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This paper focuses on the European Security and Defense Policy and tries to answer the question why the member states have deviating deepening preferences in this field. After discovering the supranational-intergovernmental divide, we will determine its possible causes. The Qualitative Comparative Analysis helps us to distillate the most valuable independent variables and reveals 'institutional culture' and 'balancing' as most important. Finally, we match our findings with the initial theories, used to derive the causal variables, and verify their explanatory power. Adapted from the source document.

The concept "level of SE development" plays an important role in the study of comparative politics, but little attention has been paid to its operationalization & measurement accuracy. The use of the concept in the cross-national literature is reviewed, & an attempt is made to provide a meaningful definition through the construction of an index via confirmative factor analysis of select indicators. An evaluation of the index's validity & utility in cross-national research is provided. 2 Tables, 1 Figure, 2 Appendixes, 26 References. Modified HA

As a starting point comparative pol'al sci is circumscribed as the field within the discipline of pol'al sci which, in the methodological sphere, focuses on problems of comparison &, as to the substantial side, concentrates on problems of pol'al change, pol'al development, & pol'al modernization. The elaboration is accomplished by posing 3 questions: (1) Does comparative pol'al sci have a method of its own (the comparative method)? (2) Does comparative pol'al sci have a subject matter of its own? (3) If the previous questions are answered in the negative, does comparative pol'al sci refer to a particular perspective as regards pol'al life? It is concluded that comparative pol'al sci, although lacking a method & a subject matter of its own, may be considered a subdiscipline of pol'al sci: standing for a relativistic outlook on pol'al life, it seems to have an important task in the context of pol'al sci. Its main characteristic will remain the search for universal generalizations. B. J. S. Hoetjes (U of Amsterdam, the Netherlands) in a COMMENT, states that a definition of a field of (pol'al) sci should give the characteristics of the substantial problems & concerns within such a field. For a definition of comparative pol as a subfield of pol'al sci this implies the rejection of a purely methodological definition, the more because the comparative method does not seem to offer any distinct approach to the study of pol; one should look for a category of empirical pol'al phenomena to characterize the subfield. On this point Rosenthal is not seen to be very clear: he mentions the pol'al problems of developing areas as 'the' typical object of comparative pol, but the basic concern, according to him, is the widening of the empirical base to the theories, hyp's & generalizations. Since the study of any topic could very well contribute to this purpose, there remains no typical topic to characterize the subfield of comparative pol. At the same time, the widening of the empirical range of pol'al theories by itself can be considered the typical & legitimate concern of the 'empirical pol'al theorist' as a specialist within the field of pol'al sci. It seems useless as well as confusing to double-label this specialist as 'comparative pol'al sci'st.' Modified HA.

An examination of G. A. Almond's approach in the field of comparative res on pol'al systems, contained in his Introduction to THE POLITICS OF DEVELOPING AREAS, Princeton, NJ: 1960. His functional approach compares Western & nonWestern systems in terms of a common conceptual framework. However, there are theoretical & practical objections to Almond's work. There is, for instance, no clear theoretical reason why he selects particular functions rather than others; & when applied to existing systems, it becomes very difficult to distinguish pol'al soc'ization from recruitment. The functions presented in the Introduction are not made operational, & this difficulty must be solved before Almond's scheme may become a useful tool in comparative res. IPSA.

Focus is given to studies on Belgian politics which have been published in the US & Britain between 1965 & 1975. Special emphasis is on works by V. R. Lorwin, D. Urwin, A. Zolberg, & M. O. Heisler. These studies have added considerable insights, findings, & hypotheses to knowledge of political processes in Belgium. This is probably due to 3 characteristics which mark most of these studies: (1) a strong tendency toward comparative analysis, (2) the use of fruitful theoretical concepts, & (3) the use of sophisticated techniques for handling empirical data. Modified HA.

