Ausmaß, Strukturen und Implikationen präsidialer Macht im postkommunistischen Raum

This research note builds on recent results of the literature on presidentialism to develop a new measure of presidential power. The Index of Presidential Power (IPP) differentiates three dimensions: legitimacy, legislative and non‐legislative powers. The IPP can be used for all types of governmental systems in different political regimes. For the first time the IPP estimates presidential power granted by the constitution in all 28 post‐communist countries. This information is collected in the IPP data set, which is used to carry out analyses at the aggregate level as well as at the level of the individual presidential power dimensions. Results show that the semi‐presidential category is of little use. The comparison of the IPP with alternative indices of presidential power in post‐communist countries indicates that political analysis should give more attention to presidential power structures.     

Roll Call Votes in the European Parliament: a good sample or a poisoned dead end?

The Roll Call Vote (RCV) of Members of the European Parliament is a standard data source for modern research into the European Parliament (EP). RCV samples are used in particular to study political group cohesion and the emergence of conflict lines within the EP. Current mainstream research thus treats RCVs as a reliable source of data. But other research exists that questions the suitability of the RCV as a sample that fairly represents the population of EP votes. Specifically, this latter research stream points to the over-representation of non-legislative items over legislative items and to the under-representation (or even complete absence) of some committees. However, these critically oriented studies focus on data that does not take into account changes that have occurred in recent years, after the Treaties of Nice (2001) and Lisbon (2007) came into force in 2003 (Nice) and 2009 (Lisbon). By analysing all votes that took place in 2013, the authors find that the RCV has become a more reliable data source in recent years. The most important difference – that which obtained between legislative and non-legislative issues – has completely vanished and the remaining differences show only a very weak effect. The authors attribute this change to the empowerment of the EP in the legislative arena and the amendment of the Rules of Procedure.     

‘This time it’s different’ – the European lead candidate procedure of 2014 and its historical background

The 2014 elections for the European Parliament (EP) witnessed a novel procedure: the lead candidate (or Spitzenkandidaten) procedure, which was to (and did in fact) link the polling results to the nomination of the new European Commission President. This article investigates the procedure’s historical background from a long-term parliamentary perspective. It points out that there were three factors or developments that explain its introduction: the EP’s assertive political culture, increasing attention for the EP’s representative function and the support of prominent political actors who were able to make a difference.     

Inter-parliamentary European Union–Latin American Caribbean (EU-LAC) relations and the increasing political convergence among Latin American regional parliaments (2006–15)

Europe and Latin America present a long-standing tradition of parliamentary diplomacy and particularly in the development of regional parliaments. Since the 1970s, inter-parliamentary relations between the two regions have been institutionalized, first by the regular dialogue of the European Parliament with the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) and more recently, in 2006, with the creation of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat). Apart from representatives of Parlatino, EuroLat includes in the European Union-Latin American Caribbean (EU-LAC) parliamentary dialogue members of other regional assemblies created in recent decades, such as the Andean Parliament, the Central American Parliament and the Mercosur Parliament. However, recent EuroLat meetings have made evident a polarization of positions on regional politics between European and Latin American sides, especially regarding the political and human rights situation in Venezuela. In this sense, the present paper analyzes the impact of EU-LAC relations on the political convergence of Latin American parliaments concerning regional political issues. The aim is to discuss how institutionalized relations with the European Parliament, through EuroLat, increased convergence among Latin American parliamentarians. This argument is exemplified by the joint defensive position on the Venezuelan political situation adopted by Latin American parliamentarians vis-à-vis the European Parliament's condemnatory position.     

The role of the European Parliament in Turkey-EU relations: A troublemaker or a useful normative actor?

This article analyzes the role of the European Parliament (EP) in Turkey–EU relations. More specifically, it explores the reasons why in practice EP’s role in promoting fundamental values of the European Union (EU) in Turkey remained largely limited. Drawing on the broader socialization literature, it concludes that a combination of factors related to the socializer (EP) and to the socializee (Turkey) limits the EP’s effectiveness to emerge as a normative actor in its relations with Turkey. In particular, the study points to the mismatch of values promoted by the EP and those embraced by the Turkish political elite as the real obstacle that prevents any socialization mechanism from being triggered.     

The emerging middle power concept: Time to say goodbye?

To deal with the wide range of states that are considered middle powers, scholars distinguish between traditional middle powers on the one hand, and emerging, non-traditional or Southern middle powers on the other. This article examines the middle power concept in light of such diversity. It rejects middle power conceptions based on a ranking of size, power or position, on performing morally commendable international actions, on playing niche roles in international diplomacy, or on national self-identification. The article then considers a conception of middle powers as international stabilisers. The difficulty with this latter conception is that new middle powers exhibit a counter-hegemonic streak and a preference for multipolarity. Both of these are destabilising. The proposed solution is to jettison adjectives such as ‘emerging’ or ‘Southern’ with regard to middle powers, to stop classifying mid-range states with counter-hegemonic tendencies as middle powers, and to restrict the middle power term to mid-range states that actively support the liberal hegemonic project.     

