What Do Voters Want From Their Local MP?

This article summarises the findings from a study of what constituents want from their local Member of Parliament. 1 We make use of a survey technique known as conjoint analysis, wherein we present a national sample of British voters with profiles of hypothetical MPs who vary randomly in their characteristics, activities and behaviour. We find that voters like MPs who are independent from the party line and who do not focus exclusively on national policy work. MPs' gender and experience matter far less to constituents. Overall, voters want a Parliament made up of strong‐minded MPs who see their role as that of a constituency representative. This has important implications for parliamentary democracy in Britain.     

Das System des deutschen Artenschutzrechts und die Auswirkungen der Caretta-Entscheidung des EuGH auf den Absichtsbegriff des § 43 Abs. 4 BNatSchG

Das Artenschutzrecht ist eine ausdifferenzierte, völker-, europa- und nationalrechtlich geprägte Rechtsmaterie. Ausgangspunkte einer Prüfung sind Schutzstatus der Art und die Handlung, die vorgenommen werden soll. Bei Eingriffen in besonders geschützte Arten durch Land-, Forst- oder Fischereiwirtschaft sowie durch zugelassene Eingriffe ist § 43 Abs. 4 BNatSchG eine Schlüsselnorm, die absichtliches Handeln voraussetzt. Absichtlich sind gezielte Beeinträchtigungen von Tieren und Pflanzen, nicht absichtlich sind Beeinträchtigungen, die sich als unausweichliche Konsequenz rechtmäßigen Handelns ergeben. An dieser Auslegung hat sich durch die Caretta-Entscheidung des EuGH nichts geändert.     

The rules of the road, a universal visual semiotics

The rules of the road form part an international willingness to simplify the understanding of road regulations worldwide. There is still an attempt to harmonise all regulations, but some countries are reluctant to do so as they fear a loss of their domestic sovereignty. Indeed, with the increase in car use for private or professional reasons, accidents have become one the central issue in international politics; and one way to curb accidents is said to have a universal visual road semiotics. However as this cultural discernment of road signs in civil society (i.e. visual encoding) has become popular, many other forms of use have derived from it for other purposes than road regulations.     

Nationalism and Cultural Memory in Poland: The European Union Turns East

The eastern expansion of the European Union confronts the process of European integration with the phenomenon of cultural and ethnic nationalism. This paper examines the situation of Poland, using Jan Assmann's theory of cultural memory to reconstruct the historical dimension of Polish nationalism which underlies the current constructions of the Polish nation. Understanding itself as the antemurale Europae christianiae, Poland owns an old tradition of resistance. This tradition allowed this country to survive times of division and oppression but now turns against the European Union.