A SYSTEMS ANALYSIS OF CRIME CONTROL STRATEGIES

Comparisons were made between 92 male prisoners over the age of 50 and 539 younger male prisoners at Utah State Prison, and between groups of first and muhiply incarcerated ot Utah and younger inmates. The older prisoners committed more crimes against persons, fewer property crimes, were older at first arrest, and were less socially deviant, impulsive, and hostile. The first incarcerated older inmates were found to have more often engaged in crimes of violence. were less involved in a criminal way of life, and were the best adjusted of all the groups. The multiply incarcerated older inmates were found to resemble the younger inmates in terms of a criminal way of life and were not different from their younger counterparts in their adjustment.     

RESPONSIBLE PARTY GOVERNMENT AND STABLE COALITION: THE CASE OF THE GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC

Abstract. The paper examines the internal stability of the S.P.D.-F.D.P. coalition which has governed the Federal Republic since 1969 and in particular the way in which foreign policy determined relations between government and opposition between 1969 and 1972. It also examines the ideological divisions within the S.P.D. and C.D.U./C.S.U., their exacerbation by the close result of the 1976 election and the effect this could have on further developments. It concludes that the 'stable coalition' in power since 1969, even if it fails to last its full term, is an important variant in the recognized typology of governments, and therefore of interest to the student of comparative government.     

INDIVIDUAL CHOICE, MATERIAL CULTURE, AND ORGANIZED CRIME

This article examines some of the American roots of organized crime, and its place within the American culture. The ethnic succession and limited mobility theses are critically examined, and some new perspectives presented regarding the analysis of organized crime. A number of research needs and propositions in need of further testing are presented.     

Strategic adaptation to new electoral systems

How quickly, to what extent and under what conditions do voters and elites adapt to new electoral institutions in order to not waste their votes and effort on hopeless competitors? A latent‐curve model of strategic adaptation is developed and fitted to district‐level election data from Spain. The extent of strategic adaptation is generally found to vary with the strength of the electoral system. However, grave ethnic tensions are demonstrated to seriously retard adaptation even under favourable institutional conditions.     

In pursuit of happiness: Life satisfaction drives political support

It is argued in this article that citizens in democracies use their subjective well-being (SWB) as an evaluative criterion when deciding how willing they are to support and comply with government dictates (political system support). When life is satisfactory, government authorities are rewarded with support, when it is not, citizens punish authorities by withholding their support. To make sense of the relationship, it is suggested that citizens act as if they have signed a happiness contract with ‘those in power’. In support of this argument, comparative survey data shows that SWB predicts attitudes on political system support across country contexts and under strong control conditions. Establishing that the relationship is causal, panel data documents that attitudes on political system support can be undermined following the termination of a close personal relationship, and that the causal effect is mediated via changes in SWB. Finally, as predicted, the happiness-support relationship is weaker among individuals who are high on spirituality/religiousness and attribute blame for external events to both worldly and non-worldly powers.