TY - GEN A1 - Giebler, Heiko A1 - Ruth, Saskia P. A1 - Tanneberg, Dag T1 - Why choice matters BT - revisiting and comparing measures of democracy T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Measures of democracy are in high demand. Scientific and public audiences use them to describe political realities and to substantiate causal claims about those realities. This introduction to the thematic issue reviews the history of democracy measurement since the 1950s. It identifies four development phases of the field, which are characterized by three recurrent topics of debate: (1) what is democracy, (2) what is a good measure of democracy, and (3) do our measurements of democracy register real-world developments? As the answers to those questions have been changing over time, the field of democracy measurement has adapted and reached higher levels of theoretical and methodological sophistication. In effect, the challenges facing contemporary social scientists are not only limited to the challenge of constructing a sound index of democracy. Today, they also need a profound understanding of the differences between various measures of democracy and their implications for empirical applications. The introduction outlines how the contributions to this thematic issue help scholars cope with the recurrent issues of conceptualization, measurement, and application, and concludes by identifying avenues for future research. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Reihe - 104 KW - application KW - conceptualization KW - democracy KW - democratic quality KW - measurement Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-427891 SN - 1867-5808 IS - 104 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Seyfried, Markus A1 - Ansmann, Moritz T1 - Unfreezing higher education institutions? BT - understanding the introduction of quality management in teaching and learning in Germany JF - Higher Education N2 - Quality management (QM) in teaching and learning has strongly “infected” the higher education sector and spread around the world. It has almost everywhere become an integral part of higher education reforms. While existing research on QM mainly focuses on the national level from a macro-perspective, its introduction at the institutional level is only rarely analyzed. The present article addresses this research gap. Coming from the perspective of organization studies, it examines the factors that were crucial for the introduction of QM at higher education institutions in Germany. As the introduction of QM can be considered to be a process of organizational change, the article refers to Kurt Lewin’s seminal concept of “unfreezing” organizations as a theoretical starting point. Methodologically, a mixed methods approach is applied by combining qualitative data derived from interviews with institutional quality managers and quantitative data gathered from a nationwide survey. The results show that the introduction of QM is initiated by either internal or external processes. Furthermore, some institutions follow a rather voluntary approach of unfreezing, while others show modes of forced unfreezing. Consequently, the way how QM was introduced has important implications for its implementation. KW - Quality management KW - Organizational change KW - Higher education KW - Mixed methods Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0185-2 SN - 0018-1560 SN - 1573-174X VL - 75 IS - 6 SP - 1061 EP - 1076 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Elsässer, Joshua Philipp A1 - Hickmann, Thomas A1 - Stehle, Fee T1 - The Role of Cities in South Africa’s Energy Gridlock JF - Case Studies in the Environment N2 - South Africa’s energy sector finds itself in a gridlock situation. The sector is controlled by the state-owned utility Eskom holding the monopoly on the generation and transmission of electricity, which is almost exclusively produced from domestically extracted coal. At the same time, the constitutional mandate enables municipalities to distribute and sell electricity generated by Eskom to local consumers, which constitutes a large part of the cities’ municipal income. This is a strong disincentive for city governments to promote reductions in energy consumption and substantially limits the scope for urban action on energy efficiency and renewable energies. In the present case study, we portray the current development in South Africa’s energy policy and trace how deadlocked legal, financial, and institutional barriers block the transition from a coal-based energy system toward a greener and more sustainable energy economy. We furthermore point to the efforts of major South African cities to introduce low-carbon strategies in their jurisdictions and highlight key challenges for the future development of the country’s energy sector. By engaging with this case study, readers will become familiar with a prime example of the wider phenomenon of national political–economic obstacles to the progress in sustainable urban development. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1525/cse.2018.001297 SN - 2473-9510 VL - 2 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - University of California Press CY - Oakland ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine A1 - Laffin, Martin A1 - Wayenberg, Ellen T1 - Subnational Government in the Research Spotlight BT - the Merit of EGPA Permament study Group 5 JF - Public Administration in Europe : The Contribution of EGPA N2 - Kuhlmann, Laffin and Wayenberg point out three main strands of subnational changes that have significantly dominated the research field and focus of Permanent Study Group 5. Elaborating upon the Study Group’s contributions, the chapter overviews relevant research questions, approaches and findings that have been touched upon concerning local and regional government systems, subnational reforms and their evaluation in a multi-level governance setting. The chapter concludes with zooming in on austerity as a main driver of future developments upon and amongst all levels of government. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-92855-5 SN - 978-3-319-92856-2 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92856-2_15 SP - 147 EP - 165 PB - Springer CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kersting, Norbert A1 - Kuhlmann, Sabine T1 - Sub-municipal Units in Germany BT - Municipal and Metropolitan Districts JF - Sub-municipal Units in Germany: Municipal and Metropolitan Districts N2 - Sub-municipal units (SMUs) in Germany differ in German Länder. In Berlin, Hamburg and München Metropole Districts fulfill a number of quasi-municipal self-government rights and functions. They have their own budget and strong councils, as well as mayors. In all other Länder, most sub-municipal councils were subordinated under the municipal council and directly elected mayor heading the administration. SMUs were introduced as a kind of compensation with different territorial reforms in the 1970s. Although directly elected, sub-municipal councilors are weak, and their advisory role competes with other newly established advisory boards. Here the focus remains on traffic and town planning. Some sub-municipal councils fulfill smaller administrative functions and become more relevant and important in recent decentralization strategies of neighborhood development. