Die Entwicklung demokratischer Wertorientierungen in den mittel- und osteuropäischen EU-Mitgliedsländern : eine Kohortenanalyse auf Basis des European Social Survey

In dieser Masterarbeit wird die Frage untersucht, ob sich in den mittel- und osteuropäischen EU-Mitgliedsländern der Erweiterungsrunde von 2004 (Estland, Litauen, Polen, Slowakei, Slowenien, Ungarn, Tschechien) in der Befürwortung verschiedener normativer Demokratiemodelle Unterschiede zwischen der jüngsten und den älteren Generationen finden lassen. Diese demokratischen Wertorientierungen spielen für die Persistenz der noch jungen Demokratien eine entscheidende Rolle. Eine Inkongruenz des mehrheitlich favorisierten Demokratiemodells einerseits und der institutionellen Struktur andererseits kann zu Spannungen und Instabilität des politischen Systems führen. Theoretisch werden zwei Demokratiekonzeptionen unterschieden: Das Modell der liberalen Demokratie und das Modell der sozialistischen Demokratie. Dem Sozialisationsansatz folgend, sollte die jüngste Generation ein liberales Demokratiemodell eher und ein sozialistisches Demokratiemodell weniger befürworten als die älteren Generationen. In der empirischen Analyse auf Basis der Daten der sechsten Welle des European Social Survey von 2012 wird zunächst durch konfirmatorische Faktorenanalysen die konzeptuelle Trennung beider Modelle bestätigt. In der Regressionsanalyse wird der Fokus durch die Untersuchung verschiedener Kohorten gelegt, zusätzlich wird für situative Faktoren und mögliche Alterseffekte kontrolliert. Die Ergebnisse der Modellschätzungen zeichnen ein heterogenes Bild. In keinem der untersuchten Länder zeigt sich eine signifikant höhere Zustimmung zum liberalen Demokratiemodell durch die jüngste Generation, wie es der theoretischen Erwartung entsprechen würde. Stattdessen finden sich entweder keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen den Generationen oder sogar signifikant niedrigere Zustimmungswerte durch die jüngste Generation. Bei der Befürwortung eines sozialistischen Demokratiemodells entsprechen die Ergebnisse teilweise der theoretischen Erwartung: In einigen Ländern finden sich signifikant niedrigere Zustimmungswerte in der jüngsten Generation.

Medienfreiheit in der Demokratiemessung : ein Konzeptualisierungsvorschlag und Evaluation einschlägiger Indizes

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, einen Beitrag zur Klärung des Zusammenhangs zwischen Medienfreiheit und Demokratie, der zwar weitläufig postuliert, aber dennoch lediglich in geringem Maße erforscht ist, zu leisten und insbesondere die konzeptionelle Rückbindung von Medienfreiheit an die Demokratietheorie zu verbessern. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass eine Demokratie ohne die Verwirklichung von Medienfreiheit nicht funktionieren kann. Medienfreiheit wird daher als ein Merkmal von Demokratie aufgefasst. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird, ausgehend von Larry Diamonds Konzeption einer liberalen Demokratie, eine konkrete Definition und Konzeptualisierung von Medienfreiheit herausgearbeitet. Damit wird ein Maßstab formuliert, der im Folgenden dazu dient existierende Messungen von Medienfreiheit auf ihren konzeptuellen Gehalt hin zu überprüfen. Im zweiten Teil werden existierende Indizes bezüglich ihrer Messung von Medienfreiheit evaluiert. Betrachtet werden hierbei sowohl zwei Demokratieindizes (der Index Politische Rechte und Bürgerliche Freiheiten von Freedom House sowie der Index Liberale Demokratie aus dem Varieties of Democracy-Projekt) als auch zwei Indizes, die explizit Medienfreiheit messen (der Index Pressefreiheit von Freedom House sowie die Rangliste der Pressefreiheit von Reporter ohne Grenzen).

