I: Political Science: Method and Theory/Science Politique: Méthodes et Théories
| Published date | 01 February 2016 |
| Date | 01 February 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002083451606600101 |
| Subject Matter | Abstracts |
1
I
POLITICAL SCIENCE : METHOD AND THEORY
SCIENCE POLITIQUE : MÉTHODES ET THÉORIES
66.1 ABDELZADEH, Ali ; ÖZDEMIR, Metin ; VAN ZALK, Maarten
— Dissatisfied citizens: an assert to or a liability on the
democratic functioning of society? Scandinavian Political
Studies 38(4), Dec. 2015 : 410-436.
Past research has shown that, although a majority of citizens in democ-
racies support the idea of democracy as a form of governance, some
tend to be distrustful od democratic institutions and express dissatisfac-
tion with the way democratic works. To better understand the role of
various groups of dissatisfied citizens in the democratic functioning of a
society, one should examine their democratic characteristics. Based on
youth’s dissatisfaction with the performance of political institutions and
the principles of democracy, four distinct groups of citizens are identified.
These groups are then compared in terms of their political engagement;
knowledge and interest, values and attitudes, and disposition to break
the law. [R, abr.]
66.2 ABULOF, Uriel — The confused compass: from self-
determination to state-determination. Ethnopolitics 14(5),
Nov. 2015 : 488-497.
Self-determination, a prime justificatory principle of the international
society, has become a confused, and confusing, compass. At the heart
of this confusion lies the tacit submersion of self-determination in state-
determination. In principle, self-determination entails the “moral double
helix” of duality (personal right to align with a people, and the people’s
right to determine their politics) and mutuality (the right is as much the
other’s as the self’s). In practice, state actors have labored to tame self-
determination: to control and contain this perilous principle by yielding
the will of “the people” to the interests of powerful states, which have
repeatedly impaired its moral DNA. [R] [See Abstr. 66.384a]
66.3 AGUIRRE, Mariano — Multilateralismo y mantenimiento
de la paz (Multilateralism and peacekeeping). PolÍtica ex-
terior 165, May-June 2015 : 104-112.
The expectations for a more cooperative world after the Cold War have
not been met. On the one hand, competition and tensions between world
powers have once again become the order of the day, because of Rus-
sia’s integration in the market economy and China’s increasingly impor-
tant role in globalization. Europe, for its part, has accepted a liberal
economic model to the detriment of the social welfare model, and has
thus contributed to the expansion of global inequality. On the other hand,
there is no common ground for a multilateral understanding about how to
deal with major international conflicts, as revealed by the failure of
negotiations and military interventions in the Middle East ever since the
reaction to the 9/11 [2001] attacks.
66.4 AGUITON, Sara Angeli — Du bon usage du terrorisme :
risque, biosécurité et gouvernement d’une biotechnolo-
gie contestée (On the good use of terrorism. Risk, biodi-
versity and the government of a contested biotechnol-
ogy). Gouvernement et Action publique 4(3), July-Sept.
2015 : 31-56.
Since 2001, biological threats have become a growing preoccupation for
terrorism-prevention services in the US administration. This concern met
the trajectory of synthetic biology, an emerging field of biotechnology
which aims to create organisms that do not exist in nature. Gene-
synthesis, a core industrial sector for synthetic biology’s promises,
rapidly raised debates concerning the government of science, market
and national security. By retracing these conflicts, also fueled by envi-
ronmental critics against synthetic biology’s agenda, the paper shows
that the bioterroris t risk contributed to legitimate a contested biotechnol-
ogy. Displaced from synthetic biology’s techniques and projects, the risk
got progressively attached to the “misuses” of gene-synthesis. [R, abr.]
66.5 AKRAM, Sadiya ; EMERSON, Guy ; MARSH, David —
(Re)Conceptualising the third face of power: insights
from Bourdieu and Foucault. Journal of Political Power
8(3), 2015 : 345-362.
