Suchergebnisse

Since Kriesi's (1980) pioneering work no study has attempted to provide an overall picture of power configuration among the Swiss political elite. To fill this gap we aggregate recent network analyses carried out in various policy domains. Based on meta-hypotheses regarding the likely effects of the contextual changes that have taken place during the last thirty years, we compare the structure of the Swiss political elite existing in the 1970s to that of the last decade with respect to reputational power, collaboration and conflict. Our results suggest that important transformations have indeed occurred. Thus, both political parties and some specific state bodies could increase their power, whereas most interest groups have lost some. While the internationalization of politics has overall had the expected effects with respect to the power structure and to conflict among political parties, it did not lead to the hypothesized, new conflict among interest groups. Adapted from the source document.

The institutional arrangements that characterize the Swiss, corporatist-like, decision-making system were designed at a time when the impact of the "outside world" on both the form and content of legislative acts was presumably very low. With the deepening of the processes of economic globalization and political internationalization, however, an increasing number of issues that used to be domestic in nature are now co-defined at the international level and/or strongly influenced by norms elaborated abroad.
Against this background, the purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of the internationalization/globalization processes on the national decision-making system and related institutional arrangements in Switzerland. In order to do so, we shall intend to rely on a double strategy. First, we will carry out a "before-after" analysis, that is, a comparison between the characteristics of the Swiss decision-making institutions and processes in the most recent legislative period (1995-99), with those at an earlier stage of the internationalization process (legislative period 1971-75). While data already exists for the period 1971-75, corresponding data - on the institutional setting, the duration of decision making processes, the importance and level of conflictuality of a given act, etc. - will have to be gathered for the legislature 1995-99. All legislative acts which were treated by the Swiss parliament between 1995 and 1999 and which were either initiated by a popular initiative or subject to a referendum (presumably around 200 acts) will be included in the quantitative analysis. Second, we will carry out a more detailed, but still mostly quantitative, network analysis of a small sample of the "most important" legislative acts of the period 1995-99. We shall focus on three legislative acts that differ with respect to their "international-national" character: a "purely" domestic policy decision, and two types of "mixed" decision. For this part of the study, socio-metric data collected through structured interviews with the relevant political elites will be the main source of information.
The first general assumption of this project is that the process of internationalization has induced changes in the institutional framework of the Swiss decision-making system. Most noticeably, internationalization is expected to have limited the formal consultation/ concertation procedures during the legislative process. The "before-after" analysis will help test whether and to what extent these changes have actually occurred. The second general assumption is that the changes in the decision-making institutions brought about by internationalization have influenced the distribution of political power in the Swiss political system. The policy network analysis in the three selected policy domains will help highlight the possible changes in power relations and how they are related to institutional changes.

Since the beginning of the 1980s, a growing number of studies have focused on the phenomenon of internationalisation. Yet, so far, the question of the impact of internationalisation on institutions and decision‐making processes has largely been neglected. In this article we attempt to overcome this weakness by analysing how internationalisation has affected the Swiss decision‐making system. To this end, we develop two research hypotheses. The first one deals with the effects of internationalisation on decision‐making institutions, while the second one focuses on its impact on the degree of elite conflictuality. These hypotheses are tested on all legislative acts adopted by the Federal Assembly during the 1995‐1999 legislative term and submitted to one of the three main direct democratic institutions (i.e. popular initiative, optional referendum, and obligatory referendum). Our findings show that, with the exception of cases of autonomous adaptation, legislative acts with a stronger international component arecharacterized by a weaker degree of pre‐parliamentary consultation, as well as by a lower level of parliamentary conflict

Since the beginning of the 1980s, a growing number of studies have focused on the phenomenon of internationalization. Yet, so far, the question of the impact of internationalization on institutions & decision-making processes has largely been neglected. In this article, we attempt to overcome this weakness by analyzing how internationalization has affected the Swiss decision-making system. To this end, we develop two research hypotheses. The first one deals with the effects of internationalization on decision-making institutions, while the second one focuses on its impact on the degree of elite conflictuality. These hypotheses are tested on all legislative acts adopted by the Federal Assembly during the 1995-1999 legislative term, & submitted to one of the three main direct democratic institutions (ie, popular initiative, optional referendum, & obligatory referendum). Our findings show that, with the exception of cases of autonomous adaptation, legislative acts with a stronger international component are characterized by a weaker degree of pre-parliamentary consultation, as well as by a lower level of parliamentary conflict. 7 Tables, 2 Graphs, 1 Appendix, 50 References. Adapted from the source document.

