Social Stigma and Support for the Populist Radical Right: An Experimental Study

The ‘taboo’ or ‘stigma’ associated with many populist radical right parties (PRRPs) has been argued to be an important constraint on their electoral success. In comparison to mainstream parties, there seems to be a higher barrier keeping voters from supporting PRRPs. However, this mechanism has not been tested directly. We conducted a randomized survey‐embedded experiment manipulating the social stigma of a fictitious radical right party in Sweden. We compare three conditions. Two of these contain subtle signals about how other respondents feel about this party. In one condition the fictitious party is supported by many voters (the neutralizing condition) and in the other it is evaluated negatively by the overwhelming majority (the stigma condition). Both experimental groups do not differ significant from the control group in support for this fictitious party. However, the difference between the two experimental groups is borderline significant. This suggests that there is a causal effect of social stigma on support for a RRP, even though the evidence is rather tentative.     

Conflict Resolution Between Power Sharing and Power Dividing, or Beyond?

McGarry, J. and O'Leary, B. (2004) The Northern Ireland Conflict: Consociational Engagements . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roeder, P. G. and Rothchild, D. (2005) Sustainable Peace: Power and Democracy after Civil Wars . Ithaca NY and London: Cornell University Press.
O'Leary, B., McGarry, J. and Salih, K. (2005) The Future of Kurdistan in Iraq . Philadelphia PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.     

Land- und Forstwirtschaft im Umweltgesetzbuch – Wird der Referentenentwurf den ökologischen Herausforderungen gerecht?

Zusammenfassung  Eine wesentliche Ursache für den anhaltenden Rückgang der Biologischen Vielfalt und der Belastung des Naturhaushaltes ist die moderne land- und forstwirtschaftliche Bewirtschaftung. Ein zukunftsf?higes Naturschutzrecht, welches den 2010-Zielen und der Nationalen Biodiversit?tsstrategie der Bundesregierung dienen soll, muss bei diesem Wirtschaftszweig ansetzen. Der Beitrag untersucht, inwieweit der Referentenentwurf des Bundesumweltministeriums vom 20. Mai 2008 diesem Anspruch gerecht wird.     

Die symbolische Inszenierung als „kultureller Anderer“ – Zur Auslegung weltkultureller Skripte im Feld der europäischen Inklusionspolitik

This paper puts forward a sociological perspective on the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) going beyond the usual focus on power and learning in governance studies. It uses a combined approach based on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of social fields and John W. Meyer’s neoinstitutionalism. Seen from this angle the OMC transmits and amplifies the abstract ideas of the world polity for EU Member States. The coordination procedure gives rise to a political field in Bourdieu’s sense filled with a variety of actors that claim to be selfless and disinterested “cultural others”. Hence, the OMC can be used by these actors as an opportunity structure for symbolic enrichment. By symbolically enriching their strategies, these actors avoid triggering the automatic recourse to subsidiarity as a means to fend off European influence. Empirically, the article identifies five types of cultural others: conceptual entrepreneurs, knowledge producers, fundamental critics, detached observers and robust actors.     

The Radical Milieu: Conceptualizing the Supportive Social Environment of Terrorist Groups

Terrorist groups are not completely isolated, socially “free-floating” entities, but emerge from and operate within a specific, immediate social environment—what we call the radical milieu—which shares their perspective and objectives, approves of certain forms of violence, and (at least to a certain extent) supports the violent group morally and logistically. In this article we introduce an approach to conceptualize and analyze this formative and supportive social environment of clandestine groups, addressing the questions of how the radical milieu emerges, what forms it takes, and what role it plays in shaping the development of violent groups. Our focus, thereby, rests on relationship-patterns between violent groups and radical milieus as well as on processes of interaction between radical milieus and their broader political and societal environment, which may entail dynamics of support and control but also isolation and radicalization.     

Zur verfassungsrechtlichen Beurteilung des Vertrags über Stabilit?t, Koordinierung und Steuerung in der Wirtschafts- und W?hrungsunion ("Fiskalpakt")

Der Vertrag über Stabilit?t, Koordinierung und Steuerung in der Wirtschafts- und W?hrungsunion ("VSKS" - vulgo "Fiskalpakt") wurde dem ?sterreichischen Parlament als gesetz?ndernd bzw gesetzeserg?nzend zugeleitet. Er enth?lt jedoch einige verfassungs?ndernde Bestimmungen. Es sind dies Beschr?nkungen der Budgethoheit des Nationalrats, die übertragung von Hoheitsrechten auf Organe der EU, und eine neuartige Verpflichtung zur Normenkontrolle. Der VSKS bedürfte daher vor seiner Ratifikation der Erlassung eines Bundesverfassungsgesetzes. Dies deshalb, weil weder die Bestimmungen über die Ab?nderung von EU-Prim?rrecht (Art 50 Abs 1 Z 2 iVm Abs 4 B-VG) noch die Erm?chtigung zur übertragung von Hoheitsrechten (Art 9 Abs 2 B-VG), die derartige Verfassungs?nderungen decken k?nnten, auf den VSKS anwendbar sind.     

环境规制对企业有好处吗——对波特假说的一个检验

传统观点认为环境规制对受环境污染的企业有负面影响,但波特(假说)宣称受污染的企业能从环境政策中受益,因为设计良好的环境规制能通过提高生产率或增加产品价值来激励创新,实现个体利益,最终环境规制能使社会和被规制企业都受益。波特假说被政策制定者和通俗刊物所接受,但受到部分经济学家的严厉批评。在本文中,Ambec和Barla列举了这场争论中的主要观点,展示了波特假说的理论基础,进而对迄今为止经济学领域一些适用的经验性证据进行评价。