The strength of Lukes’ third face of power is the recognition that agents
can be influenced by structures and ideas in ways of which they are
unaware. The weakness of Lukes’ position is that his consideration of the
third face is under-developed. We argue that P. Bourdieu and M. Fou-
cault’s work offer fruitful ways of exploring this ‘pre-conscious’ dimen-
sion. Using Bourdieu’s work, the core of any understanding of the third
face is rooted in the relationship between the social field and the habitus,
while, for Foucault, the focus is upon the construction of the subject and
her preferences in relation to the ongoing production of power. We
subsequently explore the differences between their positions. [R]
66.6 AKSOY, Sevilay Z. — Rejim teorileri (Regime theories).
Uluslararasi Ilişkiler (International Relations) 46, 2015 : 57-
77.
This article examines the regime theories, which put a claim on the
possibility of interstate cooperation notwithstanding the anarchic nature
of international system, and thus, which call into question the “inevitabil-
ity of the conflict” as emphasized by the realist theory. In this context, the
concept of regime, the ontological and epistemological debates that
pertain to it, and the interest, power and knowledge based approaches
that reflect the plural nature of the regime theory are successively ana-
lyzed. [R] [See Abstr. 66.17]
66.7 ALEXANDER, James — A sketch of a system of theory
and practice. Political Studies Review 13(4), Nov. 2015 :
485-493.
Most political theorists are committed to one particular view about the
relation between theory and practice. I argue that there are in fact four
possible ways of relating theory and practice, which are distinguished in
terms of the answers that are given to two distinct questions. Derived
from this is the suggestion that all political theorists can be classified
according to whether they are sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic or
choleric. The purpose of this sketch of a system is to indicate the ques-
tionable nature of much of what passes for modern political theory —
especially that of the now dominant sanguine tradition, which has for
several decades especially concerned itself with the “impact” theory can
have on practice. [R] [See Abstr. 66.328]
66.8 ALEXY, Robert — Grundrechte, Demokratie und
Repräsentation (Human rights, democracy and represen-
tation). Der Staat 54(2), 2015 : 201-212 .
The main theoretical problem of constitutional jurisdiction is how a
constitutional court can repeal parliamentary decisions. In one of his
main works, H. Kelsen rightly states that when laws do not comply with
the material requirements of the constitution, particularly fundamental
rights, they are illegal, but he makes no mention about how the unconsti-
tutionality of laws is to be determined and by whom. From an institutional
point of view, the legitimization of constitutional courts to resolve this
issue and its compatibility with democracy are in doubt but, according to
the author, it can be justified by means of the argumentative representa-
tion theory.
66.9 ANCKAR, Carsten ; SUNDBERG, Jan — Nordic contribu-
tions to comparative research. Scandinavian Political Stud-
ies 38(4), Dec. 2015 : 323-341.
This article gives a short overview of the development and present state of
comparative research in the Nordic countries. It also gives a brief account
of the comparative research profiles at the political science departments in
Nordic universities. It undertakes a bibliographic analysis of Nordic contri-
butions in international journals with a focus on comparative politics. The
results show, among other things, that there has been a marked increase in
the share and number of comparative articles published by Danish, Swed-
ish and Norwegian scholars. In Finland (and Icelan d), however, no similar
trend can be discerned. The conclusion is that the internationalization of
political science is likely to stimulate cross-country research and accord-
ingly comparative politics is likely to consolidate its position as a major
political science discipline in Scandinavia. [R, abr.]
66.10 ANIEVAS, Alexander — Revolutions and international
relations: rediscovering the classical bourgeois revolu-
tions. European Journal of International Relations 21(4),
Dec. 2015 : 841-866.
Within IR, the study of revolutions has remained something of a secon-
dary subject. Not only have there been relatively few studies theoretically
engaging with revolution and international relations, but the dominant
theoretical frameworks in IR have largely bracketed out revolutions from
their conceptions of international politics. Yet, if revolutions have been, in
part, international in both cause and effect, thereby transcending the
confines of “second-“ and “third-image” conceptions of international re-
lations, we require theoretical tools capable of capturing the sociological
Political science : method and theory
2
and geopolitical dimensions of these Janus-faced events without reduc-
ing one dimension to the other. Drawing on the theory of uneven and
combined development, this article provides such a conception, organi-
cally uniting both “sociological” and “geopolitical” modes of explanation. It
re-examines the English and French revolutions. [R, abr.]