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-64725-8 SN - 978-3-319-64724-1 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64725-8_5 SP - 93 EP - 118 PB - Palgrave CY - Basingstoke ER - TY - GEN A1 - Scianna, Bastian Matteo T1 - Stuck in the past? BT - British views on the Spanish army’s effectiveness and military culture, 1946–1983 T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Philosophische Reihe N2 - After the Civil War the Spanish army functioned as a guardian of domestic order, but suffered from antiquated material and little financial means. These factors have been described as fundamental reasons for the army’s low potential wartime capability. This article draws on British and German sources to demonstrate how Spanish military culture prevented an augmented effectiveness and organisational change. Claiming that the army merely lacked funding and modern equipment, falls considerably short in grasping the complexities of military effectiveness and organisational cultures, and might prove fatal for current attempts to develop foreign armed forces in conflict or post-conflict zones. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Philosophische Reihe - 153 KW - Spain KW - Franco KW - military effectiveness KW - military culture KW - organisational change Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-420615 SN - 1866-8380 IS - 153 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nuesiri, Emmanuel O. T1 - Strengths and Limitations of Conservation NGOs in Meeting Local Needs JF - the Anthropology of Conservation NGOS N2 - Conservation nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are often involved in the design and implementation of global forest management initiatives such as the REDD+, which currently is being rolled out by the UNFCCC, the UN-REDD Programme and the World Bank as part of efforts to mitigate climate change. Nigeria joined the UN-REDD in 2010 and submitted its REDD+ readiness proposal in 2011. The proposal has a national component and subnational forestry activities in the Cross River State (CRS) as the pilot site. This chapter examines the involvement of local NGOs in the CRS consultative participatory meetings to validate the Nigeria-REDD proposal. It shows that political representation of local communities in the validation exercise was through customary authorities and NGOs who claim to speak for and are recognised as advocates for the communities. Local government authorities, the substantive political representatives of local communities were left out of the process. The chapter also shows how the CRS Forestry Commission, which organised the validation exercise, used NGOs as pawns to legitimise it, and how these NGOs were powerless to challenge the Forestry Commission. In contrast, local governments, the third tier of government and political authority routinely disrespected by state-level administrators, regularly challenge such higher level government actors in the courts and the national legislature. Thus, local NGOs may speak and work for local social development but compared to the substantive political representatives at the local level (e.g., local government authorities), local NGOs have limited resources to challenge the political shenanigans of the state. Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-60579-1 SN - 978-3-319-60578-4 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60579-1_8 SP - 203 EP - 225 PB - Palgrave CY - Basingstoke ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ringeling, Arthur A1 - Reichard, Christoph T1 - Some Reflections on the Development of Education for Public Administration in Europe BT - Permanent Study Group 9: Teaching Public Administration JF - Public Administration in Europe. Governance and Public Management N2 - The chapter presents an overview about the evolution of the teaching dimension in the academic debate within the EGPA community. Major topics of EGPA’s permanent study group on “PA and teaching” over the last decade are displayed. From a more general perspective, the authors discuss the various types and target groups of academic programs in Public Administration and their change over time. They also shed some light on the change of contents and pedagogical approaches in the last decades. Furthermore, different patterns and degrees of institutionalization of Public Administration as academic discipline across Europe are illustrated. In a short résumé the authors reflect about future educational developments in our field and about the role of EGPA Y1 - 2018 SN - 978-3-319-92856-2 SN - 978-3-319-92855-5 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92856-2_19 SP - 203 EP - 212 PB - Palgrave Macmillan CY - Cham ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ganghof, Steffen A1 - Eppner, Sebastian A1 - Pörschke, Alexander T1 - Semi-parliamentary government in perspective BT - concepts, values, and designs JF - Australian Journal of Political Science N2 - The article responds to four commentaries on the concept of semi-parliamentary government and its application to Australian bicameralism. It highlights four main points: (1) Our preferred typology is not more ‘normative’ than existing approaches, but applies the criterion of ‘direct election’ equally to executive and legislature; (2) While the evolution of semi-parliamentary government had contingent elements, it plausibly also reflects the ‘equilibrium’ nature of certain institutional configurations; (3) The idea that a pure parliamentary system with pure proportional representation has absolute normative priority over ‘instrumentalist’ concerns about cabinet stability, identifiability and responsibility is questionable; and (4) The reforms we discuss may be unlikely to occur in Australia, but deserve consideration by scholars and institutional reformers in other democratic systems. KW - Executive-legislative relations KW - bicameralism KW - visions of democracy KW - parliamentary government KW - presidential government Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2018.1451488 SN - 1036-1146 SN - 1363-030X VL - 53 IS - 2 SP - 264 EP - 269 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yilmaz, Zafer T1 - Revising the culture of political protest after the gezi uprising in Turkey BT - radical imagination, affirmative resistance, and the new politics of desire and dignity JF - Mediterranean Quarterly N2 - The Gezi uprising can be considered a crucial turning in Turkish politics. As a response to countrywide democratic protests, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government revived the security state, escalated authoritarian tendencies, and started to organize a nationalist, Islamist, and conservative backlash. This essay argues that the Gezi Park protests revealed both the fragility of the AKP's hegemony and the limits of the dominant political group habitus, which were promoted by the party to consolidate political polarization in favor of the party's hegemony. Moreover, it is argued that the Gezi uprising transformed the culture of political protests in the country and paved the way for the emergence of affirmative resistance, radical imagination, and a new politics of desire and dignity against authoritarian and neoliberal policies. KW - Erdogan KW - Turkish politics KW - democracy KW - authoritarianism KW - AKP Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1215/10474552-7003168 SN - 1047-4552 SN - 1527-1935 VL - 29 IS - 3 SP - 55 EP - 77 PB - Duke Univ. Press CY - Durham ER -