Migration and geopolitical preferences

This paper investigates the impact of work experience abroad on migrants’ geopolitical preferences. For this purpose, I analyze representative survey data from Moldova, a country caught in an ideological battle between Russia and the West, with high emigration rates to both destinations. In a first step, I show that return migrants from the West are significantly more likely to support European Union (EU) accession than non-migrants, while return migrants from the East are more likely to support closer ties with Russia, controlling for economic, demographic, and ethnic confounding factors. In a second step, I use district-level variation in migrant networks as an instrument for individual migration. Second-stage regressions show that work experience in the West increases support for EU accession, while no evidence of causal effects is found for work experience in the East. Differences in information exposure and migration policies between the EU and Russia may explain this asymmetry.     

Treatment format and external validity in international relations experiments

Political scientists use short vignettes or mock news stories to embed treatments in experimental survey designs. We investigate whether the choice of format entails a trade off between internal and external validity. On the one hand, short vignettes may improve internal validity by isolating key variables without overloading respondents with information, thereby mitigating satisficing and improving data quality. On the other hand, mock news stories may improve external validity by approximating the circumstances under which individuals consume political information, which may enhance the credibility of the information. We find no evidence, however, that short vignettes mitigate satisficing more than mock news stories. Nor do we find that mock news stories enhance individual perceptions of the credibility of the information. Instead, we find that short vignettes are susceptible to confounding, which mock news story mitigate. These findings have important implications for debates about the use of survey experiments in political science.     

The moderating role of identification and campaign exposure in party cueing effects

In a democracy, citizens are expected to have political opinions. Previous research has shown that citizens, in part, form their opinions by following cues from political parties. Building on this literature, this article argues that these cueing effects are the result of individuals identifying with political parties, leading to parties as credible sources and alignment of attitudes to maintain in-group coherence (motivated reasoning). However, party cues can only be successful when individuals are actually exposed to these cues, which previous research has not explicitly studied. Using survey data (N = 20,893) collected from 21 EU member states, this study shows that cueing effects indeed depend on the strength of party identification and the degree of exposure. These results demonstrate the contingent nature of party cueing effects which are also changing as party loyalties decrease.     

Attitudes toward Consent-Based and Non-Consent-Based International Law in a Regional Power Context

International legal scholars have identified and argued for and against new forms of non-consent-based international law. We study variation in Brazilian public opinion about adherence to international law created in three different ways: through a consent-based multilateral treaty, by the U.N. Security Council with the participation of Brazil, and by the U.N. Security Council without the participation of Brazil. Information that Brazil has participated in creating the international legal obligation through a multilateral treaty or membership on the Security Council yields levels of support for adherence to the legal obligation that are similar to those found when the origins of the legal obligation are generic. Information that the international legal obligation was created without Brazil’s participation, on the other hand, results in reduced support for compliance. This difference, which is particularly concentrated among highly educated respondents, is not driven by reduced concerns about reputational consequences or sanctions. Our results suggest that the increased use of non-consent-based forms of international law might be challenged by a lack of public support for compliance.     

Homogeneous National Management Policies or Autonomous Choices by Administrative Units? Inter- and Intra-Country Management Tools Use Variations in European Central Government Administrations

ABSTRACT

This article presents an original research on the use of management tools in central government departments and agencies in 16 European countries. It is based on a survey conducted among senior managers (n?=?5,998). The analysis shows that the use of management tools results from a combination of top-down implementation of a list of management tools at the national level, combined with a bottom-up independent selection of tools by administrative units. The variation in management tool use depends on the type of tool. While the uses of a HRM tool, such as performance-related pay, or a financial tool, such as risk management, are heavily influenced by national public management policies, service quality-type tools, such as user surveys or quality management systems, tend to be chosen in a more autonomous manner by different administrative units, especially agencies.     

Seeing the Lexus for the Olive Trees? Public Opinion,Economic Interdependence,and Interstate Conflict

Many scholars argue that economic interdependence and more extensive economic ties between countries decreases the risk of violent conflict between them. However, despite considerable research on the “capitalist peace” at the macro or dyadic level, there has been less attention to its possible individual-level microfoundations or underpinnings. We argue that public perceptions about economic ties with other states and the costs of conflict should influence the expected constraints on the use of force for leaders. Actual high interdependence and potential economic costs may not suffice to create political constraints on the use of force if people are unaware of the degree of interdependence or fail to understand the benefits of trade and the likely economic costs of disruptive conflict. We examine the linkages between individual perceptions about economic interdependence and their views on conflict and peace through a survey experiment, where we ask respondents in Japan about approval for belligerent actions in a territorial dispute with China and varying information about economic ties. Our findings indicate that greater knowledge and information about economic interdependence affects attitudes about territorial disputes and increases support for peaceful solutions with China.     

Proud to Be a Public Servant? An Analysis of the Work-Related Determinants of Professional Pride among Dutch Public Servants

ABSTRACT

A proud public servant is defined as someone who works honorably, conscientiously, and with dedication. Although professional pride has several positive effects on the performances of public servants, it is not instantly apparent which instruments help to stimulate pride. This study combines the Job Demands-Resources model and the High Performance Work Practices taxonomy to analyze the determinants of pride. The analysis of a large dataset of Dutch public servants shows that their professional pride can barely be influenced by High-Performance Work Practices but is in particular determined by the work environment and personal experiences related to the work.     

Identity,procedures and performance: how authoritarian regimes legitimize their rule

ABSTRACT

Constructing convincing legitimacy claims is important for securing the stability of authoritarian regimes. However, extant research has struggled to systematically analyse how authoritarians substantiate their right to rule. We analyse a novel data set on authoritarian regimes’ claims to legitimacy that is based on leading country experts’ assessments of 98 states for the period 1991–2010. This analysis provides key new insights into the inner workings and legitimation strategies of current non-democratic regimes. Closed authoritarian regimes predominately rely on identity-based legitimacy claims (foundational myth, ideology and personalism). In contrast, elections fundamentally change how authoritarian rulers relate to society. In their legitimacy claims, electoral authoritarian regimes focus on their ‘adequate’ procedures, thereby mimicking democracies. All regimes also stress their purported success in proving material welfare and security to their citizens.     

关于创设民事诉讼证明妨碍制度的基本视野

在我国的民事诉讼上，证明妨碍行为早已普遍存在并有继续蔓延的趋势，终因我国理论界对此现象未加以应有的重视，并且在立法及司法上严重滞后，使受妨碍人不能得到应有的救济，这种情形严重妨碍了程序上公平与正义的实现。由此，证明妨碍行为成为我国民事证据制度上亟待解决的一个问题。     

矛盾的统一体——美国的两大犯罪统计项目之比较

由美国司法部管理的全国两大犯罪统计项目——“统一犯罪报告”项目、“全国犯罪被害调查”项目已经成为政策决策部门、管理部门、犯罪学研究者乃至普通民众了解美国犯罪水平和趋势的最重要数据来源。两大项目分别从执法部门和犯罪被害人的角度收集美国犯罪问题的实证敷据资料，提供了许多富有实践价值和学术价值的成果。但是两者在项目目标、统计方法、对犯罪问题的覆盖程度等诸多方面有所差异，因而产生了似乎矛盾的结果。把“统一犯罪报告”项目、“全国犯罪被害调查”项目进行比较研究,研究结果表明这两个项目既有广泛联系、又存在重大区别,是一个矛盾的统一体。