Suchergebnisse

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.

J. Galtung's redefinition of the concept of peace is a classic example of an attempt to reorient a discipline by coining a new term; but it should not be the pleasant connotation of the term 'positive peace', but its usefulness in studying factual violence, which should be decisive in determining the merits of the new definition. Three objections to Galtung's definition are raised: (1) It is quite ineffective to criticize the 'minimal' definition of violence, which is meant to refer to observable phenomena, by counterproposing a theoretical construct. Galtung's definition of violence, which, apart from 'direct' violence, includes also 'structural' violence, needs prior operationalization before it can be used in empirical research. (2) Although Galtung's use of the term 'structural violence' suggests otherwise, any indication of the social units to which the 'actual' & 'potential realizations' in his definition of violence refer, is lacking. Most of Galtung's examples are at the individual level. Social interdependencies (eg, those resulting from the DofL) necessitate the introduction of properties of the SE order in Galtung's terminology & require that he make explicit how 'the best attainable realizations' (as the most likely interpretation of 'potential realizations') can be incorporated in his thinking. (3) In drawing a distinction between 'personal violence' & 'structural violence', Galtung mistakes a distinction between theoretical alternatives in the study of violence (ie, the Clausewitzian approach vs the causal-empirical approach) for a distinction between kinds of violent relationships. In emphasizing that the causes of war should also be searched for in periods of peace, Q. Wright has shown that 'positive peace' cannot be considered as an alternative for 'negative peace'. Nevertheless, Galtung's use of the term has induced serious disagreement among peace researchers about the most desirable research strategy in their discipline. 'Critical' peace researchers (Galtung not included) tend to rely on ideological testimony instead of empirical proof for the causes of violence. Research into those causes, including the relationship between social injustice & violence, is regarded a more fruitful approach. 6 Tables. 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.

'Polarization' has become a catchword in Dutch politics, denoting the emphasis on conflicting rather than mutual interests. It is assumed that the efforts made to 'polarize' the voter population are aimed at reducing the large reservoir of middle-of-the-roaders. In its weekly opinion survey, the Netherlands Institute of Public Opinion (NIPO) consistently finds about 30% of the Rs choosing the center of a left/right semantic differential scale with almost an equal number of Rs going to right & left positions. The almost Gaussian overall distribution is shown to be highly correlated with party choice & voting behavior. The frequency distributions along the left/right Osgood scale are highly skewed inside each separate political preference group. The results of a new additional question are reported. The question reads: "If you were not allowed or could not choose this position would you then go for the one adjoining to the right or to the left?" A very large proportion of Rs move over to the left or right even beyond the extremes of the seven-point scale, effectively extending it to a nine-point scale. The popular center position is then reduced to about 12%. Even more interesting are larger variations over time that are shown for an interesting period extending from late Sept to the end of Nov 1977, during which efforts to form a new socialist-dominated government failed. The extended scale is shown to be a more sensitive instrument than the seven-point semantic differential alone. 6 Tables. Modified HA.

A coding procedure for the extraction of decision-making procedures from documents is developed. Lacking an automatic procedure, a list of concepts was developed & hand coded. Problems consequently arose concerning reliability. Because research is limited in this specialized field, it seemed advisable to investigate problems of coder reliability before proceeding with the validation of decision theory. Inter- & intracoder reliability were studied. Results of this investigation proved very satisfactory & encourage further research toward development of more automatic procedures. 7 Tables. Modified HA.

The state of Dutch political thought in the seventeenth century is reviewed. Three main approaches are discussed: (1) The critical approach is represented by P. de la Court, who, influenced by Hobbes, defended a more democratic type of government. (2) The historical-philological movement, represented by J. Lipsius, Boxhornius, & Burgersdijk, was based on Aristotelian metaphysical concepts to develop a more systematic base for historical research. This movement influenced the development of the typical research style of the political sciences in Germany. (3) B. de Spinoza's passion-reason theory led to an analytical political science, exemplifying the typical method of integrating theory & empirical (historical) information. Modified HA.

State formation is defined as the growth of power resources of the state apparatus, the growth of state autonomy, & the growth of societal regulations, sanctioned by state power resources. The relationship between state formation & economic development is investigated, using the method of historical case study. It is hypothesized that growing state regulation is to be expected in periods of acute labor shortage & economic growth. It is found that "houses of correction" were founded in times of overwhelming labor surplus & mass unemployment. The reasons for the foundations of these institutions, however, are not seen as economic, but social: they were a means to fight the social & political consequences of mass unemployment, eg, poverty, crime, & political rebellion. It is concluded that state formation can be found in times of economic prosperity as well as in times of depression, when the depression has severe political or social consequences. It is the result of social & political conflicts possibly due to economic development. Modified HA.