"Seit Beginn der achtziger Jahre befasste sich eine wachsende Zahl von Studien mit der Internationalisierung. Der Einfluss der Internationalisierung auf die nationalen Institutionen und den nationalen Entscheidungsprozess wurde jedoch nur selten untersucht. In diesem Artikel versuchen wir einen Beitrag zur Schließung dieser Lücke für den Fall Schweiz zu leisten. Dies geschickt anhand von zwei Forschungshypothesen. Die erste bezieht sich auf die Effekte der Internationalisierung auf die Institutionen des Entscheidungsprozesses, die zweite auf ihren Einfluss auf die Konfliktintensität innerhalb der Elite. Diese Hypothesen werden mittels einer Datenbank getestet, welche alle Vorlagen enthält, die in der Legislaturperiode 1995-1999 vom Parlament verabschiedet wurden und die einer der drei Institutionen der direkten Demokratie unterstehen (Volksinitiative, fakultatives Referendum und obligatorisches Referendum). Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Vorlagen mit einer starken internationalen Komponente - mit Ausnahme der Fälle von autonomen Nachvollzug - sich durch einen geringeren Konsultationsgrad sowie einen geringen parlamentarischen Konflikt auszeichnen." (Autorenreferat)

INTRODUCTION: With over 500 000 infections and nearly 12 000 deaths, South Africa (SA) is the African epicenter of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. SA has implemented a 5-stage Risk-Adjusted Strategy which includes a phased national lockdown, requiring social distancing, frequent hand washing and wearing face masks. Strict adherence to this strategy is crucial to reducing COVID-19 transmission, flattening the curve, and preventing resurgence. As part of the 22-country International Citizens Project COVID-19 (ICPcovid), this study aimed to describe the SA adherence to the Risk-Adjusted Strategy and identify determinants of adherence. METHOD: During 24 April-15 May 2020, people were electronically invited, through social media platforms and a text blast, to complete an online survey, accessible via www.icpcovid.com. The survey investigated COVID-19 testing and preventative adherence measures, then used logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of adherence. RESULTS: There were 951 participants, with 731(76.9%) 25 to 54 years. Most (672;70.7%) were female, and 705(74.1%) had a university degree. Since the epidemic started, 529(55.6%) and 436(45.9%) participants stated they were eating healthier and taking more vitamins, respectively. Only 82(8.6%) had been COVID-19 tested, and 1(1.2%) tested positive. In public, 905(95.2%) socially distanced, however 99(10.4%) participants had recently attended meetings with over ten people. Regular hand washing was practiced by 907(95.4%) participants, 774(81.4%) wore face masks and 854(89.8%) stayed home when they experienced flu-like symptoms. The odds of adhering to the guidelines were lower among men versus women (AOR 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.528, 0.971) and those who had flu-like symptoms (AOR 0.42, 95% CI = 0.277, 0.628). In contrast, increased odds were reported for those who reported increased vitamin intake (AOR 1.37, 95% CI = 1.044,1.798), and were either cohabiting or married (AOR 1.39, 95% CI = 1.042,1.847). CONCLUSION: Despite high reported adherence, face mask use and symptomatic individuals not self-isolating, were areas for improvement. However, these factors cannot solely account for SA's increasing COVID-19 cases. Larger general population studies are needed to identify other adherence predictors for a strengthened SA COVID-19 response. While the government must continue to educate the entire population on preventative measures, provide personal protective equipment and stress the importance of adherence, there also needs to be implementation of prioritised prevention strategies for men and single individuals to address their demonstrated lower adherence.

AbstractThis paper provides the first known "heatmap" representing Australian public narratives across a range of groups experiencing disadvantage developed from a comprehensive literature review of primary Australian studies between 2020 and 2021. Eleven narratives were identified across 14 population groups with the most frequent being deficit narratives, misrepresentation of the issue and 'absent' narratives (group being described not represented in the narrative). The most frequently described groups were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability, racial minorities and women. The heatmap resonated with three global review‐level studies and findings of supplementary qualitative interviews. Examination of relationships between the heatmap and empirical Australian disadvantage data enabled identification of missing and misleading public narratives. Attempts to disrupt such narratives can improve the understanding of disadvantage by more truthfully reflecting the lives, experiences and challenges of groups experiencing disadvantage. Updates to the heatmap can enable analysis of the impact of disruption strategies.