TY - JOUR A1 - Albert, Christian A1 - Schroeter-Schlaack, Christoph A1 - Hansjuergens, Bernd A1 - Dehnhardt, Alexandra A1 - Doering, Ralf A1 - Job, Hubert A1 - Koeppel, Johann A1 - Kraetzig, Sebastian A1 - Matzdorf, Bettina A1 - Reutter, Michaela A1 - Schaltegger, Stefan A1 - Scholz, Mathias A1 - Siegmund-Schultze, Marianna A1 - Wiggering, Hubert A1 - Woltering, Manuel A1 - von Haaren, Christina T1 - An economic perspective on land use decisions in agricultural landscapes: Insights from the TEEB Germany Study JF - Ecosystem Services : Science, Policy and Practice N2 - Agricultural landscapes safeguard ecosystem services (ES) and biodiversity upon which human well-being depends. However, only a fraction of these services are generally considered in land management decisions, resulting in trade-offs and societally inefficient solutions. The TEEB Study (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) spearheaded the development of assessments of the economic significance of ES and biodiversity. Several national TEEB follow-ups have compiled case studies and derived targeted policy advice. By synthesizing insights from "Natural Capital Germany - TEEB DE" and focusing on rural areas, the objectives of this study were (i) to explore causes of the continued decline of ES and biodiversity, (ii) to introduce case studies exemplifying the economic significance of ES and biodiversity in land use decisions, and (iii) to synthesize key recommendations for policy, planning and management. Our findings indicate that the continued decrease of ES and biodiversity in Germany can be explained by implementation deficits within a well-established nature conservation system. Three case studies on grassland protection, the establishment of riverbank buffer zones and water-sensitive farming illustrate that an economic perspective can convey recognition of the values of ES and biodiversity. We conclude with suggestions for enhanced consideration, improved conservation and sustainable use of ES and biodiversity. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.03.020 SN - 2212-0416 VL - 25 SP - 69 EP - 78 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apelt, Maja A1 - Besio, Cristina A1 - Corsi, Giancarlo A1 - von Groddeck, Victoria A1 - Grothe-Hammer, Michael A1 - Tacke, Veronika T1 - Resurrecting organization without renouncing society BT - a response to Ahrne, Brunsson and Seidl JF - European management journal N2 - In a recent article in this journal, Ahrne, Brunsson, and Seidl (2016) suggest a definition of organization as a ‘decided social order’ composed of five elements (membership, rules, hierarchies, monitoring, and sanctions) which rest on decisions. ‘Partial organization’ uses only one or a few of these decidable elements while ‘complete organization’ uses them all. Such decided orders may also occur outside formal organizations, as the authors observe. Although we appreciate the idea of improving our understanding of organization(s) in modern society, we believe that Ahrne, Brunsson, and Seidl's suggestion jeopardizes the concept of organization by blurring its specific meaning. As the authors already draw on the work of Niklas Luhmann, we propose taking this exploration a step further and the potential of systems theory more seriously. Organizational analysis would then be able to retain a distinctive notion of formal organization on the one hand while benefiting from an encompassing theory of modern society on the other. With this extended conceptual framework, we would expect to gain a deeper understanding of how organizations implement and shape different societal realms as well as mediate between their particular logics, and, not least, how they are related to non-organizational social forms (e.g. families). KW - Partial organization KW - Formal organization KW - Organization theory KW - Niklas KW - Luhmann KW - Functional differentiation KW - Organizations and society Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2017.01.002 SN - 0263-2373 SN - 1873-5681 VL - 35 IS - 1 SP - 8 EP - 14 PB - Elsevier Science CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bansard, Jennifer S. A1 - Pattberg, Philipp H. A1 - Widerberg, Oscar T1 - Cities to the rescue? Assessing the performance of transnational municipal networks in global climate governance JF - International environmental agreements: politics, law and economics N2 - Despite the proliferation and promise of subnational climate initiatives, the institutional architecture of transnational municipal networks (TMNs) is not well understood. With a view to close this research gap, the article empirically assesses the assumption that TMNs are a viable substitute for ambitious international action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It addresses the aggregate phenomenon in terms of geographical distribution, central players, mitigation ambition and monitoring provisions. Examining thirteen networks, it finds that membership in TMNs is skewed toward Europe and North America while countries from the Global South are underrepresented; that only a minority of networks commit to quantified emission