Suchergebnisse

The present article presents an actual discussion of topics concerning the use of language in academic (Flemish and Dutch-speaking) social- and political education, treating impact factor and web of science indexes motivating publishing in English, and the weight of cultural and scientific heritage influencing Dutch-language publications to continue to inform the public better. The article states that only by continuing to publish in English, Anglo-Saxon "dominance" in political publications can be countered, and challenge the ideas, concepts and practices expressed by the US and the UK. An article that goes right to the core of this particular revue, Res Publica being the only Dutch-language double blind peer reviewed journal in Dutch/Flemish political science. References. O. van Zijl

Three stages of Dutch research on women & politics are delineated: (1) early research aimed at filling the gaps in knowledge about women's political participation & attitudes; (2) in the second stage, research addressed issues raised by feminism & debates about the scope of the political, & (3) in a now emerging third stage, interest is renewed in the major concepts of the Western political tradition, in which the genderedness of concepts is at stake. This stage may lead to a new paradigm for the discipline, relinking normative with empirical concerns. It is precisely the dominance of the empirical tradition in the Netherlands that prevents the incorporation of insights derived from feminist theory in the analysis of political behavior; however, reappraisal of the normative dimension & the domain of the discipline may reverse this trend. 114 References. Modified AA

An important element in the debate on the hollowed State is the extent to which the subsidiary idea caused a decrease in dominance of the central State & led to a multifaceted process of decentralisation. A case in point is the recent regionalisation of the competency to organise local government in Belgium. Based on Page & Goldsmith's three dimensions in intergovernmental relations between central & local government (functions, discretion & access), we test the discourse of the reform of the local government in Flanders to its practice. It is argued that the principles of a subsidiary founded municipal autonomy, a growing fiscal & functional discretion & a personal disentanglement of local & central decision-makers was inspired by northern European models of government relations. These, however, are only partially being confirmed by the praxis of the reforms, as the main principles of the existing southern European models persist. Adapted from the source document.

A theoretical analysis of the problem of conflict between states or alliances, founded on the Nash theory of bargaining & cooperative games (Nash, J. F., "The Bargaining Problem," Econometrica, 1950, 18, 155-162). Assumptions that must be met to make the use of this theory possible are elucidated. Given these assumptions, precise meanings can be given to such concepts as "dominance" & "strategic equilibrium." Such game-theoretical understanding provides an alternative to warfare as a means of gaining knowledge of relative military strength, thus making unnecessary the Clausewitzian process of repeated warfare. A two-step process -- a stage of strategic rivalry, & a cooperative phase -- leads to attainment of an ideal final agreement for both sides. An application to the global East/West matrix from 1970 to 1987 is presented, & means of applying game-theoretical methods realistically to international relations are proposed. 7 Tables, 3 Figures. Modified HA

A CRITICAL REEXAMINATION OF PREVALENT ASSUMPTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE IS PRESENTED. THE TRADITIONAL MODEL OF THE INTERSTATE SYSTEM, WHICH GIVES THE NATIONSTATE A PROMINENT PLACE AS ACTOR & UNIT OF ANALYSIS & CONCEIVES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM AS A COLLECTIVITY OF STATES AIMING AT EQUILIBRIUM, HAS BEEN GENERALLY ACCEPTED BY SCHOLARS (IE BALANCE OF POWER THEORY). DEVELOPMENTS IN INTERNATIONAL REALITY SEEM TO CONTRADICT THESE ASSUMPTIONS. THEY ARE SUMMARIZED IN THE CONCEPTS OF THE 'NUCLEAR AGE' & THE 'TRANSNATIONAL SYSTEM' & COMBINED IN THE NOTION OF INTERDEPENDENCE CHARACTERIZING THE PRESENT INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM. THESE DEVELOPMENTS POINT TO THE INCREASING CONVERGENCE OF RATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL POLITICS. IN RECENT INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS LITERATURE, THE TRADITIONAL HORIZONTAL, TERRITORIALLY-BASED ORGANIZATION OF THE POLITICAL PROCESS IS CONTRASTED WITH ITS INCREASINGLY VERTICAL, TRANSNATIONAL CHARACTER, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THE EQUILIBRIUM MODEL OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS IS SUPERSEDED BY A VIEW OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM BASED ON RELATIONS OF DOMINANCE & SUPREMACY. THESE NEW INSIGHTS ARE COMBINED IN A MODEL OF A WORLD POLITICAL SYSTEM THAT IS GLOBAL IN ITS GEOGRAPHICAL DIMENSION. HA.

