Laudatio: Verleihung des Theodor Eschenburg-Preises an Prof. Dr. Gerhard Lehmbruch am 25. September 2003 auf dem Kongress der Deutschen Vereinigung für Politische Wissenschaft in Mainz

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Short Term Change in Attitude and Motivating Factors to Change Abusive Behavior of Male Batterers after Participating in a Group Intervention Program Based on the Pro-Feminist and Cognitive-Behavioral Approach

The Domestic Abuse Education Project (DAEP), in Burlington, Middlebury, and St. Albans, Vermont, is a group based domestic abuse intervention program, based in a pro-feminist and cognitive-behavioral approach for domestic violence intervention and prevention. A pre and post-test instrument was developed and implemented to determine short-term change in attitude of participants and motivating factors to change behavior, after completing the twenty-seven session program. After the program, participants reported a positive change in attitudes regarding their abusive behavior and stereotypical beliefs about women. Participants were also more motivated to change their behavior by the effect abuse has on their family relationships. However, many participants continued to agree that insecurity, jealousy, and alcohol and drug use can cause violence. The positive changes in attitude and motivational factors show that this is an effective model in changing underlying batterer attitudes that provide rationale for abusive behavior.     

The Psychology of Political Extremism

Any attempt to analyse the phenomenon of political extremism must seek to explain why choices are sometimes made to articulate such views through violence. It is proposed that such a choice may have little to do with the specific ideology through which extremism is expressed but instead may reflect deeper psychological considerations. Investigations of persons who grew up in totalitarian systems suggest that the state may invade the psyche, interfering with the normal interplay of ego, superego and id. An explanation depending on the construction of a tripartite model of personal, non-personal and impersonal self was developed to explain the consequences of this process. It is proposed that such models may have a wider relevance and can be applied to the phenomenon of violence arising from contemporary political extremism. The advantage of such models is that they can be subjected to empirical investigation.     

Injuries of the occipital condyles in fatal traffic accidents

Among 600 deaths of traffic accidents we found injuries of the occipital condyles in 10 cyclists, 12 car drivers and 3 pedestrians. In most cases the collision speed ranged from 70 to 100 km/h. In 18 cases of direct head impact the more severe injury was on the opposite side, in 4 cases of indirect side impact (whiplash injury) on the same side. Most types of fractures were 12 horizontal disconnections and 4 fractures of the inner edges. In 9 cases the condyle fractures were on one side, in 16 cases on both sides.     

Release of proteinase inhibitors as a vital reaction in the early post-traumatic interval

In a pilot study paraffin-embedded sections of open skin wounds (stab and slash wounds, lacerations) were investigated to determine the presence of a vital reaction. Granulocytes were detected by naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase, the enzyme "lysozyme", and eight proteinase inhibitors by the indirect immunoperoxidase method. The tissue specimens were taken from consecutive autopsy material. The survival time could be determined in 14 cases (10-165 min) and was unknown in 12 other cases of sudden death due to injury of the major vessels or heart. The controls were cases with injuries inflicted after and cases of sudden death due to massive blunt trauma served death. In vital injuries, accumulations of proteinase inhibitors, particularly alpha-2-macroglobulin and alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, were demonstrable in the corium parallel to the wound surface. In comparison, the reaction of proteinase inhibitors that neutralize only enzymes participating in blood coagulation or complement activation (C1-esterase inhibitor and protein C) was absent or weak. Protein accumulation was observed only sporadically in cases of sudden death and never in cases with wounds inflicted after death. No relationship could be established between semiquantitatively estimated staining and survival time. Granulocytes and lysozyme were first observed in the corium after a survival time of more than 60 min.     

The Impact of Electoral Reform on the Public Service: The New Zealand Case

October 1996 marked the beginning of a new era in New Zealand politics, with the advent of a system of proportional representation based on the German model. This article explores the impact of electoral reform on the public service. First, it summarises the extensive public sector reforms during the mid-to-late 1980s and considers the preparations undertaken by the public service for proportional representation. Second, it outlines the concerns and expectations about the likely consequences of the new electoral system on the bureaucracy. Third, against this background, the article examines the extent to which the public service has been affected by electoral reform. It is argued that despite some notable changes to the political environment within which officials operate, the overall impact of proportional representation on the public service to date has been modest. The analysis presented here is based on a series of interviews conducted during 1997 with ministers, senior public servants, ministerial advisers and parliamentary officials, along with a range of secondary sources.