Nationalism and patriotism as predictors of immigration attitudes in Switzerland: A municipality‐level analysis

Abstract: Using Swiss data from the 2003 International Social Survey Programme (N = 902), this multilevel study combined individual and municipality levels of analysis in the explanation of nationalism, patriotism and exclusionary immigration attitudes. On the individual level, the results show that in line with previous research nationalism (uncritical and blind attachment to the nation) increased exclusionary immigration attitudes, while patriotism (pride in national democratic institutions) was related to greater tolerance towards immigration. On the municipality level, urbanization, socioeconomic status and immigrant proportion (and their interaction effects) were found to affect nationalism, patriotism and immigration attitudes. Nationalist and patriotic forms of national attachment were stronger in German‐speaking municipalities than in the French‐speaking municipalities. Path analyses further revealed that living in a Swiss‐German municipality indirectly led to more negative immigration attitudes through an increase in nationalism. The research is discussed in light of social psychological and political science literature on political attitudes.     

School-based services for youth with prior police contact: a randomized controlled trial

Journal of Experimental Criminology - We present results from a randomized controlled trial of a school-based intervention that provided services to youth with prior police contact. The...     

Conflict of interest regulation in European parliaments: Studying the evolution of complex regulatory regimes

The growing complexity of parliamentary ethics regulation adopted over the last decades makes the systematic examination of its nature and the rationales underpinning regulatory choices an important endeavor. In this paper we introduce conceptualizations and measurements of conflict of interest (COI) regulation directed toward assuring the impartial and unbiased decisionmaking of national parliamentarians. We distinguish the strictness of rules, the nature of enforcement, sanctions, and transparency requirements as core elements defining COI regimes. Applying our framework to 27 European democracies, we select two cases for in‐depth analysis in which legislators chose very different solutions in response to growing pressures to regulate themselves, to inductively explore the drivers underpinning the choice of COI mechanisms: the United Kingdom, which adopted a highly transparency‐oriented regime, and Belgium, which adopted a highly sanction‐oriented COI regime. Echoing neo‐institutionalist perspectives, the longitudinal analyses indicate how the two democracies’ different institutional environments shape distinct answers to similar functional pressures.     

Social Status and Classroom Behavior in Math and Science during Early Adolescence

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Social status is a salient feature of the classroom peer ecology in early adolescence, yet research has not examined how it plays out within the domains of math...     

“It's God's plan to be here”: Displacement,Transit and Resettlement of Chin and Karenni Refugees to Australia

Ethnic minorities have been fleeing persecution in Myanmar for decades. Many have fled to neighbouring countries as a place of first asylum and Malaysia is now home to one the largest urban refugee populations in the region. Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN convention and protocol on refugees and the presence of the UNHCR are barely tolerated, which leaves refugees and asylum seekers in a perennial state of limbo. Most refugees in Malaysia hope that the UNHCR will determine their status and resettle them in the West. Australia has been a key resettlement country for refugees in transit in Malaysia due to the failed Malaysia swap deal that nonetheless secured 4,000 resettlement places from Malaysia to Australia between 2012 and 2016. Refugees look towards Australia as a good international citizen and wealthy resettlement country, where, they believe, they can fulfil their hopes and dreams and secure a future for their children. This article follows the stories of a number of refugees from transit in Malaysia to resettlement in Australia. Resettled refugees are considered the lucky ones, but this article documents the unexpected difficulties of settling in and beginning a new life in Australia.     

Of words and deeds: Latin American declaratory regionalism, 1994–2014

The idea of an integrated Latin American region goes back to the early post-independence period, and yet, in substance, Latin American regionalism has remained far behind its stated aims. The perceived implementation gap has raised the question why policymakers continued to talk about something they appeared to avoid in practice. This article contributes to the debate on Latin America’s integration gap by exploring the phenomenon of declaratory regionalism - the practice of referring to the region and its institutions in political speeches. Based on quantitative text analysis of the speeches presidents delivered annually at the UN’s General Assembly between 1994 and 2014, we show that this practice has not been uniform. Presidents distinguish between different forms of regionalism, integration and cooperation, and frame the geographical region they refer to accordingly. In motivating presidents to speak about integration as opposed to cooperation, ideology and democratic performance stand out as crucial factors.     

Administering elections in a digital age: Online voting in Ontario municipalities

To date, online voting studies have focused on impacts on political behaviour and voting security. Analyses of impacts on administrators and electoral governance remain sparse internationally and are relegated to overviews in technical reports in Canada (Pammett and Goodman 2013; Goodman and Pyman 2016). Drawing on an original survey of local administrators in Ontario following the 2014 municipal elections, this article explores how online voting impacts election administration. Findings suggest strong satisfaction with online voting, citizen‐centered rationales for adoption, and key differences in challenges and cost based on municipal size. We conclude with implications for the local governance of elections as technology plays a greater role in voting processes.     

Trans-Regional Security Organisations and Statist Multilateralism in Eurasia

This paper argues that there is an emerging trans-regional security complex reaching from Russia through Central Asia to China. Shared security norms have resulted in statist multilateralism, that is, state-directed cooperation on shared interests while closely guarding distinct identities and specific political features. The paper outlines member states' key political values and shows how they ‘framed’ shared understandings about security. It then explains how security norms inform the institutional designs of the two main multilateral security organisations thereby directing the nature of cooperation, testing the argument in two key conflicts: in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.