Conflicts of preferences and domestic constraints: understanding reform failure in liberal state-building and democracy promotion

This paper challenges the common explanations that failures of external state-building and democracy promotion are the result of a lack of domestic capacity or a lack of domestic willingness against an externally set liberal agenda of state-building and democratisation. Studying political decision-making on a micro-level, we argue that both explanations fail to capture the multi-faceted motivations and interests of domestic actors that go beyond mere ‘resistance’ against externally induced liberal reforms. Rather, criticism of reforms might be rooted in ideas of social justice and claims to socio-economic security. Furthermore, these explanations tend to overlook the need for domestic elites to bargain with various domestic stakeholders. A case study of Croatian public administration reform illustrates that failure of externally promoted reforms remain an option when significant international resources are available for liberal state-building and the target of reform is a relatively mature bureaucracy.     

Interest group dynamics in a weak and transitional state: the case of Bolivia

Bolivia's political development has been characterized by elitist control set in an environment of political instability and a weak decentralized state. Since the 1980s and Bolivia's transition to a limited form of democracy, this elitist control has been successfully challenged from the left and, since the early 2000s, particularly by the indigenous population. In fact, Bolivian contemporary politics and interest group activity have been shaped mainly by the rise in political power of the left and indigenous interests. This rise, given a weak state transitioning to limited democracy, has had several consequences for interest group activity that add increasing complexity to the group system. One consequence of Bolivia's course of political development is that, although it exhibits many common elements of interest group activity explained by existing group theories, aspects of its group development are not adequately accounted for by these theories. In addition, there are questions about whether the new configuration of interest groups promotes or undermines democracy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Economic Consequences of Transfer Fee Regulations in European Football

We discuss the effects of three different transfer fee systems in European football on contract lengths, wages, profits, education incentives and the number of talents being educated. The different regimes, being used until the Bosman judgement of 1995, currently in use, and recently proposed by the European Commission differ with respect to the transfer fee an initial club must accept in case of a transfer depending on whether a player has a valid contract or not. In particular, we argue that due to its averse effects on investment incentives, the Commission should refrain from its Suggestion of abolishing freely negotiable transfer fees. Our analysis also sheds some light on the issue under which circumstances binding long-term contracts should be allowed in general labor law.     

Einheit-in-Verschiedenheit

Der Beitrag setzt sich kritisch mit der Debatte um Integration in der deutschen Migrationsforschung auseinander. In Deutschland dominiert eine assimilative Integrationstheorie: Integration sei nur als Assimilation möglich, weil sozialstrukturelle Integration (Chancengleichheit) und kultureller Pluralismus nicht miteinander vereinbar seien (Unvereinbarkeitstheorem). Am Beispiel des klassischen Einwanderungslandes Kanada wird gezeigt, dass das Unvereinbarkeitstheorem eine unzulässige Verallgemeinerung darstellt und dass die interkulturelle Integration nach dem kanadischen Prinzip von Einheit-in-Verschiedenheit einen humanen Mittelweg zwischen Assimilation und Segregation darstellt. Dieses Konzept sucht nach einer ausgewogenen Balance zwischen den gesellschaftlichen Erfordernissen nach sozialer Kohäsion sowie den Interessen der Mehrheit am Respekt vor ihren Grundwerten einerseits und den Bedürfnissen der ethnischen Minderheiten nach Gewährung und Anerkennung sozialkultureller Differenzen andererseits. Am kanadischen Beispiel wird zugleich deutlich gemacht, dass es großer politischer und gesellschaftlicher Anstrengungen bedarf (ethnic diversity mainstreaming), um eine Ethnisierung der Ungleichheitsstruktur einzudämmen.     

Die Bewirtschaftung der genetischen Ressourcen des Tiefseebodens – Ein neues Seerechtsproblem?

Die genetischen Ressourcen des küstenfernen Tiefseebodens rücken angesichts ihrer besonderen biochemischen Eigenschaften zunehmend in den Vordergrund des wirtschaftlichen und wissenschaftlichen Interesses. Vorliegender Beitrag befasst sich mit der Frage, inwiefern eine nachhaltige Bewirtschaftung dieser Ressourcen vom geltenden See- und Umweltv?lkerrecht erfasst wird. Er legt den Schwerpunkt auf die Durchsetzung der einschl?gigen Hohe See-Bestimmungen und erteilt rechtspolitischen Forderungen nach einer Ausdehnung des Meeresbodenregimes eine Absage.     

Literatur

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

The Impact of Fiscal Policy and Deregulation on Shadow Economies in Transition Countries: The Case of Ukraine

A model of Ukrainian shadow economy moneydemand is estimated that includes newregulatory burden, tax complexity, andsoft-budget constraint variables. Thismodel is analyzed to determine the causesand dynamics of the Ukrainian shadoweconomy and to assess the effectiveness ofstate measures undertaken to reduce itssize. The direct tax burden, thebroadly defined regulatory burden, thecomplexity of the tax system, andsoft-budget constraints for enterprises are found tobe important causes of unofficial activity.The main explanatory factors forthe estimated decline of the shadow economyin recent years are explained and it is argued that theevidence has implications beyond the caseof Ukraine.