After the sharp conflicts between the government & the medical unions in 1964, concerning health insurance reform involving an `agreement system' for medical fees & repayments by the health insurance funds--a form of bargaining economy has developed in Belgian health care, with sick funds & medical unions as the major parties. This 'Pax Medica' appears to be threatened by a series of financially motivated government measures aimed at reducing the medical associations' professional autonomy & dominance. The historical context, the parties involved, & the development of this conflict are discussed. A striking analogy with the 1964 conflict is pointed out, particularly regarding union strategy. The present state of affairs does not suggest a threat to the 'Pax Medica,' but rather a stabilization of the established power relationship between government, sick funds, & medical unions, which will respect the rules of democratic compromise. Such a conflictual situation helps in making various aspects of the overall situation more perceptible. The scene is dominated by two groups of organizations: medical unions & the sick funds. They function on the background of _a market economy that is accepted by both. Hence, fundamental social changes in the area of medicine are unlikely. Modified HA.

Studies of second-order elections using aggregate data have predominantly focused on examining the extent to which European parliament elections and regional elections are dominated by the national, first-order arena, and paid scarce attention to the analysis of municipal elections. In addition the study of second-order elections is dominated by looking at the impact of first-order factors whilst ignoring the impact of arena-specific factors. This article addresses these shortcomings by analyzing the impact of national and local factors on the performance of national parties in the Dutch municipal elections of 2010. Our analysis shows that there are significant effects of local factors. Most parties lose votes when having been in local government and in some cases as well when having in addition lost an alderman as a result of a political crisis. Parties also lose vote share as a result of the entrance of new national and local parties in a local election, with the effect of new national entrants being larger than that of new local entrants. Our analysis corroborates earlier findings that point to a dominance of national factors, while at the same time showing that it is vital to include local, arena specific factors in order to get to a better estimation of the second-orderness of non-national elections. We discuss our results with respect to the recurring debate about the nationalisation of the Dutch municipal elections. Adapted from the source document.

Introduction The relation between the bailiff and the debtor is conflictive due to the conflict of interest of both actors. The main interest for the debtors is focused on his or her daily life, while the bailiffs' interests lie within the judicial system. Also the current laws and disciplinary regulations are not always a guarantee for lawful and proper behavior of the bailiff during the face-to-face interactions with debtors. This could generate conflicts, like vigilantism. Moreover, several current societal developments lead to an increase of the friction between bailiffs and debtors, in particular: the intensification of the debt problems and new and profound powers of creditors, the increased individualization of citizens and their more outspoken behavior, and the dominance of the free market process for bailiffs. This thesis focuses on the conflictual interactions between bailiffs and debtors. The main research questions are: "What is the reason escalating conflicts occur between bailiffs and debtors and why does the incidence increase?" Methods A practical empirical approach is used. A total of 43 cases of face-to-face interactions between bailiffs and debtors are described. The backgrounds of the conflictive interactions are analyzed using qualitative and quantitative research methods. These methods include a participant observation study of bailiffs and debtors, interviewing bailiffs and debtors, and conducting surveys among bailiffs. The main point of view is bottom-up, in which a special focus is addressed to the perceptions and behaviors of the bailiff and debtor. Finally, the perspective of third parties is described, such as debt counselors. Results There are four distinct types of face-to-face interactions between the bailiff and debtor observed: 1) volatile interactions, 2) confronting interactions, 3) strategic interactions, and 4) strong/firm interactions. Each of the four interaction types has its own conflictive character and describes the behavior at the door. The two actors act and react ...