Which democracy for the European Economic Community? Fernand Dehousse versus Charles de Gaulle*

This article analyses the political debate that developed within the European Economic Community (EEC) about the so-called Dehousse Convention (1960), the first concrete proposal to elect the European Parliament by universal suffrage. It argues that both supporters and opponents of the Dehousse Convention justified their stance through a blend of domestic experiences and European aspirations. More precisely, the article argues that the Dehousse Convention was deeply rooted in the model of parliamentary democracy which triumphed in Western Europe after the Second World War and that it aimed at favouring the federal evolution of the community; through the introduction of direct elections it would have been possible to strengthen the European Parliament which, eventually, would have turned the EEC into a federation. To fully understand Charles de Gaulle’s rejection of the Dehousse Convention, this article argues that his hostility to the supranational evolution of the community was strengthened by his long-standing criticism of the limits of parliamentary democracy. These two visions clashed and intertwined, shaping the political evolution of the EEC in the following decades.     

Between Occupation and Politics: Legislative Professionalization in the Swiss Cantons

In this article, we consider the question of how professionalized the cantonal parliamentarians are and which factors are related to this professionalization. By definition, Swiss parliamentarians exert an occupation in parallel to their mandate. We argue that parliamentarians who spend more time for their mandate have more resources to do so and, more importantly, intend to pursue a political career. In doing so, we analyze data gathered from a survey that was conducted among all Swiss cantonal parliaments in 2014. Our multi‐level analysis shows that parliamentarians who run for office at the national level spend significantly more time for their parliamentary mandate than their colleagues. This effect decreases with the parliamentarians’ age. This finding could be relevant in order to understand the career paths of Swiss parliamentarians. In addition, the study contributes to the discussion of the future development of the militia system in Switzerland.     

The foreign policy of the Zuma government: pursuing the ‘national interest’?

It was after much anticipation that members of the new Jacob Zuma foreign policy executive announced that, for the duration of their term, South Africa's foreign policy would be based on the doctrine of advancing ‘the national interest’, conceptualised simply as the ‘most vital needs’ of the country. However, almost two years since taking control of the levers of policy and political power, the South African government has yet to spell out in detail what constituted the national interest or how such interest would be pursued. In spite of this lacuna, senior members of the new foreign policy inner-elite continue to proclaim the national interest, and proceed to spell out grander foreign policy goals that they would pursue under the banner of a ‘new’ developmental agenda. These include consolidating the African agenda; deepening South–South cooperation; expanding South–North relations; strengthening foreign political and economic ties generally; and participating in a global system of governance. To date, this proclamation that the national interest will be the beam that will guide foreign policy has remained little more than a statement of intent and much conjecture. The challenge is to move beyond rhetoric and intentions and to define the national interest and to articulate a coherent foreign policy going forward. This will require concrete proposals on the basis of thorough-going domestic–foreign policy linkages.     

Brazil and South Africa: the ‘odd couple’ of the South Atlantic?

Exploring the complexity of South Africa's and Brazil's ‘like-mindedness’ at the regional, multilateral, and bilateral levels, this article argues that shared middle power roles traceable to the pre-Cold War era and beyond set the scene for a great deal of political complementarity and cooperation at the multilateral level where Brazil and South Africa's shared identities drive an interest in reforming global governance processes. This complementarity does not, however, always spill over to the bilateral level, where trans-societal linkages are still relatively limited compared with state-to-state interactions.     

俄罗斯移民政策弊端解析

俄罗斯还不是真正意义上的移民国家,其接收各类外来移民(定居移民、劳务移民和留学移民等)的历史并不长。从国民性格角度看,俄罗斯社会缺乏安全感,在制定移民政策时,总是将安全考量放在第一位。俄移民领域的管理因而具有浓重的“强力”色彩,“经济”和“融合”的成分则相对不足。当前俄移民政策领域存在诸多弊端,如融合政策缺失,腐败问题严重,统计工作不到位,移民政策缺乏系统性和连贯性等。为构建具有吸引力的移民政策,俄罗斯学界提出很多建设性主张,如必须为引进和利用外国劳动力制定简单透明的规则和程序;必须使移民政策的实施由单独的联邦非强力部门主管;必须要有保障移民融合的基础设施,维护移民的权利,反对影子就业和社会隔离;公开承认移民对于国家经济的作用,对居民解释实行移民政策的各种动机,创造出移民和社会可以有效协作的氛围。这些主张能否得以落实,还有待进一步观察。     

东亚经济一体化与中国的国家利益

冷战结束后,国际政治、经济环境发生了巨大的变化.在此背景下,实现区域经济一体化逐渐提上东亚各国的政治议程,特别是在东南亚金融危机爆发后,在东亚国家政府的推动下,东亚经济一体化进程明显加快.本文认为,国家利益具有复杂的内涵和结构,国家采取外部行动的时候,并不总是追求国家利益的最大化,国家利益的结构优化和合理化亦是国家的首要目标.东亚经济一体化有助于中国实现国家利益结构的优化,而只有逐步转变国家利益的传统观念,建立起合作的、注重区域整体利益的国家利益观,才能保障东亚经济一体化的顺利发展.     

Ten years in the United Nations: Where does Switzerland stand?

Prior to its full membership in the United Nations, Switzerland was an active observer and even an active member of many specialized UN agencies. However, ten years ago, Swiss voters finally approved full UN membership and in 2002, behavioral data started to become available on Switzerland's involvement in the major UN assemblies. Switzerland was admitted to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) as a full member on September 10th, 2002 and was elected to the newly created UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2006. Switzerland wished to be an active partner in both of these assemblies. In this research note we describe, based on novel data collected on the UNGA and the UNHRC, how Switzerland positions itself in the “orchestra of nations.”