On the Relationship between Political Science and Administrative Science in Germany

The theoretical and empirical analysis of administrative activities has been an important area of research since the establishment of political science as an academic discipline in Germany at the end of the 1960s. But is administrative science still a significant part of political science in Germany today? I argue here that in Germany a political science oriented administrative science has developed from a science focused on public administration, that is, on organizational questions, to one focused on public policies and thus on questions concerning the conditions and consequences of political problem solving and control (Steuerung). The question of the internal organization of government is increasingly regarded as an irrelevant one; in addition, the institutional promotion and funding of political science administration research has dramatically decreased since the 1970s. Today's new challenges (economization and internationalization) for both government and public administration seem to exceed the capability of political science administrative research. These challenges open up new opportunities, however, since, in the search for solutions beyond the dichotomy of market/managerialism on the one hand and traditional bureaucracy and state government on the other, political science in particular regains more importance. As will be shown, there are now tendencies which indicate that political science administrative research might encounter a stronger political demand. If the consequent research is able to find a new mixture of theory and practice, this in turn could help revitalize political science administrative research in Germany.     

论法制教育课程化与法制课程生活化

中学生在学习法律常识内容时普遍表现冷淡,但调查显示学生对开设法制教育课程的态度是肯定的,不满意的是法制教育的方式和手段。学校法制教育不是一般的法制宣传,它必须遵循教育规律,必须按照学校教育的特点将它设计成为合乎教育要求并服务于学校办学目标的学校教学课程,实现法制教育的“课程化”和“生活化”。     

Firm-Specific Determinants of Corporate Lobbying Participation and Intensity

Abstract

Lobbying constitutes a major element in the political strategy of firms seeking favorable regulatory outcomes and is perceived as a source of a firm’s competitive advantage. Recognizing firms’ ability to influence their external environments through reactive and proactive political behavior, this paper analyzes the firm-specific determinants of corporate political activity and intensity. Results from US and Japanese firms indicate that firm size, diversification, and internationalization positively influence the likelihood of a firm being an active lobbyist. While firm profitability influences the "intensity" of lobbying activity, foreign nationality has a negative impact.     

Recession, Climate Change and the Return of Planning

As the global financial crisis emanating from the United States shuts down world markets, can globalization survive? Will the resurgent intrusion of the state—and thus politics—into the market lead to protectionism and collapse, as was the case in the early 20th century? Or will the new interconnectivity of climate change and mutual economic dependence—especially between China and the US—deepen global links? The former mayor of Shanghai, legendary Nobel economist Paul Samuelson and Third Way guru Anthony Giddens ponder those questions in this section.     

Planning and Strategy in Reforming Romania's SRI

Counting the wars

Count Alexandre de Marenches and David A. Andelman: The Fourth World War: Diplomacy and Espionage in the Age of Terrorism William Morrow, New York, 1992, 281 p., $23.00.

The Israeli nuclear minimax

Seymour M. Hersh: The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy Random House, New York, 1991, 356 p., $23.00.

Weighing evidence for the intelligence analyst

David A. Schum: Evidence and Inference for the Intelligence Analyst 2 Vols./ University Press of America, 1987, Vol. 1—486 p., $125.00; Vol.2—359 p., $85.00.

Yankee secrets

Edmund R. Thompson, ed.: Spies of the American Revolution David Atlee Phillips New England Chapter, Association of Former Intelligence Officers, Kennebunk, Maine, 1991, 234 p., $12.95.

Enquiring minds want to know…

Peter Gudgin: Military Intelligence: The British Story Arms and Armour Press, London, 1989, 156 p., $21.95.     

Globalizing Corporate Environmentalism? Convergence and Heterogeneity in Indian Industry

What explains the recent emergence of corporate environmentalism in developing countries? Why have certain firms surpassed others in greening their activities? This article situates the uneven dynamics of corporate greening within a theoretical framework of convergence, firm specificity, and heterogeneity. Through a comparative analysis of firms in three sectors—automobiles, steel, and power—of the Indian economy during the past two decades, I show that corporate greening is rooted in processes of growing international political engagement, market integration, and transnational social communication. Together, these processes have unleashed various economic and sociological convergence dynamics, which have led firms in India to adopt more environmentally sound innovations and performances increasingly similar to those found in many developed countries. Yet firms’ connectedness to external pressures fostering “upward” convergence varies, as do their internal capabilities to respond to them. Heterogeneity in these internal and external variables, and the firm-specific strategies linking them, accounts for much of the unevenness in patterns of corporate environmentalism observed in India.     

Science and technology in the transition: A review article

David A. Dyker (ed.), The Technology of Transition: Science and Technology Policies for Transition Countries. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1997, ix + 292 pp., £37.50.

Mark Steven Frankel & Jane Cave (eds), Evaluating Science and Scientists: An East‐West Dialogue on Research Evaluation in Post‐Communist Europe. Budapest: Central European University Press, 1997, x + 226 pp., £37.50 h/b, £15.99 p/b.

Paul J. J. Welfens & George Yarrow (eds), Telecommunications and Energy in Systemic Transformation: International Dynamics, Deregulation and Adjustment in Network Industries. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer‐Verlag, 1997, xi + 501 pp., DM178.00.