Books 2011

Increasing numbers of women are a pursuing career, and most women with a career (whether academic or nonacademic) have a partner who is doing the same. This circumstance raises a host of question: What does it mean that occupational development and life histories are interlinked in couples consisting of highly qualified women and men? What new challenges arise for the occupational careers of women and the coordination between partners? Do the patterns of interlinkage differ depending on the phase of life or stage of career?

Der Sammelband vereint spanisch- und englischsprachige Beiträge aus Lateinamerika und Europa und zeigt, wie Niklas Luhmanns Systemtheorie heute von jungen zeitgenössischen Soziologen rezipiert und angewendet wird. Der Großteil der Aufsätze setzt sich mit der Wechselwirkung zwischen gesellschaftlichen Semantiken und Strukturen auseinander. Dies erfolgt anhand sehr unterschiedlicher Fallbeispiele wie der Rolle von Häresie in der religiösen Kommunikation, den Selbstbeschreibungen Lateinamerikas im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, der Transformation der Semantiken eines gemeinsamen europäischen Markts zwischen 1950 und 2000, den Bildern und Visualisierungen von Finanzmärkten sowie den Begriffen Globalisierung und Postmodernität als Schemata gesellschaftlicher Selbstbeobachtung. Weitere Studien zielen darauf ab, die Systemtheorie mit relationalen Netzwerkansätzen wie etwa der Akteur-Netzwerk-Theorie zu verknüpfen.

Die ersten wettbewerbsorientierten Wahlen, die in einem Land nach dem Fall eines autokratischen Regimes unter demokratischen Bedingungen stattfinden, haben einen prägenden Einfluss auf die Entwicklung der politischen Parteien und die Neugestaltung des politischen Systems. Sie stehen daher im Zentrum der von Hans-Dieter Klingemann und Charles L. Taylor herausgegebenen Reihe über die „Founding Elections“ in den vormals sozialistischen Transformationsstaaten Ost- und Mitteleuropas. Dieser Band beschreibt und analysiert die Situation in Lettland beim Übergang zu einer parlamentarischen Demokratie, nachdem das Land 19991 seine nationale Unabhängigkeit wiedererlangt hatte. Das besondere Interesse gilt den Parlamentswahlen der Jahre 1993, 1995 und 1996. Parteigründungen, die Koalitionsstrategien der Parteien und das Wahlverhalten der Bürger werden unter Berücksichtigung der historischen und institutionellen Rahmenbedingungen dargestellt. Weitere Beiträge widmen sich den politischen Einstellungen der lettischen Führungsschicht sowie der Rolle und dem Wandel der Medien im Transformationsprozess. Im Anhang werden die Verfassung und das Wahlgesetz Lettlands dokumentiert.

1980 startete die Guerillaorganisation Leuchtender Pfad völlig überraschend ihren bewaffneten Kampf, an dessen Ende knapp 70.000 Todesopfer zu beklagen waren. Trotz dieses Konfliktausmaßes bleibt bis heute offen, wie sich die Gruppierung von einem studentischen Lesezirkel zu einem der weltweit am meisten gefürchteten Gewaltverbände entwickeln konnte. Auf Grundlage erstmals zugänglicher Quellen untersucht der Autor, wie der Leuchtende Pfad nicht nur Menschen, sondern auch materielle und ideelle Ressourcen mobilisierte und so zu einer schlagkräftigen und scheinbar militärisch hochgerüsteten Organisation wurde. Makro- und Mikroprozesse miteinander verbindend, stellt er die organisatorischen Fähigkeiten des Leuchtenden Pfads heraus und ergänzt dabei bisher dominierende strukturalistische Ansätze zur Erklärung revolutionärer Bewegungen um eine akteursbezogene Dimension.

Climate change, scarcity of raw materials, and the looming collapse of the transport system are compelling a switch from fossil fuels to post-fossil energy sources. Exploring the feasibility of a shift to renewable energies, the authors link the discussion to the topic of transport and outline a scenario of future mobility fueled completely by regenerative energies. Networked electromobility capable of flexibly accommodating the varied needs of individual transport users is presented as a solution to all the problematic areas discussed in this volume. It requires harmonized, integrated modes of transport that facilitate uncomplicated combinations of public and private means of transport (trains, buses, cars, and bicycles). The frequently criticized drawbacks of the electric car – limited range and the long time it takes to recharge – become positive features in an overall concept of this kind. Electric cars, for instance, can serve as both a means of transport and a buffer against weather-related fluctuations in the production of renewable electric power.

When the decision to abandon the use of nuclear energy has been finalized, how can the energy system be successfully restructured? What concepts are required, what alliances are necessary in order to leave the nuclear and fossil era and enter the solar age? The authors of the 2012 Ecology Yearbook address these basic issues from an economic, social, and technological perspective. Pursuing lines of thinking that can lead to a green conversion, they inquire into the unsettled ecological conflicts that only pioneers of new transformative research can resolve.

