This time it was different? The salience of the Spitzenkandidaten system among European parties

The Lisbon Treaty (2009) introduced key institutional changes to increase the relevance of elections to the European Parliament (EP). Among others, major political groups nominated different lead candidates, the so-called Spitzenkandidaten, for the 2014 EP elections. The aim of this article is to investigate how national political parties react to this new institutional setting. Using data from the 2014 Euromanifesto study, the article examines if and under what conditions political parties put emphasis on the Spitzenkandidaten system in their party manifestos and whether they take positive or negative stances when talking about it. The findings reveal that parties put little emphasis on the issue. Moreover, the factors promoting the Spitzenkandidaten system suggest that parties decide strategically upon emphasising that topic or take a positive stance on it if they expect to benefit from this.     

Intersex/variations of sex characteristics and DSD citizenship in the UK,Italy and Switzerland

ABSTRACT

Citizenship studies is highly relevant to understanding intersex, variations of sex characteristics (VSC), and Disorders of Sex Development (DSD), yet little scholarship exists to date about intersex citizenship. This article outlines and develops the foundations for a distinctive intersex citizenship studies, addressing health citizenship, children’s citizenship, legal rights, and breaches of human rights experienced by intersex people and those with DSD. The paper presents original qualitative data from research in the UK, Italy and Switzerland with intersex people and their advocates, medics, and policy stakeholders. It shows that asserting citizenship is crucial for intersex people and those with VSC or DSD. This extremely marginalised population require social, intimate, children’s and health citizenship. Intersex citizenship addresses both medical and human rights issues in an integrated way.     

Role of Social Media in the 2016 Iowa Caucuses

Social media have become an indispensable tool in modern political campaigns, yet little is known about their impact, especially at the important primary and caucus stages of the US presidential elections. This study investigates the effects of visiting political party and candidate websites as well as following presidential candidates, posting political comments, and liking or sharing political content on social media on participation in the primary stage of the 2016 US election. The results of a precaucus survey in Iowa show that active use of social media tends to have positive effects, while passive social media use has a negative impact on likelihood of caucus attendance. Recommendations for campaigns include redirecting attention away from passive website viewing and developing social media content that will generate likes and shares.     

Low‐trust bureaucracy: Understanding the Mexican bureaucratic experience

Latin American bureaucracies are notorious for their inefficiency and opacity, yet there is very little empirical research done on what exactly constitutes the “bureaucratic experience” for citizens and what the costs of bureaucratic dysfunction are. To improve our understanding of this topic, 5 cases of Mexican citizens' encounters with public bureaucracies are used to develop the notion of “low‐trust bureaucracy”: public organisations in which access to services is unreliable and the levels of control towards both citizens and bureaucrats are excessive. This bottom‐up analysis of administrative practices contributes to our understanding of the ineffectiveness of government programmes and services, but also of how bureaucracies in developing countries amplify social inequality rather than function as a social equaliser. Furthermore, this article adds new insights to the existing understanding of administrative burdens as a result of either political tactics or mere benign neglect. The data presented here suggest that structural and intractable characteristics of the broader administrative context, such as authoritarian legacies, can produce behavioural patterns that shift bureaucratic attention away from a fair and efficient service provision.     

Subcultural Theory Applied to Jihadi and Right-Wing Radicalization in Germany

This article assesses the applicability of subcultural theories to individual cases of jihadi and Right-wing radicalization in Germany, with a focus on the individual initial situation and motivation for involvement. Within an overall qualitative research design, the article tests deviance/strain and Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CCCS) subcultural theories against four jihadi and three Right-wing extremist cases. The findings show little support for the strain-based status frustration hypothesis, but confirm the illegitimate opportunity structure thesis; modified versions of the CCCS’ resistance, bricolage, and homology concepts; as well as some of the postmodern approaches to agency and cultural cross-fertilization. The jihadi and Right-wing radicals examined here are assertive and purposive agents, strategically using the rich cultural arsenal available in the mainstream and/or other subcultures, while at the same time being themselves influenced by contemporary mainstream preferences of style. The article discusses the implications of these findings for radicalization research and specific subcultural approaches. It argues for a greater focus on both individual agency and the (sub-)cultural context for an improved understanding of individual involvement in political violence.     

Neue Rechtsprechung zur Verbrauchereigenschaft von GmbH-Gesellschaftern

Im Februar 2007 hat sich der OGH in der Entscheidung 7 Ob 266/06b neuerlich mit der Verbraucher- bzw Unternehmereigenschaft von GmbH-Gesellschaftern befasst und erstmals dezidiert ausgesprochen, dass das Abstellen auf die (formale) Gesch?ftsführungsbefugnis stets Voraussetzung für die Unternehmereigenschaft ist. Zu der in der Literatur strittigen Frage, ab welchem Beteiligungsausma? der (gesch?ftsführende) Gesellschafter als Unternehmer anzusehen ist, hat der OGH hingegen nicht Stellung genommen. Der vorliegende Kurzbeitrag gibt zun?chst die bisherige Rsp sowie den bisherigen Diskussionsstand zu diesem Thema wieder und setzt sich sodann kritisch mit den zentralen Kernaussagen dieser Entscheidung auseinander. Abschlie?end werden die Auswirkungen dieser Rsp auf die praktische Vertragsgestaltung exemplarisch anhand von Optionsvertr?gen dargestellt.     

Rethinking Explicit Consent and Intimate Data: The Case of Menstruapps

Feminist Legal Studies - Period-tracking software applications or ‘menstruapps’ have witnessed a surge in popularity in recent years. At the same time, many of them are a part of the...     

US and EU Human Rights and Democracy Promotion since the Arab Spring. Rethinking its Content,Targets and Instruments

The momentous changes in the Middle East and North Africa have brought the issue of human rights and democracy promotion back to the forefront of international politics. The new engagement in the region of both the US and the EU can be scrutinised along three dimensions: targets, instruments and content. In terms of target sectors, the US and EU are seeking to work more with civil society. As for instruments, they have mainly boosted democracy assistance and political conditionality, that is utilitarian, bilateral instruments of human rights and democracy promotion, rather than identitive, multilateral instruments. The content of human rights and democracy promotion has not been revised.