Suchergebnisse

This book presents the findings of a project (2018–2019) that undertook evidence-based research in order to promote and support good governance in the context of the regulation of football players' agents (now referred to as 'intermediaries') in the European Union. The project recieved financial support under the EU's Erasmus+ Programme. The findings was supported by national reports and stakeholder input at international seminars.

The European Union (EU) repeatedly expresses its support to principles and values of the United Nations (UN), seeing the UN as the core of a rules-based global order. How does the EU perform in contributing personnel to UN peacekeeping operations, and what factors affect their personnel commitments? Recent work shows that the size of the deployed personnel matters for peacekeeping effectiveness, and personnel commitment is a crucial effort by the UN member states to prolong peace. This article's contribution is to conduct the first analysis on the EU member states' contribution rates on 53 UN peacekeeping operations throughout the last 30 years. By testing arguments of two general explanations for factors that affect peacekeeper contributions, the empirical findings reveal that although the EU members tend to contribute less to UN peacekeeping operations, they contribute significantly higher in the case of rising peacekeeper fatalities. However, the EU member states are less likely to contribute with humanitarian impulse or international security threat concerns. The findings suggest that no single theory can explain the contribution motives; instead, a wide range of interacting factors determine the decision to commit personnel to an operation.

This study investigates how terrorism affects governance in 53 African countries for the period 1998-2012. Four terrorism indicators are used namely: domestic, transnational, unclear and total terrorism. Ten bundled and unbundled governance indicators are also employed namely: political governance (consisting of political stability and voice and accountability), economic governance (encompassing government effectiveness and regulation quality); institutional governance (entailing corruption-control and the rule of law) and general governance. The governance indicators are bundled by means of principal component analysis. The empirical evidence is based on Generalized Method of Moments. Three key findings are established. First, all selected terrorism dynamics negatively affect political governance and its constituents. Second, evidence of a negative relationship is sparingly apparent in economic governance and its components. Third, no proof was confirmed in relation to the impact of terrorism and institutional governance with its elements. Fourth, compared with domestic terrorism, transnational terrorism more negatively and significantly affects political, economic and general governances. Policy implications are discussed.

The choice between mechanistic and organic organizational forms of control should depend not only on the degree of technological and economic complexity, as argued by contingency theory, but equally on whether the cultural conditions necessary to make the organic model work are present. Teaching and learning are complex work processes, and the way control is exercised at business schools is illustrative of principles applicable to other organizations. Data about 26 countries suggest that teaching styles in post-industrial societies are more likely to follow the organic model, involving greater 'empowerment' of students and less formal authority. In the business school context, this 'empowerment' is shown to rest on students' cultural values of solidarity and social commitment. The argument is then pursued to the sociocultural and political environment of the business schools. Running the 'student empowerment index' generated by own data against international value surveys suggests a close relationship between teaching styles and various indicators of cultural and political modernity.

A comparative sociological study of the way minority Jews perceive themselves to be treated in Romania, the Netherlands, & Curacao tests the validity of R. M. Marrus & R. D. Paxton's (1981) "three concentric circles" theory of contemporary anti-Semitism, that was expanded by M. Wieviorka (1991) into three dimensions of racism: humiliating racism; racism expressed by differentiation; & institutionalized racism. The history of the formation of Jewish communities & current policies affecting them are examined for each country, drawing on data from personal interviews with 20 Jewish people, ages 18-35, in each country. The 170-item questionnaire focused on feelings about Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, relations with Israel, & Jewish/non-Jewish organizations. The results showed that ideas like Jewish identity are not stable concepts. Anti-Semitic attitudes & discrimination were evident in all three countries, & exhibited Wieviorka's first two dimenisions, but not institutionalized racism. Romania exhibited the highest levels of anti-Semitism & discrimination, & the Netherlands the lowest, while the socioeconomic status of Jews in Curacao had a great effect. 3 Tables, 26 References. J. Lindroth

