Critical Election in the Wake of an Economic and Political Crisis: Realignment of Icelandic Party Voters?

A critical election is generally defined as one in which the decisive results of voting reveal a sharp alternation of pre‐existing cleavage(s) and voting patterns, and the dealignment or realignment made between parties is lasting. A critical election can be caused by various factors and in this article the authors analyse whether the global credit crunch in 2008 set things in motion in Iceland, resulting in the 2009 election as a critical election. In that election, the electoral relevance of voters’ psychological attachment to parties and of ideological distances to them weakened, whereas party competence perceptions increased in importance for vote choices. Attachment to parties and ideological distances are factors that are generally stable and change slowly over time, while party competence is influenced by which issues are of importance at the time of the election. This indicates that, in 2009, a restructuring of the determinants of the vote occurred; a pattern of changes that is typical for a critical election. Evidence is found that the importance of party sympathy increases again in the 2013 election, indicating a realignment, rather than a dealignment, occurring in the wake of the 2009 election.     

Variants of Callous-Unemotional Conduct Problems in a Community Sample of Adolescents

Callous-unemotional traits are believed to be a childhood precursor to psychopathy, and among youth with conduct problems they designate those showing a particularly severe, stable, and aggressive pattern of antisocial behavior. Youth with callous-unemotional traits are a heterogeneous population and, analogous to adults with psychopathy, research suggests that lower anxious primary and high-anxious secondary variants exist. Using a community sample of 2,306 Greek-Cypriot adolescents (M age = 16 years; 49.7 % female), the first aim of the study was to examine whether variants of callous-unemotional traits could be identified using latent profile analysis of scores on measures of callous-unemotional traits, conduct problems, and anxiety. Additional aims of the study were to compare the identified clusters on external measures theorized to distinguish them (i.e., self-esteem, narcissism, impulsivity, sensation seeking and proactive/reactive aggression) and social factors relevant to adolescent development. Results indicated that, in addition to low risk (i.e., low scores on callous-unemotional traits, conduct problems, and anxiety) and anxious (i.e., high scores on anxiety, low scores on callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems) subgroups, two groups of youth scoring high on callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems were identified. High-anxious secondary callous-unemotional variants were distinguished by lower self-esteem in combination with greater narcissism, aggression, and markedly higher conduct problems, whereas lower anxious primary variants showed higher self-esteem. Secondary callous-unemotional variants also reported greater susceptibility to peer pressure and popularity striving than primary variants. Both variants exhibited poorer outcomes relative to low risk and anxious youth, although anxious youth reported lower self-esteem and higher impulsivity and reactive aggression scores in comparison with low risk youth. Findings integrate two lines of inquiry focused on subtyping children and adults with psychopathic traits and antisocial behaviors. They also support the utility of subtyping callous-unemotional traits based on conduct problems and anxiety levels and provide information on common and distinct risk factors associated with primary and secondary callous-unemotional variants in a community sample of adolescent boys and girls.     

Positive Daily Family Interactions Eliminate Gender Differences in Internalizing Symptoms Among Adolescents

By the age of 18, girls are more than twice as likely as boys to experience internalizing symptoms. Focusing upon the family, a significant factor for adolescent mental health, we examined how positive and negative daily family interactions relate to gender differences in internalizing symptoms. 681 12th grade students (54 % female) completed diary checklists each night for 2 weeks in which they indicated whether they got along with their family (positive family interactions) and argued with their family (negative family interactions). Results indicate that negative daily family interactions explain, in part, why females experience heightened internalizing symptoms. Yet, even in the face of negative family interactions, positive daily family interactions have salutatory effects, reducing females’ emotional distress and eliminating gender differences in internalizing symptoms at high levels of positive interactions. These findings underscore the importance of positive family interactions for adolescent girls’ mental health.     

“A Defeat not to Be Ultra-Fit”: Expectations and Experiences Related to Pregnancy and Employment in Contemporary Norway

Managing work while pregnant has long been a challenge for women in both paid and unpaid work. With Norway as the case in point, the aim of this study was to explore expectations and experiences among women relating to work-life and pregnancy health. Employing the constant comparison method, we drew on interviews, Internet discussions, newspapers, and health information booklets. The findings revealed strong discourses on pregnancy as health, and high expectations among pregnant women to be healthy, fit, and maintain their working capacity throughout pregnancy. Women who needed to slow down failed to fulfil these normative expectations and commonly experienced this as a personal defeat. Despite policies and regulations protecting women's pregnancy-related needs vis-à-vis their employer, some women hesitated to claim their eligibility to special rights. Many pregnant women overstretched, compromising their own health. This, we argue, reflects the ambiguity in policy and in the public debate. Ideas about pregnant women as a vulnerable group needing special protection on the one hand, and the expectations to perform as usual throughout pregnancy on the other, are discussed here in view of a gender-difference versus a gender-neutral discourse, the latter being foundational to the public debate on gender in contemporary Norway.     

Book Review: Work,children and gender equality

The motivating concern behind this article is that women, in the diversity of their ages, life situations, cultural traditions of gender and actual sexual connections to men, are still marginalized by prevailing approaches to HIV and AIDS. Safe sexual practices for women, within social contexts and actual sexual relations with men, are not being approached in ways that engage women's (or their male partners') active involvement. Conventional heterosexual distinctions between women's and men's sexuality disables prevention processes. Categories and perspectives which prevail in ''interpreting'' the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, inhibitions and assumptions framing sexual safety information, and cultural narratives of gendered love/desire/sex, converge into two highly problematic outcomes: a dissociation of heterosexually-defined men who have sex with women from central responsibility for HIV prevention, and marginalization of women who have sex with men from concern about women's sexual safety.     

