Suchergebnisse

AbstractPrevious research has shown that nonviolent resistance (NVR) campaigns are beneficial for democratization. However, research to date has not considered whether nonviolent revolutions succeed long term in bringing about democratic consolidation. In this paper, I address this gap by analyzing the effect of NVR on democratic consolidation, using data on Huntington's consolidation criteria of two peaceful turnovers of power. The results suggest that initiating a democratic transition through NVR is not necessarily beneficial for achieving the first peaceful turnover of power. However, given that a democratic regime achieved a successful first turnover of power, NVR substantially increases the probability of completing democratic consolidation through a second peaceful turnover of power.

Cultural bias means individuals judge and interpret a phenomenon according to values that are inherent in their own culture. The same event may be perceived differently by individuals with different cultural backgrounds. This study systematically tests for the presence of cultural differences in the perception of foreign policy events. Using a web survey with a split-sample of Chinese and US foreign policy experts, four domains of foreign policy are explored: sanctions; border violations; foreign aid; and trade agreements. The findings indicate general agreement between Chinese and US experts in the classification of foreign-policy events as cooperative, neutral, or conflictive. In regard to more specific foreign-policy scenarios, the picture is more differentiated. In the case of economic sanctions and border violations, there appears, again, to be general agreement as to the degree of conflictiveness of these events. In addition, perception does not appear to be influenced by collective self-esteem, in the sense that responses remain similar whether the event is described in abstract or country-specific terms. In the case of trade agreements and foreign aid, by contrast, there is a divergence in Chinese and US perceptions in regard to contextual factors such as conditionality and enforcement. Overall, the study suggests that while culture rarely affects the general perception of foreign-policy events, it does play a role in the perception of more complex concepts, such as conditionality and enforcement, that structure the context and meaning of those events.

AbstractIn post-colonial Africa many rulers relied on so called 'divide-and-rule' politics to survive in office. The concept of divide-and-rule describes a strategy for rulers to sustain power by exploiting coordination problems among potential rivals. Rulers can break up rival concentrations of power by making discriminatory offers/sanctions or simply destroying communication channels among potential rivals. In this paper I will study the consequences of 'divide-and-rule' politics using original data on cabinet changes. In the empirical analysis I focus on the question whether cabinet shuffles affect the probability that a ruler is deposed in a coup d'etat and the probability of a coup attempt respectively. The analysis reveals that the incidence of a cabinet shuffle decreases the probability of a successful coup. This result proved to be robust even when accounting for endogeneity using an instrumental variable approach. The results also showed that if rulers excessively reshuffle their ministers they risk a higher probability of coup attempts. Cabinet volatility, measured as the frequency of cabinet shuffles within six month is positively related to the probability of a coup attempt.

Der Artikel unternimmt eine vergleichende Analyse von Indizes zur Messung von fragiler Staatlichkeit. Zentrales Anliegen ist dabei die Überprüfung der Reliabilität und Validität der Messinstrumente. Die Analyse ergibt, dass die untersuchten Indizes zwar relativ zuverlässig das gleiche Phänomen abbilden, jedoch das Konzept fragile Staatlichkeit nicht hinreichend valide erfassen. Die vorgestellten Projekte lassen Kernaspekte des Konzepts unberücksichtigt, verzerren die Ergebnisse zugunsten von Demokratien und gewichten und aggregieren die Bestandteile des Konzepts ohne jegliche theoretische Fundierung. Darüber hinaus ist die Validität vieler Indikatoren fraglich, da diese im Kontext anderer Messkonstrukte stehen und keine konzeptionelle Nähe zum Phänomen aufweisen. Erst wenn es gelingt, ein Maß zu entwickeln, welches Sparsamkeit und Relevanz der Komponenten gleichermaßen erfüllt, kann die vergleichende Forschung zu fragiler Staatlichkeit von Indizes profitieren.

This item is part of the Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements (PRISM) digital collection, a collaborative initiative between Florida Atlantic University and University of Central Florida in the Publication of Archival, Library & Museum Materials (PALMM).

