World society and the transformation of national defense: exploring world cultural impact on security and military

In this paper, I explore the applicability of sociological institutionalism for the analysis of security and the military. Based on cross-sectional data from 50 countries, I show how values linked to the nation state and security are related to world cultural ideas and the diffusion of rationalized organizational models. Such linkage could explain the transformation of the military as a common and worldwide trend, being based on political and societal preconditions that converge across countries. The paper is structured as follows: I first introduce basics on military transformation in the course of time, before I turn to the framework of sociological new institutionalism. I particularly emphasize world cultural values and rationalized organizational forms as well as the diffusion process linked to them. In the empirical analysis, I first show how values linked to individualism, the nation state and world society are linked to national security. As suggested by sociological institutionalism, individual values and the importance of world society are wide-spread and also linked to less nationalism and a lower significance for security and defense. However, the nation state is still an important point of reference. In the second empirical analysis, I turn to the organizational form of the military, showing changing aims, and changed ways of organizing the service. Here we find that the military has indeed transformed to an organization with features comparable to the non-military world, supporting sociological institutionalist claims. In sum, the findings point towards changed security policies induced by world cultural norms. However, further analyses are needed to explore this relationship in more detail and to ultimately test this theory against functionalist explanations. -- Dieses Arbeitspapier analysiert Sicherheitspolitik und Militärreformen aus der Perspektive des soziologischen Institutionalismus. Basierend auf Daten aus 50 Staaten wird gezeigt, dass Werte und Organisationsformen in diesem Feld zunehmend Trends einer 'Weltkultur' entsprechen. Dazu führt das Papier zunächst kurz in aktuelle Reformen des Militärs ein, bevor in einem theoretischen Teil zwei Diskussionen des soziologischen Institutionalismus ausgeführt werden, genauer die Verbreitung kultureller Werte basierend auf Individualismus und einem geteilten Welthorizont, sowie die Einführung rationalisierter Organisationsformen in verschiedensten gesellschaftlichen Bereichen. In der empirischen Analyse wird dann gezeigt, dass sich die angenommene Weltkultur in der Tat in sicherheitsrelevanten Werten und Auffassungen niederschlägt und dass das Militär sich zunehmend 'rationalisiert' und 'individualisiert' organisiert. Die Ergebnisse unterstützen theoretische Annahmen des soziologischen Institutionalismus, sollten aber in weiteren Untersuchungen noch verstärkt gegen rivalisierende funktionalistische Theorien getestet werden.

International organizations and world society: studying global policy development in public policy

This article develops a theoretical framework to analyze the rise and spread of global public policy. After an introduction to the background of sociological institutionalism, it first elaborates on the role and functions of international organizations, identifying instruments by which these can disseminate policies and influence domestic policy processes. Second, conditions of global agenda setting and policy diffusion are presented; building up a model of global policy development, a frame in which the worldwide spread of global public policy can be analyzed. Third, I present a case study of global policy development, namely the rise of lifelong learning as part of current education policy. In the concluding part I briefly summarize central findings and elaborate on the potential and the shortcoming of the idea. The article mainly has a conceptual aim, but strictly relies on empirical material. ; In diesem Arbeitspapier präsentiere ich einen theoretischen Rahmen zur Analyse politischer Internationalisierungsprozesse. Nach einer Einleitung in theoretische Annahmen des soziologischen Institutionalismus und der Idee einer Weltkultur werden zentrale Funktionen internationaler Organisationen dargestellt, mit denen politischen Ziele verbreiten und nationalstaatliche Politikprozesse beeinflussen. In einem weiteren Schritt werden Bedingungen globalen Agenda-Settings’ und globaler Politikdiffusion präsentiert. Diese werden dann in einem Model eines globalen Politikzyklus zusammengeführt. Eine Anwendung erfolgt im Anschluss anhand des Beispiels von Lebenslanges Lernen’, ein zentrales Ziel weltweiter bildungspolitischer Konzepte. In den Schlussbemerkungen fasse ich zentrale Ergebnisse zusammen und prüfe die Übertragbarkeit auf andere Fälle. Das Papier hat vorrangig ein theoretisches und konzeptionelles Ziel, basierend auf empirischen Ergebnissen --

Education and elections: a comparative analysis of party manifestos in OECD countries

