La capacité d'action des gouvernements locaux augmente-t-elle lorsqu'une ville se trouve dans un contexte de croissance et diminue-t-elle en cas de déclin ? Certains auteurs répondent par l'affirmative, d'autres estiment que ce facteur n'est pas déterminant. Cet article souhaite élargir ce débat en analysant comment les gouvernements locaux peuvent mobiliser deux ressources d'action génératrices de capacité d'action : la maîtrise foncière et le soutien politique. En comparant les villes suisses de Bienne et Genève, il suggère qu'une longue période de déclin peut augmenter la capacité d'action, car elle facilite la mobilisation de ces deux ressources. Inversement, la croissance peut réduire la capacité d'action, car elle entraîne une sous-utilisation de la première ressource et complique la mobilisation de la seconde.
Quelles sont les ressources que les gouvernements des villes et leurs partenaires doivent mobiliser pour gouverner la ville du 21ème siècle ? Cet article introductif propose de revisiter le concept de pouvoir urbain en le considérant comme un enchevêtrement de jeux d'acteurs s'articulant autour du contrôle et des échanges de ressources d'action. Il élabore une typologie des ressources du pouvoir urbain puis applique cette grille d'analyse aux quatre études empiriques qui composent ce numéro spécial. Enfin, il présente cinq questions-clés afin de guider les chercheurs et les chercheuses qui souhaiteraient utiliser cette typologie pour des recherches futures.
This dissertation examines the reasons for the selection of roll call votes and their effects on legislators' voting behavior in democratic legislatures. First, the dissertation shows that legislators have an incentive to facilitate the use of roll call votes when they expect that their policy preferences are aligned with those of important actors outside the legislature. Moreover, legislators tend to request roll call votes when they expect outside actors to reward them for their voting behavior and they tend not to request roll call votes when they expect outside actors to punish them for their behavior in roll call votes. Second, the dissertation demonstrates that roll call votes matter for the voting behavior of legislators seeking reelection. This suggests that in many roll call votes, reelection-seeking legislators adapt their voting behavior because of an expectation that outside actors will reward or punish them for their publicly observable voting decisions.
Many studies have found that countries with union-administered unemployment insurance have higher rates of unionization than countries with state-administered unemployment insurance. With data going further back in history, this paper demonstrates that the introduction of so-called “Ghent systems” had no effect on unionization rates. We argue that the Ghent effect identified by the existing literature came about as a result of increasing state subsidization and benefit generosity in the 1950s and 1960s. Exploring the partisan politics partisan politics of unemployment insurance, we show that progressive Liberals (“Social Liberals”) favored Ghent designs while Social Democrats favored state-administered unemployment insurance before the Second World War. We also present some evidence suggesting that Left governments, inheriting Ghent systems that were not of their choosing, promoted state subsidization in the postwar era and thus helped generate the Ghent effect identified by the existing literature.
This dissertation takes up a theoretical problem that prejudices justifications of multiculturalism. If we understand multiculturalism as a position holding that cultures are valuable entities that deserve respect and recognition, we must not only show that there indeed are such things as cultures, but also that culture is the right kind of entity to possess value. However, these assumptions have been widely criticized for being unrealistic and naïve. Culture, it has been objected, is too indeterminate a concept to possess value of the sort required by multiculturalism. The present study elucidates the philosophical underpinnings of the challenge of indeterminacy. Drawing on the pragmatism of John Dewey, it then proposes a theoretical framework for thinking about cultural normativity that countenances the indeterminacy of culture. Its central aim is to show that a culture’s hybrid and political character does not disqualify it as a normative category.
This study investigates the conditions under which pro-status quo groups increase their advocacy success during an entire policy-making process. It scrutinizes whether prostates quo defenders who are involved in multiple institutional venues and who join many coalitions of interest groups are able to achieve their policy preferences. A case study focusing on the regulation of stem cell research in California traces the policy making-process and the related advocacy activities of interest groups in the legislative, administrative, judicial, and direct-democratic venues. The empirical results, which are based on a formal Social Network Analysis, reveal that very few groups are multi-venue players and members of several coalitions. In addition, occupying a central network position is insufficient for the pro-status quo groups to improve their advocacy success.
This research note presents an innovative dataset of Swiss MPs’ interest ties between 2000-2011. The longitudinal analysis shows that the average number of interest ties per MP has more than doubled: from 3.5 in 2000 to 7.6 in 2011. Since the mid-2000s, public interest groups have accounted for approximately one out of two ties between MPs and interest groups, showing the strongest increase during the period. However, when looking at the most present individual groups, important business groups dominate and appear well connected with the governmental parties of the political right. Finally, interest groups are also able to forge themselves a strategic presence within the parliamentary committees that are the most relevant for their policy issues. Next research steps include the assessment of the (un)biased access of interest groups to the parliamentary venue and their policy influence
This study investigates whether work opportunities have an impact on stress and the related turnover intentions of employees working in intergovernmental international organizations. It contextualizes the job resources and demands model within international organizations’ specific work conditions. The empirical test is based on original data from a survey administered in four major organizations of the United Nations system. Results demonstrate that social work opportunities and work-life balance are organizational levers reducing stress and willingness to quit for employees who are facing red tape or the stresses of being an expatriate. In this context, the relationships between these work opportunities and turnover intention are partially mediated by stress. Contextualized HR management propositions are made to help organizations coping with these management challenges.
This article discusses the methodological challenges of legislative surveys. Following an overview of different types of survey biases, the article argues that self-selection and misreporting are the most critical problems for legislative surveys. In order to identify the self-selection and misreporting biases, we compare the answers to a survey from Swiss members of parliament with their observed behavior in the parliament. The empirical analysis shows that the survey sample has a substantial misreporting bias. We conclude that the parliamentarian’s attitude towards the survey object is strongly linked to their response. These issues should be addressed to improve the design and quality of legislative surveys.
