Hungary

European Journal of Political Research -     

Intellectuals and Politics in Western Germany

The present political characteristics of German intellectuals, now largely associated with a left‐wing outlook, can be traced back to the effects of dictatorship and to the ‘restoration’ they perceived in the post‐war period. Their first reaction was a mood of resignation, which only changed during the upheaval of the students’ revolt in the 1960s. Many intellectuals then adopted extreme Marxist positions and have had a pervasive influence in various cultural spheres. Their intolerance of piecemeal reform, intransigence, and polemical style have made fruitful dialogue impossible. They have abandoned empirical criteria of judgment; the loss of realism which has resulted means that these intellectuals cannot be true to their calling.     

Women and Sport in Scandinavia: Policy, Participation and Representation

Throughout the 20th century women have gradually gained access to sporting activities but it is only in recent decades that they have become widely represented in the decision-making bodies of sport. How can we account for this development and the weak position of women in sport? The perspective in this article is historical and three levels of explanation are considered. To what extent can the developments be explained as the result of public policy, the organization and policy of the voluntary associations and federations and by the action or predispositions of (groups of) women themselves. The article presents an overview of the state of the art in the research on women and sport in Scandinavia in the sense that new data have been collected and existing research and writings are being reviewed. By questioning central myths about sport and politics, and about the roles women play, it is shown that the role of women in sports is related bom to gaining access to the sporting activities per se and to the fora where decisions are being made, and that this access has been hampered as well as facilitated by government policies and policies of associations and interest organizations of the sports world. Government policies, however, cannot account for the remarkable changes in physical participation and democratic representation of women in sports which has taken place during the past century. The policies of the voluntary sports associations and federations are of greater importance. But the key to the understanding is found among the women themselves. So it is argued that physical performance and involvement in management and decision-making are dependent not only on formal structures and the policies of governments and interest organizations, but to a large extent upon the way in which women see themselves. This argumentation rests on the available data and a critical reading of the literature and research on women and sport in Scandinavia.     

Reconstructing Embedded Liberalism: John Gerard Ruggie and Constructivist Approaches to the Study of the International Trade Regime

In 1982, John Gerard Ruggie published a study of the postwarinternational trade and monetary regimes in which he introducedthe concept of ‘embedded liberalism’. A large andgrowing number of international trade scholars are finding Ruggie’sconcept of embedded liberalism an appealing one, and it nowoccupies a significant place on our conceptual horizon. In thisarticle, the author returns to Ruggie’s original articleto excavate lessons which are peculiarly relevant for currenttrade law scholarship. He argues that Ruggie’s accountof embedded liberalism usefully serves to destabilize commonassumptions about the objectives and normative underpinningsof the trade regime and thereby to expand our conceptions ofwhat a liberal trade regime might plausibly look like. On theother hand, he explains why he does not share the enthusiasmof those who see in embedded liberalism an attractive normativevision to guide WTO reform. In addition, and most importantly,the author draws attention to the constructivist theoreticalframework of Ruggie’s piece. He suggests that Ruggie’sarticle provides a useful introduction to the central elementsof constructivist thinking about international institutionsand shows how attention to constructivist insights has the potentialto significantly enrich and expand our understanding of thetrade regime and of trade law.     

Adult psychopathology and intimate partner violence among survivors of childhood maltreatment

Childhood maltreatment is associated with psychopathology and revictimization in adulthood. Whether different types of childhood maltreatment have different long-term consequences, however, is largely unknown. The participants in this study included 42 female victims of intimate partner violence and 30 women with no history of serious trauma. These women completed measures of their trauma history, current psychological symptoms, and severity of current abuse. Regression-based techniques were used to assess the relationships among these constructs. Childhood maltreatment was associated with current distress and current conflict in relationships. There was a positive relationship between number of types of childhood traumatization and psychopathology. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression were negatively associated with current relationships involving physical assault. This work underscores the importance of assessing multiple types of childhood maltreatment and of considering the cumulative effects of such experiences.     

When Efficiency Is Unbelievable: Normative Lessons from 30 Years of City–County Consolidations

We use a new model of city-county consolidation to analyze 12 local government consolidation attempts during the last three decades. Using a rigorously designed comparative case study, we identify the critical variables that explain why some consolidations succeed and others fail. Arguments for consolidation typically fail when they focus on the increased equity to be gained from the redistribution of revenues from the suburbs to central cities. Traditional arguments that are based on increased efficiency are also unsuccessful. Instead, the essential element of a successful consolidation is a group of civic elites who define the economic development vision for the community, determine that the existing political structure is incapable of supporting and implementing that vision, and convince the voters that city–county consolidation is the key to economic development that will benefit the whole community, not just the elites.     

The Airport and Airway Trust Fund: A Continuing Controversy

Despite calls for increased outlays from the Airport and Airway Trust Fund to help finance improvements in the nation's air transportation system, the fund's surplus continued to grow during the Reagan years. It becomes readily apparent, when the issues surrounding the trust fund and its surplus are analyzed, that placing the blame solely on deficit considerations is too simplistic. Instead, partisan politics, the congressional budget process, delays in technology development, and budget pressures are responsible for the growing surplus.