Ein kritischer Blick auf die aktuellen Entwicklungen in der Gemeinsamen Fischereipolitik unter Einbeziehung der neu geschaffenen regionalen Fischereibeir?te

Die europ?ische Fischerei muss sich zur Zeit einer Vielzahl von Problemen wie sinkenden Fangmengen, abnehmenden Ums?tzen sowie einem stetigen Besch?ftigungsabbau stellen. Einer der Hauptgründe für diese Entwicklung ist die bis zum heutigen Tage nicht nachhaltig betriebene Fischerei. Mit einer grundlegenden Reform der Gemeinsamen Fischereipolitik (GFP) im Jahre 2002 und der Abl?sung der alten FischereigrundVO von 1993 sollten diese dr?ngenden Probleme angegangen werden. Darüber hinaus wurde mit den Regionalbeir?ten (RACs) ein gemeinsames Forum für den Fischereisektor sowie Umweltund Verbraucherschützer geschaffen, welches die EU-Kommission in Fischereifragen beraten soll. Leider stimmen die ersten Jahre der neuen GFP wenig zuversichtlich. Eine Erholung der bedrohten Fischbest?nde ist vorerst nicht in Sicht, insbesondere weil die wissenschaftlichen Empfehlungen der Fischereiexperten weiterhin ignoriert werden. Ob die neu geschaffenen RACs mit ihrer Beratungst?tigkeit und ihrem internen Diskurs wichtige Anregungen hin zu einer nachhaltigeren Fischerei leisten k?nnen, ist zweifelhaft.     

Fall from a Balcony—Accidental or Homicidal? Reconstruction by Numerical Simulation

In the case presented, conflicting witness accounts and the subject's injuries were highly suspicious of an assault that might have caused the balcony fall. For the reconstruction, a simulation software, originally designed for motor vehicle accident reconstruction, was used. Three scenarios were simulated using the PC‐Crash multibody pedestrian model: (S1) Subject was pushed against and fell over balcony rail, (S2) subject fell off from a seated position, (S3) subject fell off from a prone position on the rail. (S1) could be ruled out due to inconsistent results in terms of landing area and minimum velocity. Realistic results were obtained for (S3) with a fall off from a prone position on the rail. After a few months, the comatose subject awoke and gave an account of what had happened being consistent with the simulation results. This case demonstrates the feasibility of multibody simulations also in cases of nontraffic incidents.     

Ecological Belief in a Just World

To date, there is considerable evidence that the perception of injustice influences environmental behavior in a positive way. Nevertheless, some people do not take action, even if the injustice seems obvious. Concerning this matter, approaches like the belief in a just world theory or system justification theory provide an explanation. However, so far, there is no scientific research on whether the perception of ecological justice, which is taken for granted, concerning an ecological belief in a just world (EBJW) may lead to differences in people’s environmental behavior. This paper investigates a newly conceived construct of the EBJW, regarding its occurrence as well as its disposition in the context of other constructs. Therefore, a new scale has been developed for the purpose of this study by means of a questionnaire with German citizens (n = 312) examining motives for energy-relevant behavior. The scale analyses confirm the validity of the new scale. Even though the EBJW did not score high in the total sample, possibly due to significant differences between the participants (particularly socio-demographic variables and different group memberships) it can be stated that there is definitely a relationship between the EBJW and justification arguments and, ultimately, a lack of responsibility for energy saving. Regression analyses reveal that the EBJW, together with cognitive and affective appraisals of justice, can explain energy-relevant commitment, such as engagement in behavior that has negative impact on the climate. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the EBJW is measurable and that it seems to warrant further research.     

Magic Mayors: Predicting Electoral Success from Candidates' Physical Attractiveness under the Conditions of a Presidential Electoral System

A range of empirical studies has shown that candidates' physical attractiveness can substantially influence the outcome of political elections. This applies to different countries, different electoral systems, and different levels of political systems, and equally affects simple direct or list candidates and front-runners. However, no previous investigation using actual election results has been made into whether candidates' attractiveness also has an effect under the conditions of a presidential electoral system. Theoretical reasons can be formulated that suggest attractiveness is ineffective under these circumstances. In order to clarify this point empirically, we analysed the 2009 North Rhine-Westphalia mayoral elections. Yet the results of the analyses clearly show that candidates' attractiveness has a substantial influence. Taking into account earlier findings, the influence of physical attractiveness in political elections appears to be resistant, to a large degree, to varying constraints.     

Europeanisation of Cross-border Governance? A Case Study on the Cause,Form and Consequences of a Co-operation Project in the German–Polish–Czech Border Triangle

Cross-border governance in central Europe underwent a phase of Europeanisation due to EU enlargement in 2004. The question is how European influences interact with conditions in a specific region. The article applies Knill's framework of Europeanisation mechanisms and Blatter's hypothesis about the role of ‘imported’ ideas and paradigms to a case study on the German–Polish–Czech co-operation project ENLARGE-NET. This project applied a territorial mode of governance. However, it did not evolve into a permanent institution because it was not in line with the regional context, which is characterised by a difficult history, economic disparities, a lack of common identities and few transboundary interdependencies.     

The European 2030 climate and energy package: do domestic strategy adaptations precede EU policy change?

The European Union’s 2030 climate and energy package introduced fundamental changes compared to its 2020 predecessor. These changes included a stronger focus on the internal market and an increased emphasis on technology-neutral decarbonization while simultaneously de-emphasizing the renewables target. This article investigates whether changes in domestic policy strategies of leading member states in European climate policy preceded the observed changes in EU policy. Disaggregating strategic change into changes in different elements (goals, objectives, instrumental logic), allows us to go beyond analyzing the relative prioritization of different goals, and to analyze how policy requirements for reaching those goals were dynamically redefined over time. To this end, we introduce a new method, which based on insights from social network analysis, enables us to systematically trace those strategic chances. We find that shifts in national strategies of the investigated member states preceded the shift in EU policy. In particular, countries reframed their understanding of supply security, and pushed for the internal electricity market also as a security measure to balance fluctuating renewables. Hence, the increasing focus on markets and market integration in the European 2030 package echoed the increasingly central role of the internal market for electricity supply security in national strategies. These findings also highlight that countries dynamically redefined their goals relative to the different phases of the energy transition.