Corporate Social Responsibility: A New Signifier? An Analysis of Business Ethics and Good Business Practice

The subject of this article is the increasing commitment declared by business enterprises to ethical business practices and corporate social responsibility. It is approached using Jean Baudrillard's analysis of the way 'signifiers' are attached to products in advanced capitalist society. In such societies signifiers are split off from signifieds and their referents (commodities). The main linguistic form is not the symbol, as in previous social settings, but the signal. Since the linguistic elements are fragmented, signifiers are able to 'float' in the social space and be combined with the signifieds and referents at will. Thus, the producers often emphasise not the use value of the commodities in their advertisement but instead randomly attach various qualities to commodities irrespective of their functionality or material utility. In this article the development of corporate social responsibility is seen as such a signifier and the implications thereof for the late-modern Global Political Economy are discussed.     

Haplotypes from the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran for nine Y-STR loci

Nine Y chromosome short tandem repeat (STR) loci (DYS385a, DYS385b, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393 and DYS19 (DYS394)) were typed in 669 individuals belonging to 16 populations from the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran.     

Differences in perceived seriousness of overt and covert road traffic offenses

Attitudes towards the perceived seriousness of road traffic offenses were studied as a function of the age and sex of drivers. Ratings of seriousness of 31 verbalized offenses were analyzed using detection theory parameters to study sensitivity and bias effects in the discrimination of “overt” and “covert” offenses. Overt offenses were defined as those which are immediately obvious to a casual observer, such as jumping red traffic lights. Covert offenses are those not so easily observable, such as driving a defective vehicle. The latter are inherently more hazardous, because they do not allow other road users to adopt appropriate margins of safety. The results indicated that young male drivers were relatively insensitive in discriminating between overt and covert offenses compared with other subgroups of drivers tested. Instructions which directed drivers to judge the offenses from the standpoints of personal responsibility, or involvement in, or the social consequences of, any accidental outcome, increased sensitivity relative to no such instructions being given. Analysis of the rating data itself showed that, overall, overtly offensive driving was considered less serious than covertly offensive driving. This was particularly the case for male and younger drivers. Possible implications of the results for legal sanctioning and other accident countermeasures are discussed.     

From Dayton to Bernese Jura: The Election of the Croat Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

After the signing of the Dayton Agreement, critical literature has attempted to portray consociation in Bosnia and Herzegovina as the predominant source of the country's political problems. At the same time, this literature has widely neglected the centripetal rules that have existed since the first elections of the tripartite Presidency. The paper analyzes the outcomes of the existing centripetal cross-ethnic vote pooling rules. It concludes that such outcomes are negative and it then discusses a possible solution by drawing inspiration from the application of the Bernese Jura's geometric mean. The paper focuses on the election of the Croat member in the tripartite Presidency as representative of the least numerous ethnic group. We argue that the application of the geometric mean based upon results in Croat-majority municipalities could eliminate certain grievances and weakens the chances for election of the Croat member by voters from dominantly Bosniak areas.     

The political economy behind the gradual demise of democratic institutions in Serbia

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to accomplish two goals. First, to present recent empirical evidence supporting the claim that Serbia is on the path towards embracing a more radical version of electoral authoritarianism. This is accomplished by examining most recent illiberal politics aimed at controlling electoral processes and the media sphere, and extracting public funds for partisan purposes. I claim that the incomplete design of democratic institutions in Serbia set up between 2001 and 2012 is primarily responsible for the democratic decline. The second goal is more general and aims to emphasize the importance of extracting public funds for hybrid regimes. Extractive institutions matter because they directly impact other critical segments of electoral authoritarianism (notably, elections and media freedom), but also because they explain the type of leadership they promote in politics. If public resources remain without proper institutional oversight and are simply ‘up for grabs,’ this will attract leaders more willing to dismantle democratic institutions and violate democratic procedures. Serbia serves as a good and current example of this linkage.     

