Suchergebnisse

The article focuses on citizens' satisfaction with the German democratic political system. The empirical analysis reported supports the argument that the performance of the economy and the government affect popular satisfaction with the regime. In the East, satisfaction with the regime remains very low and dissatisfaction has spread into West Germany. In the West, the sources of this dissatisfaction are both economic developments and government performance; citizens modify their views on the system as a consequence of the government's and the economy's successes and failures. The dynamic is similar in the East. Economic strains, and the perception that the federal government is not making sufficient efforts to equalize living standards, have kept the Eastern population from committing themselves to the new unified political system. (British Journal of Political Science / FUB)

"Auch wenn in Zentralamerika mittlerweile regelmäßig Wahlen abgehalten werden, dominieren traditionelle -an Personen orientierte- Strukturen oder Apathie die Politik. Große Teile der Bevölkerung vertrauen offensichtlich nicht darauf, daß diese Form der Partizipation einen Beitrag zur Lösung ihrer grundlegenden Alltagsprobleme leistet. Vor diesem Hintergrund handelt es sich bestenfalls um eine "Demokratie niedriger Intensität" oder um "Demokratien ohne Demokraten"." (Brennpkt. Lat.am/DÜI)

The relations between the civil and military sector in SFRY greatly affected its development and survival as well as its collapse. Within the political system of the former Yugoslavia, the military secured a certain degree of independence, which later evolved into a power per se, in any moment ready to impose its own interest (when and if jeopardized) as the general public interest. Due to such status of the military, the political system of SFRY was deformed and, to a certain extent continually endangered by such autonomous functioning of the military. This sense of imperilment was the more intensive the deeper the divisions among certain social groups and interests, the bitter the struggles and conflicts along economic, national and ideological divide, the less prominent the role of the communist party. Such situations encouraged and facilitated the process of the transformation of the military (particularly its top echelon) into a "neutral force" and - formally and factually -into the key political institution on federal level. + Among the several basic models of the relations between the civil and the military sector, the one in SFRY meant that the military was a factor in political decision-making and the factor in certain crises. This required a certain degree of political clout on the part of the military. This clout, required for its meddling into politics, was based on the military and political position of the country, the military communist party organization, the ownership i.e. financial resources, the existence of the external and "internal" enemies, the impotence of civil institutions in certain periods and the charisma of individual military officers. (SOI : PM: S. 82)

The hallmark of the new positive theories of the judiciary is that Supreme Court justices will frequently defer to the preferences of Congress when making decisions, particularly in statutory cases in which it is purportedly easy for Congress to reverse the Court. Alternatively, judicial attitudinalists argue that the institutional structures facing the Court allow the justices to vote their sincere policy preferences. This paper compares these sincere and sophisticated models of voting behavior by Supreme Court justices. Using a variety of tests on the votes of Supreme Court justices in statutory cases decided between 1947 and 1992, I find some evidence of sophisticated behavior, but most tests suggest otherwise. Moreover, direct comparisons between the two models unambiguously favor the attitudinal model. I conclude that the justices overwhelmingly engage in rationally sincere behavior. (American Political Science Review / FUB)