Search results for "Public"

Integrating refugees into higher education – the impact of a new online education program for policies and practices

2018

Gaining access to higher education (HE) is a serious concern for refugees. Although studies on the integration and success of refugees in HE are scarce, the challenges associated with this issue as...

Corporealising a Healthy Democracy? Inequality, Bodies and Participation

2019

Socio-economic inequality is associated with differentiated levels of health and poor health affects political participation; inequalities are embodied in political life. This contribution, focusin...

2018

This article presents the experiences and problems of the Indonesian parliament, or DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat), during the transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one, in 1999–20...

Die Alternative fuer Deutschland. Programmatik, Entwicklung und politische Verortung

2017

As an object of study, Germany’s new(-ish) Alternative fuer Deutschland party (AfD) is a moving target. Since its inception in early 2013, the party has gone from strength to strength and won parli...

“Save Romania” Union and the Persistent Populism in Romania

2020

The electoral success of the “Save Romania” Union (USR) in the 2016 parliamentary elections sheds new light on the rising populist parties in Romania and offers a new perspective on the Romanian po...

Where Democrats Disagree: Citizens’ Normative Conceptions of Democracy

2017

While support for the essential norms of liberal electoral democracy is high in almost all developed democracies, there is arguably also a gap between democratic aspirations and democratic practice, leading to dissatisfaction among citizens. We argue that citizens may hold very different normative conceptions of democracy which are equally compatible with support for liberal democracy, but lead to different expectations where institutional design and democratic practice are concerned. Satisfaction with democracy may thus depend on congruence between such normative conceptions and institutionally entrenched norms. Drawing on survey data from Germany with a comprehensive item battery on attit…

The consequences of supply gaps in two‐dimensional policy spaces for voter turnout and political support: The case of economically left‐wing and cult…

2019

Parties with left-wing positions on economic issues and right-wing (i.e., authoritarian) positions on cultural issues have been historically largely absent from the supply side of the policy space of Western European democracies. Yet, many citizens hold such left-authoritarian issue attitudes. This article addresses the hypotheses that left-authoritarian citizens are less likely to vote, less satisfied with the democratic process and have lower levels of political trust when there is a left-authoritarian supply gap. Using data for 14 Western European countries from the European Social Survey 2008 in the main analysis, it is shown that left-authoritarians are less likely to vote and exhibit …

2020

Decreases in aerobic fitness during military operations have been observed in several studies. Thus, differences in training adaptations during a 6-month crisis-management operation were compared by using the change in endurance performance as the outcome measure. Sixty-six male soldiers volunteered for the study, consisting of pre–post assessments of blood biomarkers, body composition, physical performance, and the military simulation test (MST) performance. Physical training volume was self-reported. After the follow-up, the data were divided based on individual changes in endurance performance. Endurance performance was improved in the high-responder group (HiR, n = 25) and maintained or…

Comprehensive defence in Latvia – rebranding state defence and call for society's involvement

2020

Abstract This article explores how comprehensive defence has been introduced in Latvia, and focuses on society's involvement and tasks in the state defence. This approach envisages a significant change in society's relationship with the armed forces and state defence. Differently from many other countries, Latvia maintains its system without introducing conscription and instead puts efforts towards youth education in defence. Additionally, the Ministry of Defence involves different society groups and NGOs in defining their role in state defence. This article also discusses the concepts of resistance and non-collaboration as part of comprehensive defence.

Introduction: Research Interest and Research Questions

2017

This chapter explores the theoretical and empirical puzzles of regionalism in the Global South on the example of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The SADC is one of the most realistic and promising examples of the new regionalism and shows constant dynamics in a number of policy areas. The main research interest of this much-needed analysis is to explain the emergence, institutional design and performance of regionalism in the SADC from a political science perspective. In order to provide innovative research, the analytical focus is on the role and influence of regional key countries and, particularly, external actors. Moreover, this chapter offers a comprehensive overview…