New institutionalism has repeatedly shown that education has become a common institution in current world society, but so far parties have not been the subject of inquiry. This is surprising, given the fact that institutionalization processes relevant to politics should be well observable in political statements. In this article, I compare the political aim to expand educational opportunities in party manifestos of 25 OECD countries. The research question is whether or not there are significant differences in favoring educational expansion over time, across countries and political positions. The article is structured as follows: In a first step, I present the theoretical background of new institutionalism, concluding with three hypotheses related to political parties and educational expansion: We should be able to observe a growing consensus on educational expansion over time; we should able to observe this development across countries; and we should be able to observe such institutionalization in manifestos with different political positions. In a second step, I present data and methods. In the third to fifth steps, I test each of the hypotheses, differentiating the institutionalization of education over time, across countries and across different political wings. The results strongly support the theoretical assumption of new institutionalism. -- Neo-institutionalistische Arbeiten haben wiederholt nachgewiesen, dass Bildung ein wesentlicher Bestandteil einer Weltkultur ist. Während die meisten dieser Analysen vorrangig auf den gesellschaftlichen Wandel auf der Individualebene oder auf die Formulierung nationaler Bildungsgrundsätze fokussierten, untersucht dieses Arbeitspapier mögliche Effekte auf Parteiprogramme. Die grundlegende Annahme ist, dass Institutionalisierungseffekte von Weltkultur spezifischer: die Befürwortung von Bildungsmaßnahmen sich auch in diesen programmatischen Dokumenten nachweisen lassen müssten. Dazu analysiere ich hier quantitativ 25 Länder der OECD-Welt im Hinblick auf Unterschiede über Zeit, über Länder oder zwischen politischen Richtungen. Das Papier ist wie folgt aufgebaut: Zunächst präsentiere ich den theoretischen Hintergrund des Neo-Institutionalismus und leite daraus drei Hypothesen ab, die für Parteiprogramme relevant sind: Es sollte ein zunehmender Konsens hinsichtlich der Befürwortung von Bildungsmaßnahmen sichtbar werden, es sollten dabei keine signifikanten nationalen Unterschiede deutlich werden, und diese Befürwortung sollte in verschiedenen politischen Lagern sichtbar werden. In einem nächsten Abschnitt präsentiere ich die verwendeten Daten das Manifesto-Dataset und die Methoden dieser Untersuchung. In drei weiteren Schritten teste ich dann jeweils die aufgestellten Hypothesen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass in der Tat ein zunehmender Konsens im Hinblick auf Bildung besteht: Das Thema wird über Zeit insgesamt wichtiger, und dies fast ungeachtet der Länder und politischen Richtungen, wenngleich einige Differenzen bestehen bleiben.

Convergence and divergence in welfare state development: an assessment of education policy in OECD countries

In this paper, we quantitatively assess education policy change in OECD countries. While research in social policy has shown that convergence in welfare provision can only partially be assessed in OECD countries, it has yet to be assessed to what extent this also concerns the sector of education. By distinguishing educational expenditures, educational governance and educational outputs, we analyze this sector for OECD countries since the 1990s. The paper is structured as follows: We first outline the importance of education and schooling in contemporary social policy. In a second step, we present concepts of convergence and divergence in welfare state development, concluding with assumptions on the state of education policy. In a third step, we present the data and methods used. Afterwards, we track changes in educational expenditures, educational governance and educational outputs. In a concluding section, we compare the findings and outline their significance for research on policy convergence and social policies, as well as for internationalization of education policy. The paper has a mainly empirical aim, contributing to the debate on policy change and convergence in social policy. -- In diesem Papier untersuchen wir den Wandel von Bildungspolitik in OECD Ländern, im besonderen Tendenzen zur Konvergenz. Vergleichbare Analysen in anderen Teilgebieten der Sozialpolitik sind zu dem Ergebnis gekommen, dass nur bedingt Konvergenzeffekte festzustellen sind, für den Bereich Bildungspolitik standen entsprechende Untersuchungen bisher jedoch nicht zur Verfügung. Um auch in diesem Politikfeld den Wandel näher zu bestimmen, unterscheiden wir Ausgaben, Governance und Ergebnisse und analysieren entsprechende Indikatoren mit quantitativen Methoden. Das Papier ist wie folgt strukturiert: Zunächst führen wir in die Rolle von Bildung im Zusammenhang mit Sozialpolitik ein, bevor wir dann näher auf die Frage von Konvergenz und Divergenz eingehen. In einem dritten Schritt stellen wir Methoden und Daten vor, bevor wir den Wandel in den Bereichen Sekundarstufe und Hochschulausbildung seit den 1990ern untersuchen. Es zeigt sich insgesamt leichte Konvergenz in Teilen der Bildungsfinanzierung und der Bildungsgovernance, sowie in den Bildungsergebnissen. Nur einige dieser Effekte sind allerdings statistisch eindeutig signifikant, so dass hier insgesamt bisher eher Tendenzen als eindeutiger Wandel in eine gemeinsame Richtung festzustellen ist.

