End of the Lone Wolf: The Typology that Should Not Have Been

This research note argues that the “lone wolf” typology should be fundamentally reconsidered. Based on a three-year empirical research project, two key points are made to support this argument. First, the authors found that ties to online and offline radical milieus are critical to lone actors' adoption and maintenance of both the motive and capability to commit acts of terrorism. Second, in terms of pre-attack behaviors, the majority of lone actors are not the stealthy and highly capable terrorists the “lone wolf” moniker alludes to. These findings not only urge a reconsideration of the utility of the lone-wolf concept, they are also particularly relevant for counterterrorism professionals, whose conceptions of this threat may have closed off avenues for detection and interdiction that do, in fact, exist.     

“Most MPs are Not All that Sharp.” Political Employees and Representative Democracy

The article analyses the orientations of political employees in Sweden. It finds that their roles are diffuse: there is no agreement among political employees about whether they are politicians or not, and their mandate is fleeting and unclear. They hold the average politician’s intellectual abilities in low regard, and sometimes take on clearly paternalistic views toward elected representatives. They see little attraction in pursuing a career as elected politicians, because of intrusive media scrutiny and since they hold a view of elected politics as slow, boring, and shallow. The professional route to politics is seen as more fast and fun.     

Contextualizing Radicalization: The Emergence of the “Sauerland-Group” from Radical Networks and the Salafist Movement

This article proposes an analytical perspective on jihadist radicalization that focuses on the immediate social environment from which clandestine violent groups emerge, to which they remain socially and symbolically connected, and from which they receive some degree of support. Based on a detailed analysis of the “Sauerland-Group” it traces relational dynamics shaping individual pathways as well as processes of group formation within local Salafist milieus, the wider Salafist movement, and radical jihadist networks. It argues that one characteristic feature of “homegrown” jihadist groups is their simultaneous connection to and embeddedness in various different social contexts as well as the fluid, ad-hoc character of the clandestine group and its ambivalent relation with its supportive social environment.     

Arbeitnehmerfreizügigkeit und Diskriminierung auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt – Europäische Politik,transnationaler Mobilitätsraum und nationales Feld

The paper deals with the interaction of horizontal and vertical European integration. It asks whether the principle of free movement of labour does not only legally but also de facto prevent discrimination of non-nationals in EU Member States. Theoretically, the analysis is framed by distinguishing three interrelated types of social fields: a supranational political field of free movement of labour, national labour market fields and an intermediary transnational space of mobility. Focusing on the German labour market and drawing on comprehensive administrative data the article shows that wage differences are to a large extend caused by differences in relevant labour market characteristics such as age or education. However, for the vast majority of EU non-nationals in Germany is also observed discrimination in payment. Strikingly, positive discrimination is more pronounced than negative discrimination. These differences are understood as hinting at the increasing importance of comparisons between national labour markets in the EU.     

Political Conflict over Time

We study a model of electoral competition in which politicians must decide whether to initiate the provision of some public good and, afterward, how much of the public good to supply. The model illuminates how a project's implementation affects elections and, conversely, how electoral considerations influence decisions about implementation. Under well-defined conditions, politicians will either implement projects that they do not like or delay projects that, absent electoral concerns, they would support. The model further reveals how the perceived benefits of holding office can impede the production of public goods about which there is broad consensus. And depending on facts about the program's structure and the electoral landscape, a policy's implementation can either mitigate or exacerbate political conflict.     

Vladimir the great,Grand Prince of Muscovy: Resurrecting the Russian service state

This article draws on the ideas of continuity theory in order to examine Russia's attempted transition and locate it in the longer duration of Russian history. The argument here begins by outlining the main features of the institutional matrix that evolved in old Muscovy, and proceeds to show how those early choices became path dependent. It presents the imperial ‘age of reform' as a project that introduced far reaching formal changes, but failed to achieve a transformation of supporting norms, and it views the Soviet order as a reversal of those formal changes, resulting in a full return to the Muscovite matrix. The Yel'tsin era is held up as yet another ‘time of troubles', to be followed, under Vladimir Putin, by a resurrection of the traditional Russian ‘service state'.     

On the Design of Efficient Priority Rules for Secured Creditors: Empirical Evidence from A Change in Law

This article assesses the effect of a reduction in secured creditor priority on distributions and administrative costs in liquidating bankruptcy cases by reporting the first empirical study of the effect of a priority change. Priority reform had redistributive effects in liquidating bankruptcy. As expected, average payments to general unsecured creditors were significantly higher after the reform than before the reform and payments to secured creditors decreased. Reform did not increase the size of the pie to be distributed in bankruptcy. Nor did it increase the direct costs of bankruptcy.JEL Classification: K00, K20, G33     

Secured debt and the likelihood of reorganization

Theory suggests that secured creditors may increasingly oppose a debtor’s reorganization as the value of their collateral approaches the amount of their claims. If reorganization occurs and the value of the firm appreciates, the secured creditor receives only part of the gain. But if the firm’s value depreciates, the secured creditor bears all of the cost. Secured claimants, thus, often have more to lose than to gain in reorganizations. This study of Finnish reorganizations filed in districts that account for most of the country’s reorganizations finds that creditor groups most likely to be well-secured are most likely to oppose reorganization. We also find a negative correlation between how well-secured banks and other institutional lenders are and the likelihood of a confirmed reorganization plan. Limiting the priority of secured debt might stimulate reorganizations.