Suchergebnisse

SOCIAL CONFLICTS ARE THE MOTOR OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS & POINT TO A DESIRE OR STRUGGLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGES. THESE CHANGES ARE SUBSEQUENTLY REALIZED IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS, & THE RESULTS LAID DOWN IN THE LAW. DISPROPORTIONAL POSITIONAL CHANGES OF ACTORS WITHIN A SOCIAL SYSTEM BRING ABOUT CONFLICTS. POSITIONS ARE TIED TO VALUE DISTRIBUTIONS, THUS DISPROPORTIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF VALUES LEAD TO CONFLICTS. A SECOND APPROACH MAY BE FOLLOWED, VIZ, THE UTILITY-THEORETICAL OR THE SATISFACTION-THEORETICAL APPROACH. THIS APPROACH DEALS WITH AN ANALYSIS OF UTILITY-FUNCTIONS OF ACTORS, CONFLICT BEING DEFINED AS A POSITION ON THE SATISFACTION-SCALE. 2 FIGURES. MODIFIED HA.

A report of a policy evaluation of the personnel situation in Belgium's amalgamated municipalities, investigating the degree to which amalgamation has achieved its objectives & which instruments have contributed to that achievement. It appears that the number of personnel in local administration grew more than in regional ones, particularly in public welfare agencies. This growth is probably due more to social evolution than to the amalgamation operation. The fact that large municipalities have relatively more personnel than small ones is not due to increase of the population. The diachronic study of the % of total expenditures for personnel shows that they have decreased, which could indicate a scale effect. However, there is insufficient information to ascribe this change to amalgamation. It is concluded that amalgamation as a policy measure has not brought many changes in policy implementation, which is explained by the lack of a strategy for change. It does not suffice merely to pass a law to bring about fundamental change. 11 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix. Modified HA.

THE CONCEPT OF LOCAL POLITICAL CONFLICT PRESUPPOSES LOCAL ISSUES OR CONTROVERSIES THAT CAN BE SETTLED BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES. LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE INVOLVED IN VIOLENT CONFLICT BECAUSE RIOTS DO HAPPEN SOMEWHERE, VIZ ON THE TERRITORY OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WHETHER OR NOT THE CONFLICT IS ABOUT LOCAL ISSUES. THE OBJECTIVES OF ACTION HAVE TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT TO DETERMINE WHETHER A CONFLICT IS A LOCAL ONE. THE OBJECTIONS OF AN ACTION CAN BE THE CHANGE OF LOCAL POWER HOLDERS OR A CHANGE OF THEIR POLICIES. REPLACEMENT OF LOCAL OFFICIALS BY LOCAL ACTION IN THE DUTCH SITUATION IS NOT SO OBVIOUS. IN MOST CASES A DECISION OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT IS REQUIRED, EG THE APPOINTMENT OF A NEW MAYOR. BY-ELECTIONS FOR POLITICAL REASONS HAVE NEVER OCCURRED. WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THE PUTTING ASIDE OF A LOCAL COUNCIL & APPOINTMENT OF A COMMISSIONER BY THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT. IN MANY CASES LOCAL AUTHORITIES MUST HAVE COOPERATION OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TO REALIZE PLANS OF IMPORTANCE, AT LEAST FINANCIALLY. EVEN WHERE THIS PROBLEM DOES NOT EXIST, A LOCAL GOVERNMENT COULD NOT DEVIATE TOO MUCH FROM NATIONAL POLICIES. LOCAL REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IS NOT POSSIBLE BECAUSE IT IS SUBORDINATE GOVERNMENT. LOCAL CONFLICT CANNOT CHANGE '1ST ORDER POLITICS' (POLICIES) OR '2ND ORDER POLITICS' (POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS) VERY FAR; THE LIMITS ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE NATIONAL SYSTEM. RECENTLY ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO CHANGE THE WAY (PROPORTIONALLY TO THE STRENGTH OF ALL POSSIBLE PARTIES IN THE COUNCILS) THAT PROVINCIAL BOARDS OF ALDERMAN ARE TRADITIONALLY COMPOSED. THOUGH THIS PROCEDURE MIGHT BE REASONED AS A POLITIZATION OF LOCAL & PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT, THE MAIN EFFECT WILL BE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES IN COMPETITION FOR SEATS. HA.

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.

