Die sozialen Konsequenzen der Restitution von Grundeigentum in Deutschland und Polen

Der Artikel vergleicht die Restitution von Immobilieneigentum in Polen und Deutschland. In Polen gibt es bisher keine gesetzliche Regelung, aber über Verwaltungsentscheidungen wird dennoch Privateigentum restituiert; in Deutschland ist der Restitutionsprozess weitgehend abgeschlossen. Die Analyse geht der Frage nach, ob die moralisch und funktional begründete Privatisierung ihre vorgegebenen Ziele erreicht hat. Die Privatisierung von Häusern und Grundstücken greift in einen sensiblen, mit persönlichen Emotionen verquickten Bereich der Sozialordnung ein, so dass die doppelte Zielsetzung der Restitution, sowohl historische Gerechtigkeit als auch kapitalistische Marktverhältnisse herzustellen, besonderen Schwierigkeiten begegnet. Die Analyse der sozialen und ökonomischen Konsequenzen der sehr unterschiedlich gestalteten Prozesse zeigt, dass in beiden Gesellschaften das anspruchsvolle Ziel einer Herstellung historischer Gerechtigkeit nicht ohne die Entstehung neuer sozialer Ungleichheiten und Ungerechtigkeiten umgesetzt werden konnte. An den Beispielen Prenzlauer Berg und Kleinmachnow in der Region Berlin werden große Unterschiede in der Akzeptanz der Rückgabe durch die Betroffenen deutlich.     

Introduction to Social Network Analysis (SNA) as an investigative tool

Social behavior is brought about mainly through social ties and connections. Our contacts with other people shape our view of the world, reinforce our identity, and the interactions provide us with all kinds of opportunities and resources to get things done. The social capital associated with networks is also one of the primary ways facilitating crime. Therefore, the systematic analysis of criminal networks is considered a viable means to gain a more thorough understanding of criminal behavior. This paper is a general introduction to social network analysis (SNA) as an analytical tool for the study of adversary networks. The paper reviews some theoretical and key concepts, highlights functional applications, and presents a tentative protocol for data handling and coding. The discussion deals with some methodological issues, challenges and future developments in the field.

Sources,Recognition and the Unity of the Legal System

A critical analysis of Kelsen’s theory leads to a broad concept of custom, which covers diverse types of customary norms, where the always required conviction of legal bindingness depends on different types of factual and normative reasons. In it we should include a strict concept of custom or legal usage, derogating custom, custom of general international law, custom that establishes an unwritten constitution, custom that establishes a new written constitution, judicial custom which creates a rule of precedent and custom newly expressed in the judicial application of customary rules. The basic norm could be formulated as a constitutive norm: ‘If the norms created through the first historical constitution are effective, then the first historical constitution (and all the norms derived from it) are valid.’ It is thus a customary constitutive rule that recognizes the first historical constitution as valid law. Norms which establish sources of law are constitutive rules, they can be customary norms or legislated norms, but if they are legislated, they have their validity recognized by, directly or indirectly, a constitutive customary norm. By using a broad concept of custom as a conventional practice, Hart implies that general recognition of a customary rule, together with the practice that accompanies it, are sufficient conditions of validity. A doctrine of recognition that is arrived at by means of criticism and a rational reconstruction of the doctrines of Kelsen and Hart regains the essential theses of the traditional recognition theory of Bierling and Engisch.

     

‘Going institutional’ to overcome obstruction: Explaining the suppression of minority rights in Western European parliaments, 1945−2010

When and why do parliamentary majorities in Europe suppress parliamentary minority rights? This article argues that such reforms are driven by substantive policy conflict in interaction with existing minority rights. Government parties curb minority rights if they fear minority obstruction due to increased policy conflict and a minority-friendly institutional status quo. Empirical support is found for this claim using comparative data on all reforms in 13 Western European parliaments since 1945. A curbing of minority rights is significantly more likely under conditions of heightened policy conflict and these effects are stronger the more the institutional status quo favours opposition parties. Contrary to frequent claims of consensual rule changes from single-country studies in Europe, these findings demonstrate the importance of competitive strategies in explaining institutional reform in European parliaments. The conditional impact of the status quo provides interesting theoretical links to historical institutionalist arguments on path dependence.     