Sustainable development in Darjeeling Hills, India : ecological and socio-economic aspects for small-scale farmers with supportive observations from Kanagawa, Japan

Organic farming means a holistic application of agricultural land-use, hence, this study aimed to assess ecological and socio-economic aspects that show benefits of the strategy and achievements of organic farming in comparison to conventional farming in Darjeeling District, State of West Bengal, India and Kanagawa Prefecture/Kanto in Central Japan. The objective of this study has been empirically analysed on aspects of crop diversity, yield, income and sales prices in the two study regions, where 50 households each, i.e. in total 100 households were interviewed at farm-level. Therefore, the small sample size does not necessarily reflect the broad-scale of the use and benefit of organic farming in both regions. The problems faced in mountainous regions in terms of agriculture and livelihoods for small-scale farmers, which are most affected and dependant on their immediate environment, such as low yields, income and illegal felling leading to soil erosion and landslides, are analyzed. Furthermore, factors such as climate, soils, vegetation and relief equally play an important role for these farmers, in terms of land-use. To supplement and improve the income of farmers, local NGOs have introduced organic farming and high value organic cash crops such as ginger, tea, orange and cardamom and small income generating means (floriculture, apiary etc.). For non-certified and certified organic products the volume is given for India, while for Japan only certified organic production figures are given, as there are several definitions for organic in Japan. Hence, prior to the implementation of organic laws and standards, even reduced chemical input was sold as non-certified organic. Furthermore, the distribution and certification system of both countries are explained in detail, including interviews with distribution companies and cooperatives. Supportive observations from Kanagawa Prefecture and the Kanto region are helpful and practical suggestions for organic farmers in Darjeeling District. Most of these are simple and applicable soil management measures, natural insect repelling applications and describe the direct marketing system practiced in Japan. The former two include compost, intercropping, Effective Microorganisms (EM), clover, rice husk charcoal and wood vinegar. More supportive observations have been made at organic and biodynamic tea estates in Darjeeling District, which use citronella, neem, marigold, leguminous and soil binding plants for soil management and natural insect control. Due to the close ties between farmers and consumers in Japan, certification is often neither necessary nor wanted by the producers. They have built a confidence relationship with their customers; thus, such measures are simply not required. Another option is group certification, instead of the expensive individual certification. The former aims at lower costs for farmers who have formed a cooperative or a farmers' group. Consumer awareness for organic goods is another crucial aspect to help improve the situation of organic farmers. Awareness is slightly more advanced in Kanto than in Darjeeling District, as it is improved due to the close (sales) ties between farmers and consumers in Kanto. Interviews conducted with several such cooperatives and companies underline the positive system of TEIKEI. The introduction of organic farming in the study regions has shown positive effects for those involved, even though it still in its beginning stages in Darjeeling District. This study was only partly able to assess the benefits of organic agriculture at its present level for Darjeeling District, while more positively for the organic farmers of Kanto. The organic farming practice needs further improvement, encouragement and monitoring for the Darjeeling District farmers by locals, consumers, NGOs and politicians. The supportive observations from Kanagawa Prefecture and the Kanto region are a small step in this direction, showing how, simple soil improvements and thus, yield and income increases, as well as direct sales options can enhance the livelihood of organic farmers without destroying their environment and natural resources.

The performativity of nonviolent protest in South Asia (1918 - 1948)

