Suchergebnisse

The development of a strict methodology of observation & analysis in soc sci has always met with resistance. In the current debate on this topic in the US, 2 positions can be distinguished. There are the 'theorists,' who find their inspiration in the work of recent philosophers such as H. Marcuse & J.-P. Sartre; they rate the formation of a pol'al theory as a 1st priority. Then there are the 'behaviorists,' whose first care is for sci'fic method. This contrast is reviewed on the basis of the document, "Political Science at Berkeley, An Invitation to a Discussion," which was published anonymously by a group of students. The criticism of these students can be summarized under the headings 'commitment' & 'relevance.' As far as commitment is concerned, the critics reproach the behaviorists for not taking stands in important contemporary moral issues, & for identifying with the status quo. It is argued here that what leads to acceptance of & identification with the existing pol'al order is not behaviorist methodology as such, but rather the mood of the behaviorists. As far as 'relevance' is concerned, the critics are impatient with the futile detail analysis & data collecting of the behaviorists. The behaviorists' use of a strict methodology of explanation by generalization leads to a reduction of the scope of analysis. Then only the 'easy' aspects ('easy' to quantify, 'easy' to collect, etc) are analyzed, & discontinuous developments are neglected. The argument presented here is that the lack of a dynamic theory of the pol'al process is an impediment indeed for pol'al sci, but that, again, behaviorism as such cannot be accused of being 'conservative' or 'conformistic': the refutation of race theories, for example, was rather a radical undertaking. It is concluded that for the time being it is not necessary to lay other bounds on pol'al sci than those that follow from the claims of rational debate & intellectual honesty. HA.

Survey results concerning undergraduate students in pol'al & soc sci's at Amsterdam & Leyden suggest the majority of these students prefer the same pol'al party as their fathers. When they deviate from their fathers' party choice, they tend to reject confessional parties (KVP, AR, CH, SGP & GPV). Futhermore, they shift more to the left than to the right in comparison to the party preference of their fathers (a continuum was presumed to exist, in terms of which Dutch parties were ranked from left to right in the following order: CPN, PSP, PvdA, D'66, KVP, AR, CH, VVD, SGP, GPV, BP, rest). The tendency to turn away from confessional parties appeared to be connected with rejection of church membership by students whose fathers belong to a church. Finally, an index of the SE position of the student did not show an appreciable r with preference for leftist parties (PvdA, PSP or CPN). 4 Tables. HA.

A random sample of 912 persons in Delft, the Netherlands, was used to investigate the influence of several variables on the independent variable of SP progressiveness (SPP). A matrix of correlations between 15 items of the original questionnaire was computed: 8 items which were highly related to each other were found. These items were used as indicators for SSP by summing the answers of each R on every item. On these scores an analysis of variance was carried out with 5 independent variables: religion, age, income, level of educ, & sex. The following findings were obtained: (a) Religion had a signif influence on SPP scores; R's who do not have any specific religion tend to be more progressive than others. Furthermore, Catholics tend to be more progressive than Protestants & Dutch-Reformed. (b) The level of educ & income had signif influences on SPP-scores; the higher the income or the educ'al level, the lower the progressiveness-score. (c) The variables age & sex did not have signif influences on SPP-scores. (d) The 5 variables included in the design explained 32% of the total variance in the SPP-scores. Of the remaining 68%, about 27% can be explained in terms of error-variance. This means that about 41% of the total variance in SPP-scores has to be explained by factors which are not included in the design. 3 Tables. Modified HA.

After having stressed the importance of the org'al structure of the pol'al parties in a democracy, the structure is examined of the 10 pol'al parties which had, in the period 1963-1967, representatives in the 2nd Chamber of Parliament, paying particular attention to the extent to which the members have a say in the party. On the basis of the diff kinds of elections (local, provincial, 1st Chamber, 2nd Chamber) the organs of the party are divided into 6 levels. For each level the powers of the organs in question are discussed, in particular the power to elect, to nominate or to delegate individuals in the organs placed higher. The party members, the lowest level, have only the power to elect, to nominate or to delegate for the next level. For all the other levels their power in this respect is indirect. In general it can be said that the higher the level of the organ, the more indirect the power of the party member is concerning the composition of that organ. In the composition of these higher placed organs, other organs--on the composition of which the party members have little or no diff--have an important say. This kind of org'al structure may easily give rise to feelings of frustration on the part of the party members & hampers their activation & participation. 2 Figures, 9 Tables. HA.

A definition of the term `policy' is presented, followed by an analysis of a survey of persons closely involved in housing policy: it appears that party preferences play a role in the judgment of housing policy. Pol'al sci aims at telling what is the actual policy, & not what a policy should be. Gov approval is one of the most important means used in housing policy & this is studied with the help of examples. 'Policy adaptation,' 'expectations,' & 'principles' appear to play an important part in the housing policy of the Netherlands. IPSA.

Report on a survey in which questions were put to a sample of Dutch households about the efficiency of the parliamentary system. A new scale was developed-a quasi-scale according to Guttman-to measure the sense of pol'al self-confidence. Although the total/sum N was too small to make further analysis, it seems likely, on the basis of previous res, that the less positive reactions of the young people came mainly from young women. IPSA.

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.

An attempt to analyze the concepts of depoliticization & of decline of ideology, followed by a theory which partly explains these phenomena. Some forms of depoliticization & of decline of ideology are described, but the field of investigation is not developed enough to show to what extent these 2 facts really occur. Some of the functions of pol'al ideology are the integration of knowledge & evaluation; the explanation & evolution of the choice of pol'al purposes, of ways & means, of the leaders' positions, of the followers' positions, behavior & opinions; & the integration of adherents & the exclusion of others. IPSA.