An attempt to give a classification of internal violence, occurring in 40 developing countries, in order to provide a 'structure of violence' for each country in the period 1950-67, & to r this structure to the changes in the real per capita income of these countries. For the collection of the various items of internal violence, Keesings Historical Archives (Dutch version) was used. They were classified as follows: (1) Diffuse SP unrest (strikes, demonstrations, riots, etc, in which people were wounded, killed &/or property was destroyed). (2) Coup d'etat-like activities. (3) Small guerrillas in the countryside & clusters of (anticolonial) violent actions in the towns. (4) Limited civil or anti-colonial war. (5) 'Endemic' guerrillas. (6) Situation of serious anarchy. (7) .1Pol'al' pogroms of total civil or anticolonial war. A 'profile of violence' for each country was constructed. In the Latin Amer couutries coup d'etat activities prevailed; in several African countries these activities became numerous some yrs after independence was obtained; in the Middle Eastern countries all types of violence occurred; & in the ethnically complicated Asian countries, small & endemic guerrillas frequently arose. A relation between types & extent of internal violence, & level of nat'l income & its yr'ly per capita growth could not be proved. The material suggests that nat'l income & changes therein as such, may not be very interesting variables. Distribution of income & changes therein might be more relevant. The difficulty, however, is to obtain reliable data on these variables. A number of suggestions are made. Modified IPSA.

A series of 11 polls on samples of the Belgian electorate was held between the elections of Mar, 1968, & Nov, 1971. 2 questions were asked, one on past voting behavior & one on voting intentions. Although each survey was held on a completely renewed sample, the most striking result is the stability of the party preference of the Belgian voter. Little relationship is found between pol'al events & changes in voting intentions. On the basis of the results the hyp is formulated that, in periods without crises, the majority of electors are influenced by a global pol'al atmosphere rather than by separate events. Perceptible changes in party preference only occur after a series of "coherent" events, of which the effect is cumulative. A secondary result of the analysis is the description of some systematic patterns of switching in party preference. AA.

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.

Switzerland's attitude toward the EEC is typical of the new foreign policy adopted by that country in 1947 under the heading "Neutrality & Solidarity." A number of centrifugal factors (the EEC is regarded as the center or the pole of attraction) have kept Switzerland out of the EEC although many other factors--economic & commerical, in particular, but also ideological, cultural, political, & geographic--tend toward closer ties with the EEC & have acted as "centripetal" forces. The main "centrifugal" factors were: Swiss neutrality, the federal system, & direct democracy, such economic elements as the fiscal & agricultural systems & especially psychological factors including attitudes & ideas concerning the EEC & the consequences of membership. Fear of bureaucratization & fear of infringement on individual liberties are greater stumbling-blocks than economic & political factors. Timely corrections & adaptations in the international commercial field (EFTA membership, advantages gained from the Kennedy Round, the 1972 Free Trade agreement with the enlarged EEC) have reduced the necessity to seek a closer relationship with the Community, Only drastic economic, social, & political changes in the evolution of the EEC or of Switzerland itself could bring about fundamental changes in the relationship between Switzerland & the EEC. Modified HA.

Policy making in the Netherlands during three post-WWII periods is examined, focusing on limits imposed by the structure of society & the intellectual climate of the time. Intellectual & political constraints in economic policy, welfare policy, physical planning, & foreign affairs are discussed. Political constraints are shifting because of changes in market assessment, planning, & coordination. An increase in consultation among government, employers organizations, & trade unions is advocated, with the government establishing macroeconomic & social guidelines. Modified HA

A survey is presented of the difficulties which the Christian Party has met since the '20s & the resulting changes in its forms of organization, based on historical documents & writings. Discussions on related problems & suggestions for further reading are included. The survey consists of three parts concerning a decade of Belgian political history & concentrating on the years during & after WWII, the period in which the form of the party was founded & which exists to the present. Modified AA.

Changes in the post-WWII organization & structure of the Belgian political party system are discussed, focusing on the emergence of the welfare state. The prevalent trend of subcontracting social services to private firms, under the general direction of the sponsoring parties, is noted. The linguistic fractionalization of the major parties, the dynamics among the Catholic majority concentrated in Flanders, the socialist opposition centered chiefly in Wallonia, & the "balance" liberal parties are examined. Shifts in party identification & function, eg, toward clientelism & a dominant role in public policy formulation, are detailed, along with the role of TV in disseminating party propaganda. The declining role of party volunteers & grassroots activism is also discussed. Modified HA.

PO surveys from 1979 to 1981 are analyzed to assess changing Dutch attitudes on foreign & defense policies & the influence of pressure group activism, particularly that of the peace movement. Despite difficulties in data interpretation, findings indicate a greater change in intensity than in content of such attitudes; while there is quasi-unanimity to maintain NATO membership & balance of power, the majority of Rs want no new nuclear arms probably due to the peace movement, & wish to remove existing ones from Dutch territory & cease nuclear activity in the Dutch armed forces. Potential political gains by parties espousing these goals, particularly the Dutch Labor Party, are predicted. Contradictions in the available data are noted, however, & the necessity of more detailed research is emphasized. 35 Tables. Modified HA.