Modernisierung in kleinen Schritten? Die Reformen der Parteiorganisation der British Conservative Party und der deutschen CDU im Vergleich

Seit den frühen und wichtigen Arbeiten von Maurice Duverger (1954) und Robert Michels (1962) besteht ein großes Forschungsinteresse an der Entwicklung von Parteiorganisationen und deren Wandel. Darin spiegeln sich die erheblichen Konsequenzen, die sich aus den jeweiligen Organisationsformen der politischen Parteien ergeben, wider.

The CDU and party organisational change

This article undertakes an empirical analysis of the internal organisation of the CDU along four key dimensions. First, it discusses the model of the 'cartel party', identifying its key features and then setting out four key questions to pose in relation to the CDU's internal organisation, to see whether it approximates to the 'cartel' paradigm. The questions of whether a centralisation of power is visible; whether professionalisation has occurred; whether there has been the anticipated weakening in the power of party functionaries; and whether the CDU has become reliant upon state finances are then answered in the empirical section of the article, drawing upon the author's primary research. It concludes that the 'cartel party' thesis fails in significant respects accurately to reflect the CDU's modern organisation. This is of interest to scholars of the CDU, but also offers some insights on the way in which the cartel party thesis fails adequately to develop an accurate account of internal party organisational change, in particular underestimating the ability of internal actors to thwart reforms, and also the potential functional usefulness of a decentralised party organisation. © 2013 Association for the Study of German Politics.

Corporate governance and related party transactions research:an assessment of theories and methodologies

This paper critically evaluates the paradigm, theory, and methodology that dominate research on related party transactions (RPTs). RPTs have been debated in the literature whether they are a facet of conflict of interest between major and minor shareholders or they are normal efficient transactions that help the firms to achieve asset utilization. Literature has been widely interested in studying the association between corporate governance and RPTs especially that according to the agency theory it is assumed that corporate governance as a monitoring tool should impede the negative consequences of RPTs and ensure they are conducted to achieve better asset utilization.

Strategic innovation through outsourcing:the role of relational and contractual governance

There is growing evidence that client firms expect outsourcing suppliers to transform their business. Indeed, most outsourcing suppliers have delivered IT operational and business process innovation to client firms; however, achieving strategic innovation through outsourcing has been perceived to be far more challenging. Building on the growing interest in the IS outsourcing literature, this paper seeks to advance our understanding of the role that relational and contractual governance plays in achieving strategic innovation through outsourcing. We hypothesized and tested empirically the relationship between the quality of client-supplier relationships and the likelihood of achieving strategic innovation, and the interaction effect of different contract types, such as fixed-price, time and materials, partnership and their combinations. Results from a pan-European survey of 248 large firms suggest that high-quality relationships between clients and suppliers may indeed help achieve strategic innovation through outsourcing. However, within the spectrum of various outsourcing contracts, only the partnership contract, when included in the client contract portfolio alongside either fixed-price, time and materials or their combination, presents a significant positive effect on relational governance and is likely to strengthen the positive effect of the quality of client-supplier relationships on strategic innovation.

Failure to relaunch? The United States, nuclear North Korea, and the future of the six-party talks

During the past twenty years, Washington has oscillated between tentative engagement with Pyongyang under the Clinton administration and isolation and multilateralism under the Bush administration. With the Obama administration almost nearing its four-year tenure, the Six-Party Talks have stalled and North Korea's multiple attacks on the South in 2010 have created new instabilities. Why so little results despite promises of a radical departure away from the Axis of Evil rhetoric and hard-line politics? This paper suggests that the Obama administration has utilized approaches that no longer fit current circumstances and hence failed to create an original, coherent and effective foreign policy. © 2012 McFarland & Company, Inc.

