Malta

European Journal of Political Research -     

Geographic Representation in Party‐Dominated Legislatures: A Quantitative Text Analysis of Parliamentary Questions in the German Bundestag

Political representation in European democracies is widely considered partisan and collectivist. This article, however, stresses that there is more to the representative process in European democracies than just its textbook version. It emphasizes the role of geographic representation as a complementary strategy in party‐dominated legislatures that is characterized by two distinct features. First, legislators employ distinct opportunities to participate in legislative contexts to signal attention to geographic constituents without disrupting party unity. Second, these activities are motivated by individual‐ and district‐level characteristics that supplement electoral‐system‐level sources of geographic representation. We empirically test and corroborate this argument for the German case on the basis of a content analysis of parliamentary questions in the 17th German Bundestag (2009–13). In this analysis, we show that higher levels of localness among legislators and higher levels of electoral volatility in districts result in increased geographic representation.     

The effect of digital technology on prisoner behavior and reoffending: a natural stepped-wedge design

Objectives

Although prisons aspire to rehabilitate offenders, they fail to prepare prisoners for release into our modern digitally sophisticated society. The objectives of the current study were to assess the impact of digital technology on the culture of prisons, and on prisoners’ ability to self-manage their behavior and reoffending.

Method

Using a natural stepped-wedge design, 13 prisons in the UK were examined that had installed self-service technology over a period of 7 years. A longitudinal multi-level model was used to analyze frequencies of disciplinary proceedings within and between the prisons before and after installation. Reoffending was examined in comparison with a control sample. Quantitative results were supported by a prisoner survey and usage data.

Results

Prison disciplinary offenses were significantly reduced over a two-year period, and reoffending in the first year after release was reduced by 5.36% compared to a 0.78% reduction in comparison prisons. The prisoner survey and usage data suggested that prisoners felt much more in control of their lives in prison and much more confident in coping with technology in the outside world.

Conclusions

The changes created by the introduction of digital technology offer the opportunity to make prisons more efficient for staff, and places of improved learning and rehabilitation for prisoners, contributing to a safer society. This study offers an important contribution to the field of corrections, providing the first quantitative assessment of the effect of prisoner self-service technology on prisoner behavior and reoffending.

     

Democracy,Power and Indigeneity

This article identifies a theoretical nexus between indigeneity and liberal democracy in three post‐colonial contexts. Like democracy, the politics of indigeneity asks questions and makes assumptions about where power ought to lie and how it ought to be shared in relation to political inclusion and national sovereignty. The interaction of indigeneity with democracy highlights the limitations of liberal theory as well as the opportunities it provides to meet indigenous claims and conceptions of justice. Exploring the ideological tensions and commonalities between democracy and indigeneity allows a contrast, in comparative context, of the proposition that in Fiji, for example, democracy is “a foreign flower” unsuited to the local environment with the argument that liberal representative democracy can, in fact, mediate power in favour of an inclusive national polity.     

The political economy of class conflict

Texts reviewed:

C. Crouch (1977) Class Conflict and the Industrial Relations Crisis, Heinemann Educational Books.

F. Hirsch and J. H. Goldthorpe (eds) (1978) The Political Economy of Inflation, Martin Robertson.     

How Much Credit for Export Credit Support Under the SCM Agreement?

This contribution examines the degree of policy space the WTOleaves its Members to support export credits for non-agriculturalgoods. In the light of existing case law, it illustrates thatexport credit support offered by export credit agencies thataims at complementing the private trade finance market wouldin principle be prohibited under the SCM Agreement. However,while some low-income countries can rely on a specific exceptionon the prohibition on export subsidies, all WTO Members can,on the basis of the Illustrative List of Export Subsidies, justifycertain subsidized export credits that are in accordance withthe interest rate provisions of the OECD Arrangement. But, asthe case law and the OECD Arrangement currently stand, subsidizedexport credit guarantees and insurance as well as subsidizedshort-term export credits cannot rely on this safe haven. Hence,the article shows that export credit agencies, except for thoseof some low-income countries, cannot play a complementary roleto the private market in offering such support. Moreover, thiscontribution demonstrates that export credit support in accordancewith the safe haven might still be countervailable and actionable.Finally, it is argued that an exception which can be modifiedby a subgroup of WTO Members, like the safe haven, can no longerbe accepted.