Felder und Institutionen. Der soziologische Neo-Institutionalismus und die Perspektiven einer praxistheoretischen Institutionenanalyse

The rise of new institutionalism in American sociology and its quest for a theoretical foundation has improved attention to Bourdieu’s theory of practice. The article examines chances of a combination of new institutionalism and practice theory as well as prospects of a practice-theoretical analysis of institutions. With some exceptions, it is revealed that neither in theory nor in empirical research Bourdieu’s theory of practice is properly considered by new institutionalism. Nevertheless, fruitful connections between new institutionalism and practice theory are identified especially with regard to basic problems of institutional analysis: the ambiguity of the concept of rule and the delimitation of social institutions as a sociological object of research.     

Determination of cathinone,cathine and norephedrine in hair of Yemenite khat chewers

A sensitive and reproducible method for the quantitative determination of cathinone (CTN), norpseudoephedrine (NPE, cathine) and norephedrine (NE) from hair was developed. The compounds were extracted for 4 hours with phosphate buffer pH 2.0, followed by a standard solid phase extraction procedure on a mixed phase column, derivatization with heptafluorobutyric anhydride (HFBA) and GC-MS separation and quantification using D(3)-ephedrine (D(3)-E) and alpha-aminoacetophenone (AAP) as the internal standards. The diastereomers NPE and NE were satisfactorily separated. In the validation, the limits of detection and of quantification were determined at 0.03-0.08 ng/mg and 0.10-0.24 ng/mg, respectively and the interday standard deviation was between 10 and 15%. The method was applied to hair samples of 24 Yemenite khat chewers. All three compounds were detected in 23 of these cases. The concentrations ranged from 0.57 to 23.9 ng/mg for NPE, 0.19-25.0 ng/mg for NE and 0.11-22.7ng/mg for CTN. A highly significant correlation was found between the self-reported data about the khat consumption habits of the volunteers (4-56h chewing per week) and the concentrations of norephedrine and norpseudoephedrine in hair.     

Building a ‘culture of dialogue’ among stakeholders in North-West Russian oil extraction

This article analyses the development of relations between indigenous communities, oil companies and the state in Russia's Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO). Using first hand information from anthropological fieldwork and one co-author's own involvement in regional politics, we analyse efforts to establish stakeholder dialogue. We show that ‘collective agency’ is crucial to prepare the ground for trustful relations, whereas high personnel turnover within interest groups jeopardises initially promising initiatives. Lessons from this experience have relevance for similar analyses throughout Russia in those cases where consistent federal and regional legislation is not likely to be in place in the near future.     

Das System der Blankettverweisungen der 71 und 71a BNatSchG im Lichte des Bestimmtheitsgrundsatzes – Rechtliche Bestandsaufnahme und kritische Würdigung

Natur und Recht - Das BNatSchG ist seit seiner Einführung im Jahr 1976 wiederholt geändert worden. Mit nahezu jeder Änderung wurde das verwaltungsrechtlichen Regelungsregime...     

Japan's ikumen discourse: macro and micro perspectives on modern fatherhood

Ikumen is a buzzword that describes fathers who are actively involved in childrearing. This article focuses on the process in which the term ikumen and its meaning are diffused and investigates how soon-to-be fathers, themselves potential ikumen, view the ikumen discourse. Our endeavor is to grasp the transformation of father roles and the wider family in contemporary Japan through the public and individual engagement with the term ikumen. In this article, we combine macro and micro approaches to analyze ikumen as a discourse circulating in Japanese society and study the way in which the subjects of the discourse – soon-to-be fathers – view the ikumen discourse and interact with it. Utilizing an analysis of newspaper articles, we inquire into the process in which the concept ikumen became popular in Japan and the images that are affiliated with it. Through interviews, we then investigate how soon-to-be fathers as potential ikumen themselves perceive the term. Our results show the way in which an ikumen discourse emerged in Japan in opposition to the term kazoku sabisu, which since the 1970s describes the activities fathers engage in for the satisfaction of their families and fulfillment of social expectations. However, while the term is very popular in the media, the young families we interviewed see ikumen more skeptically. They both resist the popular discourse and adapt it into their construction of paternal identities through a differentiation between a strong versus a weak ikumen image.     

Empowering peace: service provision and state legitimacy in Nepal’s peace-building process

There is growing demand for an understanding of peace beyond the absence of violence. As such research focuses increasingly on the issue of state legitimacy as a tool to assess and understand peace processes. In this paper the relationship between service provision and state legitimacy is studied to assess whether the provision of services like electricity to rural communities of war-torn countries through state actors contributes to the consolidation of the post-war political system. The qualitative analysis of two localities in post-war Nepal highlights that service provision in the form of electricity through micro-hydropower yields tremendously positive socio-economic effects for rural communities. However, socio-economic development in combination with interactions among villagers has strengthened local autonomy through emphasising alternative local governance structures. This highlights that the relationship between service provision and state legitimacy is more complex than previous research anticipates. The absence of a positive effect on state legitimacy raises the question of whether in its current case-specific form service provision is conducive to the broader peace-building efforts in post-war Nepal, because it stresses the divide between state and society.     

Anti‐elitist cyber parties?

In the digital age, new ways of interaction provide a new type of public sphere, which dramatically changes party politics. This not only includes the modernisation and professionalisation of mainstream political parties but also paves the way for new challengers and a new dimension of campaigning. The current examples, the Pirate Party, especially in Germany, and the Five Star Movement of Beppe Grillo, show at least short‐term potential. The Pirate Party caused a media hype about the young activists. Grillo transcended the borders between comedy and politics without the helping hand of the traditional media, which ignored him. The threat for representative democracies lies in the growing anti‐elitism, which combines the Pirates and Grillo. Mainstream political parties should indicate that the claim for a new participatory politics beyond right and left is a utopian one, while attacking the way that party politics works. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Lebanon: Historical lessons of two multireligious states

Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Lebanon have been frequently subject of superficial comparisons: Similar images, the horror of internal strife, religiously and ethnically motivated killings initiated such observations. Nevertheless, Lebanon and Bosnia‐Herzegovina are two multireligious countries, which deserve comparison. Bosnia‐Herzegovina, as well as Lebanon, are reminders of the diversity that existed throughout the Ottoman Empire, before it was leveled by the emergence of nation states. Beyond the historical, Bosnia‐Herzegovina and Lebanon have developed many comparable traits, which help understanding the war that ensued in 1975 in Lebanon and in 1992 in Bosnia‐Herzegovina. The fragmentation of the political sphere along national/religious lines, the destructive role played by neighboring countries and the economic crisis are just some of the factors which can be observed in both countries.     

Suppliers to a sellers’ cartel and the boundaries of the right to damages in U.S. versus EU competition law

While customer damage claims against price-cartels receive much attention, it is unresolved to what extent other groups that are negatively affected may claim compensation. This paper focuses on probably the most important one, suppliers to a downstream sellers’ cartel. The paper first identifies three economic effects that determine whether suppliers suffer losses due to a cartel by their customers. We then examine whether suppliers are entitled to claim net losses as damages in the U.S. and the EU, with exemplary looks at England and Germany, delineating the boundaries of the right to damages in the two leading competition law jurisdictions. We find that, while the majority view in the U.S. denies standing, the emerging position in the EU approves of cartel supplier damage claims. We show that this is consistent with the ECJ case law and in line with the new EU Damages Directive. From a comparative law and economics perspective, we argue that more generous supplier standing in the EU compared to the U.S. is justified in view of the different institutional context and the goals assigned to the right to damages in the EU. We demonstrate that supplier damage claims are also practically viable by showing how supplier damages can be estimated econometrically.