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Seeks to determine whether the processes of globalization, internationalization, and multilateralization can be identified in changes in Swiss foreign policy, by analyzing two sets of foreign policy decisions (821 in all) with reference to treaties, made in Dec. 1981-Nov. 1985 and Dec. 1989-Nov. 1993. Summaries in English and French.

Structural characteristics of social networks have been recognized as important factors of effective natural resource governance. However, network analyses of natural resource governance most often remain static, even though governance is an inherently dynamic process. In this article, we investigate the evolution of a social network of organizational actors involved in the governance of natural resources in a regional nature park project in Switzerland. We ask how the maturation of a governance network affects bonding social capital and centralization in the network. Applying separable temporal exponential random graph modeling (STERGM), we test two hypotheses based on the risk hypothesis by Berardo and Scholz (2010) in a longitudinal setting. Results show that network dynamics clearly follow the expected trend toward generating bonding social capital but do not imply a shift toward less hierarchical and more decentralized structures over time. We investigate how these structural processes may contribute to network effectiveness over time.

This article investigates how concepts from the field of public policy, in particular the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) initially introduced by Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith, can be applied to the study of foreign policy analysis. Using a most similar comparative case studies design, we examine Switzerland's foreign policy toward South Africa under apartheid for the period from 1968 to 1994 and compare it with the Swiss position toward Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, when the Swiss government imposed-for the first time-comprehensive economic sanctions against another state. The application of the ACF shows that a dominant advocacy coalition in Swiss foreign policy toward South Africa prevented a major policy change in Swiss-South African relations despite external pressure from the international and national political levels. Actually, quite the opposite could be observed: Swiss foreign policy increased its persistence in not taking economic sanctions against the racist regime in South Africa during the 1980s and early 1990s. The ACF, with its analytical focus on policy subsystems and the role of external shocks as potential triggers for change, provided a useful framework for analyzing the factors for policy change and stasis in Swiss foreign relations toward the selected two countries. Adapted from the source document.

AbstractOne of the major shortcomings for the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in comparative public policy research is the lack of valid, reliable and – maybe most important for people not really familiar with SNA – practical procedures to generate comparable network data. In this research note, we suggest an easy to follow, non‐technical solution for transferring information from decision‐making case studies into policy networks. Focusing on the actors' participation in decision‐making processes, we visualize in a first step the description of a policy process in an 'Actor‐Process‐Event Scheme' (APES). In a second step, the data formalized in the APES can be transformed into two matrices on a) the actors' event participation and b) the process links between the actors. Joining the two matrices allows us finally to analyze the decision‐making process in the form of a policy network. Furthermore, the generated network data can be used for more formalized comparative methods.

One of the major shortcomings of the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) in comparative public policy research is the lack of valid, reliable, & -- maybe most important for people not really familiar with SNA -- practical procedures to generate comparable network data. In this research note, we suggest an easy-to-follow, nontechnical solution for transferring information from decision-making case studies into policy networks. Focusing on the actors' participation in decision-making processes, we visualize in a first step the description of a policy process in an 'Actor-Process-Event Scheme' (APES). In a second step, the data formalized in the APES can be transformed into two matrices on (a) the actors' event participation & (b) the process links between the actors. Joining the two matrices allows us to analyze the decision-making process in the form of a policy network. Further, the generated network data can be used for more formalized comparative methods. 2 Figures, 1 Appendix, 32 References. Adapted from the source document.

ZusammenfassungAusgehend von den drei Entwicklungen, wie sie sich in den Schlagworten Globalisierung, Internationalisierung und Multilateralisierung ausdrücken, geht der Artikel der Frage nach, inwiefern sich die genannten Prozesse auch in der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik identifizieren lassen. In der Untersuchung, die sich auf Staatsverträge beschränkt, wird diese Frage mit einer quantitativen Vollerhebung der aussenpolitischen Geschäfte für je vier Jahre in den 80er und 90er Jahren untersucht. Die empirische Analyse, die auf insgesamt 821 Fällen beruht, führt zu teilweise überraschenden Ergebnissen. Die Hypothesen zur Internationalisierung und zur Globalisierung liessen sich zumindest teilweise bestätigen. Punkto Multilateralisierung weisen unsere Auswertungen jedoch darauf hin, dass es in der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik, was die Zahl der Staatsverträge betrifft, von den 80er zu den 90er Jahren zu keiner Verschiebung von der bi‐ zur multilateralen Zusammenarbeit gekommen ist.

"Ausgehend von den drei Entwicklungen, wie sie sich in den Schlagworten Globalisierung, Internationalisierung und Multilateralisierung ausdrücken, geht der Artikel der Frage nach, inwiefern sich die genannten Prozesse auch in der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik identifizieren lassen. In der Untersuchung, die sich auf Staatsverträge beschränkt, wird diese Frage mit einer quantitativen Vollerhebung der außenpolitischen Geschäfte für je vier Jahre in den 80er und 90er Jahren untersucht. Die empirische Analyse, die auf insgesamt 821 Fällen beruht, führt zu teilweise überraschenden Ergebnissen. Die Hypothesen zur Internationalisierung und zur Globalisierung liessen sich zumindest teilweise bestätigen. Punkto Multilateralisierung weisen unsere Auswertungen jedoch darauf hin, dass es in der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik, was die Zahl der Staatsverträge betrifft, von den 80er zu den 90er Jahren zu keiner Verschiebung von der bi- zur multilateralen Zusammenarbeit gekommen ist." (Autorenreferat)