Political Trust and the Local Business Climate: Evidence from Sweden

A re‐analysis of three Swedish studies of political trust at local level shows that the extent to which citizens trust the system of democracy in municipalities correlates strongly with how the employers in that area assess the state of the local business climate. This article deals with the question of how this can be understood. Three sets of underlying explanations are tested: social capital theory, a theory of local well‐being and political‐institutional conditions. The empirical analysis shows that only the theory of local well‐being can explain consistently why political trust and a flourishing local business climate occur in concert. The study emphasises the need to expand research on political trust to also take into account the role played by the business climate. This has been completely ignored in previous research on political trust. Such knowledge would be highly relevant to local policy making. In order to capture the specific mechanisms at work, qualitative case studies of municipalities are suggested as the next step of research.     

Zwangsversteigerung von Liegenschaften – materiell- und formalrechtliche Fragen

Der Beitrag befasst sich einerseits mit aktuellen Einzelfragen des Verfahrensrechts der Zwangsversteigerung von Liegenschaften (wie etwa der M?glichkeit der Verbesserung des Exekutionsantrags, der Zustellung des überbots und der Anfechtung des Versteigerungsedikts), andererseits mit dem mittelbaren Eigentumserwerb des Erstehers sowie dem graduellen Erstarken seiner Rechtsstellung (etwa im Hinblick auf bestehende Bestandvertr?ge). Schlie?lich wird kurz auf eine in letzter Zeit ergangene Entscheidung des EGMR zu einem ?sterreichischen Zwangsversteigerungsverfahren (Anfechtung des Zuschlags durch prozessunf?hige Verpflichtete) aufmerksam gemacht.     

Umsetzung der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie bei FFH- und Vogelschutzgebieten

Keine Zusammenfassung     

Dauer der wasserrechtlichen Bewilligung nach § 8 Absatz 5 WHG bei Wasserkraftanlagen

Angeregt vor allem durch das Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz (EEG) kommen verst?rkt Pl?ne auf, Wasserkraft auf innovative Weise sowie selbst an kleinen Flie?gew?ssern zu nutzen. Angesichts der im Verh?ltnis zum Stromertrag relativ hohen Kosten solcher Vorhaben, aber auch bei klassischen Wasserkraftanlagen streben die Vorhabentr?ger nach m?glichst lang fristig gesicherten Rechtspositionen. Dabei spielt die vom Wasserhaushaltsgesetz (WHG) für Bewilligungen grunds?tzlich vorgesehene Grenze von drei?ig Jahren eine bedeutende Rolle. Zugleich ist beim Bewilligen einer Wasserkraftnutzung der angestrebten Umsetzung der Europ?ischen Wasserrahmenrichtlinie Rechnung zu tragen.     

Theoretical Integration and Unification: A Focus on Justice

A commonly shared goal among scientists is to reach the ‘holy grail’ of theoretical integration or unification. We list several examples of such attempts within sociology and psychology in general and, more specifically, within the subarea of social justice. A distinction is made between the seemingly interchangeable terms integration and unification. We note the scarcity of work concerned with untangling the meaning of theoretical integration, with differentiating among forms of integration, and with mapping the variety of ways in which integration might be accomplished. The five articles published in this issue of Social Justice Research, and here briefly reviewed, address these and related questions and/or exemplify theoretical integration with a focus on justice.     

How the International Criminal Court Came to Life: The Role of Non-governmental Organisations

The negotiations which led to the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute in Rome in July 1998 owe much to non-governmental organisations' (NGOs) activism. These non-state actors developed professional skills enabling them to match state diplomats and experts. They developed particular strategies of mobilisation and thereby achieved a double goal: not only does the Rome Statute bear their mark but also their role is consecrated both within the text itself and in their relations with institutional actors. Although one has to nuance the scope of the participation of non-state actors in international negotiations and to balance it in the light of the interlocutors they have to face, this case study analyses the expertise gained by NGOs and their growing role in law-making processes.