Die Lassersche Wahlrechtsreform. Der Kampf um die Einführung der Volkswahl des cisleithanischen Abgeordnetenhauses 1871–1873

SUMMARY

After the creation of the Dual Monarchy of Austro-Hungary in 1867, the 17 kingdoms and provinces with a population of over 20 million gathered in the (Cisleithanian) Austrian half comprised a multitude of nationalities. Since 1861 they had been represented in the imperial council (Reichsrat) consisting of an aristocratic upper house and a lower house of representatives from the 17 local diets. The local diets were a modified form of Estates, with a first house of large landlords, a second house elected by those entitled to vote in urban elections, in some cases a third house for trade and craft bodies, and another house for rural communities. Many of these elections were also indirect and based on a property qualification, and bishops and others sat by right in the local diets. Deputies from the local diets to the imperial council were chosen in a variety of ways. Despite previous demands for direct elections, this remained only to a limited extent a constitutional monarchy. The non-German nationalities had an overall majority in the population but were severely underrepresented in the House of Deputies (Abgeordnetenhaus) and divided among themselves. The self-imposed absence of several of them from its sessions gave force to the demands for electoral reform and put pressure on the Emperor to grant concessions. Complex negotiations with the parties and changes of government led to the ministry in 1871 of Adolph Fürst Auersperg, who appointed Joseph Freiherr Lasser von Zollheim as Interior Minister with the task of completing the electoral reform. Thomas Olechowski proposes in this article that the measures eventually introduced in 1873, hitherto ‘nameless’, be named the Lasser Electoral Reform, on the analogy of later reforms named in the literature after their progenitors. Lasser resisted pressure for a more open constitution from the liberals who held an effective majority in the newly elected House of Deputies, but not the required two-thirds for constitutional change. It also proved difficult to satisfy the national elements in the Empire, especially Czechs and Poles, and hard-fought local elections accompanied the stages in introducing reform. Among many detailed plans publicly aired was one by Eduard Herbst which would have reduced the electoral advantage of the richest elements, but Lasser was able to recruit Herbst to help formulate his own more conservative proposals. Lasser's concern was to take the election of deputies away from the local diets, not to broaden the franchise nor alter the existing balance of power between countries and classes, and the Emperor too wanted minimal reform. Where popular unrest broke out, military force soon suppressed it. The withdrawal of a large Galician contingent from the debate in the House of Deputies failed to stop the legislation. The end result was only a small change in the balance between the provinces and a modest reduction in the representation of large landlords. Only 6 per cent of the population received the vote, with that of a large landlord counting 140 times that of a member of a rural community. Even so, the now directly elected imperial council proved less compliant than its predecessor, and new electoral reforms were to broaden the franchise in 1882, 1895 and 1907.     

Agilität als Chance für einen neuen Anlauf zum demokratischen Unternehmen?

There has been a long-standing discussion since the 1980s about the question whether new production models harbor a potential for extended employee participation and involvement, in most cases with disillusioning results. This paper is concerned with so called “agile methods”, which play an important part in the area of knowledge work in the course of the digital transformation. On the basis of two case studies from software development and industrial R&D, the paper examines the concrete implementation of these methods and the employees’ perspective upon them and their consequences. The result is that agile methods present a potential for extended employee participation and involvement; however, the realization of this potential depends on the concrete way how the agile concept of “empowerment” is implemented.     

Die 195 in der Weltwirtschaft neuentstandenenFaktorenundihreEinflüsseaufChina

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Volk oder Parlament: Wer entscheidet nachhaltiger? Eine vergleichende Untersuchung von Nachhaltigkeitsabstimmungen in der Schweiz

Based on the example of Swiss semi‐direct democracy, this article addresses the question to what extend Swiss voters and the Swiss parliament tends to vote in favor of inter‐ and intra‐generational sustainable issues. The comparative empirical analysis of 109 relevant sustainability‐related proposals, which were presented to both Swiss voters and Swiss National Council during the years 1980 to 2014, reveals three main findings. First, Swiss voters as well as Swiss National Council voted – contrary to theoretical expectations – in most of the cases in favor of sustainability. Second, in comparison to Swiss voters, Swiss parliament displayed a higher willingness to vote accordingly to sustainable issues. Third, particularly with regard to votes about intra‐generational sustainable issues – especially about the rights of out‐groups such as foreigners and asylum seekers – Swiss parliament voted more likely in favor of sustainability than Swiss voters. On the part of Swiss voters a closer investigation of recent ballots on sustainability, taking cantonal difference into account, also draws attention to the impact of the economic capacity and the age structure of the canton of residence.     

