their fellow citizens. Implications of this for British democracy are discussed.
Methodological and practical problems of comparative party elites research: the EPPMLE project
Authors: NIEDERMAYER Oskar
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Cross‐national empirical research is confronted with several theoretical, methodological and practical problems. Concentrating on theoretical conceptualization, operationalization, design and fieldwork, the research note deals with some of these difficulties on the basis of concrete experiences gathered in the European‐wide organized ‘European Political Parties' Middle Level Elites Project’.
Why study political cycles?
Authors: BÜRKLIN Wilhelm P.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Throughout the history of social science, cyclical theories have had an intrinsic fascination for the explanation of social change. Confronted with the manyfold deviations and fluctuations of social development which could not be explained by linear‐evolutionary, let alone equilibrium theory, cyclical concepts claim to improve theory building. These concepts are based on the assumption that empirical deviations from a trend should not be handled as random error but can be interpreted substantially. Correspondingly the change from equilibrium to cyclical theory demarcates the changed perception of social systems from static to dynamic stability. Therefore the newer concepts, however, no longer thematize holistic changes of a social system but componential changes within a system. This article discusses the problems arising from this changed perspective, in terms of definition and statistical assessment of cycles. Further, three groups of micro‐level explanations causing cyclical development are discussed: predator‐prey and saturation concepts and theories of institutional inertia.
Cycles of Political Control: the case of the Canton of Zürich, 1880–1983
Authors: EISNER Manuel
Published: May 2006

Abstract. On the basis of data from the Canton of Zurich for the period from 1880 to 1983 this paper tests three models of political control: the ‘crime control’, ‘conflict’, and ‘economic crises’ models. It is suggested that each of the models might be valid for a particular sub‐period. The identification of sub‐periods is based on the idea of Kondratiev cycles. For each sub‐period the effects of crime rates, the frequency of strikes and of bankruptcies on the number of police personnel and the severity of convictions are estimated by means of ARIMA modeling. The results show different patterns for each sub‐period. For the period from 1880 to 1933 growth rates of the indicators of political control are best explained by the frequency of strikes. For the second period there is a strong direct effect of economic crises on the extent of political control.
Public choice theory and petroleum policies in Canada, Britain and Norway
Authors: EDWARDS Miriam
Published: May 2006

Abstract. It is assumed that the development of an economically promising resource such as petroleum would be amenable to analysis from an economic viewpoint, and that government initiatives in this area might reveal the essential economic interests of the state. If governments are assumed to have similar economic and political objectives (i.e., to attain the greatest revenues possible from the exploitation of a depleting natural resource and to maintain public office), then it is to be expected that the petroleum policy outputs in various states would likewise be similar. Such differences as do exist should be amenable to explanation by examining the differences in the political constraints and economic situations of the states in question. The study models petroleum policy in four areas: state participation, pricing, depletion (including exploration and production policies), and fiscal arrangements, based on assumptions central to public choice theory. A comparison of policy outputs in the three case states illustrates the usefulness of the public choice approach to comparative policy analysis.
Economic interdependence, international regimes, and domestic strategies of industrial adjustment
Authors: KEMAN HANS , BRAUN DIETMAR
Published: May 2006

Abstract. This review attempts to assess the validity and usefulness of the arguments of the so‐called ‘International Regimes’ approach and the political‐institutional view with respect to economic policy formation and economic performance. In particular, the works of Keohane and Krasner on the one hand, and of Katzenstein on the other are examined. It turns out that both viewpoints can largely contribute to a better understanding of why economic interdependence is such a vital factor for domestic politics and policies. At the same time it appears also to be evident that ‘corporatism’ can be an asset in weathering the effects of these growing international economic pressures. Yet both approaches have serious theoretical and methodological weaknesses. The concept of ‘International Regime’ remains too vague and, in addition, is empirically difficult to pin down. Moreover, it seems unable to account for much extant discord.‘Corporatism’ is also prone to these faults as well as tending to over explain certain developments, which may render cross‐national differences in economic performance as incomprehensible. Notwithstanding these shortcomings, there is so much to build on that both approaches merit further attention and discussion.
The organization of a participatory party – the German Greens*
Authors: POGUNTKE THOMAS
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The surge of new politics in advanced industrialized nations has led to the emergence of genuine new parties in several countries: the German Green Party is the most prominent example. New kinds of participatory aspirations have had an impact on the organizational structure and the internal political life of the Green Party. This analysis focuses on the party organization, its working mode and internal political culture. While the German Greens are substantially more participatory than the established parties, the full realization of grass roots democratic ideals is hindered by systemic constraints and a very weak membership basis. Also, some of these ideals have proved to be dysfunctional to some extent: collective leadership can have paralyzing effects on the performance of a party.
Electoral trends and the Italian Communist Party in the 1970s
Authors: MANNHEIMER RENATO
Published: May 2006

