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THE ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN VOTING BEHAVIOR IS OFTEN BASED UPON RECALL DATA. THE NOTE OF RELIABILITY OF THIS TYPE OF DATA IS QUESTIONED. RECALL DATA UNDERESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF CHANGES IN PARTY CHOICE. NO EVIDENCE HAS BEEN FOUND THAT THE USE OF RECALL DATA HAS ANY CONSEQUENCES FOR THE STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STABILITY OF PARTY CHOICE & SUCH VARIABLES AS POLITICAL INTEREST, POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE, & EDUCATION. THE ANALYSIS OF THE RELIABILITY OF QUESTIONS ON TURN-OUT IS NOT CONCLUSIVE. THERE ARE VERY STRONG INDICATIONS THAT IN EACH ELECTION STUDY NONVOTERS GIVE LESS RELIABLE ANSWERS THAN VOTERS. THIS UNRELIABILITY IS ESPECIALLY HIGH WHEN RECALL DATA ARE USED. 11 TABLES. HA.

The concepts of rationality & rational behavior can only be meaningfully used as concepts referring to individual behavior, ie, as concepts characterizing the way individuals choose among behavioral alternatives on the basis of preference & probability. Definitions of rationality & rational behavior are reviewed. The only definition that seems adequate is the vague one that defines rational behavior as the choice of an alternative in accordance with the preference ordering of the outcomes of the different alternatives, with estimation of the probability of different alternatives. The importance of the hypothesis of rational behavior in efforts of theory building is stressed. Because most theories are built on a comparable vague notion of rationality, the dichotomy of rational & nonrational theories is rejected. Modified HA.

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.

One of the most important problems in political science is party choice. Choice problems of a general nature have been studied by psychologists & market-researchers. Models from these fields are applied to political choice behavior. Research here was based on the principles of the 'attitude-model', which incorporates cognitive & affective aspects, integrated by means of combination rules. Focus is on identification of central attributes that characterize the 14 Dutch political parties in parliament. This was done by utilizing multidimensional scaling representations & by presenting a set of prespecified attributes to a group of individuals. The investigation pointed out 3 dimensions representing the 14 parties: the leftist-religious & government dimension, the nongovernment group, & a 3rd dimension, which could not be labeled. Discrepancies between these results & those of earlier research are due to differences in methods of data collection. The need for additional information is stressed. 3 Tables, 2 Figures. 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.

An extensive review is given of the book Graven naar Macht ([Digging for Power] Amsterdam: Van Gennep, 1975) by H. M. Helmers et al & with the collaboration of Jac. M. Anthonisse. The word Graven in the title not only means 'unearthing', but also refers to the research technique used: the analysis of graphs. The power in question is that allegedly possessed by the directors of big corporations, who spin a web of interlocking directorates within industry & finance & with government (particularly the Dept of Education & Sciences, of Economic Affairs, & the Social & Economic Council of the Netherlands). Although the authors are political scientists, they go beyond their competence by passing judgment on the contributions of economics, which they judge to be poor or entirely lacking. They argue that economics has lost sight of the phenomenon of power because it has become so mature in a technical sense, & abstract. Hence, the authors feel obliged to probe for the kernel of Dutch economy with a new method of analysis. It is argued that the authors missed the essentials of economic theorizing in general, that they were unaware even of those areas of economics that deal explicitly with at least part of the problem they want to tackle (especially the theory of allocation & of markets, managerial & behavioral theories of the firm, & the field of industrial organization) & that they failed to discover the core of Dutch economy, whether judged by the standards of their own approach or by comparison with the insights of economic theory. The gathering & presentation of the data & the presentation of graph theory are praised. The rest of the book is said to be a failure; the authors do not live up to their intentions. Modified HA.