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Competition between simple and complex contagion on temporal networks
No full textBehavioral adoptions of individuals are influenced by their peers in different ways. While in some cases an individual may change behavior after a single incoming influence, in other cases multiple cumulated attempts of social influence are necessary for the same outcome. These two mechanisms, known as simple and complex contagion, often occur together in social contagion phenomena, yet their distinguishability based on the observable contagion dynamics is challenging. In this paper we define a social contagion model evolving on temporal networks where individuals can switch between contagion mechanisms. We explore three spreading scenarios: predominated by simple or complex contagion, or where the dominant mechanism changes during the unfolding process. We propose analytical and numerical methods relying on global spreading observables to identify which of these three scenarios characterizes a social spreading outbreak. This work offers insights into social contagion dynamics on temporal networks, without assuming prior knowledge about the contagion mechanism driving the adoptions of individuals
Social Equality and Democratic Authority
No full textRecent social or relational egalitarian accounts of democratic authority attempt to vindicate the demand for an equal say in political decisions by appealing either to an analogy with valuable interpersonal relationships that include equal authority as their constitutive element, or to a bedrock judgment that inequality of authority and power absent mitigating conditions is morally objectionable. This paper argues that neither the positive view (as I refer to the first conception) nor the negative view (as I call the second) are successful on their own. The positive view provides a plausible account of when authority over collective decisions ought to be shared, yet it fails to explain why it ought to be shared on equal terms. By contrast, the negative view provides a convincing account of why authority ought to be shared on equal terms whenever it ought to be shared, its analysis of when authority ought to be shared is insufficiently discerning. Yet the paper also argues that the insights of the two approaches can be combined in a fruitful way that promises to vindicate democratic authority without rendering either approach redundant
The two genotypes of secession:Explaining non-nationalist independence claims in federal-authoritarian regimes
No full textIn the literature on secession, there is broad agreement on the important role of ethno-nationalist mobilization. However, during the breakup of the formerly communist federations in 1989-1992, ethno-nationalist mobilization only partly explains the secessionist claims that occurred. This study highlights a second, non-nationalist type of secessionist claim in the context of transitions from authoritarian rule. It builds on the classical model of transitions, and extends it to federal-authoritarian states. According to this argument, sub-state government initiatives for regime change can turn into a federal conflict, and result in secessionist claims with no ethno-nationalist motives. Empirically, this article provides a congruence analysis, scrutinizing the timing of the declarations of sovereignty and independence of the 23 constituent republics of Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, based on a secondary analysis of the literature. While the first republic-level governments to declare independence were dominated by ethno-nationalists, regime conflict played an important role in a second, possibly decisive stage of the dissolution of the three communist federations
Globalization and European Integration:A Central European Perspective
No full textTwo decades after the biggest ever enlargement of the European Union, post-transition countries face a series of challenges, posed primarily by de-globalization and growing illiberalism. Declining European competitiveness, as highlighted by the Draghi Report (2024), calls for major restructuring both regionally and community-wide. This invited survey article attempts to solve a puzzle: if Europeanization has not been very successful, how could it promote globalization? Furthermore, Central Europe counts as a success story, both in terms of convergence and in terms of stabilizing west Europe’s previously restive neighborhood. Sustaining this success is not automatic. We posit the two main conditions. These are: more focus on Ordnungspolitik (single market, competition policy, and capital markets union) and de-emphasis of re-distrubution (CAP and Cohesion). We also show why and how Central Europe will decide the future of the EU and the ways it can cope with globalization