Abstract. During the 1970s the Italian Communist Party had, contrary to the preceding decades, extremely variable electoral results. In this article, trends in the communist vote in the 1970s are studied, through an ecological analysis of electoral results in the Italian provinces. It also takes into account the organizational presence of the party and the socioeconomic characteristics of the electorate. The central thesis is that in the 1970s the Communist vote is different from both previous and subsequent results not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively, in as much as it is characterized by different connotations and explanatory factors.
The power of populism: the Greek case
Authors: LYRINTZIS CHRISTOS
Published: May 2006

Abstract. PASOK's rise to power as well as its performance in office are analyzed in terms of the party's ability to construct a populist discourse. The political context and the structure of Greek society are presented as the main factors that enabled PASOK to articulate a populist discourse. It is argued that PASOK's performance in office served to expose its populist logic and that the party's policies in the field of the economy, labour and education show how populism affects political practice. PASOK's vagueness and contradictory policies are not accidental but the result of a populist logic that developed within specific social conditions and serves specific interests.
Ministerial careers and the nature of parliamentary government: the cases of Austria and Belgium
Authors: BLONDEL J.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The characteristics of parliamentary government vary markedly from one Western European country to another. Although we still do not know in detail the nature and amplitude of these variations, they are sufficiently manifest to warrant close examination. One way in which these variations can be assessed is through the analysis of the career patterns of ministers. These are interesting both in themselves and because they provide information about the nature of the decision‐making process: for instance, ministers who stay in office for very short periods are less likely to be involved in collective decisions than ministers who stay in office for a decade or more. Differences are particularly marked among ministerial career patterns in the Austrian and Belgian cabinets. Not only do Austrian ministers stay in office longer: they tend to come to office only once and then remain in the same post; they often do not come to the government by the parliamentary route, many coming from the civil service, industry, or interest groups. In all these respects, Belgian ministers have opposite characteristics. Thus it does seem that while both governments are ostensibly parliamentary, the Austrian government tends to be managerial, while the Belgian government is parliamentary and more truly ‘political’.
Ministerial expertise and the Dutch case
Authors: BAKEMA WILMA E. , SECKER INEKE P.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The prevalent Dutch prototype of 'specialist ministers’ is critically examined. To this purpose a typology of ministerial expertise is proposed along with guidelines for measurement. Diachronic data concerning all Dutch ministers and all ministerial appointments covering the 1848–1986 period show that the specialist thesis should be amended. In general, political know‐how within Dutch cabinets has been underestimated, partly because of methodological inadequacies. One of four conceivable types of ministerial expertise proves to be predominant: the expert minister experienced in both departmental and political affairs.
Regulating the computer: comparing policy instruments in Europe and the United States
Authors: BENNETT COLIN J.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The introduction of information technology to governmental agencies has raised considerable concern for the erosion of personal privacy in most advanced democratic states. This article compares and tries to explain the choice of policy instrument in four key countries (Sweden, the United States, West Germany and the United Kingdom) to enforce the protection of personal data. Five options were available from the ‘international repertoire’ of solutions: voluntary control, subject control, licensing, a data commissioner and registration. The Swedes opted for licensing, the Americans rely on subject control, the Germans established a data commissioner and the British chose a registration scheme. In no state, however, were these decisions made from a synoptic analysis of all possible options. Nor did a process of policy diffusion occur. Rather, a combination of domestic constraints seemed to filter out unacceptable options and produce a bias in favour of the resulting policy instrument. In the United States and Sweden, this bias resulted from perceived constitutional imperatives; in West Germany and Britain, the position and power of the respective national bureaucracies produced stiff resistance, a conflictual policy process and resulting policy instruments with few, if any, precedents in their respective systems.
Introduction: Regulation and deregulation
Authors: HANCHER LEIGH , MORAN MICHAEL
Published: May 2006