Constitutions define a society’s basic rules and norms. They spell out the rights protecting the individual against the state and other citizens and establish institutions and processes of the state’s structure. Adaptations and other changes that constitutions undergo thus have great political and social relevance. Taking Germany’s Basic Law as an example, this volume presents a conceptual framework for systematically studying the ways in which explicit and implicit constitutional change comes about, what role the European and subnational levels play in the federal structure of the German state, and which specific actors promote such change or slow it down. A concluding review of the chapters addresses the delicate balance between providing for necessary flexibility in constitutional law and venturing the attendant possibility of losing internal coherence.

The educational opportunities of migrant children in Germany are inferior to those of native children, but educational disparities exist between groups of migrants as well. Socioeconomic and cultural difference between the individual groups is not the only factor responsible for such inequality. The difference in their accorded legal status plays a role, too, because it largely determines their eligibility for measures of integration. Directly or indirectly, it thereby has a bearing on educational success among children who have accompanied their families to Germany. The author shows that Germany’s integration policies tend to favor certain groups of immigrants, especially ethnic Germans from eastern Europe. The result of that arrangement, in interaction with other social factors, is that the children of ethnic German immigrants experience educational disadvantages less frequently than do other migrant groups.

Socially disadvantaged elderly people in need of care have particular difficulty leading their lives in their own way. The main argument of this book’s authors is that being dependent on others need not mean the loss of self-determination. To have genuine choices, personal resources such as money, information, and helpful personal relations are important. In addition, professional and volunteer care-givers need staff, financial capacity, and knowledge. They must also be able to cooperate in order to use available resources efficiently in giving the elderly the kind of support they need. This volume presents a case study on a city quarter in Berlin’s Moabit district that has an especially high number of elderly, low-income people who live in old buildings. The authors study how sociospatial and personal resources interact and how they foster or impede self-determination. This volume records what elderly persons themselves have to say on the subject and captures the views of nurses, administrators, community workers and people working with senior citizens. It documents gaps and possibilities of current local structures providing assistance and care for the elderly and points out needs for future action.

In the contemporary discussion of the crucial extent to which the exercise of power depends on the rule of law - guaranteed predictability of legal decisions, independence of the judiciary, and equality before the law - the operational conditions framing western concepts of due process are often neglected. Can the rule of law function even when a political system’s formative rules are of an informal nature, as with the rules of exchange underlying corruption and patronage? The author systematically examines the relation between formal and informal institutions as regards the rule of law. His analysis reveals that the two types of institution do not essentially differ or separately coexist. Empirical reality shows instead that they are interdependent and interwoven in many ways. Accordingly, the formal rule of law, too, is embedded in informality. But if informal modes of governance and structures for exercising power gain the upper hand and turn into the rule of informal law, there is the danger that the behavior of actors will be determined by informal rules and that the rule of law will be impaired.

This volume addresses the spread and consequences of new forms of rule-making that are increasingly complementing traditional legal systems and having other actors take a place alongside the nation-state. The role of standards, benchmarking, codes of conduct, and other nongovernmental regulations with no direct, legally binding force is growing significantly. These modes of regulation involve new kinds of regulatory actors such as transnational networks, standard-setting organizations, and social self-regulation. Given that government and law have become decoupled in many respects, the author emphasizes that it is necessary to rethink the relationship between the two and invites the reader on a journey into the postnational world of rules. Drawing examples from areas like cooperative legislation, standardization, and transnational regulation, he shows that a state-of-the-art understanding of law as an instrument of governance is conceptually possible only if based on regulatory science that unites perspectives of law, social science, and governance and that transcends known legislative theory.

Ernst Forsthoff (1902-1974) was one of Germany’s most important legal theorists of the twentieth century with a major influence upon the development of public law in his age. His studies on the structure of welfare state administration and the law of public services initiated a paradigm shift in administrative law. He was a protagonist of the post-war constitutional debates in West Germany concerning the rule of law principle, the interpretation of the constitution, and the judical power of the Federal Constitutional Court. Moreover, Forsthoff’s thoughts reflect the constitutional crisis of his age, from the agony of the Weimar Republic and the revolutionary utopia of German fascism to the student riots of 1968. The author shows how these turning points changed Forsthoff’s notion of law and shaped his implicit apology of the academic lawyer. The author identifies the political, philosophical, and methodological questions Forsthoff dealt with. He systematically explores Forsthoff’s intellectual biography, drawing on a large number of hitherto unknown sources.