Influence of mutations of Val226 on the catalytic rate of haloalkane dehalogenase

Haloalkane dehalogenase converts haloalkanes to their corresponding alcohols. The 3D structure, reaction mechanism and kinetic mechanism have been studied. The steady state kcat with 1,2-dichloroethane and 1,2-dibromoethane is limited mainly by the rate of release of the halide ion from the buried active-site cavity. During catalysis, the halogen that is cleaved off (Clα) from 1,2-dichloroethane interacts with Trp125 and the Clβ interacts with Phe172. Both these residues have van der Waals contacts with Val226. To establish the effect of these interactions on catalysis, and in an attempt to change enzyme activity without directly mutating residues involved in catalysis, we mutated Val226 to Gly, Ala and Leu. The Val226Ala and Val226Leu mutants had a 2.5-fold higher catalytic rate for 1,2-dibromoethane than the wild-type enzyme. A pre-steady state kinetic analysis of the Val226Ala mutant enzyme showed that the increase in kcat could be attributed to an increase in the rate of a conformational change that precedes halide release, causing a faster overall rate of halide dissociation. The kcat for 1,2-dichloroethane conversion was not elevated, although the rate of chloride release was also faster than in the wild-type enzyme. This was caused by a 3-fold decrease in the rate of formation of the alkyl-enzyme intermediate for 1,2-dichloroethane. Val226 seems to contribute to leaving group (Clα or Brα) stabilization via Trp125, and can influence halide release and substrate binding via an interaction with Phe172. These studies indicate that wild-type haloalkane dehalogenase is optimized for 1,2-dichloroethane, although 1,2-dibromoethane is a better substrate.

World society and the transformation of national defense: exploring world cultural impact on security and military

In this paper, I explore the applicability of sociological institutionalism for the analysis of security and the military. Based on cross-sectional data from 50 countries, I show how values linked to the nation state and security are related to world cultural ideas and the diffusion of rationalized organizational models. Such linkage could explain the transformation of the military as a common and worldwide trend, being based on political and societal preconditions that converge across countries. The paper is structured as follows: I first introduce basics on military transformation in the course of time, before I turn to the framework of sociological new institutionalism. I particularly emphasize world cultural values and rationalized organizational forms as well as the diffusion process linked to them. In the empirical analysis, I first show how values linked to individualism, the nation state and world society are linked to national security. As suggested by sociological institutionalism, individual values and the importance of world society are wide-spread and also linked to less nationalism and a lower significance for security and defense. However, the nation state is still an important point of reference. In the second empirical analysis, I turn to the organizational form of the military, showing changing aims, and changed ways of organizing the service. Here we find that the military has indeed transformed to an organization with features comparable to the non-military world, supporting sociological institutionalist claims. In sum, the findings point towards changed security policies induced by world cultural norms. However, further analyses are needed to explore this relationship in more detail and to ultimately test this theory against functionalist explanations.Dieses Arbeitspapier analysiert Sicherheitspolitik und Militärreformen aus der Perspektive des soziologischen Institutionalismus. Basierend auf Daten aus 50 Staaten wird gezeigt, dass Werte und Organisationsformen in diesem Feld zunehmend Trends einer 'Weltkultur' entsprechen. Dazu führt das Papier zunächst kurz in aktuelle Reformen des Militärs ein, bevor in einem theoretischen Teil zwei Diskussionen des soziologischen Institutionalismus ausgeführt werden, genauer die Verbreitung kultureller Werte basierend auf Individualismus und einem geteilten Welthorizont, sowie die Einführung rationalisierter Organisationsformen in verschiedensten gesellschaftlichen Bereichen. In der empirischen Analyse wird dann gezeigt, dass sich die angenommene Weltkultur in der Tat in sicherheitsrelevanten Werten und Auffassungen niederschlägt und dass das Militär sich zunehmend 'rationalisiert' und 'individualisiert' organisiert. Die Ergebnisse unterstützen theoretische Annahmen des soziologischen Institutionalismus, sollten aber in weiteren Untersuchungen noch verstärkt gegen rivalisierende funktionalistische Theorien getestet werden