Abstract. ‘Deregulation’ is best conceived as covering two separate sets of processes: changes to the structure of rules embodied in regulatory systems; and disturbances to the stability of those systems due to the inability of system ‘governors’ to function effectively. The most striking feature of deregulation is variety ‐ in incidence, form and extent. This variety is a function of three broad sets of variables: place, notably national setting; time, notably the historical epoch and the stage in a regulatory cycle when deregulation happens; and arena, notably the economic arena and policy networks where deregulation takes place.
Deregulation in Austria
Authors: GERLICH PETER
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Since the new grand coalition government took office in 1986, deregulation has become an official goal of government policy in Austria. The article describes debates, measures and countervailing tendencies in three areas of deregulation: delegislation, privatization and the promotion of competition. Because deregulation initiatives have not been very effective the conclusion discusses political constraints and opportunities for such policies in the future.
Government, interest groups and incrementalism
Authors: LESSMANN SABINE
Published: May 2006

Abstract. This paper is concerned with the two underlying dimensions of the people's welfare – economic growth and social protection – and their realization in the diverse processes which determine the character of budgeting and of budgetary outcomes. These conflicting conceptions of welfare and the diverse agents involved in the budgetary process generate a government fiscal policy, which expresses the clash between ideology and political feasibility and between politicians’ intentions and actual outcomes. This paper focuses primarily on the budgetary process in West Germany, but also makes some reference to fiscal policy in the UK and the USA.
City size and citizens' satisfaction: two competing theories revisited
Authors: MOURITZEN POUL ERIK
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The Reform Theory and the Political Economy Theory postulate contradictory effects of government size on citizens' satisfaction with urban services. The former asserts that citizens' satisfaction increases with increasing size of urban governments because large units are more efficient and allows citizens to participate effectively in public policy‐making. The latter postulates that citizens are more satisfied in the smaller jurisdictions because small units are more homogeneous, efficient and democratic. A series of tests performed in this study overwhelmingly supports the Political Economy Theory: citizens in small jurisdictions hold more favourable attitudes towards participation and democracy, and the smaller units are more homogeneous and more efficient in the provision of services. This in turn leads to more favourable evaluations of public services.
Mental Pictures of the State in West German Party Platforms: A Research Note
Authors: DE HIPT MANFRED OPP
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The way we talk about politics has an impact on the way we perceive them. Thus, language not only describes a world, but gives sense and meaning to it. Metaphors in particular imply ways of seeing ‘something’, as well as instructions on how to handle ‘something’. These insights are used to develop and operationalize the concept of ’mental pictures‘. Mental pictures of the state as they appear in the platforms of the West German Social Democratic and Christian Democratic parties (SPD and CDU) were examined by means of qualitative and quantitative content analysis. The documentary texts date mainly from the 1970s. Apart from different judgements of the state perceived as an apparatus, differences between the parties can be found where ‘human’attributes such as strenght, leadership or the ability to inspire confidence are evoked. In spite of its liberalistic distance from the state, which it stresses in other contexts, the CDU prefers a state conceived of as a leadership figure. In contrast, the SPD is averse to such a mental picture. A technocratic image is the (necessary?) price the SPD pays for this aversion.
Political attitudes of Italian workers: twenty years of survey evidence
Authors: GOLDEN MIRIAM A.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. This article reviews two decades of survey evidence regarding the attitudes of Italian industrial workers towards labour politics. Convention has it that, whereas Italian industrial workers were probably the most radical in western Europe at the time of the hot autumn (1969), they have since then become progressively more disenchanted with trade union involvement in politics and increasingly more cynical and apolitical. Using the numerous sample surveys conducted since the hot autumn, I show that there is no evidence to support this view. Rather, industrial workers in Italy have always been highly differentiated in their views of union politics and it is the politically‐relevant behaviour of union elites that is more important than the attitudes of the rank and file in shaping union interaction with the political sphere. Theoretical context is provided by a discussion of trade unions as institutions, and by attention to the analytic distinction between preferences, behaviour, and context.
Political radicalism in the working class and in the middle class
Authors: TOGEBY LISE
Published: May 2006