A GRADUAL ADAPTATION OF MILITARY SOCIOLOGY & MILITARY POLITICAL SCIENCE TO THE SHIFTING ROLE OF THE MILITARY IN THIRD WORLD POLITICS IS SUGGESTED. 5 PHASES ARE TRACED: (1) THE BELIEF IN THE 'WESTERN' ROLE OF THE MILITARY IN THE THIRD WORLD, (2) THE SURPRISE OF MILITARY INTERVENTIONS IN AFRICAN POLITICAL SYSTEMS, (3) THE ACCEPTANCE OF MILITARY INTERVENTIONS AS A 'NORMAL' & 'INSTITUTIONALIZED' PHENOMENON, (4) THE ACCEPTANCE OF MILITARY REGIME AS A 'NORMAL' POLITICAL CONSTELLATION, & (5) THE COOL ANALYSIS OF THE POLICY OUTCOMES OF MILITARY REGIMES. 8 BOOKS ARE DISCUSSED ON THE BASIS OF 6 THEMES DOMINATING MILITARY SOCIOLOGY & MILITARY POLITICAL SCIENCE: (A) THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MILITARY IN POLITICS IS SERIOUSLY HAMPERED BY WEAK CONCEPT FORMATION & CLASSIFICATORY SCHEMES, (B) VARIOUS TYPES & DEGREES OF COOPERATION OF THE MILITARY AUTHORITIES FOR THE GATHERING OF INFORMATION ON THEIR ORGANIZATION ARE NOTICED; THE AWARENESS OF ENCAPSULATION & MUTILATION OF EVIDENCE IS INSUFFICIENTLY PRESENT, (C) THE COMPLEX RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SOCIAL ORIGIN OF THE OFFICE CORPS, THEIR ATTITUDES, & THEIR BEHAVIORAL ACTS ARE NOT TREATED IN A SOPHISTICATED MANNER, (D) THE 'EXPLANATION' OF MILITARY INTERVENTION IN POLITICS IS FREQUENTLY PUT IN INACCURATE TERMS, (E) THE LEGITIMACY PROBLEMS OF MILITARY REGIMES ARE ANALYZED UNSYSTEMATICALLY, & (F) THE INTERNATIONAL FACTOR SHOULD BE INTRODUCED AS A POSSIBLE STIMULUS & IMPEDIMENT TO MILITARY INTERVENTION & MILITARY RULE IN POLITICS. 2 TABLES. MODIFIED HA.

The article analyses the gender balance in local Belgian politics in the aftermath of the 2006 local elections. It offers a comparative perspective on the position of candidates, representatives elected & those holding office including data from the last three decades. The article also discusses the attitude of local party sections towards measures to foster a gender balance. The data show that local party sections more easily agree on parity at the level of candidates than that they support a real sharing of power at the level of the executive power. Local party sections do not support more than a guaranteed minimum presence of wo/men in the councils of eldermen. Furthermore, both at the level of candidates & at that of the executive the data reveal a final glass ceiling, Women have difficulties reaching the top positions on electoral lists as well as the top positions in the local executive power. Tables, Graphs. Adapted from the source document.

A review of the literature on the comparative analysis of the unemployment problem in Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development countries, with attention to whether these findings can be fruitful for a more policy-centered discussion of mass unemployment in the Netherlands. Three theoretical & empirical contributions explaining the divergent reactions to the unemployment problem are considered: the power-structure approach of Manfred G. Schmidt, which leans heavily on a class-politics thesis & the neocorporatist debate; the historical-materialistic viewpoint, which focuses on the institutional past of countries; & the action-oriented & institutionalist-cultural theory. It is suggested that a political-institutional analysis should assess: the structures of policy making, the logic of collective action of the major interest organizations, & the logic of accommodation between the state & the major interest organization. 1 Table, 50 References. Modified AA

