Balancing against threats or bandwagoning with power? Europe and the transatlantic relationship after the Cold War

The United States has played an important role in European security since the early 20^th century. From the time of the end of the Cold War, this role has changed as a consequence of the lack of a common territorial threat and the overwhelming power of the United States relative to Europe. How have European states responded to the challenges of the American world order? Are they adapting their security policies to match the challenges of US security policy and the American world order? What are the implications of the European response for the transatlantic relationship? This article seeks to describe and explain European security behaviour in the American world through the prism of two realist theories: balance of power realism and balance of threat realism. Despite sharing a common starting point in realist assumptions, each theory allows us to tell a different story about Europe's position in the American world order as well as the opportunities and challenges it faces.     

Small States in the European Union: What Do We Know and What Would We Like to Know?

Recent developments in the European Union have created new opportunities and challenges for small member states, increasing the demand from policy-makers and diplomats for coherent and accessible analyses of the conditions and potential strategies of small states in the EU. Unfortunately, the academic literature on small states in the EU appears both diverse and fragmented: there is no agreement on how we should define a small state, what similarities we would expect to find in their foreign policies, or how they influence international relations. However, if we are to understand the challenges and possibilities currently faced by small EU member states, we need to systematise what we already know and to identify what we need to know. This article makes a modest contribution towards this goal by answering three simple questions: What is a small state in the European Union? How can we explain the behaviour of small EU member states? How do small states influence the European Union?     

Fatal Eurasian Brown Bear Attacks—Two Swedish Fatalities in Modern Times

Fatal bear attacks on humans are uncommon with only one reported case in Sweden since 1902. The bear population is, however, growing and the frequency of confrontations is likely to increase. Case I-A 40-year-old hunter and his dog were found dead near a bear's den. Autopsy showed that a large portion of the face, facial skeleton, and anterior portion of the brain was missing. Autopsy of the bear showed two nonfatal gunshot wounds. Case II-A 61-year-old man and his dog were found dead outside a hunting lodge. Autopsy revealed numerous wounds, including partial evisceration of the intestines. The victim's blood ethanol concentration was 0.27%. These cases confirm the presence of risk factors identified by the Scandinavian Brown Bear Research Project, that is, provocation by a dog, encountering an injured bear, and appearing close to its den. An additional possible factor in case II was ethanol intoxication.     

Behördliche Inzidentverwerfung unwirksamer Ziele der Raumordnung in Regionalplänen

Keine Zusammenfassung     

Abw?gung in Regionalpl?nen bei der Festlegung von Konzentrationszonen

Die Festlegung von Konzentrationszonen für raumbedeutsame Vorhaben im Außenbereich muss nach der Rechtsprechung des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts auf einem gesamträumlichen Planungskonzept beruhen und den Anforderungen des Abwägungsgebots genügen. Danach kann der Träger der Regionalplanung auch dazu berechtigt sein, die Nutzungsmöglichkeit als typisierte Größe in die Abwägung einzustellen und das Eigentümerinteresse an der Nutzung verallgemeinernd zu unterstellen. Der folgende Beitrag zeigt auf, in welcher Phase des Abwägungsvorgangs Typisierungen oder Unterstellungen in Betracht kommen und welchen Beschränkungen sie unterliegen.     

Festsetzung von Wasserschutzgebieten

Obwohl die rechtlichen Maßgaben für die Festsetzung eines Wasserschutzgebiets in vielerlei Hinsicht als geklärt gelten, wirft die Verordnungsgebung nach § 19WHG mehr denn je eine Vielzahl von Fragen auf. Die Rechtsprechung sieht in der Entscheidung über die Erforderlichkeit eines Wasserschutzgebiets eine Abwägungsentscheidung und orientiert sich an Begriffen wie Schutzbedürftigkeit, Schutzwürdigkeit und Schutzfähigkeit des Grundwasservorkommens. Die Kontrolle beschränkt sich auf die Verhinderung evidenter Fehlgriffe. Teilweise wird dabei zur Begründung auf Bewirtschaftungsermessen und immer häufiger auf das Vorsorgeprinzip verwiesen, obwohl der Einfluss sowohl des einen wie des anderen auf die Verordnungsgebung nach § 19 WHG dogmatisch ungeklärt ist. Nicht zuletzt die neue Rechtsprechung zu den Gefahrhundeverordnungen, die aus aktuellen Anlässen die gebotene Abgrenzung von Gefahrenabwehr- und Vorsorgemaßnahmen ins Blickfeld gerückt hat, reizt zu dem Versuch einer Standortbestimmung für die Materie des Wasserrechts.     

Why are occupational safety crimes increasing?

The objective of this article is to analyse the structure of, and trends in, reported occupational safety crimes. The central focus is directed at analysing how we might understand the substantial increase in the number of reported offences witnessed during the first decade of the 21st century. In order to analyse trends in occupational safety crimes we proceed from both official crime statistics and data that have been compiled specifically for the purposes of this study, including a nationally representative sample of offence reports relating to the occupational safety crimes reported to the police. The results show that the increase in reported offenses is primarily due to a shift in definitions and in the reactions of the authorities rather than to a powerful increase in the number of actual crimes committed. This leads to the conclusion that registered occupational safety offences should first and foremost be viewed as a measure of the work of the authorities, rather than as an indicator of real crime trends.     

Understanding Informal Payments in the Public Sector: Theory and Evidence from Nineteenth‐century Sweden

Informal payments for public services such as health care are a major problem in many countries around the world. Explanations for their prevalence include cultural factors, lack of enforcement as well as insufficient funds and low wages for public employees. This paper analyzes the phenomenon from an economic perspective, arguing that they are a logical consequence of low wages in the public sector. However, informal payments from citizens to public employees for services may be preferable to a situation in which no services are delivered. Given that the informal payments thus can be seen to have a functional element, and that reforms aimed at eliminating them largely have been unsuccessful, formalization and legalization rather than increased enforcement may be a way forward. Many government employees in nineteenth‐century Sweden received their salary through semi‐informal payments (‘sportler’) from citizens. A case study reveals that politicians at the time reasoned along the lines of what could be expected from economic theory: although undesirable and problematic, sportler were necessary to finance the wages of the government employees, given the lack of tax revenue and monitoring capabilities. In contrast to previous research, this article argues that reform efforts were aimed at pragmatically improving the existing system through formalization and regulation rather than simply prohibiting the informal payments.