Abstract. While political radicalism has most often been associated with the working class, there have been instances of middle class radical movements. In the 1960s Frank Parkin developed a theory which attempted to distinguish between the two class forms of political radicalism. In the light of the social and political developments of recent decades, which have seen several examples of middle class political radicalism, this article attempts to assess the continuing validity of Parkin's argument through an analysis of survey responses from young people in Denmark. The results show some inconsistency not only with Parkin's theory, but also with the arguments of both Marxist and postmaterialist theories, and suggest that more detailed empirical research is needed on the relationship between social class and political radicalism.
Macro and micro understanding in political science: What explains electoral participation?
Authors: LANE JAN‐ERIK , ERSSON SVANTE
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Taking as its starting point two articles published recently in the European Journal of Political Research (Vol. 18, No. 2), this note reviews critically the value of micro and macro approaches to the understanding of electoral participation, and the relationship between them. It suggests that while micro hypotheses make sense, macro hypotheses are difficult to interpret because they cannot be derived from any plausible theory about human motivation. The few deviant cases that exist at the macro level are perhaps better explained by a deeper understanding of their own conditions rather than using them to underpin a general aggregate level theory that is not capable of being understood in terms of micro level theory.
Backbenchers and select committees in the British House of Commons: Can Parliament offer useful roles for the frustrated?
Authors: JOGERST MICHAEL A.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The success of the departmentally‐related Select Committees established in 1979 depended upon active backbenchers willing to monitor and if necessary criticize party leaders and policies. Such a notion, however, is generally held to be inconsistent with party government dynamics associated with the Westminster Model. This article suggests that MPs, particularly backbenchers, are frustrated with their jobs and seek meaningful roles to play in the House. An increasingly important avenue for them is through select committee service, which offers them a variety of rewards and opportunities. The data is drawn from over one hundred interviews with MPs, clerks and staff during 1986‐87 while a Fulbright Scholar at Nuffield College, Oxford. This article is part of a larger work on changing legislative attitudes and a comparative project on parliamentary reform.
Fragile mandate: Party programmes and public expenditures in the French Fifth Republic
Authors: PETRY FRANÇOIS
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Time series regression analysis is used to test the existence of a relationship between public expenditure priorities and changes in party programme emphases in the Fifth Republic. The analysis shows that the sensitivity of public expenditures to changes in party programme content is rarely affected by party control of the executive. Instead public expenditures in several spending areas are positively linked to the programme content of one and the same party irrespective of whether that party occupies the executive or not. In other spending areas, the programme of the opposition best predicts government expenditure priorities. These findings challenge the assumption in democratic theory that the party winning elections ought to enact policies that reflect the preferences of the electorate.
Control for whom? Recent advances in research on governmental guidance and control
Authors: BOGASON PETER
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Various aspects of the concept of ‘control’are discussed in order to clarify some ambiguities, and illustrated using research on regulation in Denmark, West Germany and the USA. An increasing interest in the role of values in the process of control is found in recent research, and is contended that future research in this field should be based on ‘bottom‐up’rather than ‘top‐down’approaches, because the latter prevent the analyst from grasping the range of different values that affect the conduct of actors.
Markets beyond politics? The state and the internationalisation of financial markets
Authors: UNDERHILL GEOFFREY R.D.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The role of politics is particularly difficult to discern in the domain of international financial markets, where the state's capacity to control or direct capital flows, without incurring considerable opportunity (and political) costs, appears so limited. In addressing this question, this paper argues that the process of internationalisation is first and foremost the consequence of political decision‐making (to create open markets) and that many domestic interests linked to the international market have promoted internationalisation both through their policy preferences and economic activity. The paper will then go on to argue that the threat of financial instability and crisis, a consequence of the increased volatility of relatively unregulated capital flows, has prompted political demands for more concerted inter‐state co‐operation to maintain stability. Much of this takes place through transnational agreements among state agencies, such as the central banks, and much through ‘reregulation’ in the guise of ‘harmonisation’ of regulatory and prudential supervisory policies.