The bad reputation in the social sciences of social Darwinian theories is one of the main hindrances to paying attention to ethology, the biological study of behavior. Although developments in this area of research suggest interesting implications for political science, so far, very few political scientists have dealt with these matters. First, the biological way of thinking about behavior is introduced. The object & method of ethology are dealt with, & attention is paid to the problems of function, causation, & history of behavior of animal & man. The neo-Darwinian theory of evolution, which is fundamental to ethology & to the main argument presented here, is summarized. It is concluded that morphology & behavior are both evolutionary organisms. Next, man is considered in the perspective of evolution. The belief in a rigid distinction between nature & nurture is discussed. The modern biological view that the human capacity for making culture is genetically coded is accepted. In a second part, some aspects of this biological view of behavior, relevant to political science, are discussed. From a comparison of definitions in ethology & political science, it appears that social behavior is the most important problem in both disciplines. Social scientists usually study behavior as an autonomous subject while biologists integrate their vision of behavior in the larger context of evolution. There is a fundamental similarity between ethological concepts of social behavior & some recently developed conceptions of political behavior. It is argued that relinquishing the more traditional focus of political science on state-oriented or group-centered action is an important condition.

J. K. De Vree's "A Theory of Human Behaviour and of the Political Process" (see SA 26:2/78J2195) is criticized. The behavior model offered is faulted on the grounds that it is inconsistent & that it is difficult if not impossible to interpret. That the model is inconsistent is easy to see, thanks to its formal presentation. This criticism might not be very serious, due to the fact that it may be remedied through some small adjustments. The author's own interpretation of his model is not congruent with it. In particular, formulae containing variables that range over both cardinal & ordinal numbers seem impossible to interpret. It is concluded that the problems noted are due to too high a level of generality being sought. In Een reactie op De Vree's 'A Theory of Human Behaviour and of the Political Process' (A Reaction to De Vree's 'A Theory of Human Behavior and of the Political Process'), G. P. de Bruin argues that De Vree's theory is empty of empirical significance, & the theory's weakness can be traced to its mathematical axiomatic foundation. It is argued that the set theoretical concepts of ordinal & cardinal numbers have been misinterpreted, & that the whole problem of measurement in social sciences is merely 'axiomatized away'. In Een ordinale algebra en empirische theorie: een antwoord op Kritiek (An Ordinal Algebra and Empirical Theory: An Answer to Criticism), J. K. De Vree concedes that the theory is so far empty, & that the nature of its relationship to empirical data remains an unsolved problem. This is the case with all general theories & does not constitute a valid objection. It is further argued that the proposed axiomatization is nothing more than a systematization of the system of numbers & relations used in actual empirical research, & that far from axiomatizing away the measurement problem, a systematic account is given of the number system without which measurement would not be possible. A. Orianne.

The value of voter behavior surveys lies in the possibility of following the changes of the voters' preferences. In this type of survey, errors are found that are due to specific problems of sample composition. The problem is that one cannot weigh the sample with respect to the variable 'past voting behavior'. Rs answers to the question: "Which party did you vote for in the last election?" cannot be accepted at face value. NIPO includes that question in its weekly survey. These surveys are studied to discover how to protect against mistakes arising from a nonrepresentative sample in terms of past voting behavior. The method involves a comparison between actual electoral returns & voters' statements regarding past voting behavior as well as a weighing of the sample based on the results of the weekly survey from the last sixteen weeks. In Comment, J. W. Foppen (Erasmus U, Rotterdam Netherlands) objects that there are serious weaknesses regarding the NIPO surveys which de Hond uses as his bases. Moreover, de Hond's own work based on these surveys suffers from statistical blunders & computational errors. In Remarks, de Hond answers that the above comments either are not applicable to his own work or else can be directed at all survey research work. They are also based on misunderstandings & an unsympathetic reading. 7 Tables. A. Orianne.

Typical of current work in contemporary Soviet political theory is the work of V. N. Danilenko, a specialist in French political theory which appeared in Sovjetskoje Gosoedarstvo i Pravo (1976, Apr). Danilenko analyzes some French political theorists. The needs of ideological struggle require attention to new development in bourgeois ideology. The crisis of world capitalism as well as the emergence of formerly colonial nations has created a need for a renovation of political theories. Today's interest in the typology of political systems is typical of that renovation effort. The French theorists are criticized for assuming the independence of the political & economic structures & for not recognizing the role of ideologies as well as of social & geographic factors. They absolutize political systems & study them abstractly. By contrast, Marxist-Leninist political science asserts that a political system is an expression of the relations between classes & of the means by which the dictatorship of the ruling class is enforced. Therefore, the important criteria in the classification of bourgeois systems are: the rights & liberties of the Wc, how the Wc is represented in the parliamentary institution, what share the Wc has in state power & to what extent the state is forced to respond to PO & use democratic means of government. The Soviet juridical literature is criticized for not recognizing the full diversity of bourgeois systems. However, Marxism-Leninism brings to light what all these systems have in common: they are dictatorships of the bourgeoisie. A. Orianne.