Die Koordination von Raumplanung und Verkehrspolitik in urbanen Räumen der Schweiz: Determinanten der politischen Geographie,der politischen Kultur oder der institutionellen Struktur?

Der Beitrag befasst sich mit den exogenen Bestimmungsfaktoren der Koordination raumwirksamer Politiken anhand der vier Agglomerationen von Basel, Bern, Lausanne und Genf. Ein Vergleich von entsprechenden Outcomes zeigt markante Unterschiede zwischen den vier Städten. Nach einer kurzen Kritik der Binnenorientierung gängiger Governance-Ansätze werden die drei exogenen Erklärungsansätze der politischen Geographie, des Institutionalismus und der politischen Kultur in vier Thesen beschrieben. Deren Exploration weist die Wichtigkeit von Kontextvariablen bei der Untersuchung von Ressourcen-Regimen aus. So ist eine Abhängigkeit der inhaltlichen Koordination von soziokulturellen, geographischen und historischen Faktoren auszumachen. Dagegen ist der Zusammenhang mit der Einschätzung der institutionalisierten Koordination nicht eindeutig, was die Vermutung nahelegt, dass im Falle der prozeduralen Koordination die endogenen Faktoren stärkere Erklärungskraft besitzen und die Regime Analysis mithin das geeignetere Mittel zu ihrer Untersuchung darstellt.     

„…den Dämon finden, der seines Lebens Fäden hält.“ Theoretische Beiträge zur Funktionslogik von Lebensführung

Mitteilungen und Berichte

     

Die Organisation von Wertzuschreibungen: Zur Bedeutung von Drittparteien für die Signalisierung moralischer Qualitäten in Märkten

Moral qualities of food are usually communicated through labels. Such quality signalling serves to increase the value of a given product. However, the signalled qualities are uncertain and presume a significant degree of trust. The article examines how moral qualities are developed procedurally and analyses the advanced landscape of labelling in Swiss retail trade. It is shown that the construction of moral qualities is based on the involvement of various third parties. These include (1) charitable organizations which are responsible for defining the different quality standards, (2) competing profit-oriented certification organizations which attest conformity with their respective standards, as well as (3) public authorities which accredit the certification organizations and thereby provide them with legitimacy. The article shows that the interplay of third parties conceals the uncertainty of valorized products and reveals that values based on moral quality standards are developed in the valuation processes upstream of the actual market transaction.     

Politische Redekultur in der Vormoderne. Die Oratorik europäischer Parlamente in Spätmittelalter und Früher Neuzeit

SUMMARY

Procedural delaying tactics (Obstruktion), including filibustering, have been used by parliamentary minorities overwhelmed by large majorities supporting a government. English in origin, they were widespread in Europe by the turn to the twentieth century as a consequence of liberal interpretations of the right to freedom of speech. Apart from England and the United States, the practice was especially prevalent in Austria and Hungary. Barna Mezey examines this issue in Hungary from 1846 until 1939, reviewing the historical, constitutional and legal aspects of obstructive measures and the steps taken against them within a comparative context. The Hungarian manifestation may be divided into simple obstruction (filibustering for several hours per speaker, days for the whole operation), technical (procedural delays, for which frequent lengthy votes were needed), and violent forms such as shouting and the throwing of objects. Only in the last case did Hungarian Speakers not hesitate to take countermeasures, including summoning the police.

After the Dual Monarchy was established, the minority in the Hungarian parliament claimed that its blocking actions were justified as the Compromise of 1867 led the government of Austro-Hungary to pursue policies not in the national interest. The Hungarian parliament was divided between those favouring the dynasty's attempt to create a more unified kingdom and those adhering to the principles of 1848. The latter were deprived of the chance of ever achieving office by the powers granted to the monarch in the Compromise. They felt driven to employ delaying tactics in an organized manner from 1872 onwards, when a proposed change in voting criteria would have greatly restricted the franchise. Another major conflict from 1896 was over measures to reduce the influence of the Church on marriage and to widen freedom of religion, including that for the Jews. An attempt to impose more discipline on debates in 1904 led the opposition to destroy all the furnishings of the debating chamber and precipitated the fall of the government. In 1912 the Speaker, acting for the government, used the police to remove the opposition from the chamber and push through a law introducing a two-year term for military service and other army reforms. Legislation at that time also prohibited procedural delaying measures, and in 1928 severe restrictions were placed on filibustering. The author also analyses the debate at the time among legal experts over the validity of these tactics, at the heart of which lay disagreements on the nature and limits of freedom of speech.     

