Steuerung jenseits von Hierarchie

The paper sheds new light on recent debates about governance and approaches contemporary problems of governing from the perspective of contemporary theories of power. The concept of “soft governing” is developed in order to capture horizontal mechanisms of power intentionally used to govern beyond formalised hierarchies characteristic of processes of governance. The paper describes in particular the horizontal forms of governing through discursive practices, argumentation and symbols and the ways in which they interact. The example of campaigns against female genital mutilation is introduced in order to illustrate possible forms of governing beyond hierarchy.     

Die Zugriffsverbote des § 42 Abs. 1 BNatSchG im Zulassungs- und Bauleitplanverfahren – unter Berücksichtigung der Entscheidung des BVerwG zur Ortsumgehung Bad Oeynhausen (in diesem Heft)

Zusammenfassung  Artenschutzrechtliche Regelungen schieben sich in verwaltungsrechtlichen Zulassungsverfahren immer mehr in den Vordergrund und erweisen sich als ein ?u?erst schwieriger Problemkreis. Teilweise scheint der Artenschutz inzwischen der Kernpunkt der naturschutzrechtlichen Beurteilung zu werden, wobei die Reichweite der Tatbestandsmerkmale nicht immer beachtet wird. Die nachfolgende Ausführungen sollen dazu beitragen, den Anwendungsbereich der artenschutzrechtlichen Verbote nach § 42 Abs. 1 BNatSchG zu konturieren und deren Umfang der gesetzlichen Einschr?nkungen zu erl?utern. Die Entscheidung des BVerwG zur Ortsumgehung Bad Oeynhausen wurde berücksichtigt.     

Emile Durkheim zwischen Republikanismus und deliberativer Demokratie

Emile Durkheim has written only a few sociological texts on democracy, but they seem to remain important both for neo-republican theories and for the idea of deliberative democracy. The paper tries to explain this paradox through a reconstruction of Durkheim’s conception of political democracy, which implies three channels of communication: within the state, between the state and civil society and within civil society. The first one is the only one which rests upon deliberation, in the two meanings of this word in French (collective discussion and decision). The paternalist dimension of Durkheim’s conception clearly appears in the way he understands the typical pathologies of democracy. This paternalist dimension is also to be found in neo-republican theories. Conversely, the absence of the notion of public sphere distances Durkheim from the concept of deliberative democracy, even though he develops a non-substantialist notion of democracy and gives an important role to reflection in political communication. However, discussing Durkheim makes it possible to underline some of the problems and challenges which a conception of deliberative democracy has to face.     

Institutionen, Interessen, Netzwerke Unternehmensverflechtung im internationalen Vergleich

In many countries large companies are connected to one another by corporate networks. This analysis presents the analysis of network structures in six countries: Germany, France, Great Britain, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. Networks form part of an institutional structure of the market whose aim is to reduce transaction costs. Networks enable firms to coordinate their behavior and regulate competition. Corporate networks can be compared with interest organizations (e.g., corporatism). They serve to improve the collective capacity of firms for self-regulation. The more comprehensive the networks and the more effective the mechanisms by which interests are filtered, the less their scope to organize narrow sectional interests. The structure of corporate networks is different in different countries. In Germany and Switzerland, for instance, large firms and banks come together in the networks (Konzerne); in France the large companies, the state and the financial companies. The predominant network configuration is influenced in each country by its specific culture, traditions and experience.