Some of this process has received considerable publicity, such as the harmonisation of EEC regulations to facilitate freer trade in banking and financial services as part of the preparation for the Single European Market in 1992. Likewise, the current Uruguay Round of GATT trade talks has the liberalisation of trade in financial services on its agenda. Other aspects of the process have been carried on quietly, far from public view, in such forums as the Bank for International Settlements. Such is the case of a recent agreement to harmonise minimum capital adequacy requirements for banks operating in international markets. The paper uses these three cases to support the argument about the role of politics and the state in international finance.
Confounding sources of variance in the macro‐analysis of electoral data
Authors: WELLHOFER E. SPENCER
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Four sources of variance are examined in the construction of ecological models of electoral behaviour: aggregation bias, contextual effects, temporal and spatial diffusion. The proper specification of both micro‐ and macro‐models of political behaviour requires these four sources of variance to be taken into account. Ecological analysis may make valid inferences to individual behaviour once the models are properly specified. Electoral data for Britain between 1955 and October 1974 are used to test a series of structural equation models specifying developmental relationships between class and electoral behaviour and taking into account the four potential sources of bias.
Models of interest intermediation and policy formation applied to an internationally comparative study of the dairy industry
Authors: GRANT WYN
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Available theoretical perspectives on the relationship between government and organized interests are reviewed, utilizing an internationally comparative study of government‐industry relations in the dairy industry. Four analytical models are considered: meso corporatism; policy community; private interest government and the negotiated economy. The meso corpora‐list and policy community models provide useful insights, but are less helpful in explaining rapid and fundamental change as opposed to stability and incremental change. It is in such circumstances that the negotiated economy model can usefully be applied.
Revisiting old friends: networks, implementation structures and the management of inter‐organizational relations
Authors: HANF KENNETH , O'TOOLE LAURENCE J.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Most of the current work on network analysis tends to concentrate on the relationship between actors and the context within which various actors engage in the formulation of public policy. Consequently, analysis of the inter‐organizational structures through which this policy is implemented receives less attention. In this article attention is drawn to questions concerning the management of inter‐organizational networks as the vehicles for carrying out policy programmes. At the same time, an argument is made for using the term ‘network’not only as an analytical concept but also to denote collectivities that are consciously constructed for the realization of purposeful joint action.
Election campaigning, organisational transformation and the professionalisation of the British Labour Party
Authors: WEBB PAUL D.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. This paper deals with the relationship between election campaign innovation and organisational change within parties. Using the case of the British Labour Party, the paper considers how far campaign changes of the past few years entail the organisational transformation of the party. Broadly speaking, it seems reasonable to conclude that the professionalisation of Labour's election campaign personnel has had significant implications both for policy and for the autonomy of the party leadership. These developments indicate a partial, but nonetheless significant, transformation of Labour's organisation.
Coalition theories: empirical evidence for dutch municipalities
Authors: STEUNENBERG BERNARD
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The paper analyzes coalition formation in Dutch municipalities. After discussing the main features of the institutional setting, several theories are discussed, which are classified as size oriented, policy oriented and actor oriented models. A test statistic is proposed to determine the predictive power of these models. The empirical analysis shows that strategic positions as well as some of the distinguished preferences are important in the setting of Dutch municipalities. Especially, the dominant minimum number principle yields highly significant results for coalition formations in the period 1978–1986.
Fiscal illusions: nothing but illusions?
Authors: SØRENSEN RUNE
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The argument that people underestimate the costs of providing public goods, and overestimate the benefits of government programmes, has received widespread attention in the political science literature. According to this argument the (misinformed) citizen demands greater amounts of public sector goods than if he or she had been completely informed. Democratic competition leads political parties to adjust to the perceived demands of the voters rather than to the actual interests of the electorate. Therefore, the supply of public goods and services tends to be greater than the social optimum. The present article tests two propositions related to this argument using survey data. First, an analysis of a nationwide survey from Norway (1990) indicates a widespread misperception of government costs, both the unit costs of particular services and the aggregate costs of the public sector. However, the study reveals no sign of a general underestimation of costs. Second, the survey implies that while the demand for government services declines as the unit cost increases, the price elasticity of government services seems to be small. The (mis‐)perceived tax‐price seems to have little impact on demand compared to the (mis‐)perceived costs levied on society as a whole. Even if people did under‐rate government costs, the impact on demand would be marginal. Thus, empirical evidence provides little or no support for the hypothesis of fiscal illusions.
Political competitition and multiparty coalition governments
Authors: SCHOFIELD NORMAN
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Many previous theoretical analyses of multiparty coalition behaviour have been based either on a one‐dimensional policy model or on a constant‐sum game interpretation. For theoretical and empirical reasons this paper focusses on a competitive two‐dimensional model. In this model parties are concerned with policy outcomes but choose party positions both with a view to electoral consequences and as a basis for coalition bargaining. The political heart is proposed as the set of possible coalition outcomes. The heart is either the core of the political game or is determined by a small number of party positions. Under certain conditions an equilibrium in the choice of party positions can be shown to exist. The model suggests that parties can be categorized as either strong or weak core parties, anti‐core parties or peripheral parties. This categorization of parties implies a typology of party systems, which gives some theoretical foundation for the occurrence of minority, minimal winning and surplus coalitions in many of the European countries in the postwar period.
Dealignment, spatial polarisation and economic voting
Authors: JOHNSTON R. J. , PATTIE C. J. , RUSSELL A. T.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Estimates of voting by occupational class are provided for each of 22 regions in the UK for every general election since 1964. These are analysed, using a log‐linear modelling strategy, to identify the changing degree of class dealignment and spatial polarisation within the British electorate over the period. The growing regional variability is consistent with expectations regarding the increasing volume of economic voting and the pattern of uneven development in the country: the north‐south and urban‐rural divides have both widened.
Mosca revisited
Authors: FEMIA JOSEPH
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The paper offers a favourable re‐assessment of the thought of Gaetano Mosca, a most unfashionable thinker. Three elements of his thought are examined: (1) his ‘historical method’, (2) his ‘unmasking’ of the democratic ideal, and (3) his critique of Marxian socialism. It is argued that his model of an objective political science, based on empirical observation, was essentially sound, though he himself did not live up to its rigorous requirements. Whatever the flaws in his methodology, however, his analysis of the parliamentary system seems convincing enough. As for his complaints against marxism and socialism, these cannot be dismissed as the fulminations of a reactionary, for the simple reason that most of them have been echoed, in one form or another, by Marxists and socialists themselves. It is concluded that social critics could learn much from Mosca, in spite of his conservative leanings.
Economic dissatisfaction and political alienation in Western Europe
Authors: LOCKERBIE BRAD
Published: May 2006

