The effects of convergence: internationalization and the changing distribution of net value added in large German firms

The paper examines whether and how the increasing internationalization of firms impacts on the operation of a co-ordinated market economy. Following the tenets of agency theory, it assumes that an emerging market for corporate control changes the monitoring mechanisms that oversee management. Since Anglo-American forms of monitoring are usually associated with a higher return for investors compared with Continental European firms, a change in the distribution of the net value added of firms is expected. Using financial data on fifty-nine large German companies, the paper shows that the emerging convergence of German corporate governance practices to Anglo-American standards has had a weak, but significant, impact on the distribution of net value added. This is in contrast to the impact of the internationalization of firms on product markets, which does not have an effect. Since the market for corporate control is, however, still underdeveloped in Germany, the main effects remain to be seen.     

Does context matter – The impact of electoral systems,political parties and individual characteristics on voters' perceptions of party positions

This article aims to investigate under which circumstances policy representation can exist in terms of agreement in voters' perceptions of parties' left–right positions. The focal point in the study is on how voters' perceptions are affected not only by individual characteristics but also by various contextual factors related to the political parties and the political systems. With data from the CSES on individual voters and various system characteristics from election surveys in 32 countries, this article shows that what in earlier findings have appeared as national context effects rather are party effects when being decomposed. System related variables have only a small impact on voters' perceptions while the party- followed by the individually related variables exerted the greatest impact.     

Issue and leader voting in U.S. presidential elections

The “Issues and Leaders” model shows that aggregate votes for President in U.S. elections from 1972 to 2012 can be accurately predicted from people's perceptions of the candidates' issue handling competence and leadership qualities. For the past five elections, the model's ex ante forecasts, calculated three to two months prior to Election Day, were competitive with those from the best of eight established political economy models. Model accuracy substantially improved closer to Election Day. The Election Eve forecasts missed the actual vote shares by, on average, little more than one percentage point and thus reduced the error of the Gallup pre-election poll by 30%. The model demonstrates that the direct influence of party identification on vote choice decreases over the course of the campaign, whereas issues gain importance. The model has decision-making implications in that it advises candidates to engage in agenda setting and to increase their perceived issue-handling and leadership competence.     

The Use of Indirection in Televised Political Debates

ABSTRACT

We examine the use of indirection in the three televised debates between George Bush and Al Gore during the 2000 American presidential race. Indirection is a discursive process that enables a speaker to perform a nonliteral “primary” speech act by performing a literal “secondary” speech act. Eight mechanisms of indirection are characterized and explained using examples from the debates. Their occurrence in the debates is also analyzed. The indirection used most often saw the speaker promising to perform an action by expressing his intention to do so. A comparison is made between the American debates and Canadian and Quebec debates. Also questioned is the persuasive effect of indirection in political communication and its potential for strategists and for future research in light of the presented results.     

Political Advertising in Greek Municipal and Prefecture Elections of 2002

Abstract

Since the restoration of democracy in 1974, Greek politics have undergone a serious transformation, exemplified by the increase in political participation that strongly affected political advertising at the national and local level. The major claim of the paper is that political campaigns in major cities in Greece are “modern” while in the periphery of the country political campaigning is based more upon direct forms of interpersonal relations. Our claim is based upon an examination of the role of political advertising in the major metropolitan city of Thessaloniki (around 1.000.000 inhabitants), and the semi-peripheral city of Kastoria (around 17.000 inhabitants), both situated in Northern Greece. The primary objective of this study is to establish a strong factual foundation that can be used by policy makers, opinion leaders, and citizens in order to understand the role of political advertising in national and municipal elections in Greece.     

Advertising Spending by Incumbents and Challengers

Abstract

As candidates spend increasing amounts of money on television advertising, it becomes critically important to assess the degree to which this advertising produces results. In an examination of a particularly hard fought primary for a major state-wide office, this study compares the impact made by each candidate's television advertising on voter intentions during the campaign and the votes ultimately received at the end. Results suggest that over the course of the campaign, television advertising benefited the challenger more than the incumbent.     

泰国民主乱局与政治学理论界的集体失语症——泰国民主政治危机的共和主义视角

自泰国从西方引入民主制度以来,其政治制度的危机一直呈现周期性发生的情形。学术界对这一现象进行理论探讨的学者很多,但他们大多将导致这种危机周期性发生的根源,归结于泰国自身的国情复杂性方面的种种内源性因素。本文将理论探讨的重点,投射到泰国政治危机的外源性因素——即泰国从西方舶来的民主制度本身固有的制度性缺陷方面。通过深入的理论分析和对比,作者得出了泰国当前政治制度危机与现代西方民主主义理论所涵盖的谬误直接相关联的结论。而作者得出这一结论的理论参照坐标是共和主义的观念形态和制度原则与民主主义的重大差异。     

马来西亚华人社团大选诉求事件探析

在1999年马来西亚大选前夕,马来西亚2095个华人社团共同向参与竞选的各政治派别提出了一系列的社会政治诉求,旨在改变那些他们认为是不公平的社会政策,特别是种族间的不平等。诉求运动取得了一定的成就,但也引发了一定范围内华巫种族关系的紧张。为消除这种紧张关系,双方互有妥协,部分关键诉求最终被迫搁置。该诉求是一次典型的政治参与运动,有着特殊的历史与现实背景。新经济政策实施以后,华社已有多次诉求提出,1999年的大选和巫统的分裂则为其再次提供了现实机遇。然而,由于诉求提出的民间性、偏向性、时效性等特征,该运动因遇到诸多问题并未坚持久远。不过,诉求事件为华社政治参与留下了宝贵的经验教训,使之日益成熟。     

泰国政治权力结构调整的动力、路径与困境

基于对政治利益集团权力斗争的分析,本文认为,近年来泰国政局持续动荡的根源在于政治权力结构调整所面临的转型困境。20世纪90年代以来,泰国在全球化外部风险与国内城乡发展失衡的双重压力下,形成对国家发展道路的重新选择要求。经济利益结构的改革压力,形成对"碎片化"政治权力结构的调整动力。1997年东亚金融危机爆发,成为推动泰国政治权力结构调整的契机。既得利益集团倾向于保留"碎片化"格局的改良方案,但代表新资本集团的他信派系倾向于政治改革,要求建构由其主导的"层级式"政治权力结构。他信派系得益于新资本集团与农民群体的政治联合,在"政治权力结构—经济利益结构"大循环调整过程中占据优势;既得利益集团得益于国王权威的支持,在"政治权力结构—政治文化传统"小循环调整过程中掌握主动。双方在政治权力结构的调整过程中相互制衡,从而使得泰国的政治秩序迟迟未能重建。