66.11 ARFI, Badredine — Habermas and the aporia of translat-
ing religion in democracy. European Journal of Social The-
ory 18(4), Nov. 2015 : 489-506.
In his recent attempt to make democracy more politically hospitable to
religion, Habermas calls for the potential contributions of religion to
democratic politics not to be neglected. What Habermas effectively calls
for is for an anasemic translation, an operation of de-signification of the
truth contents of religious c ontributions and then a re-signification.
Because Habermas calls for translation, he necessarily runs into the
aporia of translation in the sense that certain aspects of religion are
untranslatable into his generally acceptable language. Therefore,
Habermas’s translation proviso creates an asymmetry between religious
and non-religious citizens, which is detrimental to the conditions of
political legitimacy. To address this problem, the citizens must adopt an
ethos of hospitality toward the untranslatable of religion as part of the
conditions of political legitimacy. [R, abr.]
66.12 ARNASON, Johann P., ed. — Theorizing capitalism:
classical foundations and contemporary innovations.
European Journal of Social Theory 18(4), Nov. 2015 : 351-
430.
Editor’s introduction, pp. 351-365. Articles by Christoph DEUTSCHMANN,
“Disembedded markets as a mirror of society: b lind spots of social theory”,
pp. 368-389; Gary G. HAMILTON and Solee I. SHIN, “Demand-responsive
industrialization in East Asia: a new critique of political economy”, pp. 390-
412; Uwe SCHILMANK, “Modernity as a functionally differentiated capitalist
society: a general theoretical model”, pp. 413-430.
66.13 ARONOW, Peter M. ; SAMII, Cyrus ; ASSENOVA, Valentina
A. — Cluster-robust variance estimation for dyadic data.
Political Analysis 23(4), Autumn 2015 : 564-577.
Dyadic data are common in the social sciences, although inference for
such settings involves accounting for a complex clustering structure.
Many analyses in the social sciences fail to account for the fact that
multiple dyads share a member, and that errors are thus likely correlated
across these dyads. We propose a non-parametric, sandwich-type
robust variance estimator for linear regression to account for such clus-
tering in dyadic data. We enumerate conditions for estimator consis-
tency. We also extend our results to repeated and weighted observa-
tions, including directed dyads and longitudinal data, and provide an
implementation for generalized linear models such as logistic regression.
We examine empirical performance with simulations and an application
to interstate disputes. [R]
66.14 ASAKO, Yasushi — Campaign promises as an imperfect
signal: how does an extreme candidate win against a
moderate candidate? Journal of Theoretical Politics 27(4),
Oct. 2015 : 613-649.
This study develops a political competition model in which campaign
platforms are partially binding. A candidate who implements a policy that
differs from his/her platform must pay a cost of betrayal, which increases
with the size of the discrepancy. I also assume that voters are uncertain
about candidates’ policy preferences. If voters believe that a candidate is
likely to be extreme, there exists a semi-separating equilibrium: an
extreme candidate imitates a moderate candidate, with some probability,
and approaches the median policy with the remaining probability. Al-
though an extreme candidate will implement a more extreme policy than
a moderate candidate, regardless of imitation or approach, partial pool-
ing ensures that voters prefer an extreme candidate who does not
pretend to be moderate over an uncertain candidate who announces an
extreme platform. [R, abr.]
66.15 ATKESON, Lonna Rae ; ALVAREZ, R. Michael ; HALL, Thad
E. — Voter confidence: how to measure it and how it dif-
fers from governm ent support. Election Law Journal 14(3),
2015 : 207-219.
Voters are often trusting of elections, but distrustful of government. We
test whether voter confidence represents a different measure of system
support from trust in government and external efficacy. Theoretically, we
describe the inherent differences in these measures as one reason to
suspect they are so. Empirically, we consider frequency distributions,
crosstabs, exploratory factor analysis, reliability tests, and regression
analysis to determine the independent validity of each system support
measure. We find strong theoretical and empirical evidence to support
that voter confidence is different from other system support measures
previously studied and examined. As such, it is an important new area of
scholarship. [R]
66.16 AYDEIN-DÜZGIT, Senem — Post-yapisalci yaklaşimlar ve
uluslararasi ilişkilerin temel kavramlari (Post-structural
approaches and basic concepts of International Rela-
tions). Uluslararasi Ilişkiler (International Relations) 46,
2015 : 153-168.
