Introduction: German Party Membership in the 21st Century

The party membership decline experienced in Germany in the last decades raises a number of theoretical, empirical, and normative questions, a selection of which is addressed in this special issue of German Politics. In this introduction, we summarise some of the central arguments and findings presented. Although the individual articles take various perspectives and present specific insights, as a whole they allow for drawing some consequences: Firstly, party membership decline seems to be irreversible, secondly, it does neither imply an inadequate organisational linkage between society and state institutions nor, thirdly, a threat to democracy.     

Substantiated Childhood Maltreatment and Intimate Partner Violence Victimization in Young Adulthood: A Birth Cohort Study

Little is known about the associations between various types of childhood maltreatment and multiple forms of intimate partner violence victimization in early adulthood. This study examines the extent to which childhood experiences of maltreatment increase the risk for intimate partner violence victimization in early adulthood. Data for the present study are from 3322 young adults (55?% female) of the Mater Hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy with the mean age of 20.6 years. The Mater Hospital-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy is a prospective Australian pre-birth cohort study of mothers consecutively recruited during their first antenatal clinic visit at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital from 1981 through to 1983. Participants completed the Composite Abuse Scale at 21-year follow-up and linked this dataset to agency recorded substantiated cases of childhood maltreatment. In adjusted models, the odds of reporting emotional intimate partner violence victimization were 1.84, 2.64 and 3.19 times higher in physically abused, neglected and emotionally abused children, respectively. Similarly, the odds of physical intimate partner violence victimization were 1.76, 2.31, 2.74 and 2.76 times higher in those children who had experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and emotional abuse, respectively. Harassment was 1.63 times higher in emotionally abused children. The odds of severe combined abuse were 3.97 and 4.62 times greater for emotionally abused and neglected children, respectively. The strongest associations involved reports of child emotional abuse and neglect and multiple forms of intimate partner violence victimization in young adulthood. Childhood maltreatment is a chronic adversity that is associated with specific and multiple forms of intimate partner violence victimization in adulthood.     

Japan’s uncertain security environment and changes in its legislative‒executive relations

Abstract

Focusing on Japan, this paper explores whether powers and competences in the political system are likely to be recalibrated in favour of the executive when the environment is perceived as increasingly threatening. It shows that the executive has been significantly strengthened during the past two decades of political reforms, though a closer look reveals that only the most recent efforts are motivated by security concerns. Case studies on military deployments and arms exports do not expose any clear trend towards curbing parliament’s formal control powers, but they indicate two related mechanisms that affect executive?legislative relations. Firstly, the executive has sought to ensure faster decision-making in security policy, which may limit the Diet’s ability to scrutinise policies in depth. Secondly, the level of contestation over security policy issues has been decreasing, especially given the securitisation of North Korea and China. This provides the executive with more leeway in devising policies.     

International Feminism and Empire‐Building between the Wars: the case of Viola Smith

This article examines US Trade Commissioner Viola Smith’s role in the furtherance of the American empire between World Wars I and II. As a Foreign Service Officer in Shanghai, China on behalf of the Department of Commerce and through her activism as an international feminist in the Pacific region, Smith perpetuated the imperialist project. As Trade Commissioner, she implemented trade policy in lucrative China that helped to economically enrich the USA. Likewise, as an international feminist, Smith injected Western superiority to the international feminist sphere through her work for peace and women’s rights in the Pacific.     

The Individual-Level Determinants of Exiting German Parties

With respect to explaining declining party membership, the question who leaves political parties and why has so far been neglected. This article aims to fill this gap by applying Hirschman’s theory of “Exit, Voice, and Loyalty” to both current and former party members, and at combining it with the resource model of political participation. We find that neither individual resources nor reasons for discontent are sufficient to explain the different reactions to discontent, but that the exit-voice-loyalty model has a certain explanatory power.     

“Strength at Home” Group Intervention for Military Populations Engaging in Intimate Partner Violence: Pilot Findings

In this brief report, we present information on the Strength at Home intervention to treat male active duty or military veteran perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV) as well as preliminary pilot study findings. Strength at Home is a 12-session cognitive-behavioral group intervention developed by the authors that is based on a social information processing model of IPV perpetration. Six men referred to two intervention groups and five collateral female partners participated in this pilot study. Findings indicated large reductions for most indices of physical and psychological IPV from pre-treatment to 6-month follow-up. These initial results are promising though the small sample size and other study limitations preclude our ability to draw firm conclusions.     