Rule of law and democracy in the Western Balkans: addressing the gap between policies and practice

ABSTRACT

Three decades since the beginning of democratization processes, the Western Balkan countries have built a democratic façade by holding elections, by promulgating legal acts guaranteeing freedom of expression, or by constitutionally declaring a strict system of checks and balances. In reality, however, political elites rely on informal structures, clientelism, and control of the media to undermine democracy. Given that formal democratic freedoms are effective only to the extent that political elites are bound by the effective rule of law, the core argument of this study is that the structural weaknesses of democratic institutions are purposefully exploited by domestic regimes, which are able to misuse these fragile institutions to their advantage.     

Radicalization of Russians in Ukraine: from ‘accidental’ diaspora to rebel movement

Abstract

The article examines different types of macropolitical identities in Ukraine and their interaction in establishing political order in the country. The authors argue that political institutional design was unfavourable to the Russian diaspora in eastern and southern regions. It hindered stable development of post-Soviet identity between Russians in the country. But during the Euromaidan protests, the Russians reacted to unpleasant political situation by exploring who they were and what social and political goals they had. Having been incipient for decades, the identity of the diaspora evolved in a soaring way within three or four months. The violent actions of the newly established government in Kiev radicalized the Russian diaspora. Diasporants started establishing alternative authorities in regions where government had no monopoly on the use of force. The involvement of Russia and international volunteers complexifies the situation in Donbass and the identity formation process in unrecognized republics also known as DNR and LNR.     

Die Zusammensetzung des Schweizerischen Bundesrates nach Partei,Region, Sprache und Religion, 1848–2015

Verschiedene Kriterien sind für die Wahl in den Bundesrat bedeutend. Seit 1999 muss die Bundesversammlung darauf Rücksicht nehmen, dass verschiedene Sprachen und Regionen der Schweiz im Bundesrat angemessen vertreten sind (Art. 175 Ab. 4 BV). Zusätzlich achtet das Parlament darauf, dass ein gewisser Parteiproporz und die Präsenz beider Geschlechter in der Regierung gesichert werden. Früher war auch die konfessionelle Zugehörigkeit der Bundesratsmitglieder ein Thema und bis 1999 durfte maximal eine Person pro Kanton amtieren. Mittels einer Vollerhebung relevanter Merkmale aller Mitglieder des Bundesrates seit 1848 und einer, verglichen mit bisherigen Studien, differenzierteren Auswertungsmethode legen wir einen präzisen Überblick über die Vertretung der Parteien, Regionen, Sprachen und Religionen in der Regierung vor. Ein Anwendungsbeispiel – der potentielle Einfluss des Übergangs vom Majorz‐ aufs Proporz‐Wahlsystem für die Wahl des Nationalrates im Jahr 1919 – illustriert, wie diese Daten für wissenschaftliche Zwecke genutzt werden können.     

College Students’ Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence: a Comparative Study of China and the U.S.

Although attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV) have been the subject of many studies, little research has been conducted to comparatively assess public definitions of IPV in Western and non-Western countries. Drawing upon survey data collected from approximately 500 Chinese and American college students, this study compared and contrasted Chinese and American college students in their beliefs about what constitute IPV. Chinese students were found to be less likely to define abusive acts as IPV than their U.S. counterparts. Gender-role attitudes, such as beliefs of male dominance and IPV as crime, were among the most prominent predictors of students’ definitions of IPV. Chinese and American college students’ attitudes differed not only in what was defined as IPV, but also in what were the factors that shaped such attitudes. Directions for future research and policy were discussed.     

Critical legal and environmental view on the Ramsar Convention in protection from invasive plant species: an example of the Southern Pannonia region

The emergence and continued expansion of one of the most dangerous causes of biodiversity loss and habitat alteration such as invasive species at some Ramsar wetlands of the Southern Pannonia raise a series of questions of both an environmental as well as a legal character relevant to these fragile ecosystems. The Ramsar Convention provides a set of general instructions and guidelines, but it does not establish an adequate mechanism of sanctions that could be imposed on states or individuals who violate its provisions. Fully aware of the importance of wetlands and their wildlife for a healthy living environment and human welfare, the authors of this paper describe the present conditions of invasive plant species at some Ramsar Sites and briefly analyze the current legal framework for the implementation of the Ramsar Convention. Finally, the authors propose innovative normative solutions that would improve the protection of wetlands and contribute to the suppression and prevention of the presence of invasive species not only in this region, but also worldwide.