This article presents the theoretical framework of post-structuralist
approaches within the IR discipline by focusing on their conceptualization
of the main IR themes. Ontological and epistemological bases of post-
structuralist approaches are presented whereby the focus on discourse,
knowledge and power is highlighted. The outlook of the main theoretical
bases on the concepts that play a main role in the discursive construc-
tion of the modern state, namely sovereignty, identity and foreign policy
is discussed. This article finally discusses the main contributions of these
approaches to the IR discipline as well as the main criticisms that they
encounter. [R] [See Abstr. 66.17]
66.17 AYDIN, Mustafa ; AKGÜL AÇIKMEŞE, Sinem — Uluslara-
rasi ilişkiler kuramlarinda ana Akimlara yeniden bakiş
(Revisiting the mainstream approaches of the theories of
International relaitons). Uluslararasi Ilişkiler (International
Relations) 46, 2015 : 1-9.
The view that we have reached the end of the “grand debates” in IR is
widespread among the majority of IR scholars. Today, we observe that
the references to the great theoretical debates in the prominent journals
of IR have significantly diminished and that the most relevant debates
have been among the scholars belonging to the same school specifically
over empirical studies rather than between theories/paradigms. This
paper, by revealing the challenges generated by the “grand debates” and
the discussions on whether or not there will a return to the “grand de-
bates”, incorporates some ideas on the current status as well as the
future of IR in Turkey and the world. [R] [Introduction to a thematic issue
on “Theoretical readings in International Relations”, edited by the
authors. See Abstr. 66.6, 16, 155, 225, 266, 279, 324, 390]
66.18 AYTAÇ, S. Erdem ; MOUSSEAU, Michael ; ÖRSÜN, Ömer
Faruk — Why some countries are immune from the re-
source curse: the role of economic norms. Democratiza-
tion 23(1), 2016 : 71-92.
The political resource curse is a well-established correlate of authoritari-
anism. A long-standing puzzle, however, is why some countries seem to
be immune from it. We address this issue systematically by distinguish-
ing two kinds of economies: contract-intensive, where individuals nor-
mally obtain their incomes in the marketplace; and clientelist, where
individuals normally obtain their incomes in groups that compete over
state rents. We theorize that the institutionalized patronage opportunities
in clientelist economies are an important precondition for the resource
curse, and that nations with contract-intensive economies are immune
from it. Analysis of 150 countries from 1973 to 2000 yields robust support
for this view. By introducing clientelist economy as a prerequisite for the
resource curse, this study offers an important advance in understanding
how nations democratize. [R]
66.19 BAETJER, Howard, Jr. — Regulating regulators: govern-
ment vs. markets. Cato Journal 35(3), Fall 2015 : 627-656.
Government regulation is not the only kind of regulation. We should stop
talking about regulation versus deregulation, about regulated markets
versus unregulated markets. There are no unregulated markets, because
market forces regulate. We should start talking about the choice we face
between government regulation and regulation by market forces. And we
should notice and show others that r egulation by market forces works
better. What follows explores why. [R]
66.20 BAGOZZI, Benjamin E. — Forecasting civil conflict with
zero-inflated count models. Civil Wars 17(1), March 2015 :
1-24.
Advances in the study of civil war have led to the proliferation of event-
count data, and to a corresponding increase in the use of (zero-inflated)
count models for the quantitative analysis of civil conflict events. Our
ability to use these techniques effectively is met with two current limita-
tions. First, researchers do not yet have a definitive answer as to
whether zero-inflated count models are a verifiably better approach to
civil conflict modeling than are “less assuming” approaches such as
negative binomial count models. Second, the accurate analysis of con-
flict-event counts with count models — zero-inflated or otherwise — is
severely limited by the absence of an effective framework for the evalua-
tion of predictive accuracy, which is an empirical approach that is of
increasing importance to conflict modelers. This article rectifies both of
these deficiencies. [R, abr.]
