Sharing the burden in a free riders’ land: The EU migration and asylum policy in the views of public opinion and politicians

New divisions have emerged within the European Union over the handling of the recent migration crisis. While both frontline and favoured destination countries are called upon to deal with the number of migrants looking for international protection and better living conditions, no consensus has been reached yet on the quota-based mechanisms for the relocation of refugees and financial help to exposed countries proposed by the EU. Such mechanisms pose a trade-off for member states: the EU's response to the crisis offers help to countries under pressure, but it inevitably requires burden-sharing among all EU members and a limitation of their national sovereignty. Within this scenario, the article compares how public opinion and political elites in ten different EU countries view a common EU migration policy grounded on solidarity and burden-sharing. By tracing both within- and cross-national patterns of convergence (and divergence), the article shows that contextual factors influence policy preferences, with support for solidarity measures being stronger in countries with higher shares of illegal migrants and asylum seekers. While individuals’ predispositions, identity and ideological orientations account for both masses’ and elites’ attitudes towards burden-sharing measures, subjective evaluations and beliefs concerning the severity of the crisis provide additional and alternative explanations when looking at the public's preferences. In particular, it is found that concern about the flow of migrants to Europe consolidates the impact of contextual factors, whereas the overestimation of the immigrant population fosters hostility against solidarity measures, with both effects more pronounced as the country's exposure to the crisis increases. In the light of these results, the main implication of this study is that EU institutions have to primarily address entrenched beliefs and misperceptions about immigrants to enhance public support for a joint approach to migration.     

THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF RICHARD CUMBERLAND: SOVEREIGNTY AND THE ESCAPE FROM THE SEARCH FOR ORIGINS

Abstract. Much of what seventeenth-century writers and preachers had to say about allegiance was framed in terms of deference to the past: subjects owed obedience now because they were heirs to some ancient obedience rightfully exacted. Patriachalists and contractualists alike supposed that questions of legitimacy were best resolved by examining what they took to be the origins of human society. Eventually it became possible to construct a utilitarian political theory which instead judged a given system in terms of the needs it met; Richard Cumberland's De Legibus Naturae (1672) marks an important stage in this process. His cosmology is Christian and his political theory shares many trappings with those of his contemporaries, but from an examination of human interdependence he succeeds in establishing an unequivocally utilitarian account of sovereignty.     

LABELING EFFECTS OF FIRST JUVENILE ARRESTS: SECONDARY DEVIANCE AND SECONDARY SANCTIONING

A growing literature suggests that juvenile arrests perpetuate offending and increase the likelihood of future arrests. The effect on subsequent arrests is generally regarded as a product of the perpetuation of criminal offending. However, increased rearrest also may reflect differential law enforcement behavior. Using longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) together with official arrest records, the current study estimates the effects of first arrests on both reoffending and rearrest. Propensity score methods were used to control differences between arrestees and nonarrestees and to minimize selection bias. Among 1,249 PHDCN youths, 58 individuals were first arrested during the study period; 43 of these arrestees were successfully matched to 126 control cases that were equivalent on a broad set of individual, family, peer, and neighborhood factors. We find that first arrests increased the likelihood of both subsequent offending and subsequent arrest, through separate processes. The effects on rearrest are substantially greater and are largely independent of the effects on reoffending, which suggests that labels trigger “secondary sanctioning” processes distinct from secondary deviance processes. Attempts to ameliorate deleterious labeling effects should include efforts to dampen their escalating punitive effects on societal responses.     

eHEALTH IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF THE ACCEPTANCE OF GERMANY'S ELECTRONIC HEALTH CARD

Given the increasing importance of eHealth as an integral part of eGovernment, this contribution concentrates on the issue of acceptance regarding the introduction of the German electronic health card (eHC). A brief introduction highlights the relevance of the subject and the differing acceptance rates of patients and service providers, i.e. physicians. Based on both the technology acceptance model and the relevant literature, important factors influencing the attitude towards and the potential use of the eHC are conceptualized and integrated in a research model. The empirical examination was conducted throughout Germany through an online survey of physicians. Overall, 502 responses were collected and included in the analysis, which was carried out with structural equation modelling using EQS. The empirical results show that the relevant determinants of the acceptance of the eHC in Germany, such as efficiency and usability of the system and the cost–benefit ratio, were properly identified.     

THE MEANING OF ARREST FOR WIFE ASSAULT*

The social meaning of wife assault has changed in recent years for both citizens and formal social control agents. Research on deterrence has been partly responsible for modifying police responses to domestic violence. Police are increasingly adopting pro-arrest policies for wife assault, but little is known about perceptions held by assaulters concerning the consequences of arrest for their life circumstances. Using national survey data from samples of both assaultive and nonassaultive men, the following questions are addressed: What costs do men perceive as most likely to occur if they are arrested for wife assault? Does the perceived likelihood of these costs contribute to their overall fear (i.e., perceived severity) of arrest? To what extent is the perceived likelihood of these costs related to involvement in wife assault? Perceived costs include both direct consequences seen to result from arrest and any indirect costs for the person. Indirect consequences include stigmatic costs (e.g., familial or personal humiliation), attachment costs (e.g., damage to interpersonal relationships) or commitment costs (e.g. jeopardized investments or foreclosed opportunities). The implications of the findings for an expanded version of the deterrence doctrine are discussed.     

DOES PRESCHOOL HELP PREVENT DELINQUENCY IN BOYS WITH A HISTORY OF PERINATAL COMPLICATIONS?*

We examined whether a preschool intervention program moderates the effects of perinatal complications with a sample of boys from the most disadvantaged areas of Montreal (Canada). Some boys experienced the preschool program and some did not, which allowed us to test whether the program had any effects on the boys' risk for early adolescent delinquency given their perinatal histories. We hypothesized that perinatal complications would place boys at significantly greater risk for antisocial behavior during early adolescence and that participation in a preventive preschool program might circumvent this risk. Independent of maternal sociodemographic characteristics, boys with a history of perinatal complications showed no greater risk of reporting delinquency during early adolescence than their same-sex peers without a history of perinatal complications. Surprisingly, the program showed a beneficial effect on boys with no history of serious perinatal complications. Such boys were less at risk for delinquency. In the presence of a serious medical condition after birth, the benefits of the program decreased significantly to the point that it placed the boys at risk.     

Exhuming Death of a Bureaucrat

Death of a Bureaucrat ( Alea, 1966 ) has never received the recognition or in‐depth study that it deserves, yet this is a key film that marks Cuban film’s early success in addressing both local and global concerns. While remaining steadfastly Cuban, the film borrows knowingly from many sources, from Hollywood comedies to Buñuel. Crucially, it has a Brechtian note, and an eclectic use of montage is clearly informed by Eisenstein. Together, these approaches lead to an inventive, imaginative work. The film heralds a radical style of filmmaking that emerged precisely from Cuba’s revolutionary political culture.