Abstract. Using Euro‐Barometers 20 and 21, this research examines the role of economic discontent in promoting disenchantment with democracy in Great Britain, France, West Germany, and Italy. Both cognitive and affective economic evaluations have a strong effect on one's level of political alienation. Those who believe the government will have a negative effect on the economy in the future and those who are angry over their government's management of the economy are likely to be dissatisfied with the way in which democracy is working in their country. After these economic evaluations the factors most closely related to alienation are support for the parties not in the governing coalition and post‐materialist values. Even with these items included, however, economic evaluations continue to dominate the model of political alienation.
The re‐emergence of local self‐government in Central Europe
Authors: ELANDER INGEMAR , GUSTAFSSON MATTIAS
Published: May 2006

Abstract. In the current transitional period in Central Europe two issues have been commonly regarded as outstanding: the democratization of national political systems and the transformation of national economies into capitalist ones. However, in the long run, the reintroduction of local self‐government may be even more decisive when it comes to the stabilization of the post‐socialist societies. Firstly arguing that local self‐government is a crucial link between state and civil society, the paper goes on to review the local government system during socialism. This is followed by overviews of attempts to change this system in Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. A number of hopes and fears associated with this development are highlighted, then the concluding section discusses the gains to be made for comparative political research by considering the local governments of Central Europe.
Women and classes: Gender and the class base of new social movements in the Netherlands
Authors: NAS MASJA
Published: May 2006