The concern is with how the soc & econ structure of cities affects the degree of pol'al competition & how these factors in turn affect the degree of pol'al stability. Data derive from a comparative empirical study of the outcomes of the communal elections of 1952, 1958, & 1964, in 147 Belgian cities with a pop size of 10,000 or more in 1947. The following generalizations are noted: A general proliferation of election lists or parties participating in the elections from 1952 to 1964; a trend from 1-party control over the electoral college of thc city council toward coalition control; a net increase in the number of Catholic lists & a net decrease in the number of socialist & liberal lists participating; & an increase in the number of cities in which newer, smaller & non-traditional parties or lists participated in the electoral college of the city council. 3 measures of pol'al competition were used: (1) the average number of parties or lists that entered the communal elections of 1952, 1958 & 1964; (2) the average number of lists that received at least 10% of the vote in these 3 elections: & (3) the presence or absence of a coalition on the electoral college of the city council in 1952. 2 measures of pol'al stability were employed: (a) the degree of stability in the lists & parties participating, & (b) the degree of stability in the list or party controlling the electoral college of the city council. In general, measures of structural diff'iation, linguistic diversity, industr diversity, & soc heterogeneity (ie, the presence of a large Mc) are found to be positively related to the degree of competition in local pol. In turn, measures of each of these structural factors & measures of pol'al competition are negatively related to measures of pol'al stability. Regression analysis supports the interpretation that diversity & heterogeneity in the soc structure of cities--specifically, pop size, density, & the presence of many persons with high occup'al status--contribute to greater pol'al competition in local pol; but it was the degree of pol'al competition that most strongly affected the degree of pol'al stability. It is concluded that cities with a high degree of soc & econ heterogeneity have a greater amount of conflict & cleavage. This results in greater competition in the pol'al arena. 16 Tables. M. Maxfield.

The framework of public administration in many developing countries was, to a large extent, set by the colonial powers: direct or indirect rule, centralization of administrative power benefiting only a small elite, & the abuse of power at the lower levels of government affect the administrative apparatus to this day. Other problems are the psychological insecurity of many administrators, the intertwining of politics & administration, the inability of the administrators to cope with problems of economic planning & performance, & the general shortage of skilled personnel, especially in the field of management. The science of public administration presents various approaches to the study of administration in developing countries, including: (1)`ideographic' analysis (largely descriptive, & directed at the solution of practical problems), & (2) typologies & classifications (`crude' models or sophisticated ideal types, like M. Weber's 'bureaucracy'). F. W. Riggs's bipolar ideal type of 'agraria' & 'industria' deserve particular attention; when used in the context of an ecological approach (eg, Riggs, F. W., Administration in Developing Countries-The Theory of Prismatic Society, Boston: Little, Brown, 1964) it forms a very useful approach to the study of public administration in developing countries. Ideographic analysis suffers from a lack of scientific rigor, but its attention to history & culture & its practical orientation constitute definite advantages. Yet, there are considerable problems in justifying `comparative ideographic' development assistance in the field of public administration. Weber's ideal type offers another useful starting point for the study of development administration, but only if one uses the bureaucratic ideal type in a more inductive way than Weber did, & if one takes great care to avoid simplistic notions about a `modern' bureaucracy. Riggs's ecological approach & Weber's ideal type of `the bureaucracy' as reformulated by F. Heady (Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1966), seem to be the most solid bases for a further development of the study of development administration. Modified HA.

The framework of public administration in many developing countries was, to a large extent, set by the colonial powers: direct or indirect rule, centralization of administrative power benefiting only a small elite, & the abuse of power at the lower levels of government affect the administrative apparatus to this day. Other problems are the psychological insecurity of many administrators, the intertwining of politics & administration, the inability of the administrators to cope with problems of economic planning & performance, & the general shortage of skilled personnel, especially in the field of management. The science of public administration presents various approaches to the study of administration in developing countries, including: (1)'ideographic' analysis (largely descriptive, & directed at the solution of practical problems), & (2) typologies & classifications ('crude' models or sophisticated ideal types, like M. Weber's 'bureaucracy'). F. W. Riggs's bipolar ideal type of 'agraria' & 'industria' deserve particular attention; when used in the context of an ecological approach (eg, Riggs, F. W., Administration in Developing Countries--The Theory of Prismatic Society, Boston: Little, Brown, 1964) it forms a very useful approach to the study of public administration in developing countries. Ideographic analysis suffers from a lack of scientific rigor, but its attention to history & culture & its practical orientation constitute definite advantages. Yet, there are considerable problems in justifying 'comparative ideographic' development assistance in the field of public administration. Weber's ideal type offers another useful starting point for the study of development administration, but only if one uses the bureaucratic ideal type in a more inductive way than Weber did, & if one takes great care to avoid simplistic notions about a 'modern' bureaucracy. Riggs's ecological approach & Weber's ideal type of 'the bureaucracy' as reformulated by F. Heady (Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective, Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1966), seem to be the most solid bases for a further development of the study of development administration. Modified HA.