reductions and that these are not more ambitious than Parties to the UNFCCC; and finally that the monitoring provisions are fairly limited. In sum, the article shows that transnational municipal networks are not (yet) the representative, ambitious and transparent player they are thought to be. KW - Climate change KW - Cities and regions KW - Urban politics KW - Transnational networks Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-016-9318-9 SN - 1567-9764 SN - 1573-1553 VL - 17 SP - 229 EP - 246 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Davydchyk, Maria A1 - Mehlhausen, Thomas A1 - Priesmeyer-Tkocz, Weronika T1 - The price of success, the benefit of setbacks BT - alternative futures of EU-Ukraine relations JF - Futures : the journal of policy, planning and futures studies N2 - This article explores the various futures of relations between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine. After distilling two major drivers we construct a future compass in order to conceive of four futures of relations between the EU and Ukraine. Our scenarios aim to challenge deep-rooted assumptions on the EU’s neighbourhood with Ukraine: How will the politico-economic challenges in the European countries influence the EU’s approach towards the East? Will more EU engagement in Ukraine contribute to enduring peace? Does peace always come with stability? Which prospects does the idea of Intermarium have? Are the pivotal transformation players in Ukraine indeed oligarchs or rather small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs? After presenting our scenarios, we propose indicators to know in the years to come, along which path future relations do develop. By unearthing surprising developments we hope to provoke innovative thoughts on Eastern Europe in times of post truth societies, confrontation between states and hybrid warfare. KW - European Union KW - Ukraine KW - Russia KW - European Neighbourhood Policy KW - Eastern Europe KW - Eurasian Economic Union Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2017.06.004 SN - 0016-3287 SN - 1873-6378 VL - 97 SP - 35 EP - 46 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eppner, Sebastian A1 - Ganghof, Steffen T1 - Institutional veto players and cabinet formation BT - the veto control hypothesis reconsidered JF - European journal of political research : official journal of the European Consortium for Political Research N2 - Are potential cabinets more likely to form when they control institutional veto players such as symmetric second chambers or minority vetoes? Existing evidence for a causal effect of veto control has been weak. This article presents evidence for this effect on the basis of conditional and mixed logit analyses of government formations in 21 parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies between 1955 and 2012. It also shows that the size of the effect varies systematically across political-institutional contexts. The estimated causal effect was greater in countries that eventually abolished the relevant veto institutions. It is suggested that the incidence of constitutional reform is a proxy for context-specific factors that increased the incentives for veto control and simultaneously provided a stimulus for the weakening of institutional veto power. KW - government formation KW - veto players KW - second chambers Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12172 SN - 0304-4130 SN - 1475-6765 VL - 56 IS - 1 SP - 169 EP - 186 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fitzi, Gregor T1 - Dialogue. Divergence. Veiled Reception. Criticism: Georg Simmel’s relationship with Emile Durkheim JF - Journal of Classical Sociology N2 - Simmel was the only German sociologist who directly cooperated with Durkheim. After an initial impression of convergence between the sociology of social facts and the sociology of social forms, a break between the two founders of sociology became inevitable. Yet, Durkheim and Simmel went on positioning themselves against one other in the years ahead. Durkheim’s allegation of ‘individual psychologism’ induced Simmel to a veiled reception of Durkheim’s methodological approach that permitted him to refine the sociological epistemology he eventually presented in the Soziologie published in 1908. On this basis, he was able to formulate a final criticism of the sociology of social facts as a social psychology. KW - Sociology of social facts KW - sociology of social forms KW - moral sociology KW - transnormative sociology KW - criticism of social psychology Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17735994 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 SP - 293 EP - 308 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fitzi, Gregor A1 - Marcucci, Nicola T1 - Durkheim in Germany BT - the performance of a classic JF - Journal of Classical Sociology Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17735991 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 IS - 4 SP - 271 EP - 275 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fitzi, Gregor A1 - Mele, Vincenzo T1 - The corrosion of character BT - Work and personality