Geordnete Verhältnisse? Vielfalt und Einheit relationalen Denkens in der Soziologie

The concept of relationality has become a fixture in current sociological discussions. At the same time, we are confronted with an uncharted terrain of differing views on what ?relational sociology“ exactly means. Against this background, this article aims to provide insights into relational sociology’s diversity and unity, thereby contributing to a systematic understanding of its fundamental principles. To this end, the paper first reviews the most important sociological traditions and lines of thought relevant for this debate. In a second step, the variety of motives and arguments identified in this process are sorted in order to propose a scheme that distinguishes between four dimensions of relational sociology: 1) ontology-epistemology, 2) social theory, 3) theory of society, and 4) research practice. Finally, in the last section of the paper, the differences and similarities of the respective approaches serve as a basis for the reconstruction of ideal types of relational thinking.     

Vereine als Schulen des Vertrauens? Eine empirische Analyse zur Zivilgesellschaft in der Schweiz

In der Tradition von Alexis de Tocqueville wird zivilgesellschaftlichen Vereinigungen eine essentielle Bedeutung in der zwischenmenschlichen Vertrauensbildung zugeschrieben. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrages ist es, den Zusammenhang zwischen Vereinsengagement und generalisiertem Vertrauen differenzierter zu betrachten und empirisch für die Schweiz zu untersuchen. Dabei werden sowohl das Engagement in verschiedenen Organisationstypen (brückenbildende vs. abgrenzende und isolierte vs. verbundene) als auch die vereinstypusunabhängige Integration miteinander verglichen. Empirische Analysen auf Basis aktueller Daten des Schweizer Freiwilligen‐Monitors 2007 kommen dabei zu dem Schluss, dass entgegen weitverbreiteter Meinung die Vertrauensentwicklung in der Schweiz weniger vom Engagement in spezifischen Vereinen abhängt, sondern vielmehr dem Ausmass der persönlichen Integrationsbereitschaft geschuldet ist. Von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Vertrauensentwicklung ist also nicht die Qualität der hier untersuchten einzelnen Vereinigungen, sondern die Quantität des persönlichen Engagements.     

Schönheitschirurgie-Patientinnen als „ugly dopes“? Zur Medialität der Entscheidungsfindung für plastisch-chirurgische Eingriffe

The mass media’s view on the current practices of aesthetic surgery is typically negotiated in the social sciences within the realm of ideology critique: The claim is that the mass media culture industry encourages particularly female consumers to undergo surgical interventions in order to optimize their body and thus instructs them to better market themselves (their entrepreneurial self). Furthermore, this process is not sufficiently reflected by the patients; according to the discourse in social science, they mutate to “ugly dopes” who are not truly aware of the conditions to which their decision for physical optimization is subject. This paper proposes a different reading of the mediality of plastic surgery, based on an empirical analysis of interviews with plastic surgery patients. The media certainly play a crucial role as carriers of format templates for body images, but they also are being translated in particular practical contexts. There is no continuum between the body images that are displayed by the media and their individual acquirement. The medial format templates must be actively incorporated into the conflictual everyday contexts of decision making. The effect of the media is therefore accounted for by their connectivity to life-world and has a permanent, continuous irritation as a result, caused by body images.     

Was treibt die Stimmbürger an die Urne? Eine empirische Untersuchung der Abstimmungsbeteiligung in der Schweiz, 1981‐1999

Zunächst werden die theoretischen Überlegungen kurz dargelegt, die zur Entscheidungs‐ bzw. zur Mobilisierungshypothese führen. Zudem wird die Theorie des ‘expressiven Wählens’ vorgestellt, und es wird auf zwei weitere Hypothesen über Bestimmungsgründe der Stimmbeteiligung eingegangen. Danach wird der Schätzansatz beschrieben, bevor wir uns mit den empirischen Ergebnissen beschäftigen. Sie sprechen nicht nur sehr stark für die Mobilisierungs‐ und gegen die Entscheidungshypothese, sondern zumindest bei den fakultativen Referenden spielen auch die erwarteten (bzw. befürchteten) finanziellen Auswirkungen eine entscheidende Rolle. Allerdings sind sie nur bedingt mit der Theorie des expressiven Wählens vereinbar.     

