Militär und Gewalt. Eine konzeptionelle Skizze

The article presents the empirical evidence of violence and the military. It describes acts of violence by, of and within the military and by the members of military organizations. It turns out that, as with modernity in general, violence is an inherent aspect of the military in modern societies, albeit an ambivalent one. Violence by, of and within the military cannot be framed negatively only; it disposes of productive capabilities. The chapter tries to conceptualize the empirical evidence and proposes a 2 × 2 Violence-Military-Matrix. It is argued that violence can be differentiated as constructive-legitimate violence on the one hand and destructive-illegitimate violence on the other hand. With regard to the fields of violence, the extra-organizational and the intra-organizational dimension are differentiated. At the end, it is argued that taming violence transgressions in terms of destructive-illegitimate violence is a Sisyphean task. The proposed conceptual approach to violence and the military may inform the future debate on the sociology of violence.     

The Institutional Veil in Public International Law — International Organisations and the Law of Treaties

Netherlands International Law Review -     

How Coordinated Capitalism Adapts to the Knowledge Economy: Different Upskilling Strategies in Germany and Switzerland

The rise of the knowledge economy challenges coordinated models of capitalism by requiring their skill formation systems to produce a workforce with higher skills. This paper examines how coordinated capitalism adapts to upskilling pressures by jointly studying general education and vocational education and training (VET) at both upper-secondary and tertiary levels. Employing a comparative research design covering German and Swiss upskilling efforts over the past 50 years, we observe important differences. Switzerland, with influential small firms and weak union presence, focuses on keeping VET an attractive option at upper-secondary level by favoring VET graduates' access to tertiary education. By contrast, Germany, marked by large firm dominance and influential unions, concentrates on expanding general education throughout and adding vocational elements later. Our analysis suggests that firms' reform preferences are conditioned by their size and political constraints to reform.     

Procedural Justice in Majority–Minority Relations: Studies Involving Belgian Linguistic Groups

Two studies investigated perceptions of fairness of two modes of group representation in a political assembly. The numerical status of two Belgian linguistic groups (Dutch-speaking vs. French-speaking) was predicted to influence these perceptions: The minority finding equality fairer and proportionality less fair than the majority. These preferences were investigated at two levels of comparison, Belgium and Brussels, Dutch speakers being numerically a majority in Belgium and a minority in Brussels. The results of two studies (N = 52 and N = 127, respectively) revealed that the expected trend was present, especially at the level of Brussels. A third study (N = 103) suggested that minorities and majorities could be driven by different motives with trust in the out-group being a powerful predictor of minorities' choices, whereas group identification predicted majorities' preferences.     

The Influence of Jurisprudential Considerations on Supreme Court Decisionmaking: A Study of Conflict Cases

In this study, we assess the impact of attitudinal and jurisprudential factors on the Supreme Court's resolution of intercircuit conflicts. In doing so, we depart from earlier efforts to assess the impact of legal factors that conceptualize law as an external constraint. Instead, we view jurisprudential considerations in terms of the justices' efforts to adopt the most legally persuasive position in light of accepted methods of legal reasoning. Our analyses reveal that the justices are (1) more likely to follow the reasoning process adopted by the majority of circuits involved in the conflict, (2) less likely to adopt the conflict position marred by contrary dissents and concurrences in the circuit court opinions, and (3) more likely to adopt the conflict position endorsed by prestigious circuit court judges. Our findings suggest that jurisprudential considerations, as well as attitudinal concerns, affect the justices' decisionmaking processes in a substantial minority of cases.     

Correlates of loneliness in midadolescence

The present study was designed to assess the relationship between adolescent loneliness and the following factors commonly associated with adult loneliness: attributional style, self-esteem, social anxiety, and social skills. Subjects were 186 ninth-grade students (107 males and 79 females) who were asked to complete seven different paper-and-pencil measures. Data were analyzed by calculating separate stepwise multiple regression equations for the total sample, males and females. Three significant predictors were found for the total sample: student social skills rating scale, self-esteem, and the perception of stability in interpersonal situations (attributional style). A different pattern of predictors emerged for males and females. Loneliness could be predicted for males from three variables: low self-esteem, the perception of uncontrollability in noninterpersonal situations, and self-perceptions of poor social skills. The best multiple predictors of loneliness for the females were self-perceptions of poor social skills, high social anxiety, and stable attributions for interpersonal situations.This study is based on a master's thesis submitted by the first author to Wake Forest University, May 1986. A portion of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, Maryland, April 1987.Received Ph.D from West Virginia University. Current interests include social competence and social skills of adolescents and the adjustment of sexually abused children and adolescents.Received Ph.D from University of Illinois. Currently studying the friendships and peer relations of children and adolescents.Received Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University. Currently studying loneliness and close relationships.