Suchergebnisse

Theories of contemporary social democracy suggest parties of the left may have to alter their views on the welfare state and shift their emphases in policy priorities to remain electorally competitive. In this article, we examine the structure of opinion within the New Democratic Party with regard to conventional welfare state policies, ideas on equity and post-materialist issues. We find no evidence of a muted egalitarianism or increasingly selective support for the redistributive agenda of the welfare state, and little evidence of internal party divisions rooted in a middle-class defection from the traditional programs of the welfare state. Nor is there a materialist-post-materialist division within the party. Our data show that post-materialist inclinations increase with support for a class redistributionist, materialist policy agenda. Our findings cast doubt on the `new politics' thesis that post-materialist agendas will crowd out materialist policy issues and add to skepticism concerning an imminent post-materialist redefinition of social democratic strategic and policy choices.

The article analyses the relationship between electoral support of the Green Party in the Czech Republic and the level of post-materialism on municipal level. Indicators of post-materialism (lower age, university education, middle and upper class/income, lower unemployment rate in the municipality, and larger municipality size) are based on the concept of post-materialism developed by Ronald Inglehart as well as other studies. The study analyses data aggregated at the municipal level, first for the whole nation and then in more depth for two selected regions. Quantitative methods and techniques, mainly correlation and regression, are used to determine the relationship between the variables.

Die These Ingleharts, derzufolge in Westeuropa ein kontinuierliches Anwachsen postmaterialistischer Wertvorstellungen zu beobachten ist, wird einer empirischen Prüfung unterzogen. Als Datenmaterial werden sämtliche Eurobarometer-Studien verwendet, die die auch von Inglehart benutzte Minimalversion seines Postmaterialismusindexes in vergleichbarer Form enthalten. Für die Sekundäranalyse wurden fünf Alterskohorten gebildet, wobei jeweils zehn aufeinanderfolgende Geburtsjahrgänge zu einer Generation zusammengefaßt wurden. Das Ziel der Analyse bestand darin, Modelle zu entwickeln, mit denen der Anteil von Materialisten/Postmaterialisten in 50 Subgruppen möglichst gut geschätzt werden kann. Dabei wurden Kohorteneffekte, Periodeneffekte und Trendeffekte getrennt behandelt. Die Modellparameter wurden mit dem Programm NONMET geschätzt. Die Ergebnisse widersprechen der Behauptung Ingleharts, daß zwischen 1970 und 1980 auf der gesamtgesellschaftlichen Ebene ein Wandel zum Postmaterialismus stattgefunden hat. (GB)

THIS STUDY ANALYZES THE LEGISLATIVE BEHAVIOR OF SCOTTISH MP'S IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS -- SPECIFICALLY, THE PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATIONS OF THE SCOTS NATIONALIST PARTY, SCOTS LABOR PARTY, AND SCOTTISH LIBERALS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS INVESTIGATION IS TO COMPARE THESE PARTIES' LEGISLATIVE BEHAVIOR IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHICH IS MORE RECEPTIVE TO DEALING WITH POST-MATERIALIST ISSUES.

(1) The aim of this study was to identify the association between post-materialism and health care use (in terms of the frequency of doctor visits and the reason for doctor visits). (2) Data were taken from the German General Social Survey (a representative sample of individuals aged 18 years and over, n = 3338). The Inglehart's post-materialist index was used to quantify post-materialism. The doctor visits (self-reported) in the past three months served as an outcome measure. The reasons for seeing a doctor served as an additional outcome measure (acute illness; chronic illness; feeling unwell; requesting advice; visit to the doctor's office without consulting the doctor (e.g., need to get a prescription); preventive medical check-up/vaccination). (3) After adjusting for several covariates, negative binomial regressions revealed that compared with materialism, post-materialism was associated with decreased doctor visits (total sample; women). Moreover, the likelihood of visiting the doctor for reasons of chronic illnesses was lower in post-materialistic women, whereas the likelihood of visiting the doctor for reasons of preventive medical check-up/vaccination was higher in post-materialistic women. (4) Study findings identify an unexplored link between post-materialism and doctor visits in women. One may conclude that in the long-term, the increased likelihood of preventive medical check-ups in post-materialistic women will be beneficial in decreasing the need for doctor visits for reasons of chronic illnesses. However, future research is required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms.

Previous research (e.g., Horiuchi, Goldsmith, and Inoguchi, 2005) has shown some intriguing patterns of effects of several variables on international public opinion about US foreign policy. But results for the theoretically appealing effects of regime type and post-materialist values have been weak or inconsistent. This paper takes a closer look at the relationship between these two variables and international public opinion about US foreign policy. In particular, international reaction to the wars in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003) are examined using two major multinational surveys. The conclusions of previous research are largely reinforced: neither regime type nor post-materialist values appears to robustly influence global opinion on these events. Rather, some central interests, including levels of trade with the US and NATO membership, and key socialized factors, including a Muslim population, experience with terrorism, and the exceptional experiences of two states (Israel, Albania) emerge as the most important factors in the models. There is also a consistent backlash effect of security cooperation with the US outside of NATO. A discussion of these preliminary results points to their theoretical implications and their significance for further investigation into the transnational dynamics of public opinion and foreign policy.

In the article the essential features of post-materialism as a value characteristic of post-industrial societyare highlighted on the basis of the methodological approach of the American researcher R. Inglehart. The place of the post-materialistic values in the ideology of the ―New Left‖ political parties is defined. The specifics of the formation and the essential characteristics of political parties of ―new politics‖ are investigated. Key words: post-materialistic values, post-industrial society, political party, ideology, ―new politics‖,―New-Left‖,―New-Right‖. ; На засадах методологічного підходу американського вченого Р. Інглхарта виявлено та розглянуто сутнісні ознаки постматеріалізму як ціннісної характеристики постіндустріального суспільства. Визначено місце постматеріальних цінностей в ідеології «нових лівих» політичних партій. Досліджено специфіку формування й сутнісні характеристики політичних партій «нової політики». Ключові слова: постматеріальні цінності, постіндустріальне суспільство, політична партія, ідеологія, «нова політика», «нові ліві», «нові праві».