Differential predictors of intimate partner sexual coercion versus physical assault perpetration

ABSTRACT

The current study attempted to strengthen existing literature regarding predictors of perpetrating intimate partner sexual violence to determine if there are unique predictors of sexual violence that differentiate it from physical abuse. It was hypothesised that men’s controlling, dominant and jealousy behaviours, and verbal aggression would significantly predict increased intimate partner sexual coercion and physical assault perpetration. These predictors were expected to be more predictive of sexual coercion than physical assault perpetration. Couples were recruited from the community (N?=?159) in a cross-sectional study recruiting couples with a violent male partner. Results demonstrated that men’s controlling behaviour was a significant predictor of sexual coercion and physical assault perpetration and behavioural jealousy was a significant predictor of sexual coercion perpetration. No predictors studied better predicted sexual coercion more than physical assault perpetration. These findings suggest that sexual coercion may be another type of physical assault without unique predictors.     

A Fatality Following Ingestion of the Designer Drug Meta‐Chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) in an Asthmatic—HPLC‐MS/MS Detection in Biofluids and Hair

A 20‐year‐old man, a cocaine addict and regular ecstasy user, with a medical history of allergic asthma died after ingesting half a tablet earlier the same day. The white tablet, stamped with a “smiling sun” logo looked very much like an ecstasy tablet and was sold as such. He experienced a severe asthma attack just after ingesting the half tablet and it evolved over the next few hours into fatal cardiorespiratory arrest. Biological samples, taken after embalming, were analyzed by high‐performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS/MS). Analysis revealed meta‐chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP) in concentrations of 45.8 mg in a similar tablet obtained later from the drug dealer, 5.1 ng/mL in the bile, 0.3 ng/g in the liver, 15.0 ng/mL in the urine, and its absence in a hair sample (<0.02 ng/mg), which indicated he was not a regular user (whereas strong concentrations of MDMA and cocaine were found in the hair). Interrogated by the police after his arrest, the dealer said that he had sold the victim and for the very first time two tablets with the same “smiling sun” logo. The tablet used for analysis was from the same brand as the one ingested by the victim. The autopsy excluded other causes of death, while the histological analyses showed a large number of polynuclear eosinophils in the bronchial walls, confirming the asthmatic pathology. None of the other organs examined (larynx, liver, heart, adrenal glands, and kidneys) showed any distinctive signs, and in particular no inflammatory infiltrate. The death was the result of an asthma attack in an asthmatic person, violently decompensated following ingestion of approximately 20 mg of mCPP.     

Experiential Teaching in an Adult Development Course: Promoting an Understanding of Intergenerational Interactions

Twelve students in a developmental psychology service-learning course engaged in a service-learning project with two groups of elders in an urban setting. Nine members of the class provided quantitative and qualitative feedback on this experiential learning experience. Survey results indicated that students believed the project increased their interest in the content area and that the project was a valuable aspect of the course. Based on student reflection papers in the course, students could identify specific ways the project helped them to learn course content. Finally, two interviewed students commented on how the project helped dismantle ageist preconceptions they held prior to completing the course. The project illustrates the advantages of experiential teaching in promoting interactions and understanding between diverse age groups. Three recommendations for implementing experiential teaching in community psychology and service-learning courses are presented.     

The (In)stability of Voters’ Perceptions of Competence and Associative Issue Ownership: The Role of Media Campaign Coverage

Recent work has suggested that issue ownership has a competence and an associative dimension and that both dimensions are less stable than originally assumed. This study is the first attempt to directly compare the stability and change of voters’ perceptions on both dimensions. Using data from the 2015 Swiss Election Study, linking data from a combined panel/rolling cross-section survey with an extensive media analysis, this study finds that voters are more likely to maintain their issue ownership perceptions if the party they identify as the issue owner before the campaign receives a higher share of media campaign coverage. This stabilizing effect is conditional on the importance of the issue for the voter, and it is stronger for voters’ competence evaluations than for their party-issue associations, which proved to be more stable. Thus, the results confirm the literature’s previously untested assumption that voters’ associative ownership perceptions are more stable than their competence ownership evaluations.