The career of all the burgomasters in office on 1 Aug 1975 (N=722) was studied. The concept of career was operationalized as the change in population-size of the administered municipality. Two dimensions in the career of Dutch burgomasters are distinguished: (1) intramunicipal (following the growth of the municipality), or (2) intermunicipal (being transferred to a larger municipality). There is a negative relationship between the two dimensions. Burgomasters from growing municipalities are less likely to be rapidly transferred to larger municipalities. However, the reverse holds true of the 38 municipalities that have more than 10,000 inhabitants. The burgomasters of those municipalities have a different kind of career from their colleagues. For those burgomasters transferred from growing municipalities there is a positive r between the growth of the municipality & the total growth of their career. No cause can be assigned to the negative r between population growth & intermunicipal career growth without further study. A. Orianne.

The aim here is to understand better the governing organizations of Us & high schools in a democratic environment. The Law for U Government Reform is studied & its model of government characterized in terms of ideal models. A small empirical research project was set up to investigate how the rules relative to departmental councils function to reach the objectives they are assigned. One must distinguish between the allotment of responsibility for making decisions on subjects that relate to the U's "output" (teaching, research, degrees) & matters that are related to the U "input." Three conceptions of authority & three models of U government must be noted: (1) the "professional" model (decisions rest with the best qualified scientific personnel), (2) the "corporate" model (every section of the U contributes to the government), & (3) the "council" model (all responsibilities are vested in the whole U). The Law for U Government Reform aims at working out the corporative model. Research must concentrate on the relationship between goals & implementation, & not on evaluating the goals set up by the Law. By & large, nonscientific personnel are represented in the councils. The student position on these councils is strong due to the absenteeism of other members. Propositions initiated by students or nonscientific personnel are a small minority of the adopted propositions. Propositions opposed by a majority of the scientific personnel present are always adopted. The main student input is found in the area of teaching goals. It is doubtful that the intended democratization of decision-making can be effectively accomplished in the framework of the departmental councils. 6 Tables, Appendix. HA Tr & Modified by A. Orianne.

Two ambiguities in the theory of just institutions are explored. If the "fair value of political liberty" is given the weight Rawls claims it should be given, an egalitarian interpretation of justice as fairness emerges. In that case, the lexical ordering of the two principles of justice is impaired, & restrictions in the total system of liberties may be needed to maintain the fair value of political liberty. The difference principle is shown to have two interpretations: the familiar maximin rule & a principle of "compensating inequalities," which are derived from Rawl's contribution curve analysis. This is the principle Rawls uses in his theory of just institutions. However, it is the maximin rule that Rawls seeks to derive from the original position. This derivation is deficient, owing to Rawls's unconvincing argument for an "as-if" risk aversion of rational contractors. Given different "as-if" risk preferences, one can arrive at a utilitarian contract, within the framework of Rawls's original position. The relation between justice as fairness & Rawls's account of civil disobedience is analyzed. Rawls uses the lexical priority rules to decide when civil disobedience is justified, & excludes infractions of the difference principle. This exclusion, while possibly convincing in a strictly egalitarian interpretation of justice as fairness, cannot successfully be defended. Modified HA.

Explanation is given to the dismal predictions of the Club of Rome studies concerning long-run consequences of economic growth & population increases, & why they are not translated into policy changes affecting those variables. The domestic function of economic growth, providing bargaining space for the solution of political conflicts, & the propensity of policy makers to give priority to short-run problems affecting their own position inhibit these policy changes. Focus is on the theory of W. Harich, (KOMMUNISMUS OHNE WACHSTUM? BABEUF UND DER CLUB OF ROME [Communism without Growth? Babeuf and the Club of Rome], Rheinbeck: Rowohlt, 1975) a philosopher from the German Democratic Republic who argued for rigid centralization of political & economic power at the global level. Although Harich did not include concepts such as `liberty', `democracy', & `constitution' in his theory, this can be compared to some of the political reactions to the challenge in Western Europe. Proposals made by Tinbergen & the Mansholt plan however are found to be more promising. 3 Figures. Modified HA.