Science politique : méthodes et théories
3
66.21 BAILEY, Daniel — The environmental paradox of the
welfare state: the dynamics of sustainability. New Political
Economy 20(6), Dec. 2015 : 793-811.
Thus far, there has been a reluctance to instigate a dialogue and engage
with the tensions between two literatures with significant insights for each
other. The first is the literature on the fiscal sustainability of welfare
states, which is invariably predicated upon future growth primarily to
manage demographic changes. The second is the post-growth literature,
which has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years due to an environ-
mental critique of economic growth. Both literatures contain implications
for the analysis of welfare state sustainability. The primary contribution of
this paper will be to explore the intractability of the tensions between
these discourses and the difficulty of mapping out a progressive policy
direction in the 21st c. which meets both our environmental and social
sensibilities. [R, abr.]
66.22 BALZACQ, Thierry — The rise of precaution and the
global governance of risks. Political Studies Review 13(4),
Nov. 2015 : 546-559.
Recent research shows that interpretations and uses of the precaution-
ary principle can exacerbate the relations between states. Indeed, the
precautionary principle increasingly plays a pivotal role in explaining how
actors position themselves on various issues related to health, safety
and environmental (HSE) risks. However, the books under review tend to
subscribe to the approach that separates out precaution from risk-
assessment. In contrast, I suggest that the precautionary reasoning is a
distinctive view of risk regulation, which reworks rather than repudiates
risk assessment. This turn might help scholars to embark on the difficult
task of understanding the extent to which the precautionary principle
affects how HSE norms on risks are crafted, the channels through which
they spread and the mechanisms that enable them to operate effectively.
[R]
66.23 BANERJEE, Vasabjit — The religious origins of class
coalitions: elite participation in religiously motivated
peasant rebellions in Mexico, Zimbabwe, and India. Inter-
national Political Science Review 36(5), Nov. 2015 : 545-561.
This article explains why elite classes participate in religiously motivated
peasant rebellions. This question is important because, although elite
resources are required to overcome collective action barriers, extant
research ignores why elites collaborate in religiously motivated peasant
rebellions. The article compares the Moplah Rebellion in colonial India,
the Cristero Rebellion in revolutionary Mexico, and the Chimurenga
Rebellion in white-controlled Zimbabwe to test three common explana-
tions for elite participation: low inequality between elites and peasants;
moderate political repression or opportunity; and shared religious organi-
zations with the peasantry. The findings demonstrate that elite coopera-
tion is critically contingent on shared religion because it creates cross-
class ideologies and lowers the costs of participation by elites. However,
the effects of inequality of wealth and political opportunities are inconclu-
sive. [R, abr.]
66.24 BANTIGNY, Ludivine — Le principe d’Antigone. Pour une
histoire de la désobéissance en démocratie (Antigone’s
principle. For a history of disobedience in democracy).
Pouvoirs 155, 2015 : 17-28.
Disobedience in democracy means rethinking the social contract which
associates and unites citizens. In that sense, disobedience is a disclo-
sure: it offers a negative image of the conformity and the functioning of
power when it edicts and applies laws and executive orders. The article
uses historical examples — the June 1848 insurrection, draft-evasion
and demonstration during the Algerian War, the May 68 protest move-
ment — to examine various forms of disobedience in democracy. It
stresses its historic dimension, i.e., the way it is anchored in its time and
displays a consciousness which is both historical and political. [R] [See
Abstr. 66.98]
66.25 BECHTER, Barbara ; BRANDL, Bernd — Measurement and
analysis of industrial relations aggregates: what is the
relevant unit of analysis in comparative research? Euro-
pean Political Science 14(4), Dec. 2015 : 422-438.
Traditional comparative research on industrial relations of analysis
concentrates on differences and similarities between countries, focusing
on national-level aggregates. But what if there are no (more) differences
in industrial relations systems between countries? Concentrating pre-
dominantly on statistical and methodological aspects, we argue that over
recent decades industrial relations systems have changed in such a way
that the national level has become less relevant as a unit of analysis.
