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Results of a survey of political candidates in the Nov 1991 elections in Flanders, Belgium, are used to investigate the role of gender differences in degree of political representation. It is noted that male (M) candidates have advantages in educational attainment, professional status, & domestic life. Ms are more likely to hold university degrees & positions of authority in the political party or corporate business. Females (Fs) are more often than Ms responsible for child care & domestic work. F political underrepresentation is a structural problem, despite gains in equality of the sexes over the last fifty years. A structural intervention by the government in guaranteeing gender-based equal opportunity is suggested. 9 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

The gender, profession, & age of local elected Flemish politicians (N = 23,465), 1946-1988, are analyzed with respect to the composition of the population as a whole, & changes in it, drawing on data from the Belgian National Instit for Statistics. It is found that women have been underrepresented in Flemish local politics throughout the era, although slight improvements are observed from 1970 onward, especially after implementation of a representation law in 1994. Higher socioeconomic strata tend to be overrepresented, especially in larger communities; whereas the number of blue-collar workers, agrarians, & employers decreased significantly, the number of intellectuals, employees, & teachers increased. Few representatives under age 35 & over age 60 tended to be elected, but a decrease of average age around 1970 is observed. Differences between representatives of the various political parties are also discussed. 2 Tables. Adapted from the source document.

In contrast to comparative economic studies concentrating on gross national & per capita income, a new approach is presented stressing per capita consumption. Personal expenditures are classified as primary (food, clothing, & shelter), secondary (education, transportation), & luxury. Data from Brazil, El Salvador, the Ivory Coast, Italy, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Portugal, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Tanzania, & the US are used to derive an index of consumption inequality, the validity of which is established by a cross-sectional design. 3 Tables, 3 Figures, 2 Appendixes, 22 References. M. Meeks

In contrast to US voters, whose behavior is explained in terms of party identification, controversial issues, & degree of trust in public officials, the behavior of Dutch voters is best analyzed in terms of their position on a Left-Right ideological continuum. Analysis of election data from 1970 studied in C. P. Middendorp's Progressiveness and Conservatism: The Fundamental Dimensions of Ideological Controversy and Their Relationship to Social Class (The Hague/New York: Mouton, 1978), as well as data from 1975, 1980, & 1985, reveals a difference between the actual position on this continuum & voter self-identification, dependent on internally defined philosophical variables. The Left-Right continuum can be expressed along two axes: (1) socioeconomic equality/inequality, & (2) libertarianism/authoritarianism. 6 Tables, 3 Figures, 43 References. M. Meeks

Noting the inequality in wealth distribution between the haves & have nots in the world today & recognizing the possibility that poverty may become a threat to world peace, Flemish foreign policies, promulgated within the Belgian federation, are outlined. It is noted that, although perceived by many as largely symbolic, the foreign policy actions carried out by the government of Flanders deliver tangible benefits in many regions of the globe & have a profound impact on the formulation & promulgation of foreign policy on the federal level. Several of such initiatives conducted in cooperation with the World Health Organization & UNESCO & targeting third world countries are listed. Recognizing the tragedy of September 11, it is argued that Europe should show solidarity & support to a country which supported the continent when it needed help. However, Europe should also work on preventing any overreaction by the American government in its retaliation. The recent foreign policy initiatives of the federal government, with Louis Michel as its foreign minister, are both appreciated & supported. Z. Dubiel

The thesis is a qualitative social scientific study of the Dutch political discourse on multi-ethnic society between 1977 and 1995. The central questions are: 1. Have the Dutch political parties' views on minority policy generally changed between 1977 and 1995, and, if so, in what direction? 2. Was in the first half of the nineties more disagreement on this topic than in the eighties? 3. What exactly are the differences of opinion between the parties on the topic of integration of minorities? The research proceeds upon the theoretical assumption that three concepts - including their counterparts - play a central role in the political discourse on the multi-ethnic society: socio-cultural diversity (or homogeneity), socio-economic equality (or inequality), and political-juridical unity (or fragmentation). It is assumed that the perspectives on multi-ethnic society will be seen to differ in the political parties' interpretation and application of these concepts. The object of the research is approached in two ways. First the attitudes towards multi-ethnic society and minority policy are investigated for each political party separately. Next, the viewpoints of the parties are contextualized by examining the standpoints of the parliamentary groups of the parties in parliamentary debates on important government documents concerning minority policy. In addition the reactions of major minority organisations on these government documents are analyzed. A short answer to the first question is, that in general the viewpoints of the major political parties has shifted from a preference for a multicultural and group-oriented policy of emancipation in the eighties, to a preference for a more obligatory and individual-oriented policy of socio-economic integration in the nineties. An reply to the second question is, that in the political discourse under scrutiny, the consensus between the main political parties about the minority policy has increased rather than decreased. In order to answer the third question, in the conclusion a classification is made of the political parties' perspectives on integration that stresses the socio-economic, the socio-cultural and the political-juridical dimensions.