in the modern age JF - Journal of Classical Sociology N2 - The topic of this imaginary dialogue between Georg Simmel and Max Weber is the relation between work – in the sense of labour – and personality. Its aim is to show that the thinking of these ‘founding fathers’ of sociology can furnish valuable insight into the current issue of the corrosion of character in contemporary post-Fordist society. The concept of work still represents one of the major factors determining modern individuals’ ability (or inability) to formulate personal, stable identities that enable them to become fully socialized. Both Simmel and Weber make reference to a common theoretical background that views the human being as a creature with originally rational potential, who is faced with the task of becoming a personality by means of consciously chosen life behaviour: This is evident in the parallelism between Simmel’s interest in the concept of ‘style of life’ (Der Stil des Lebens) and Weber’s research on the ‘life conduct’ (Lebensführung) that arose in Western rationalistic culture. KW - Character KW - conduct of life KW - flexibility KW - identity KW - lifestyle KW - personality KW - Simmel KW - Weber KW - work Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1468795X17693436 SN - 1468-795X SN - 1741-2897 VL - 17 IS - 2 SP - 143 EP - 155 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ganghof, Steffen T1 - The Empirical Uses of Theoretical Models BT - the Case of Veto Player Theory JF - Political studies review N2 - Veto player theory is a powerful approach to comparative politics. This article argues that the debate about its explanatory success would benefit from more systematic distinctions. The theory not only comes in different theoretical variants, it is also used in radically different ways empirically. Starting from recent debates about the ‘testing’ of theoretical models, the article distinguishes five ways in which theoretical models can be used empirically: contrastive, axiomatic, exploratory, presumptive and modular. The typology is applied to veto player theory and illustrated with exemplary studies and debates. The article concludes that each type raises different questions that should be answered in individual studies. Moreover, while veto player theory has an excellent track record on four empirical uses, the picture on its contrastive use is far more nuanced. More explicitly contrastive testing of the theory is desirable. KW - veto player theory KW - theory testing KW - empirical implications of theoretical models KW - contrastive empiricism Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1478-9302.12098 SN - 1478-9299 SN - 1478-9302 VL - 15 SP - 49 EP - 59 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hickmann, Thomas T1 - Voluntary global business initiatives and the international climate negotiations BT - a case study of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol JF - Journal of Cleaner Production N2 - The past few years have witnessed the emergence of a plethora of transnational climate governance experiments. They have been developed by a broad range of actors, such as cities, non-profit organizations, and private corporations. Several scholars have lately devoted particular attention to voluntary global business initiatives in the policy domain of climate change. Their studies have provided considerable insights into the role and function of such new modes of climate governance. However, the precise nature of the relationship between the various climate governance experiments and the international climate negotiations has not been analyzed in enough detail. Against this backdrop, the present article explores the interplay of a business sector climate governance experiment, i.e. the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) with the international climate regime. On the one hand, the article underscores that the GHG Protocol has filled a regulatory gap in global climate policy-making by providing the means for the corporate sector to comprehensively account and report their GHGs. On the other hand, it reveals that the application of the GHG Protocol guidelines depends to a large extent on the existence of an overarching policy framework set up by nation-states at the intergovernmental level. Only if private companies receive a clear political signal that stringent mandatory GHG emission controls and a global market-based instrument are at least likely to be adopted will they put substantial efforts into the accurate measurement and management of their GHGs. Thus, this article points to the limits of climate governance experimentation and suggests that business sector climate governance experiments need to be embedded in a coherent international regulatory setting which generates a clear stimulus for corporate action. KW - Climate governance experiments KW - GHG Protocol KW - International climate negotiations KW - UNFCCC KW - Voluntary global business initiatives Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.183 SN - 0959-6526 SN - 1879-1786 VL - 169 SP - 94 EP - 104 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER -