showing 5 related works from this author
Local interest groups and the perception of power in Spanish cities
2018
Studies on local interest groups have generated a considerable number of theories on urban power that have eventually become the basis of far-reaching approaches on democracy and collective action. Such literature has been especially concerned with discovering who governs the city, paving the way for discussions on elitism, pluralism and urban regimes. Some approaches consider that the business elite dominates local politics, while other theories assert that interests other than business (neighbors, environmentalists, faith-based organizations, civic groups) have been gaining relevance and access to local government. The POLLEADER survey (2006) provided data on the influence of certain soci…
The 2015 Spanish election: the times they are a’ changing
2016
ABSTRACTThe Spanish legislative election of 2015 speaks of change. This is the end of the traditional two-party system and the beginning of a new political era marked by institutional renewal. The Socialist Party and the Partido Popular have both lost significant parliamentary force, whereas two new parties (Podemos, and Ciudadanos) are now crucial to ensure stable government majorities. This new parliamentary scenario seems to better mirror the political pluralism of a changing society which has already demonstrated for change in striking events such as the 15-M Movement. However, political parties are far from showing conciliatory aspirations, possibly because a new election is suddenly a…
Institutional Change in Spanish Chambers of Commerce
2021
This chapter explains the evolution of the chambers of commerce in Spain. The chambers have always faced political and associative tensions, generating tremendous internal instability, and multiple attempts to make them disappear. They adopted a public model with a mandatory fee in the early days. The Dictatorship decided to convert them into public agencies and cancel their representative aspirations. In the democratic era, several legal reforms have decreed that chambers of commerce are corporations under public law with voluntary affiliation. Pressure from voluntary business associations has been crucial in this regard. Both compulsory membership and the mandatory fee disappeared as a co…
Paths to the recognition of homo-parental adoptive rights in the EU-27: a QCA analysis
2015
ABSTRACTAlthough the recognition of the adoptive rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) couples is a socially salient topic, cross-national variation regarding this issue has been largely underexplored in social science research. With the aid of configurational analysis, this article fills this gap and shows the conditions that explain the recognition of the adoptive rights of homosexual couples in the countries of the EU-27. It is argued that two different paths led to this outcome. All countries where adoptive rights were recognized had higher degrees of secularization and lower levels of social homophobia. In addition, in Northern European countries, the Protestant back…
Institutioneller Wandel der spanischen Industrie- und Handelskammern
2017
Die Geschichte der spanischen Industrie- und Handelskammern ist durch die Auseinandersetzung zwischen offentlichen Autoritaten und freiwilligen Wirtschaftsverbanden gepragt, sie zu beherrschen. Der Beitrag untersucht die organisatorische Evolution der spanischen Kammern seit dem spaten 19. Jahrhundert. Deren institutioneller Wandel verlief seit 2010 turbulent und mundete nach einer ganzlichen Abschaffung der Pflichtmitgliedschaft im Jahr 2014 in ein Modell mit offentlichem Status, verpflichtender Registrierung der Unternehmen und freiwilliger Mitgliedschaft. Die Kammern waren in der Folge mit Personalentlassungen und grundlegenden Umstrukturierungen befasst. Die Pflichtmitgliedschaft wurde …