Policy advice as policy work: a conceptual framework for multi-level analysis

This article argues that policy advice can be understood as a special kind of “policy work” that depends upon a diverse set of factors operating at different levels. The basic aim of the article is to disentangle this multi-level and multifaceted phenomenon into a conceptual framework that can be used for empirical analysis and theory building. In that framework, policy advice is conceptualized as a never-ending interaction among various actors in a specific institutional context, through which routines and norms are both reproduced and abolished. First, it is explained why policy advice is most fruitfully understood as a special kind of policy work, and then how it relates to other policy work activities. Second, problems with single-level approaches are discussed and the need for a multi-level approach is explained. Third, a multi-level conceptual framework is formulated and described. Fourth, some possible applications of the framework are illustrated with examples from current empirical research. The article concludes with implications for research and theory building.     

Between Accommodation and Opportunism: Explaining the Growing Influence of Small Gulf States in the Middle East

Abstract

Smaller members of the Gulf Cooperation Council defied theoretical and practical expectations as they were able to enlarge their international influence during the years of the Arab Spring. They adopted markedly different foreign policy strategies, which can be seen as stances lying between accommodation and opportunism, depending on the extent to which they respected the security concerns of their geopolitical patron, Saudi Arabia. The mainstream schools of IR theory – neorealism, neoliberalism and constructivism – offer different explanations for these phenomena. Although none of the three schools can provide a completely exhaustive explanation, neoliberalism seems to offer the most comprehensive framework for analysis.     

Injustice and Employees' Destructive Responses: The Mediating Role of State Negative Affect

The focus of this study was employees' destructive behavioral intentions (i.e., exit, neglect, and aggressive voice) as a result of perceived injustice. In order to get an indication of the generalizability of the results, two studies employing different methodologies were conducted among different samples: a survey study (Study 1) among 244 female maternity nurses from The Netherlands, and a vignette study (Study 2) among 71 male and 43 female employees from an international company in South Africa. Furthermore, the second study tested whether the effects of injustice on destructive behavioral intentions were mediated by state negative affect. Two models appear to fit the data well. The first model suggests that interactional injustice gives rise to negative behavioral reactions through an increase in state negative affect. The second model shows that procedural justice can buffer the negative effects of low distributive justice. Specifically, employees report more negative affect and, subsequently, a stronger tendency to leave the organization only when both distributive and procedural justice are low. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Landwirtschaftlicher Bodenschutz und Agrarreform*

Die Festlegung von Konzentrationszonen für raumbedeutsame Vorhaben im Außenbereich muss nach der Rechtsprechung des Bundesverwaltungsgerichts auf einem gesamträumlichen Planungskonzept beruhen und den Anforderungen des Abwägungsgebots genügen. Danach kann der Träger der Regionalplanung auch dazu berechtigt sein, die Nutzungsmöglichkeit als typisierte Größe in die Abwägung einzustellen und das Eigentümerinteresse an der Nutzung verallgemeinernd zu unterstellen. Der folgende Beitrag zeigt auf, in welcher Phase des Abwägungsvorgangs Typisierungen oder Unterstellungen in Betracht kommen und welchen Beschränkungen sie unterliegen. *) Schriftliche Fassung des Vortrages, den der Verf. am 24. 6. 2004 an der Universität Lüneburg gehalten hat. Sämtliche Beiträge erscheinen in dem Sammelband Brandt/Smeddinck (Hrsg.), Gute fachliche Praxis—Zur Standardisierung von Verhalten.     

Crime prevention and the attitude toward the criminal justice system: The effects of a multimedia campaign

This study concerns the effects of a multimedia campaign regarding residential burglary and violence on the streets in The Netherlands that can be characterised as a tell-the-truth campaign. The mass media component of the campaign consists of editorials in the regional dailies, local weeklies, and items on the regional radio station. The audience was given the opportunity to personally contact an information officer (via information meetings, “Crime Prevention Van,” or stands). The campaign led to a more positive attitude towards the criminal justice system among the general public. There was no effect on knowledge of burglary and violence, the image of local crime, risk assessment, fear of crime, outcome expectation, self-efficacy expectation, preventive behaviour, and the attitude towards crime reporting.     

Procéduralisation et indécidabilité

Sans résumé     

The Warsaw Stock Exchange in the period 1991–1993. Qualitative problems of its modelling

The paper focuses on the analysis of return on shares quoted on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) in the period 1991–1993. We found that the WSE specific institutional background resulted in a large variation of return rates, their distributional assymetry and truncations which make hypotheses testing procedures about criteria of investors' choice and the price setting mechanism more complicated.