Policy networks in comparative politics and international relations: perspectives, typologies and functions

In this paper, I review existing approaches to network analysis in comparative politics and International Relations (IR). I argue that the theoretical and empirical exploration of global policy networks in IR today can benefit from systematically taking into account the literature that has emerged in comparative politics in the 1980s and 1990s. To show the relationship between both fields, I compare three aspects in research linked to networks, namely the analytical perspectives from which networks are examined, network typologies, and the functions of networks. Finally, I outline three areas that are likely to enrich future IR research on networks: interest representation in networks, typologies of global policy networks and the methodology linked to their inquiryDieses Papier präsentiert Netzwerkonzeptionen in der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft und den Internationalen Beziehungen (IB). Es stellt die These auf, dass IB Forschung davon profitieren kann, die Netzwerk-Forschung der Vergleichenden Politikwissenschaft systematischer zu nutzen. Um die beiden Forschungsstränge gegenüber zu stellen, vergleiche ich drei Aspekte der Netzwerkforschung: a) die analytischen Perspektiven auf Netzwerke; b) Netzwerk-Typologien und c) Netzwerk-Funktionen. Abschließend skizziere ich Bereiche, die für die IB Forschung zu Netzwerken besonders interessant sind, insbesondere die Interessenvertretung in globalen Netzwerken, Typologien globaler Politiknetzwerke und die methodische Weiterentwicklung der Forschung zu diesen Netzwerken

Piraterie und Geldwäsche : Geldwäschebekämpfung als möglicher Ansatz gegen Piraterie in Somalia

Sustainability Indicators (SIs) have been used with many different purposes, but never before inside a Waste Management Planning (WMP) process. In this report, a list of indicators has been designed so that the sustainability of a Waste Treatment Technique (WTT) for Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in a specific situation is evaluated. The creation of this list is the consequence of a deep information seeking process on SIs, on MSW’s treatment techniques and of the use, as a base, of the indicators created by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. In order to assess the usefulness of the list designed, The City of Stockholm has been chosen. A satisfactory result has been obtained: the SIs selected for this specific use, give a suitable picture and enough information of the studied situation. However, additional applications (in other contexts) are necessary for a more complete validation and for improving the weakest points.Division Industrial Ecologywww.kth.se/itm/indecowww.ima.kth.s

Neurotransmitter profile of saccadic omnipause neurons in nucleus raphe interpositus

Saccadic omnipause neurons (OPNs) are essential for the generation of saccadic eye movements. In primates OPNs are located near the midline within the nucleus raphe interpositus (rip). In the present study we used several different neuroanatomical methods to investigate the transmitters associated with OPNs in the monkey. Immunolabeling for the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin was employed to mark OPNs in the monkey and define the homologous cell group in cat and human. The use of antibodies against GABA, glycine (GLY), glutamate (GLU), serotonin (5-HT), and tyrosine hydroxylase revealed that the somata of OPNs are GLY immunoreactive, but they are devoid of GABA and 5-HT immunostaining. In situ hybridization with the GAD67 mRNA probe confirmed the negative GABA immunostaining of OPNs. 3H-GLY was injected into a projection field of OPNs, the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fascicle (riMLF)--the vertical saccadic burst neuron area. This resulted in selective retrograde labeling of the OPNs in rip, while no labeling was found in the superior colliculus, which sends an excitatory projection to the riMLF. The somata and dendrites of putative burst neurons in the riMLF were contacted by numerous GLY- immunoreactive terminals. The quantitative analysis of immunoreactive terminal-like structures contacting OPNs revealed a strong input from GLY- and GABA-positive terminals on somata and dendrites, whereas GLU- positive puncta were mainly confined to the dendrites. Very few 5-HT and catecholaminergic terminals contacted OPN somata. Our findings suggest that OPNs use GLY as a neurotransmitter, and they receive numerous contacts from GABAergic, glycinergic, and glutaminergic afferents, and significantly fewer from monoaminergic inputs.</jats:p