The democratizing impact of governance networks: From pluralization,via democratic anchorage,to interactive political leadership

Initially, governance networks were intended as tools for making public governance more effective. Yet, scholars have argued that governance networks also have the potential to democratize public governance. This article provides an overview of theoretical arguments pertaining to the democratizing impact of governance networks. It claims that the initial celebration of the pluralization of public governance and the subsequent call for a democratic anchorage of governance networks should give way to a new concern for how governance networks can strengthen and democratize political leadership. Tying political leadership to networked processes of collaborative governance fosters ‘interactive political leadership’. The article presents theoretical arguments in support of interactive political leadership, and provides an illustrative case study of a recent attempt to strengthen political leadership through the systematic involvement of elected politicians in local governance networks. The article concludes by reflecting on how interactive political leadership could transform our thinking about democracy.     

Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte, Politisches System der Bundesrepublik, Politische Soziologie, Vergleichende Politikforschung, Europäische Union, Internationale Politik, Historische Politikforschung

Inhaltsübersicht   (RezensentInnen in Klammern) Literaturbericht    J?rg Faust / Stefan Leiderer: Zur Effektivit?t und politischen ?konomie der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte    Bluhm, Harald, und Jürgen Gebhardt: Politische Ideengeschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Konzepte und Kritik (Philipp H?lzing) • Dryzek, John S., Bonnie Honig und Anne Phillips (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory (Johannes Schmidt) • Ke?ler, Mario: Ossip K. Flechtheim. Politischer Wissenschaftler und Zukunftsdenker (1909–1998) (Wilhelm Bleek) • Priester, Karin: Populismus. Historische und aktuelle Erscheinungsformen (Florian Hartleb) • S?llner, Alfons: Fluchtpunkte. Studien zur politischen Ideengeschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts (Michael Becker) • Williams, Bernard: In the Beginning Was the Deed. Realism and Moralism in Political Argument (Carsten Quesel) • Doppelrezension: Henning, Christoph: Philosophie nach Marx. 100 Jahre Marxrezeption und die normative Sozialphilosophie der Gegenwart in der Kritik; Henning, Christoph (Hg.): Marxglossar (Felix Heidenreich) • Doppelrezension: Mouffe, Chantal: über das Politische. Wider die kosmopolitische Illusion; Nonhoff, Martin: Politischer Diskurs und Hegemonie. Das Projekt "Soziale Marktwirtschaft" (André Brodocz) Politisches System der Bundesrepublik    Van Ooyen, Robert Chr., und Martin H. M?llers (Hg.): Das Bundesverfassungsgericht im politischen System (Hubert Woltering) Politische Soziologie    Dolata, Ulrich, und Raymund Werle (Hg.): Gesellschaft und die Macht der Technik. Sozio?konomischer und institutioneller Wandel durch Technisierung (Georg Simonis) Vergleichende Politikforschung    Castles, Francis G. (ed.): The Disappearing State? Retrenchment realities in an age of globalization (Marius R. Busemeyer) • Clasen, Jochen, und Nico A. Siegel (eds.): Investigating Welfare State Change: The 'Dependent Variable Problem' in Comparative Analysis (Marius R. Busemeyer) Europ?ische Union    Huget, Holger: Demokratisierung der EU. Normative Demokratietheorie und Governance-Praxis im europ?ischen Mehrebenensystem (Andreas Wimmel) Internationale Politik    Eder, Franz, Gerhard Mangott und Martin Senn (eds.): Transatlantic Discord. Combating Terrorism and Proliferation, Preventing Crises (Alexander Siedschlag) • Marx, Johannes: Vielfalt oder Einheit der Theorien in den Internationalen Beziehungen. Eine systematische Rekonstruktion, Integration und Bewertung (Ralf J. Leiteritz) • Schmidt, Siegmar, Gunter Hellmann und Reinhard Wolf (Hg.): Handbuch zur Deutschen Au?enpolitik (Helga Haftendorn) • Wolter, Detlev: A United Nations for the 21st Century: From Reaction to Prevention. Towards an Effective and Efficient International Regime for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding (Andreas Heinemann-Grüder) • Young, Brigitte (Hg.): Die Politische ?konomie des Dienstleistungsabkommens (GATS). Gender in EU und China (Eva Hartmann) Historische Politikforschung    Kaelble, Hartmut: Sozialgeschichte Europas 1945 bis zur Gegenwart (Siegfried Weichlein) • Doppelrezension: Andres, Jan: "Auf Poesie ist die Sicherheit der Throne gegründet". Huldigungsrituale und Gelegenheitslyrik im 19. Jahrhundert; Schwengelbeck, Matthias: Die Politik des Zeremoniells. Huldigungsfeiern im langen 19. Jahrhundert (Rainer Schmidt)     

Public administrators in interactive democracy: a multi-paradigmatic approach

ABSTRACT

Currently, interactive forms of democracy that bring local politicians into dialogue and collaboration with relevant and affected citizens are mushrooming. While some research has investigated how interactive democracy affects citizens and politicians, we know little about what interactive democracy means for public administrators. This article presents the results of a case study of role perceptions and coping strategies among public administrators assisting a new type of interactive political committee in two Nordic municipalities. Guided by a multi-paradigmatic conceptual framework featuring public administrators’ roles and coping strategies in interactive governance, the study shows that individual public administrators identify with different administrative roles, and that political and administrative leadership sentiments condition their choice of coping strategies. Moreover, the coping strategy that public administrators select to handle intra- and inter-paradigmatic role dilemmas can have dire consequences for the interplay between interactive democracy and local representative government.