Duale oder schulische Berufsausbildung? Entwicklungen und Weichenstellungen in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

In der vergleichenden politischen Ökonomie hat das Thema Ausbildung vor allem seit der “Varieties of Capitalism”‐Forschung an Popularität gewonnen. Deutschland, Österreich und die Schweiz gelten dabei als Länder, die ihre Arbeitskräfte im Rahmen einer korporatistisch gesteuerten dualen Ausbildung beruflich bilden. Unser Beitrag zeigt jedoch, dass sich die relativen Teilnehmerzahlen verschiedener Bildungsgänge im Sekundarbereich II seit Mitte der 1970er Jahre unterschiedlich entwickelt haben. In Österreich hat sich über die Zeit die staatlich gesteuerte vollzeitschulische Berufsausbildung neben der dualen Ausbildung etabliert. In Deutschland und in der Schweiz ist das duale Ausbildungssystem nach wie vor dominierend. Als ausschlaggebend für die Expansion der vollzeitschulischen Ausbildung in Österreich identifizieren wir drei zentrale Punkte: erstens die Dominanz der österreichischen Sozialdemokratie und deren informelle Zusammenarbeit mit den Christdemokraten, zweitens die Steuerung des österreichischen Bildungswesens durch den Zentralstaat und drittens die breite Unterstützung der Berufsbildungsreformen durch Arbeitgeber und Gewerkschaften. Bedeutende Weichenstellungen erfolgten in den 1970er Jahren.     

Wie wird bewertbar, ob ein Staat zu viele Schulden hat? Finanzexperten und ihr Bewertungswissen in der griechischen Schuldenkrise

This paper develops a sociology of knowledge of sovereign debt crises by studying expert cultures in the financial services industry. It is argued that the concept of calculative framing can capture the epistemic practices of analysts as well as the way their products are used by market participants and other stakeholders. The notion of calculative framing is empirically and conceptually extended: The article shows how sovereign debt is framed as a financial value and how calculative framing evolves in situations of crises. The central case is the evaluation of Greece government debt by analysts of international banks in the period from early 2010 until mid 2011. This case shows how crises frames are developed and how they consolidate the evaluation of sovereign default. In this crisis period, analysts inscribe their evaluations into contexts of official crisis management.     

Ost und West, Nord und Süd: Zur räumlichen Verteilung und theoretischen Erklärung der Gewaltkriminalität in Deutschland

The research reported here follows up on the long-standing discussion concerning the regional distribution of violent crime in Germany. It focuses on assault and robbery rates reported by the official German crime statistics for the years 2005–2007 in each of the 413 communal districts (“Kreise”). The discussions commonly contrast the eastern region (till 1990 the territory of the communist ruled “German Democratic Republic”) with the northern and the southern region of the (now) western part of the “Federal Republic of Germany”. It becomes obvious, however, that crime rates vary much more within than between these regions. More than half of the overall variation can be explained by two composite measures of relative deprivation and the level of urbanization. A number of additional variables have been tested for their explanatory power, including a newly constructed measure of disintegrative individualism. It successfully identifies a specific criminogenic potential associated with certain structural elements of a developing “knowledge society” and the rapid expansion of higher education. Apart from ordinary regression analyses various techniques of spatial data analysis have also been applied.     

Universitäre Leistungsbewertungen als Bedrohung der akademischen Identität? Ein subjektorientierter Blick auf die Beurteilung und Kontrolle wissenschaftlicher Leistungen im Zeichen von New Public Management

It’s been argued that the implementation of new performance measurement systems in universities profoundly affect university professors’ occupational life. Even though they’re members of a profession whose self-conception is likely to conflict with organizational attempts to evaluate their research and teaching performances, professors are nowadays expected to provide an account of their performance and to adhere to new evaluation criteria. The study examines the presumed tensions based on qualitative interviews conducted with concerned professors. The study, thus, demonstrates the conflicts between new performance management measures and academic identity concepts. Similarly, it shows the limits of new performance management measures as criteria for capturing professorial accomplishments and success. However, as the analyzed material implies, these conflicts and limits are somewhat ambivalent and anything but unidimensional. In fact, a complex and to some extent contradictory picture emerges, given that ambiguous and sometimes positive perceptions of new performance management co-exist with clearly dismissive responses. Hence, performance measurement practices are not per se perceived as a threat to academic identity.