Strengthening the local representative system: the importance of electoral and non-electoral representation

Local democracy has increasingly faced problems such as declining voter turnout and decreasing trust in political parties. Certain forms of participatory democracy have been introduced to address political disengagement. Often these efforts do not deliver the envisaged results, as they exacerbate existing inequalities by attracting only certain groups of citizens. This paper takes a close look at representation to find out if and how it can strengthen local democracy. Non-electoral representation, as manifested by representative claims based on non-electoral grounds, such as identity and expertise, made by local councillors, as well as non-elected individuals and organisations, might serve to mitigate democratic problems. We empirically study manifestations of electoral and non-electoral representation and their interactions. We conclude that non-electoral representation can strengthen local democracy, but its relationship with electoral representation can also be problematic. We make suggestions as to how these problems might be overcome in an effort to strengthen the local representative system.     

Enhancing the effectiveness of international development: a systems approach

Every day 25,000 people die of hunger and hunger-related causes. While it is recognised that the international development system is not as effective as it should be, years of endeavours to achieve greater harmonisation of international aid and to create an effective architecture pass by without adequate results. The article introduces a framework for enhancing the effectiveness of the international development system, based on fundamental concepts of Systems Thinking. It discusses the complex systemic challenges to development and suggests that more effective control is a key precondition for greater effectiveness in development as a whole.     

Instrumentalizing Fukushima: Comparing Media Coverage of Fukushima in Germany,France, the United Kingdom,and Switzerland

According to the theory of instrumental actualization in mediated conflicts, the mass media tend to exaggerate events consistent with the editorial line. This theory was tested using press coverage in Germany, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom on the Japanese seaquake, the tsunami it caused, and the nuclear disaster of Fukushima. Within a period of seven weeks after the seaquake, the coverage in the four countries in 27 national newspapers and magazines on the three events was analyzed. As hypothesized from theory, German and Swiss media concentrated on Fukushima and stressed its relevance to domestic nuclear plants, whereas French and British media placed a greater emphasis on the tsunami and rarely related the nuclear catastrophe in Japan to domestic nuclear programs. In addition, there were remarkable correlations between the views of journalists and the bias of statements on nuclear energy presented in their news sections. Findings are discussed and related to the theory of public opinion and political decisions in liberal democracies.