This development in the nature of the field affects the measurement of its
indicators which form the backbone of any comparison. On the basis of
an empirical comparison of key industrial relations indicators in the EU
member states, we conclude that comparative research has not reached
a dead end, but rather that the field might have to reconsider the relevant
unit for analysis. [R, abr.] [See Abstr. 66.221]
66.26 BEDASSO, Biniam E. — Educated bandits: endogenous
property rights and intra-elite distribution of human capi-
tal. Economics and Politics 27(3), Nov. 2015 : 404-432.
This article presents a simple model of endogenous institutions linking
property rights to the distribution of human capital between political and
economic elite groups. In the absence of institutional constraints, the
commitment problem of the political elites is intensified, because their
human capital can turn out to be a double-edged sword raising their
efficiency in predation as well as in production. In general, the more
human capital the political elites have, the stronger the institutional
concessions they are ready to offer to attract investment. Provided that
predation depends sufficiently on human capital, the political elites can
credibly commit to respect property rights by specializing in fields that
are relevant for the private sector. Comparative narratives from Malaysia
and Zimbabwe are presented to motivate the theoretical discussion. [R,
abr.]
66.27 BEHNKE, Nathalie — Stand und Perspektiven der Föder-
alismusforschung (State and prospects of research on
federalism). Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte 65(28-30), 6 July
2015 : 9-16.
Global developments have strengthened the concept of federalism and,
consequently, new subjects and centers of interest have appeared in
federal studies, especially during last decade. In Germany, the three
phases of implantation of federalism since reunification have inspired
analysts to renew the theories. Beyond Germany’s borders, decentral-
ized political systems in Europe have also experienced changes that
have equally influenced federalism research. The latest development in
this research area is referred to as “federal dynamics”, and it is centered
in the origin and consequences of the distribution of competences and
institutional changes. [See Abstr. 66.128]
66.28 BELLAMY, Alex J. — When states go bad: the termination
of state perpetrated mass killing. Journal of Peace Re-
search 52(5), Sept. 2015 : 565-576.
To date, little attention has been paid to the question of how episodes of
mass killing are terminated. This has allowed several misconceptions,
such as the notion that external armed intervention is a principal form of
ending, to arise and profit. This study presents preliminary findings from
a survey of cases of state-perpetrated mass killing since 1945. It exam-
ines the forms of ending, finding that around half end only when the
perpetrators themselves decide to end the killing, usually because they
have accomplished their goals. It also explores the relationships between
modes of termination and lethality and the resilience of different types of
ending and offers insights into the policy implications. Foreign armed
intervention is extremely rare and does not deserve, therefore, to be the
common “go to” option of advocates and analysts. [R, abr.]
66.29 BEN-BASSAT, Avi ; DAHAN, Momi — The regulation of
political finance and corruption. Election Law Journal
14(3), 2015 : 190-203.
Using the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
(IDEA) database on political finance regulations for 82 countries, we
found that a contribution limits index increased corruption, after control-
ling for a standard list of explanatory variables. This result remains
consistent employing an array of robustness checks intended to mini-
mize the risk of a bias due to potential reverse causality and endogene-
ity. In contrast, the level of perceived corruption is lower in countries with
higher indices of public funding and transparency requirements but these
effects are rarely significant. Interestingly, we show that the mix of more
generous public funding and less stringent regulations of private contri-
butions is associated with lower corruption. [R]
66.30 BENNISTER, Mark ; HEPPELL, Tim — Comparing the
dynamics of party leadership survival in Britain and Aus-
tralia: Brown, Rudd and Gillard. Government and Opposi-
tion 51(1), Janv. 2016 : 134-159.
This article examines the interaction between party structures of the
Australian Labor Party and the British Labour Party as a means of
assessing the strategic options of challengers for party leadership. We
examine the successful forced exits of K. Rudd and J. Gillard, and the
failed exit of G. Brown, challenging the assumption that success of
leadership evictions [is] determined by parties’ leadership procedures.
Noting the significance of circumstances and party cultures, the article
advances two scenarios through which eviction attempts can be under-
stood: (1) forced exits triggered through the activation of formal proce-
dures (Rudd and Gillard); (2) attempts to force an exit by informal pres-
sures beyond the formal procedures which are overcome by the incum-
bent (Brown). [R, abr.]
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