In today’s schools, the number of students who receive additional resources to access the curriculum is growing rapidly. The ongoing expansion of special education is among the most significant worldwide educational developments of the past century. Yet even among developed democracies the range varies hugely, from one student in twenty to one student in three receiving special education support and services. In contemporary conflicts about educational standards and accountability, special education plays a key role as it draws the boundaries between exclusion and inclusion. Comparing Special Education unites in-depth comparative and historical studies with analyses of global trends, with a particular focus on special and inclusive education in the United States, England, France, and Germany. The authors examine the causes and consequences of various institutional and organizational developments, illustrate differences in forms of educational governance and policy priorities, and highlight the evolution of social logics from segregation of students with special educational needs to their inclusive education in local schools.

The Future of Representative Democracy poses important questions about representation, representative democracy and their future. Inspired by the last major investigation of the subject by Hanna Pitkin over four decades ago, this ambitious volume fills a major gap in the literature by examining the future of representative forms of democracy in terms of present-day trends and past theories of representative democracy. Aware of the pressing need for clarifying key concepts and institutional trends, the volume aims to break down barriers among disciplines and to establish an interdisciplinary dialogue among scholars. The contributors emphasise that representative democracy and its future is a subject of pressing scholarly concern and public importance. Paying close attention to the unfinished, two-centuries-old relationship between democracy and representation, this book offers a fresh perspective on current problems and dilemmas of representative democracy and the possible future development of new forms of democratic representation.

Voter turnout in the 2009 elections for Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, was the weakest on record, and they were dominated by extremes. Together, the two major parties garnered fewer votes than ever before, with the SPD hitting a historical nadir. By contrast, the FDP, the Greens, and the Left posted their best returns yet. The elections were also characterized by a surge in ballot-splitting and in the number of swing voters. The authors of this volume look into the reasons for these results. They give a comprehensive overview of the background and unusual features of these Bundestag elections, which followed a governing coalition consisting of the CDU/CSU and the SPD and which was overshadowed by global economic crisis. The book focuses on analyses of the election campaign, voting behavior, and the decisions the voters made.

Civil society and the engagement of individuals and companies in common affairs have attracted increasing political, public, and scientific attention in recent decades. Yet despite recognition that grass-roots self-organization and involvement in social issues is essential for modern societies to function, there is still a paucity of reliable and discriminating studies on the circumstances and manifestation of such commitment. Precise data, generalizable statements, and critical analyses are necessary not only to understand but primarily to shape future involvement. With the goal of conceptualizing a research program for Germany, this volume aims to take stock of the current state of knowledge about involvement, to point out gaps and developmental directions of research on the subject, and to identify the associated aspirations and expectations. Contributions to five subject areas are presented: results of civil engagement reporting, principles and strategies of involvement research, data sources, international experience and trends, and the planning and funding of future research.

Transitions on the labor market are inevitable. To date, however, only the transition from employment to unemployment has been regarded as a critical event in working life and thus covered by insurance. The outlines of employment insurance that appropriately buffers the increasing risks to earning capacity throughout a person’s occupational life are indistinct at best. In this study Günther Schmid makes the case for restructuring the labor market in a manner that addresses the risks entailed by all forms of gainful employment. Such reorganization means not only ensuring that a person receives income when unemployed but also shielding people from risks during other critical transitions in their life course, such as that from school to a job, full-time to part-time work, dependent to independent employment, one occupation to another, or full to partial earning capacity. He offers a European-wide comparative analysis of the risks posed by the new world of work, especially by atypical employment. Examining modern theories of fairness, behavior, and decision-making, he lays the normative and institutional foundations for the reorganization of the labor market and broadens the horizon by noting good practices followed in other countries.

Providing an in-depth comparative and historical account, Barriers to Inclusion charts the rise of special education over the twentieth century in the United States and Germany. This institutional analysis demonstrates how professional groups, social movements, and education and social policies shaped the schooling of children and youth with disabilities. It traces continuity and change in special education classification and categorical boundaries, explores the growth of special education organizations, and examines students’ learning opportunities and educational attainments. Highlighting cross-national differences over time, this book investigates demographic and geographic variability within the federal democracies, especially
in segregation and inclusion rates of disabled and disadvantaged children. Germany’s elaborate system of segregated special school types contrasts with diverse American special education classrooms mainly within regular schools. Joining historical case studies with empirical indicators, this book reveals persistent barriers to school integration as well as factors that facilitate inclusive education reform in both societies.

How mobile and flexible do women managers have to be on the way to the top? Can couples succeed at pursuing careers on an equal footing? Or are singles more successful no matter what? To answer these questions, the authors studied the private life situation of women at different stages of their career, interviewing numerous women who live with a partner and have children. They conclude that much depends on the extent to which the employer accommodates the employee but also on agreements between the partners.