Verschafft die direkte Demokratie den Benachteiligten mehr Gehör? Der Einfluss institutioneller Rahmenbedingungen auf die mediale Präsenz politischer Akteure

Dieser Aufsatz untersucht den Einfluss politisch‐institutioneller Kontextfaktoren auf die Artikulationschancen politischer Akteure in der Öffentlichkeit. Als empirische Grundlage dient eine Inhaltsanalyse der Schwangerschaftsabbruchdebatte in der Schweiz im Vergleich mit Deutschland und den USA über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahrzehnten. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass institutionell bedingte Machtdifferentiale ‐ vermittelt über mediale Selektionslogiken ‐ in hohem Masse die öffentliche Präsenz der Akteure, ihr mediales Standing, bestimmen. Dies benachteiligt insbesondere zivilgesellschaftliche Herausforderer, wie etwa soziale Bewegungen. Direktdemokratische Verfahren, so wird weiter argumentiert, wirken in der Schweiz diesem Effekt jedoch entgegen, indem sie den Aussenseitern Möglichkeiten zur Profilierung und Etablierung bieten. Davon profitieren ebenfalls die Parteien, welchen in der Schweiz ansonsten eine schwache institutionelle Stellung attestiert wird. Mit seinen Ergebnissen stützt der Aufsatz schliesslich die Forderung nach einer Kontextualisierung politischer Kommunikationsforschung im Sinne eines “institutional turn” und zeigt das Potenzial einer komparativen Vorgehensweise auf.     

Chinese debate on military strategy: Trends & portents

The 1980s have witnessed an intense debate by China’s strategic community over a military strategy in response to what Beijing sees as a shifting, but still complex and potentially troublesome, security environment. though the debate is yet to conclude, the broad contours of the new doctrine have been sketched out. Acknowledging that both superpowers are increasingly constrained by economic, political, and military factors in their contest for supremacy, Chinese analysts continue to warn against lowering armed guard at a time when the focus of the arms race is shifting to new frontiers: outer space and oceans. They would like China to strengthen its national defense rather than rely an arms control to mitigate threats to its security. China is continuing its defense modernization program, which will reshape its force structure and enhance its conventional and nuclear capabilities. and the author ofChinese National Security and Nuclear Arms Control [M. E. Sharpe, forthcoming].     

Reviews

African Historiographies: What History for Which Africa? edited by Bogumil Jewsiewicki and David Newbury SAGE Publications, Beverly Hills (California) and London, 1986. 320 pp. including figures, notes and bibliography. £33,00.

Rural‐Urban Migration: Aspects of Theory, Policy and Practice by Francois Theron and Johann F. Graaff University Publishers, Stellenbosch and Grahamstown, 1987. 64 pp. including tables, notes and bibliography. R7,50 paperback.

German Imperialism in Africa: From the Beginnings until the Second World War edited by Helmuth Stoecker C. Hurst and Co., London, 1986. 446 pp. including bibliography and index. £17,50.

Elections in Independent Africa edited by Fred M. Hayward Westview Press, Boulder (Colorado), 1987. xvii plus 318 pp. including maps, tables, figures, illustrations, notes, bibliography and index. $36,50 paperback.

Africa and Israel: Relations in Perspective by Olusola Ojo Westview Press, Boulder (Colorado) and London, 1988. xiv plus 181 pp. including tables, notes and index. $23,50 paperback.

Rural Transformation in Tropical Africa edited by Douglas Rimmer Ohio University Press, Athens (Ohio), and Belhaven Press, London, 1988. viii plus 177 pp. including tables, figures, references and index. $27,95.

Ethiopia: Transition and Development in the Horn of Africa by Mulatu Wubneh and Yohannis Abate Westview Press, Boulder (Colorado), and Avebury, London, 1988. xv plus 224 pp. including maps, tables, figures, illustrations, notes, appendix, select bibliography and index. $28,00.