A szervezet kockázati attitűdjének jelentősége a szerződéses kapcsolatokban (Significance of the organizational risk attitude on the contractual relations)

A tanulmány azt vizsgálja, milyen befolyással van a szervezetek kockázati attitűdje az általuk kötött szerződésre, elsősorban a projektszintű kockázatok megosztására. Esettanulmányként egy PPP-projekt szerződését használja fel, amely jól szemlélteti, hogy az eltérő kockázati magatartású szervezetek egymás közötti kockázatallokációja eltér az optimálistól. A konkrét esetben a közösségi aktor kerül kockázati aspektusból hátrányos helyzetbe. A vizsgálat eredménye, hogy meghatároz néhány kulcsparamétert, melyek a felek kockázati szempontból nyertes vagy vesztes pozícióját döntő módon befolyásolják. ___________ This paper examines the influence of the risk attitude of organizations on the contracts made by them, especially on allocation of the project level risk. A PPP project contract is used as a case study, because it illustrates expressively that the risk allocation between the concerned organiza tions with different risk attitudes differs from the optimal version. In this very case the public actor's position becomes disadvantageous. Specification some of the key parameters able to determine the winner or loser position of the risk taken parties is defined as the outcome of this study.

Determinants and effects of electoral party coalitions: The case of Brazil

Since the 1985 return to democracy, Brazilian politicians have resorted to vote-pooling arrangements to elect representatives. A puzzle thus presents itself: What drives parties to join these electoral cartels? The dissertation unraveled the incentives party elites have to participate in coalitions under a presidencialist system of government. I also investigated the effect of electoral coalitions on congressional representation. I applied a model of binary outcomes and relied on standard deviations to assess the ideological homogeneity/heterogeneity of electoral coalitions. I also calculated the Index of Disproportionality to measure the gaps between the proportion of votes and seats received by all parties in Brazil with and without electoral coalitions. Finally, I assessed the effects of the electoral formula on proportionality. An unexpected exogenous factor resulted crucial in explaining proportional electoral coalition building: The district's majoritarian election for governor. In each district, political actors often synchronize coalition partners to maximize winning results while minimizing electoral efforts.

Voting with their feet: Migration, partisanship, and party-safe elections in Florida

Political scientists have long noted that Congressional elections are often uncompetitive, often extremely so. Many scholars argue that the cause lies in the partisan redistricting of Congressional districts, or “gerrymandering”. Other scholars emphasize polarization created by a fragmented news media, or the candidate choices made by a more ideological primary electorate. All these explanations identify the cause of party-safe elections in institutions of various kinds. This dissertation, by contrast, presents a structural explanation of uncompetitive elections. My theory is that population composition and patterns of migration are significant causes and predictors of election results in Florida. I test this theory empirically by comparing the predictions from four hypotheses against aggregate data, using the county as the unit of analysis. The first hypothesis is that Florida can be divided into clearly distinguishable, persistent partisan sections. This hypothesis is confirmed. The second hypothesis is that Florida voters have become increasingly partisan over time. This hypothesis is confirmed. The third hypothesis is that the degree of migration into a county predicts how that county will vote. This hypothesis is partially confirmed, for the migration effect appears to have waned over time. The last hypothesis is that the degree of religiosity of a county population is a predictor of how that county will vote. This hypothesis is also supported by the results of statistical analysis. By identifying the structural causes of party-safe elections, this dissertation not only broadens our understanding of elections in Florida, but also sheds light on the current polarization in American politics.

Casino Drink Policies: Limiting Third-Party Liability

In their efforts to provide an atmosphere or hospitality to their casino customers, many operators will provide complimentary alcoholic beverage service. This practice is fraught with liability, particularly in venues outside of Nevada. Conscientious operators must take every precaution to mitigate the possibility of lawsuit.

Explaining Interest Group Interactions with Party Group Members in the European Parliament : Dominant Party Groups and Coalition Formation

Peer reviewed

Explaining Interest Group Interactions with Party Group Members in the European Parliament : Dominant Party Groups and Coalition Formation

Peer reviewed

Gloria Steinem at International Women's Year party meeting

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Artist Judy Chicago with "The Dinner Party"

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.