Steuerung jenseits von Hierarchie

The paper sheds new light on recent debates about governance and approaches contemporary problems of governing from the perspective of contemporary theories of power. The concept of “soft governing” is developed in order to capture horizontal mechanisms of power intentionally used to govern beyond formalised hierarchies characteristic of processes of governance. The paper describes in particular the horizontal forms of governing through discursive practices, argumentation and symbols and the ways in which they interact. The example of campaigns against female genital mutilation is introduced in order to illustrate possible forms of governing beyond hierarchy.     

Bestimmungsfaktoren des Wahlverhaltens in Deutschland bei den Bundestagswahlen 1987, 1998 und 2002: Eine Anwendung des Modells von Adams, Merrill und Grofman

According to theories of voting behaviour, a number of factors can influence a voter’s decision. This is, first, the affiliation of a voter to a specific social group. Second, the existence of a subjective closeness to a political party can determine voting behaviour. A third and fourth account focus on the ideological or policy-area specific position of voters and political parties and the problem-solving competence of a political party, respectively. Fifth, voting behaviour could be candidate-driven so that a voter chooses the party that nominates his favorite candidate. Finally, the felt economic situation by the voters could affect their behaviour at the polls. This paper shows that party identification, problem-solving capacity, the belonging to social groups and the preference for a chancellor candidate are decisive factors for the explanation of voting behaviour in Germany. The analysis extends a model developed by Adams, Merrill and Grofman (2005) and uses data from the German national election studies of 1987, 1998 and 2002.     

Bildungsexpansion und Wandel des politischen Interesses in Westdeutschland zwischen 1980 und 2002

Interest in politics is a prerequisite for political participation and political engagement. The promotion of political engagement and education to politically mature citizens were basic concerns of educational reforms in the 1960s. This article focuses on the question if educational expansion has lead to a rise in political interest. To reproduce the change in political interest adequately, effects of education, age, period and cohort will be analyzed simultaneously. The data base of the empirical analyses is a cumulated data set consisting of the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) from 1980 to 2002. Results show that there is a robust effect of education: More highly educated people are more politically interested. Regarding educational expansion evidence suggests that it actually leads to a rise in political interest.     

Evaluation lokaler Verwaltungspolitik: Umsetzung und Wirksamkeit des Neuen Steuerungsmodells in den deutschen Kommunen

The article aims at an evaluation of the New Public Management-inspired reform in German local governments which under the heading of the “New Steering Model (NSM)” spread over the municipalities like a “bush fire”. Since the research on Public Sector Reforms has so far largely been concentrated on institutional and instrumental change in Public Administrations there is now as ever only little empirical evidence concerning the actual changes and results of reform initiatives. Against this background, in the following article the attempt will finally be made to focus on results and effects of the local governments’ reform activities which have been achieved after 10 years of NSM-modernization and, thus, to outline perspectives for institutional-ortiented evaluations in the future.     

Umbau des Sozialstaates? Österreich und Deutschland im Vergleich

In comparative analysis of welfare states, there is a consensus that mature welfare state systems have been confronted, for some considerable time, with substantial pressure towards re-structuring and that, as a result, they actually have undertaken several and varied modifications. This articles aims at exploring and analysing these developments in Austria and Germany from a comparative point of view. The analysis concentrates on two vital fields of social policy: old-age insurance and unemployment insurance. Especially in respect of the development of social policy and regarding important characteristics of the two welfare state systems, both countries traditionally show a large degree of resemblance to each other. Many similarities remained to exist during the phase of growing pressures on the welfare state, whereas at the same time it is evident that differences between the two countries increased. The respective actual developments will be interpreted in the light of corresponding theories of comparative welfare state research and classified as gradual and structural changes.     

Informelle Parteistrukturen und institutioneller Wandel: Japanische Erfahrungen nach den politischen Reformen des Jahres 1994

The political reforms of 1994 — a new electoral system, the introduction of public subsidies for political parties, and more restrictive regulations governing political funds — have drastically changed the formal framework for political parties’ activities in Japan. This article analyses the impact of the political reforms on important informal structures in Japan’s political parties. It is shown that intra-party factions within the long-time governing LDP and the personal support organisations of individual members of parliament have undergone some changes but continue to persist in spite of the reforms. The article closes by summing up the lessons which the Japanese case offers for the transformation of informal institutions qua changes in the formal environment.     

Managementreformen in internationalen Organisationen: Eine vergleichende Analyse der Europäischen Kommission und des OECD-Sekretariats

The article comparatively investigates reforms of human resource management in the European Commission and the OECD Secretariat. It analyzes to what extent both organizations have adjusted their respective structures towards the ideal type of the so-called New Public Management (NPM). The empirical findings show that reforms towards NPM are more pronounced in the Commission than in the OECD Secretariat. These findings are surprising for two reasons. First, it seems rather paradoxical that the OECD as central promoter of NPM at the international level lags behind the global trend when it comes to reforming its own structures. Second, this result is in contradiction with theoretical expectations, as they can be derived from theories of institutional isomorphism. To nevertheless account for the surprising results, it is necessary to modify and complement existing theories especially with regard to the scope conditions of their causal mechanisms.     

Ausverkauf des „Tafelsilbers“: Bestimmungsfaktoren der Privatisierungserlöse in EU- und OECD-Staaten 1990–2000

The 1990s have witnessed unprecedented attempts at privatising state-owned enterprises in virtually all OECD democracies. This contribution analyzes the differences in the privatisation proceeds raised by EU and OECD countries between 1990 and 2000. It turns out that privatisations are part of a policy of economic liberalisation in previously highly regulated economies as well as a reaction to the fiscal policy challenges imposed by European integration and the globalisation of financial markets. In addition, institutional pluralism exerts significant and negative effects on privatisation proceeds. Partisan differences only emerge if economic problems are moderate, while intense economic, particularly fiscal problems foreclose differing partisan strategies.     

Entwicklungswege des regulativen Staates — Ein Vergleich zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten und Kanada

The paper takes Giandomenico Majone’s characterization of the regulatory state as starting point for a comparative analysis of the structures, politics and policies of regulation in the United States and Canada. It argues that Majone’s approach only partly captures the reality of the US regulatory system and, by concentrating on the US, fails to incorporate other versions of the regulatory state. The American regulatory state is only of limited value as a reference model for the European nation states, because the characteristics of national regulatory regimes are shaped by political culture and state structures. In this regard, Canada bears a much stronger resemblance to the European nations. Therefore, its long experience with regulatory institutions and practices is likely to be more instructive for the European debates. Future analysis should focus more strongly on the filtering processes by which national responses to general trends are shaped and on the distinct paths of development resulting from these processes.     

Die deutsche Föderalismusreform — von außen betrachtet. Ein Vergleich von Systemproblemen des deutschen und des schweizerischen Föderalismus

Ohne Zusammenfassung Ich danke meiner Mitarbeiterin Andrea Iff für ihren eigenen Diskussionsbeitrag zum Thema, von dem ich viel gelernt habe, sowie Adrian Vatter und Stephan Heichel (Universit?t Konstanz) für kritische Kommentare.