Ethiopia: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1974–1985 by David A. Korn Croom Helm, London and Sydney, 1986. xvii plus 199 pp. including map, notes, appendices, select bibliography and index. £19,95.

Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia by Christopher Clapham Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York and Sydney, 1988. xviii plus 284 pp. including map, tables, notes, bibliography and index. £30,00.

Politics and the Military in Uganda, 1890–1985 by Amii Omara‐Otunnu St. Martin's Press, New York, 1987. xx plus 218 pp. $35,00 paperback.

The Soviet Union, the Third World and Southern Africa by Jack Spence South African Institute of International Affairs, Johannesburg, 1988. vi plus 35 pp. including references. R10,00 paperback.

The Battlefronts of Southern Africa by Colin Legum Africana Publishing Co., New York and London, 1988. xxix plus 451 pp. including map, notes, appendices and indexes. $34,50 paperback.

The Politics of Development in Botswana: A Model for Success? by Louis A. Picard Lynne Rienner Publishers, Boulder (Colorado) and London, 1987. xiv plus 298 pp. including tables, figures, notes, select bibliography and index. $26,50.

Capitalism and Apartheid: South Africa, 1910–1986 by Merle Lipton Wildwood House, London, and David Philip, Cape Town, 1986. xi plus 473 pp. including map, tables, notes and index. $8,95 paperback.

Class, Community and Conflict: South African Perspectives edited by Belinda Bozzoli Ravan Press, Johannesburg, 1987. xx plus 573 pp. including tables, illustrations, notes and index. R35,00 paperback.

Growing Up in a Divided Society: The Contexts of Childhood in South Africa edited by Sandra Burman and Pamela Reynolds Ravan Press, Johannesburg, 1986. xvi plus 454 pp. including map, tables, figures, illustrations, references and index. R28,00 paperback.

South Africa under Apartheid: A Select and Annotated Bibliography by Jacqueline A. Kalley Shuter and Shooter, Pietermaritzburg, and Institute of Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, 1987. xiii plus 544 pp. including index. R39,00 paperback.     

Healthy and maladjusted Type A behavior in adolescents

The dimensions of Type A behavior were studied in 990 randomly selected adolescents and their conceptualization was clarified in terms of achievement striving, self-concept, and sense of control. The methods used were the AFMS to evaluate Type A behavior, the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and Coopersmith's Self-Esteem Inventory. Achievement striving was assessed using the questionnaire designed for this study. It was revealed that Type A consisted of two independent dimensions, both adding an equal contribution to the total score. One was an impatient, aggressive competitiveness related to a low self-esteem, low self-set achievement standards, and external locus of control. The other Type A exhibited competitiveness related to a sense of responsibility, leadership, social activity, high achievement striving, and high self-esteem. These factors may distinguish maladjusted competitiveness from healthy ambition and suggest that it is important to distinguish risk Type A individuals from Type A's who are potential leaders in society.Received Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Helsinki, Finland. Her major research interest is psychosomatic medicine.     

Parenting satisfaction of mothers during midlife

The present investigation explores the relations among midlife identity concerns, marital satisfaction, mental health, and parenting satisfaction among mothers of preadolescents and early adolescents. Data were obtained from 129 intact families with a firstborn child between the ages of 10 and 15. The results suggest that intense midlife concerns are associated with diminished satisfaction with parenting, although this relation is moderated by the mother's reported marital satisfaction and her overall psychological wellbeing. Specifically, mothers with intense midlife crisis symptoms report higher parenting satisfaction when their marital satisfaction is high, but lower parental satisfaction when their midlife concerns are accompanied by psychological distress. The relations among midlife concerns, marital satisfaction, psychological symptoms, and mothers' satisfaction with parenting are not moderated by the sex of the adolescent.The research reported here is part of a larger investigation supported by grants to the second author by the William T. Grant Foundation and the Graduate School Research Committee of the University of Wisconsin —Madison. This paper is based on a senior thesis completed by the first author in the Department of Child and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin—Madison.Interests are in adolescent development and sex differences.Interests are in adolescent development and family relations.