This study seeks to address a gap in the study of nonviolent action. The gap relates to the question of how nonviolence is performed, as opposed to the meaning or impact of nonviolent politics. The dissertation approaches the history of nonviolent protest in South Asia through the lens of performance studies. Such a shift allows for concepts such as performativity and theatricality to be tested in terms of their applicability and relevance to contemporary political and philosophical questions. It also allows for a different perspective on the historiography of nonviolent protest. Using concepts, modes of analysis and tropes of thinking from the emerging field of performance studies, the dissertation analyses two different cases of nonviolent protest, asking how politics is performatively constituted. The first two sections of this study set out the parameters of the key terms of the dissertation: nonviolence and performativity, by tracing their genealogies and legacies as terms. These histories are then located as an intersection in the founding of the nonviolent. The case studies at the analytical core of the dissertation are: fasting as a method in Gandhi's political arsenal, and the army of nonviolent soldiers in the North-West Frontier Province, known as the Khudai Khidmatgar. The study begins with an overview of current theorisations of nonviolence. The approach to the subject is through an investigation of commonly held misconceptions about nonviolent action, such as its supposed passivity, the absence of violence, its ineffectiveness and its spiritual basis. This section addresses the lacunae within existing theories of nonviolence and points to possible fertile spaces for further exploration. Section 3 offers an overview of the different shades of the concept of performativity, asking how it is used in various contexts and how these different nuances can be viewed in relation to each other. The dissertation explores how a theory of performativity may be correlated to the theorisation of nonviolence. The correlations are established in four boundary areas: action/inaction, violence/absence of violence, the actor/opponent and the body/spirit. These boundary areas allow for a theorising of nonviolent action as a performative process. The first case study is Gandhi's use of the fast as a method of nonviolent protest. Using a close reading of his own writings, speeches and letters, as well as a reading of responses to his fast in British newspapers and within India, the dissertation asks what made fasting into Gandhi's most favoured mode of protest and political action. The study reconstructs his unique praxis of the fast from a performative perspective, demonstrating how display and ostentation are vital to the political economy of the fast. It also unveils the cultural context and historical reservoir of body practices, which Gandhi drew from and adapted into 'weapons' of political action. The relationship of Gandhian nonviolence to the body forms a crucial part of the analysis. The second case study is the nonviolent army of the Pashtuns, Khudai Khidmatgar (KK), literally Servants of God. This anti-imperialist movement in the North-West Frontier Province of what is today the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan existed between 1929 and 1948. The movement adopted the organisational form of an army. It conducted protest activities against colonial rule, as well as social reform activities for the Pashtuns. This group was connected to the Congress party of Gandhi, but the dissertation argues that their conceptualisation and praxis of nonviolence emerged from a very different tradition and worldview. Following a brief introduction to the socio-political background of this Pashtun movement, the dissertation explores the activities that this nonviolent army engaged in, looking at their unique understanding of the militancy of an unarmed force, and their mode of combat and confrontation. Of particular interest to the analysis is the way the KK re-combined and mixed what appear to be contradictory ideologies and acts. In doing so, they reframed cultural and historical stereotypes of the Pashtuns as a martial race, juxtaposing the institutional form of the army with a nonviolent praxis based on Islamic principles and social reform. The example of the Khudai Khidmatgar is used to explore the idea that nonviolence is not the opposite of violent conflict, but in fact a dialectical engagement and response to violence. Section 5, in conclusion, returns to the boundary areas of nonviolence: action, violence, the opponent and the body, and re-visits these areas on a comparative note, bringing together elements from Gandhi's fasts and the practices of the KK. The similarities and differences in the two examples are assessed and contextualised in relation to the guiding question of this study, namely the question of the performativity of nonviolent action.

Hexenfieber im Erzgebirge - Die Annaberger Krankheit 1712 - 1720

Die Arbeit untersucht das seuchenartige Auftreten von Besessenheitsfällen in Annaberg (Erzgebirge) in den Jahren 1713-1720, die Auslöser der letzten Hexenprozesse in Kursachsen waren. Zeitgenössische Beobachter stritten intensiv, ob diese sogenannte „Annaberger Krankheit“ durch Zauberei verursacht oder eine psychosomatisch bedingte Massenerkrankung war. In Abkehr von dem Vorurteil, alle Betroffenen einer solchen Massenhysterie litten an derselben Erkrankung, werden diverse Krankengeschichten rekonstruiert. Indem sich dabei Elemente von Rollenspielen (Kinderhexen, Hysterie) und Betrug (Almosenerschleichung, Denunziationen, politisch motivierte Inszenierungen) finden, zeigt sich die wundersame „Krankheit“ als nicht pathologischer sondern sozialer Vorgang. rnAm dessen Beginn stand die Geburt der Interpretation, es gäbe eine außergewöhnliche Krankheit in der Stadt, wozu akzidentielle Ereignisse mehr beitrugen als auffällige Krankheitsfälle. Gerüchtbildung und politische Instrumentalisierung bildeten den Rahmen für den Einstieg von Nachahmern, die das fiktive Krankheitsbild in die Realität eines demonstrativen Schauspiel umsetzten. Dieser Mechanismus eines selbsterfüllenden Menetekels wird vor dem Hintergrund seiner kulturellen, sozialen, ökonomischen und historischen Bedingungen detailliert rekonstruiert.