Retrospective pledge voting: A comparative study of the electoral consequences of government parties’ pledge fulfilment

Does pledge fulfilment bear any electoral consequences for government parties? While previous research on retrospective voting has largely focused on electoral accountability with respect to the economy, the theoretical framework presented in this study links government parties’ performance to their previous electoral pledges. It is argued that government parties are more likely to be rewarded by voters when they have fulfilled more pledges during the legislative term. Good pledge performance of a party is associated with the ability to maximise policy benefits (accomplishment) and to be a responsible actor that will stick to its promises in the future as well (competence). Analysing data from 69 elections in 14 countries shows that a government party's electoral outcome is affected by its previous pledge performance. A government party that fulfils a higher share of election pledges is more likely to prevent electoral losses. This finding indicates that voters react at the polls to party pledge fulfilment, which highlights the crucial role of promissory representation in democratic regimes. Surprisingly and in contrast with economic voting, there is no evidence that retrospective pledge voting is moderated by clarity of responsibility.     

Politische Theorie anwendungsbezogen lehren. Lehrende zwischen normativer Zurückhaltung und kritischer Stellungnahme

Teaching normative political theory at university level may require teachers to make explicit normative judgements if concrete political issues are addressed: The article claims that a major challenge lies in combining these teaching-settings and the moral dilemmas posed by them with discursive settings that allow students to form independent judgments. To propose a solution for this conflict, the article outlines a seminar concept which makes teachers and students exchange roles and thereby brings students into a position in which they are challenged to make normative judgements by themselves. Five recommendations aim at integrating the proposed concept with more general considerations for dealing with the discussed intricacies of teaching normative political theory.     

Vereine als Schulen des Vertrauens? Eine empirische Analyse zur Zivilgesellschaft in der Schweiz

In der Tradition von Alexis de Tocqueville wird zivilgesellschaftlichen Vereinigungen eine essentielle Bedeutung in der zwischenmenschlichen Vertrauensbildung zugeschrieben. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrages ist es, den Zusammenhang zwischen Vereinsengagement und generalisiertem Vertrauen differenzierter zu betrachten und empirisch für die Schweiz zu untersuchen. Dabei werden sowohl das Engagement in verschiedenen Organisationstypen (brückenbildende vs. abgrenzende und isolierte vs. verbundene) als auch die vereinstypusunabhängige Integration miteinander verglichen. Empirische Analysen auf Basis aktueller Daten des Schweizer Freiwilligen‐Monitors 2007 kommen dabei zu dem Schluss, dass entgegen weitverbreiteter Meinung die Vertrauensentwicklung in der Schweiz weniger vom Engagement in spezifischen Vereinen abhängt, sondern vielmehr dem Ausmass der persönlichen Integrationsbereitschaft geschuldet ist. Von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Vertrauensentwicklung ist also nicht die Qualität der hier untersuchten einzelnen Vereinigungen, sondern die Quantität des persönlichen Engagements.     

The Question of Feminism in Gender Mainstreaming—A Case of Non-conflict in Local Politics

This article discusses gender equality and how and why a gender mainstreaming strategy avoids the question of gender conflict. The making of gender-equality work is studied by investigating how feminism is talked about and rejected in a specific gender mainstreaming project in the municipality of Örebro, Sweden. Drawing upon the theoretical concepts of hegemony and discourse, the focus is on the silences—the unspoken questions and problems—surrounding the project. I examine how the exclusion of feminism and conflict is articulated when gender mainstreaming is introduced as a new way of doing gender-equality work in the municipality. The struggles identified show that feminism is rejected because it is seen as being in opposition to (1) professionalism and (2) legitimate political issues. I conclude that within the local discourse of gender mainstreaming there is a notion that this form of gender-equality work ought to be performed without harmful or threatening gender conflicts. This means that the strategy of gender mainstreaming constitutes a short-cut to bypass controversial problems like equal treatment, special efforts for women, and men's privileges in gender-equality work.     

Wie lässt sich Demokratie am besten messen? Zum Forumsbeitrag von Thomas Müller und Susanne Pickel

Ohne Zusammenfassung * Die vier Autor(inn)en arbeiten in einem gemeinsamen Forschungsprojekt des NCCR Democracy (vom Schweizerischen Nationalfonds finanziertes National Centre of Competence in Research: Challenges to Democracy in the 21^st Century) und des WZB an einem „Demokratiebarometer“ für die 30 OECD-Staaten, das die Ignoranz der 0-Varianz bei Polity und Freedom House aufkl?ren will.

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