Abstract. According to conventional methods of stratification, the occupational position of the male determines the class position of all members of his family. Mann and other authors suggest that the assumptions underlying this method no longer hold. This note seeks to test both the conventional method and an approach which includes the positions occupied by women, by studying the class base of the support for so‐called New Social Movements (NSMs). The data are taken from a Dutch survey held in four rounds in the year 1987. The results show that the inclusion of the class position of women themselves is an improvement, in comparison with the conventional stratification method. The position of women not only has an effect on their own levels of support for NSMs, but also influences that of their spouse.
Party leadership selection in France
Authors: THIEBAULT JEAN‐LOUIS
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The methods of selection used by French political parties can be grouped into two categories: election by a party conference with some thousands of delegates for the right wing parties or election by a party committee after the party conference with some hundreds of representatives for the left wing parties. Nevertheless, the existence of a presidential election has completely changed the meaning of these methods of selecting party leaders. Political parties have been transformed into presidential machines carrying out two types of successive duties; as a springboard for a candidate at the presidential elections, then as a relay of the President of the Republic (the ‘president's party’). In these two types of situation the selection of leaders is not completely the same. First, in order to gain access to the presidential election, certain politicians have quickly understood that it was necessary to create new political parties or to transform weak political groups in altering the normal rules of selection of the leaders or in overthrowing the existing leadership. Then the leader of the President's party is directly chosen by the President of the Republic himself. The formal methods of selection only serve to ratify the President's choice.
A ‘participatory revolution’ among the German ‘unification generation’?
Authors: WATTS MEREDITH W.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. This paper presents new data on the differential impact of the East German ‘participatory revolution’ on attitudes of youth in both Eastern and Western regions of unified Germany. A 1991 Youth Survey indicates that the overall 1991 level of approval for most noninstitutional tactics was roughly similar to the 1980 levels reported in the Political Action Studies. The notable exception was support for political demonstrations which was considerably higher, presumably in response to the participatory mobilization in the East. There was a strong regional effect with demonstrations receiving higher ratings in the East (the former German Democratic Republic) than in the West for all age groups. This apparent ‘tactic‐specific’ effect suggests the ‘participatory revolution’ is characterized by a ‘lead’ in the more dramatic tactics and a ‘lag’ in the more subtle techniques of democratic participation. Western males showed hints of a different age‐related pattern than did males in the East, or females in both regions ‐ a finding that may indicate a combination of gender and regional effects. In both regions approval for demonstrations was associated with left‐of‐center political party preference and with identification with ‘new social movements’.
Social class, class origins and political partisanship in the Republic of Ireland
Authors: BREEN RICHARD , WHELAN CHRISTOPHER T.
Published: May 2006

Abstract. As Laver (1992) notes, people who write about Irish politics frequently describe Ireland as a rather peculiar place. One aspect of this peculiarity is that voters in the Republic of Ireland do not behave like their European counterparts. In particular, Irish voting patterns appear to be only weakly structured by social class. Recent contributions to the debate employing a more sophisticated categorisation of classes have led to some qualification of the ‘politics without social bases’ description, but still lead to the broad conclusion that any relationship which does exist between social divisions, on the one hand, and party preference, on the other, is, at most, quite marginal. In this paper we draw on data from the 1990 European Values Study to re‐examine this issue. We apply a variety of models to the data, including logit regression and diagonal reference models (Sobel 1981, 1984) to explore the complex fashion in which class and political preferences are related in Ireland. We argue that the relationship between such preferences and social divisions are, in fact, greater than has been hitherto thought. In particular, we show the importance of taking into account not only social class but also class origins and class mobility in understanding the nature of political partisanship in the Republic of Ireland.
Democracies: Forms, performance, and constitutional engineering
Authors: LIJPHART AREND
Published: May 2006

Abstract. The conventional wisdom concerning the choice between majoritarian electoral systems and proportional representation (PR) – and, more broadly, between majoritarian and consensus forms of democracy – is that there is a trade‐off: PR and consensus democracy provide more accurate representation and better minority representation, but majoritarianism provides more effective government. A comparative analysis of 18 older and well‐established democracies, most of which are European democracies, shows that PR and consensus democracy indeed give superior political representation, but that majoritarian systems do not perform better in maintaining public order and managing the economy, and hence that the over‐all performance of consensus democracy is superior. This conclusion should also be tested among the growing number of slightly newer non‐European democracies, which are already old enough to have proved their viability and can be studied over an extended period of time. If its validity is confirmed – and the evidence so far is very promising – it can have great practical significance for the future of democracy in the world.