Cover -- Half title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Foreword -- The Background of the American Tradition -- Conquest of the Wilderness -- The Evaluation of the Intellect -- Intellectual Leadership -- Standardizing Education -- Cross .. Currents of American Thought -- Standardization and Intolerance -- American Ideas on History -- The Religious Interpretation -- The Racial Interpretation -- The Geographic Interpretation -- The Economic Interpretation -- Scientific History -- Technical Philosophy and History -- The Evolutionary Philosophy of History -- Determinism and Tychism -- History versus Value -- Scientific Thought -- Popular Interest in Science -- Science, Religion and Philosophy -- Scientific Method -- Economic Thought -- General Background -- The Development of Classical Economic Theory -- Henry Carey -- Daniel Raymond -- Willard Phillips -- J. B. Clark -- The Historical School -- Veblen and More Recent Economists -- General Reflections -- Applied Economics -- Scientific Management -- Social Planning -- Political Thought -- The Religious Heritage -- The Influence of the Lawyers -- The Role of the Professors -- Legal Thought -- The Classic Tradition -- The Beginnings of Systematic Jurisprudence -- Marshall -- Kent -- Story -- Cooley -- Historical Jurisprudence -- Pomeroy -- Carter -- Langdell and his School -- Williston -- Beale -- Thayer and Wigmore -- Gray and Judicial Legislation -- The Sociologic Jurisprudence of Roscoe Pound -- The Influence of Justices Brandeis and Cardozo -- The Legal Philosophy of Justice Holmes -- The Realistic School -- Bigelow and Brooks Adams -- Bentley -- Oliphant -- Underhill Moore -- Frank -- Arnold -- Robinson -- Functionalism -- Cook -- Corbin and Clark -- Llewellyn -- F. S. Cohen -- The Outlook -- Religious Thought -- Popular Attitudes Towards Religion

AbstractIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of countries worldwide have introduced severe limitations on the freedom of assembly, if not an outright lockdown, in many cases complemented by restrictions on further civil and political rights. Although restrictions were generally considered necessary to save lives and protect health care systems from overburdening, they also pose the risk of government overreach, that is, governments may use the pandemic as a convenient opportunity and justification to impose restrictions for political purposes. In this sense, COVID-19 may give yet another substantial boost to a global trend that has been unfolding since the early 2000s: the shrinking of civic spaces, which is characterized by an increase in government restrictions that target civil society actors and limit their freedoms of assembly, association, and expression. The aim of the paper is to assess civic space restrictions that have been imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a view to exploring their immediate consequences as well as their potential mid-term implications for civil society organizations in general and contentious civic activism in particular. We do so by, first, providing evidence from multiple data sources about the global spread of COVID-19-related restrictions over time and across countries. Second, we identify key dynamics at work in order to assess the immediate consequences and the potential mid-term implications of these restrictions. These dynamics are illustrated by looking at experiences from individual countries (including Cambodia, Germany, Hungary, and Lebanon).

Abstract In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of countries worldwide have introduced severe limitations on the freedom of assembly, if not an outright lockdown, in many cases complemented by restrictions on further civil and political rights. Although restrictions were generally considered necessary to save lives and protect health care systems from overburdening, they also pose the risk of government overreach, that is, governments may use the pandemic as a convenient opportunity and justification to impose restrictions for political purposes. In this sense, COVID-19 may give yet another substantial boost to a global trend that has been unfolding since the early 2000s: the shrinking of civic spaces, which is characterized by an increase in government restrictions that target civil society actors and limit their freedoms of assembly, association, and expression. The aim of the paper is to assess civic space restrictions that have been imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a view to exploring their immediate consequences as well as their potential mid-term implications for civil society organizations in general and contentious civic activism in particular. We do so by, first, providing evidence from multiple data sources about the global spread of COVID-19-related restrictions over time and across countries. Second, we identify key dynamics at work in order to assess the immediate consequences and the potential mid-term implications of these restrictions. These dynamics are illustrated by looking at experiences from individual countries (including Cambodia, Germany, Hungary, and Lebanon).