The Serbian Opposition and Civil Society: Roots of the Delayed Transition in Serbia

The article discusses the reasons for the ten-year delay in the democratic transition in Serbia, focusing in particular on opposition parties and civil society. It argues that the policy of opposition parties was partly responsible for the failure of an earlier fall of the Miloevic regime. While civil society has been similarly weak and divided, the article details how a number of NGOs proved to be crucial in the coordinated campaign which lead to the overthrow of the Miloevic regime in October 2000.     

Intervention at Risk: The Vicious Cycle of Distance and Danger in Mali and Afghanistan

In crisis-hit countries, intensive risk management increasingly characterizes the presence of international interveners, with measures ranging from fortified compounds to ‘remote programming’. This article investigates the global drive for ‘security’ from an ethnographic perspective, focusing on Afghanistan and Mali. By deploying the concepts of distance and proximity, the article shows how frontline ‘outsourcing’ and bunkering have generated an unequal ‘risk economy’ while distancing interveners from local society in a trend that itself generates novel risks. To conclude, the article asks whether alternative forms of proximity may help to break the vicious cycle of danger and distance at work in today’s crisis zones.     

Das Recht auf Wohnen

Seit Langem gibt es auf verschiedenen Ebenen – international, supranational und national – Diskussionen über die Implementierung sozialer Grundrechte; insbesondere auch eines Grundrechts auf Wohnen. Der folgende Beitrag versucht in einem ersten kurzen Abriss den Status quo dieser Thematik zu beleuchten und dann in einem zweiten Abschnitt m?gliche L?sungsvorschl?ge für eine verfassungsrechtliche Verankerung eines Rechts auf Wohnen in der ?sterreichischen Rechtsordnung darzustellen.     

Lobbygruppen im politischen Wettbewerb: Die Auswirkungen des Konkurrenzkampfes unter Interessengruppen auf deren Lobbyverhalten

Lobby groups face direct competition from each other, yet the level of competition they face varies and depends on the political issue area they compete in. This article investigates the question, how these differing intensities of competition affect the lobbying behavior of interest organizations. Based on data stemming from a survey among Swiss and German interest groups, this article establishes that the intensity of competition among lobby groups positively influences both directly lobbying politicians (inside lobbying) but also exercising influence indirectly via the media and the public (outside lobbying). Yet it is also demonstrated that the inside lobbying benefits more strongly from higher competition levels, hence interest organizations look for ways to directly influence politicians first when they are faced with stiffer competition.     

Competition and Cooperation in International Commercial Arbitration: The Birth of a Transnational Legal Profession

This paper revisits the sociology of international commercial arbitration on the basis of unexploited archives and data. This material casts new light on the competition between “grand old men” and “young technocrats” in the 1980s and 1990s, a theme that has structured the analysis of international commercial arbitration since the pioneering work of Yves Dezalay and Bryant G. Garth (Dealing in Virtue). In contrast, the data show that the crucial transformative period actually took place between the 1950s and 1970s, when a relatively well‐defined group of individuals emerged as the leading arbitrators at the International Chamber of Commerce. These individuals— the “secant marginals”—succeeded in constructing a cooperative interface (rather than competition) between otherwise separate legal systems and professions. In doing so, they created the conditions necessary for the emergence of a new transnational legal profession. At a more general level, the article proposes an alternative narrative of globalization, wherein actors operating at the intersection of various systems, create new arenas of governance on the basis of inter‐system cooperation.     

The 1968 Movement Revisited: Education and the Distinction in Values,Political Interest and Political Participation in West Germany

The aim of this paper is to take a look at the 1968 generation in West Germany about 40 years after the 1968 events. Whether there was a 1968 generation in the narrow sense of the word will be explored. While comparing the 1968 generation with earlier and later cohorts, political interest, political activity and (postmaterialist) values will be analysed. Education will be theorised as a main mechanism that distinguishes the 1968 generation from earlier generations. Quantitative analyses will be performed employing a temporal perspective and including age, period and cohort effects – so that socialisation as well as individual change over the life cycle and macro influences can be taken into account. The results show a strong influence of education on political interest, political activity and postmaterialism. Therefore, what is called the ‘1968 generation’ only applies to the more highly educated people of this generation.