Do Politics in Europe Benefit from Politicising Corruption?

In this article, two unexplored trends in European electoral politics are highlighted. Using newly collected data the article tracks the politicisation of corruption in electoral campaigns from 1981 to 2011, an electoral strategy that has been increasing over time in most European countries. It then empirically tests two aspects of this campaign strategy. First, what are the factors that are systematically associated with a party’s decision to politicise corruption? Second, what are the electoral effects in terms of relative vote share for parties that politicise corruption? Using an original data-set that employs multi-level data (parties nested in countries) the results demonstrate first that politicisation of corruption occurs systematically more often among established parties from the main opposition, new parties and parties on the political right, and occurs as a function of country-level corruption, district magnitude and public party financing. Second, it is found that the main opposition and new parties that use such a campaign strategy make significant electoral gains relative to the previous election compared to parties that do not politicise corruption. Yet gains are offset in low-corruption countries. The findings demonstrate salient implications for research on party systems, corruption studies and democratic legitimacy, among other areas of investigation.     

Demographic and offence characteristics: a comparison of sex offenders convicted of possessing indecent images of children,committing contact sex offences or both offences

This paper reports the findings of a study evaluating demographic and offence characteristics of 230 offenders who had been convicted either of possessing indecent images (Internet offenders n?=?74) or committing actual direct abuse of children (contact offenders n?=?118) or committing both offences (Internet-contact offenders n?=?38). All data were collected in the Greater London Offender Management Service. The group of Internet-contact offenders exhibited more diverse characteristics than the Internet and contact sex offenders and they were more likely to have been accused of a prior contact offence without being charged. The majority of the Internet offenders were white male, younger than the contact child sex offenders, more likely to be single and to have never been married, were better educated and more likely to have stable employment. They were also less likely to have had previous convictions. Contact offenders were more likely to report childhood difficulties including sexual abuse; there were no group differences in mental health contact or history of substance abuse. Future research should take into account the heterogeneity of Internet sex offenders to enable the development and delivery of appropriate services for this group so that preventative and therapeutic approaches can be developed.     

Pathway to terrorist behaviors: The role of childhood experiences,personality traits,and ideological motivations in a sample of Iraqi prisoners

Radicalization to terrorism is a multifaceted process with no single theory or approach to explain it. Although research has focused on understanding the process, there is still a dearth of studies that examine an empirically driven pathway to terrorism behavior. This study examines a cross-sectional sample of incarcerated men convicted of terrorism in Iraq (N = 160). A questionnaire-guided interview included adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), conduct disorder (CD), antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), religious and political ideology, views about causes of terrorism, and the severity of terrorist acts. Path analysis was employed to examine the relationships between these factors and to identify the model with the best fit. After adjusting for age, employment, and location, results indicated that ACEs positively impacted CD, ASPD, religious guidance, and terrorism attitudes. ASPD positively affected political commitment and terrorism attitudes, but inversely affected current religious commitment. Political commitment inversely influenced terrorism attitudes. Religious commitment positively influenced the prioritization of religion in life, which subsequently impacted terrorism attitudes and behavior severity. Additionally, attitudes toward terrorism directly affected the severity of terrorism behavior. All paths in the final model were statistically significant at p < 0.05. Although these findings may be limited in generalizability due to the unique sample, results support the complex and interdependent nature of childhood and adult experiences on the development of both terrorism attitudes and the severity of terrorism behavior.     

Probleme in der Umsetzung von EU-Naturschutzrecht in ?sterreich

Die Anwendung des Gemeinschaftsrechts in einem f?deralen System ist stets eine besondere Herausforderung. Im Bundesstaat ?sterreich sind die Angelegenheiten des Naturschutzes Zust?ndigkeit der L?nder in Gesetzgebung und Vollziehung. Es ist daher von Interesse, wie die Implementierung der Naturschutzrichtlinien der EU in ?sterreich erfolgt und welche Probleme dabei festzustellen sind.     

Innovativer F?deralismus? – Das ?sterreichische Naturschutzrecht zwischen Deregulierungsdruck und Europ?isierung

Die Angelegenheiten des Natur- und Landschaftsschutzes stellen im Bundesstaat ?sterreich eine wichtige und vergleichsweise abgerundete Landeskompetenz dar. Sie sind in den Kompetenzartikeln der Bundesverfassung nicht ausdrücklich erw?hnt und fallen daher unter die Generalklausel des Art. 15 Abs. 1 der Bundesverfassung (B-VG) und damit in die ausschlie?liche Zust?ndigkeit der L?nder in Gesetzgebung und Vollziehung. Dies bedeutet freilich nicht, dass in der Praxis nicht zahlreiche Abgrenzungsfragen auftauchen würden, weil eine Vielzahl von Umweltschutzkompetenzen, wie etwa das Wasserrecht und das Forstrecht der Gesetzgebungskompetenz des Bundes zugewiesen sind.     

Untersagung des Betriebs eines Spielplatzes wegen L?rms

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L?rmschutz bei Skate- und Inlinebahn auf einem Spielplatz

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