Towards Robust Hybrid Democracy in Scandinavian Municipalities?

This article calls for the development of democratic hybrids that combine elements of representative democracy with elements of participatory and deliberative democracy. It presents and evaluates an empirical model of hybrid democracy from a Danish municipality and tests whether the positive Danish experiences can be transferred to a Norwegian municipality with less favorable local conditions. The finding is that the hybrid model of democracy is relatively robust in the face of context variation, not least due to conducive local dynamics in the Norwegian case. The relative robustness of the so‐called ‘Gentofte model’ may stimulate its diffusion in countries sharing key elements of the Scandinavian model and inspire municipalities in other countries to experiment with the development of hybrid democracy. The diffusion of hybrid democracy helps to enhance the overall performance of local democracy and reduce the inherent tension between democratic leadership and democratic equality.     

Urbanism,cities and local self‐government

Abstract: This article explores the relationship between urbanism, cities and local self‐government to identify some key issues for contemporary public administration. State‐centric political theory marginalizes urban analysis, but the latter enables us to see the world in a different way. Understanding ourselves as urban is to see that conventional political categories seriously misrepresent the conditions of our lives. Various thinkers like Ash Amin and Nigel Thrift and Michael Peter Smith have suggested ways of building on contemporary urban analysis, but it is still a struggle to overcome the spatial imagination that we have inherited from conventional political theory. This poses particular problems for any “new urban agenda,” since questions of local autonomy have yet to be properly posed. Gerald E. Frug's analysis of the issue of civic autonomy is helpful in this regard because it highlights the philosophical assumptions that lie behind our fears about the misuse of local authority. Foucauldian discussions of governmentality reveal the way self‐government works as a strategy to control populations by liberating them. Local self‐government is thus an ambiguous and dangerous ideal ‐ but not for the reasons usually supposed. It is in any case the practice implicit in urbanism as a way of life. The key constitutional issue today is how to recognize that practice and regulate it appropriately. Sommaire: Le présent article examine les relations entre l'urbanisme, les villes et l'autonomie gouvernementale locale pour identifier certaines questions‐clés dans le domaine de l'administration publique contemporaine. La théorie politique axée sur l'État marginalise l'analyse urbaine, mais cette dernière nous permet de voir le monde sous un nouveau jour. Se considérer comme des citadins, c'est voir que les catégories politiques conventionnelles représentent très mal nos conditions de vie. Différents penseurs comme Ash Amin, Nigel Thrift ct Michael Peter Smith ont proposé des manières de développer l'analyse urbaine contemporaine, mais il est tou‐jours difficile d'aller au‐delà de l'imagination spatiale qui nous a été transmise par la théorie politique conventionnelle. Cela soulève des problèmes particuliers pour tout nouvel agenda urbain, étant donné que les questions d'autonomie locale n'ont pas encore été posees adéquatement. L'analyse de la question de l'autonomie civique réalisée par Gerald E. Frug est utile à ce sujet, car elle souligne les hypothèses philosophiques sur lesquelles reposent nos craintes concemant l'utilisation abusive de l'autorité locale. Les discussions à la Foucault sur la gouvernementalité révèlent la manière dont l'autonomie gouvernementale fonctionne en tant que stratégie visant à contrôler les populations tout en les libérant. L'autonomie gouvernementale locale est ainsi un idéal ambigu et dangereux, mais non pour les raisons que l'on suppose généralement. C'est en tout cas la pratique implicite dans l'urbanisme comme mode de vie. La question constitutionnelle clé qui se pose aujourd'hui est de savoir comment reconnaître cette pratique et la réglementer adéquatement.     

The Relationship between Genes,Psychological Traits,and Political Participation

Recent research demonstrates that a wide range of political attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors can be explained in part by genetic variation. However, these studies have not yet identified the mechanisms that generate such a relationship. Some scholars have speculated that psychological traits mediate the relationship between genes and political participation, but so far there have been no empirical tests. Here we focus on the role of three psychological traits that are believed to influence political participation: cognitive ability, personal control, and extraversion. Utilizing a unique sample of more than 2,000 Swedish twin pairs, we show that a common genetic factor can explain most of the relationship between these psychological traits and acts of political participation, as well as predispositions related to participation. While our analysis is not a definitive test, our results suggest an upper bound for a proposed mediation relationship between genes, psychological traits, and political participation.     

Zum Herausgabebegehren gegen den Verwalter bei Undurchsetzbarkeit der Abrechnungspflicht

Ein Begehren nach § 31 Abs 3 WEG iVm § 52 Abs 1 Z 6 WEG ist einer Stufenklage nach Art XLII EGZPO (iVm § 1012 ABGB) nachgebildet und soll daher ?hnlich behandelt werden. Ein exekutionsf?higer Herausgabebeschluss setzt voraus, dass die Abrechnung Feststellungen über die Zahlungspflicht hinsichtlich des überschusses zul?sst.     

Sequencing of mitochondrial DNA and the problem of human specificity

When analysing trace materials and degraded DNA the issue of human specificity is highly important. Especially when it comes down to the analysis of mitochondrial DNA which is extremely susceptible to contamination authenticity is the main question. Therefore in the presented study mitochondrial primers were tested on their human specificity. In all cases it was possible to amplify DNA of animals with human mt-primers. These unintentional amplifications could only be decreased by choosing austere PCR parameters. The study implies the importance of comprehensive evaluation of primers, chemicals and PCR parameters.