Where to go from here? Revamping electoral politics in the Netherlands

The transformation from mass parties into catch‐all parties may not only have electoral consequences, but may also have an impact inside political parties, particularly in so far as the position of ordinary party members is concerned. On the basis of Dutch research data, the role of the ordinary party member in intra‐party decision‐making is assessed in this article. The data show that Dutch party members do feel marginalised where their influence on intra‐party policy‐making is concerned. However, this is not because they feel they do not have sufficient opportunities to participate in internal decision‐making, but rather because they do not actually use the opportunities which are available: party members appear to marginalise themselves.     

Vigilant Jewish fundamentalism: From the JDL to Kach (or ‘Shalom Jews,Shalom Dogs')

The essay aims to explain the emergence of Kahanism in Israel and why Israeli democracy saw it necessary to defend itself against Kahane's quasi‐fascist ideas and to curtail his legitimacy. The author reflects on the Kahanist phenomenon, its ideology and political programme which brought Rabbi Kahane to the Knesset. The reading of Kach's racist proposals explains why extraordinary measures were taken against Kahane by the political system as well as by the media and the educational system.     

When,How and Why Are Junior Coalition Parties Able to Affect a Government's Foreign Policy? A Study of Swedish Coalition Governments 2006–2014

Junior partners in a coalition government are torn between an eagerness to profile themselves, and to show loyalty to the coalition. We investigate when, how and why junior coalition parties affect foreign policy and profile themselves despite demands for national unity. We study two Swedish centre‐right governments in 2006–2010 and 2010–2014. The parties' foreign policy positions in election manifestos are compared to the foreign policy positions presented in the joint Alliance manifesto and yearly government declarations. An explorative analysis of possible explanations for junior parties' influence is based on elite interviews. The results indicate that junior coalition parties might influence the foreign policy in symbolic value related issues, but less so in issues with real policy implications. Our analysis reveals the importance of the leading member of the coalition and how junior parties converge over time towards the position of the senior coalition member.     

What is wrong with job security?

Most Western studies into motivation suggest that public servants are prosocial. Moreover, scholars suggest that a desire for external rewards, like pay and job security, may crowd out prosocial proclivity. However, recent studies from non‐Western contexts provide mixed results about the actual drivers of public servants' motivation to seek and retain public sector employment and perform their duties. To advance the development of theory regarding motivational dynamics of public servants in developing countries, we examine how pursuing external rewards impacts public service motivation, job satisfaction, and turnover intention among public servants in Kazakhstan (n = 627), a developing former Soviet republic that has been subjected to various waves of personnel reform. Our quantitative and qualitative data show that a desire for job security relates positively to public service motivation and job satisfaction, whereas a desire for monetary rewards correlates negatively with public service motivation and positively with turnover intention. We conclude with the implications for theory and practice.     

Bureaucratic politics and the translation of movement agendas

Research on social movement outcomes focuses on the publicly visible stages of government policymaking. It rarely opens the black box of government's translation of movement demands beyond the agenda‐setting stage and before their materialization into legislative bills. Using a bureaucratic politics perspective, we suggest that bureaucrats play a central role in translating movement agendas into concrete problems and policy solutions, which they tend to link with their bureaus' missions and existing programs. We further suggest that relative consensus among bureaucrats when coupled with politicians' disinclination to intervene in the translation process tends to advantage conservative interpretations of movement agendas. Conversely, interbureau confrontation and political intervention are associated with more radical policy responses. Empirically, we examine the responses of the Israeli government to the large‐scale mobilization, in 2011, surrounding the rising costs of housing and living. We build on archival research and interviews with senior bureaucrats located in 11 central‐government ministries.     

The development of interest groups in the Balkans: Background and contemporary characteristics

Understanding the political development of the Balkans can be challenging even for historians and social scientists. This is particularly the case with the region's past and present interest group systems as virtually no research is available on the subject. With this in mind, this article provides basic background on the region and its fledgling interest group system as a foundation for approaching the analysis in the 7 country articles that follow. The topics considered include an overview of the common elements of the 7 group systems and their differences, developments that shaped these systems, and an initial look at the role of interest groups in consolidating the region's pluralist political systems.     

Interest groups and public affairs in the contemporary Balkans: Project overview and preliminary explanations

This comprehensive coverage of public affairs and interest group activity in the Balkans has 2 objectives. One is to produce the first study focusing solely on interest groups in each of the 7 countries of the former socialist Yugoslavia. The second is to compare developments across the region to assess the extent to which this study reflects existing research and what it can add to this knowledge. To achieve these objectives, this article explains several aspects of the methodology used by all contributors. These include common use of terms, an explanation of the topics covered, and the survey instrument.     

Seeing a crisis through colored glasses: How partisan media leads to attribution of crisis responsibility and government trust

This study uses a real national crisis, South Korea's 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, to examine how publics exposed to partisan media perceive the attribution of crisis responsibility and government trust differently. The study also investigates the mediating role of the attribution of crisis responsibility on the relationship between partisan media and government trust. The results demonstrate that citizens' partisan selective exposure influence their polarized perceptions of crisis responsibility and their trust in government. The attribution of crisis responsibility partially mediated the effects of partisan media on government trust. This study suggests the importance for government public relations to understand partisan media users so that public relations managers can engage and communicate effectively with all citizens during a national crisis.