Unter den globalen Mächten ist sie einzigartig: In der Europäische Union verbinden sich eine kraftvolle Wirtschaft mit hohen sozialen Standards, einem ausdifferenzierten Rechtssystem und engagiertem, globalen Einsatz für Frieden und Gerechtigkeit. In ihrem Innern aber scheinen immer wieder und immer neue tiefe Differenzen auf. Die ideellen Grundkonstanten des vereinten Europas sehen sich mit populistisch motivierten Attacken konfrontiert, auch aus dem Innern des Staatenverbundes. Wie lässt sich dieses zwiespältige Bild erklären? Welche Entwicklungen, Trieb- oder auch Fliehkräfte sind in der Entstehung und der Ausgestaltung der Europäischen Union angelegt? Wie wirken sie sich in sozialer, politischer und wirtschaftlicher Hinsicht aus? Welchen Einfluss haben außereuropäische Akteure? Der Politikwissenschaftler Kai Hirschmann beleuchtet vor dem Hintergrund der Entstehungsgeschichte der Europäischen Union die Ursachen für die zahlreichen Friktionen, wie sie sich etwa in wachsendem Populismus, im Brexit, im Umgang mit Geflohenen und in separatistischen Tendenzen zeigen. Hirschmann sieht die Union an einer entscheidenden Wegmarke – eine gute Zukunft des Staatenverbundes verlange unabdingbar nach mutigen, befreienden Reformen, überzeugenden Perspektiven und mitreißenden Visionen.

Summarization: The goal of this paper is to build an operational model for evaluating the financial viability of local municipalities in Greece. For this purpose, a multicriteria methodology is implemented combining a simulation analysis approach (stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis) with a disaggregation technique. In particular, an evaluation model is developed on the basis of accrual financial data from 360 Greek municipalities for 2007. A set of customized to the local government context financial ratios is defined that rate municipalities and distinguish those with good financial condition from those experiencing financial problems. The model's results are analyzed on the 2007 data as well as on a subsample of 100 local governments in 2009. The model succeeded in correctly classifying distressed municipalities according to a benchmark set by the central government in 2010. Such a model and methodology could be particularly useful for performance assessment in the context of several European Union countries that have a similar local government framework to the Greek one and apply accrual accounting techniques. ; Presented on: European Journal of Operational Research

ABSTRACTThis paper asks whether more diverse companies are more committed to the fight against climate change than less diverse companies. Workforce diversity is measured along several socio‐demographic dimensions: age, gender, race, and presence in European Union countries. The paper develops the concept of Environmental Workplace Behavior, which explains how environmental attitudes and beliefs influence work decisions. The dependent variable is a climate change index calculated by a non‐profit organization, for a sample of Fortune 500 companies. A cross‐sectional research design is employed, using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to analyze the data. The results suggest that companies that employ more women and have a stronger European presence tend to exhibit a higher concern for climate change. Companies do not seem to involve minorities and young people in meaningful decision‐making regarding climate change actions and initiatives. Future research might analyze other diversity dimensions, such as gender orientation, education, political liberalism, or religious affiliation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

AS A COUNTRY THAT EMBRACES MUCH TERRITORY IN ASIA, RUSSIA'S INTEREST IN THE PACIFIC GOES A LONG WAY BACK INTO HISTORY, AND IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN REVIVED UNDER GORBACHEV. YET A NUMBER OF OBSTACLES THREATEN TO PREVENT THE SOVIET UNION FROM PLAYING ITS POTENTIAL ROLE, CONCERNING THE COUNTRY'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS OTHER STATES IN THE REGION: THE UNITED STATES, A RIVAL POWER IN THE PACIFIC AS WELL AS IN EUROPE, WHOSE EVIDENT ATTEMPTS TO ESTABLISH MILITARY TREATIES IN THE PACIFIC CAUSE CONCERN IN MOSCOW; CHINA, WHOSE REFORMS THREATEN TO CHALLENGE THE USSR AS A SOCIALIST MODEL; JAPAN, NOW A HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL ECONOMIC SUPERPOWER IN THE PACIFIC; AND THE SMALLER STATES, INCLUDING THE USSR'S ALLIES IN INDO-CHINA AND THE FAR EAST. GIVEN THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE OF THE VARIOUS BILATERAL RELATIONSHIPS, THE SOVIET UNION CANNOT EASILY MATCH ITS ACTIONS AND POLICIES TO ITS ASPIRATIONS TO PERFORM AS A PACIFIC GREAT POWER.