Suchergebnisse

In this introduction, which is not a survey, but instead a selective & personal view of some approaches to the subject of the volume (international, or transnational, terrorism), the a., first of all, emphasizes the fact that in the foreign (mainly in the American) literature the topic has been thoroughly stressed since many years .The recent literature is briefly examined in the following respects: (1) the variety of the analytical perspectives, (2) the relevance of the islamic context, (3) the utilization of analytical tools peculiar to particular subjects. Adapted from the source document.

Following the psychol'ts & econ'ts, pol'al sci'ts have focused their attention on studies of the decision-making process. Sci'fic methods, analyzing the phenomenon, & making it possible to predict the outcome, have been set forth by diff investigators. The results are far from being satisfactory. In effect, it is only possible to make predictions when a minimum of knowledge, freedom & coherence presides over human decisions. If we pass from the individual to the collective, which is that of pol'al decisions, we see that the decisions of several individuals are not only `concurrent' but 'cooperative', for they tend to arrive at a single decision for the entire group. It is interesting to compare the individual choice of a consumer & the individual choice of a voter (the vote of the majority being the normal group means of arriving at a decision). Certain authors, Black in particular, do not see any diff in principle between them. Others, like Buchanan, see fundamental diff's: the consumer knows the immediate result of his choice, not the voter; the first wishes to satisfy his tastes, the latter to realize his values: above all the latter can be forced to accept a result contrary to his choice. Pol'al decisions, made in uncertainty, are thus exposed to coercion. Tr. by Z. Dana from IPSA.

The article provides a systematic test of the consequences of the electoral system for the format of the party system & the frequency of single-party majority cabinets. The test is based on Lijphart's 1994 data set (extended from 1990 to 1 Nov 2002), but excludes some of his cases, & introduces an additional indicator of the number of parties. Thanks to these changes in the research design, the variance explained by multivariate regression is much higher than Lijphart's results, especially as long as the elective parties (ie, the psychological effects of the electoral system) are concerned. At the same time, the post-1990 data show a decline of the predictive power of the main independent variable ("effective" threshold). In order to explain this decline, the author argues that the growing destructuration of Western parties & party systems occurring since the early 1990s should be taken into account. Indeed, entering into the regression an indicator of such a process (total net volatility) compensates for most of the threshold's lost explanatory power, thus suggesting that destructuration is a far more significant variable than previously recognized by the relevant literature. 11 Tables, 27 References. Adapted from the source document.

During the last decade, political communication (particularly through TV) has become a key issue in Italian politics. It has been argued by politicians & observers that partisan bias in the broadcasts of the two major networks operating in the country has had a strong influence on the outcome of elections. This article presents evidence pertaining to this controversy collected in the course of the 2001 campaign. Analysis of archived data on TV programs shows that public network (Rai) & Mediaset channels differed in terms of the amount of "visibility" granted to the leaders of the two major electoral coalitions. Analysis of survey data from the archive of the Ispo Instit shows the existence of a fairly strong association between voting choices & viewing preferences for the various channels. In conclusion, the authors present alternative models of the linkages between selective exposure to different sources & political preferences. 6 Tables, 5 Figures, 28 References. Adapted from the source document.

The debate between realists and liberals in the field of International Relations concerning the causes and effects of economic interdependence among states has led to a remarkable branch of empirical literature, but hardly any research has studied such dynamics in the period following the Cold War, which is so often defined "the age of globalization". This article is based on a quantitative analysis of the influence of international politics on commercial flows in the post-bipolar period and it performs such analysis on two datasets: the first one including all countries of the system for which data are available and the second one focused on the countries that previous similar studies have identified as great powers. The results show that the contemporary international system is marked by a high degree of complexity and by the simultaneous action of different and even contrasting logics. Liberal variables such as democracy and economic international institutions exert a remarkable effect on international trade, especially at the global level, but international security and even power politics issues are still relevant, particularly for the great powers in their reciprocal relationships. Adapted from the source document.

The close outcome of the Italian general elections of 2006 highlights the crucial role of floating voters, switching from one coalition to its opponent. Using survey data, the paper studies the relation between the degree of political interest & knowledge of individual voters & their propensity to switch between competing coalitions in subsequent elections. Two rival hypotheses are proposed. The first, dubbed the "electoral market," states that most vote change happens among the most interested & informed. On the contrary, the rival hypothesis of the "electoral bazaar" envisages a scenario where floating voters are mostly among the least politically involved. The results of the analysis show a marked difference between patterns in the First & the Second Republic. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Reviews research conducted by professor Luigi Guarnieri Calo Carducci, particularly two essays he wrote on Italian immigration in Bolivia & Ecuador. The research analyzed data from the early 20th century to the end of the 1950s, which showed that Italian communities have helped shaping Bolivian & Ecuadorian rural economy & military structure, contributing also to the improvement of foreign policy. The Italian government supported most communities in an attempt to establish political connections, but many of those communities found a safe haven when Italy was persecuting them, especially Jewish communities during 1938. Above all, the contribution offered by Italian missionaries is of notable importance as it deeply affected both societies. The analysis reveals very interesting biographical & historical facts that are extremely useful when studying Italian realities outside of Italy from a modern perspective. Adapted from the source document.

This article examines the territorial composition of Italian governments since 1976. Prior to that time, the governments were highly representative from a territorial viewpoint; their composition reflected the distribution of electors across the country in a way that gave each region a share of cabinet posts roughly proportional to its share in the overall electoral strength of governing parties weighted by its share of the total electorate. Regression analysis of 1976-2001 data show that, on the whole, this pattern of cabinet seat distribution has not changed over time. From legislature to legislature, however, differences do exist, & the explicatory power of this model is somewhat limited when applied to the 1996-2001 term. A brand new innovation, as compared to the 1948-1976 period, consists instead of the presence of a growing number of non-MP executive members. However, one, must distinguish between nonpartisan, non-MP government members & partisan government members who are simply not members of the parliament. The former were especially frequent during the years 1992-1994; the latter after 1996. 3 Tables, 13 Figures, 54 References. Adapted from the source document.