Österreichische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft (Journal)
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Nachhaltigkeit und Demokratie: Sieben Thesen zur demokratischen Zukunftsfähigkeit
Full text linkGiven the defining normative and empirical features of representative democracy, this type of political regime offers at least moderately good conditions for successfully dealing with sustainability issues. None of the frequently noted features of representative democracy, such as in particular the need of governments to seek re-election at regular intervals, undermines the possibility of forward-looking and sustainable solutions to public issues. What really matters is how individual and collective actors use the institutional devices and procedures of representative democracy. In accordance with the proclaimed nature of this type of regime, which centers on the sovereignty of the people, the future of democracy ultimately hinges on society, or the mindset and behavior of individual and collective societal actors for that matter. That said, despite the recent blossom of civil society and the ongoing transformations of democratic governance, the role of responsible political office-holders in dealing with sustainability issues has become more, rather than less, important.Die repräsentative Demokratie bietet von ihrem Selbstverständnis und ihren strukturellen Eigenschaften her mindestens mäßig gute Voraussetzungen für die Bewältigung von nachhaltigkeitsbezogenen Herausforderungen. Keines der häufig genannten Elemente, wie insbesondere das Prinzip der Herrschaft auf Zeit mit Wahlperioden und Wiederwahlerfordernissen, macht vorausschauende und nachhaltige Lösungen unmöglich. Entscheidend ist jedoch, wie das institutionelle Arsenal der repräsentativen Demokratie politisch genutzt wird. In Übereinstimmung mit deren zentralem Anspruch, politische Selbstbestimmung zu ermöglichen, liegt die Zukunftsfähigkeit der Demokratie letztlich in den Händen der Gesellschaft. Trotz der jüngsten Blüte der Zivilgesellschaft hat sich der geforderte Beitrag verantwortlicher politischer Eliten im Zuge anhaltender Transformationen demokratischer Herrschaft nicht verringert, sondern tendenziell noch erhöht
Ambitious and Apathic, Principled and Pragmatic: Austrian Foreign Policy in the Second Republic
Full text linkThis article sets the stage for the subsequent contributions to a forum on the Handbook on Austrian Foreign Policy (Handbuch Außenpolitik Österreichs, see Senn et al. 2023). It first introduces the book’s major findings regarding the processes of making and implementing decisions on Austrian foreign policy: the Europeanization of its foreign policy, the multiplication of issue areas and actors, additional demands for coordination, and the fragmentation of strategy-building. The article then addresses the contents of Austria’s foreign policy in the Second Republic and identifies security, prosperity and identity as its fundamental goals as well as neutrality, neighbourhood-policy, cultural diplomacy, foreign trade, and the determination to act as “good power”/“good global citizen“ as bundles of instruments for achieving these goals. Building on these findings, the article outlines avenues for further research and gives an overview of the subsequent contributions to this forum.This article sets the stage for the subsequent contributions to a forum on the Handbook on Austrian Foreign Policy (Handbuch Außenpolitik Österreichs, see Senn et al. 2023). It first introduces the book’s major findings regarding the processes of making and implementing decisions on Austrian foreign policy: the Europeanization of its foreign policy, the multiplication of issue areas and actors, additional demands for coordination, and the fragmentation of strategy-building. The article then addresses the contents of Austria’s foreign policy in the Second Republic and identifies security, prosperity and identity as its fundamental goals as well as neutrality, neighbourhood-policy, cultural diplomacy, foreign trade, and the determination to act as “good power”/“good global citizen“ as bundles of instruments for achieving these goals. Building on these findings, the article outlines avenues for further research and gives an overview of the subsequent contributions to this forum
Austrian Foreign Policy and key Debates on EU Foreign Policy
Full text linkThe Handbuch Außenpolitik Österreichs (Handbook on Austrian Foreign Policy, see Senn et al. 2023a) and its rich empirical findings that cover a broad spectrum of geographic and thematic priorities speak in stimulating ways to timely scholarly debates on European Union (EU) foreign policy. On the one hand, the Austrian case reveals dynamics that are also visible in other EU member states, including a certain degree of foreign policy de-Europeanization, a growing politicization of foreign policy, and a greater demand for horizontal coordination of different aspects of foreign policy. On the other hand, Austria needs to find its place in an EU foreign policy that itself is in a period of adapting to major internal and external challenges. Placing the findings of the Handbook in the context of recent scholarship on EU foreign policy, this article highlights the multi-level nature of Austrian foreign policy and points to important contributions of the Handbook for scholarship on EU foreign policy that extend beyond the case of Austria.The Handbuch Außenpolitik Österreichs (Handbook on Austrian Foreign Policy, see Senn et al. 2023a) and its rich empirical findings that cover a broad spectrum of geographic and thematic priorities speak in stimulating ways to timely scholarly debates on European Union (EU) foreign policy. On the one hand, the Austrian case reveals dynamics that are also visible in other EU member states, including a certain degree of foreign policy de-Europeanization, a growing politicization of foreign policy, and a greater demand for horizontal coordination of different aspects of foreign policy. On the other hand, Austria needs to find its place in an EU foreign policy that itself is in a period of adapting to major internal and external challenges. Placing the findings of the Handbook in the context of recent scholarship on EU foreign policy, this article highlights the multi-level nature of Austrian foreign policy and points to important contributions of the Handbook for scholarship on EU foreign policy that extend beyond the case of Austria
How does Oil affect Electoral Competition in Electoral Authoritarian Regime?
No full textBuilding on theoretical insights from research on the rentier state, several studies have argued that oil hinders democracy. However, previous research on the rentier state has neglected the global surge of multiparty autocracies since the end of the Cold War. In this paper, we combine the literature on multiparty autocracy and the political economy of the rentier state to study how oil affects elections in non-democracies. As oil production creates substantial and nontransparent government revenue stream, we hypothesize that oil production has a negative effect on electoral competitiveness in multiparty autocracies. Using data on all multiparty elections held in the world in the period 1975–2010, our results confirm that oil strongly impedes electoral competitiveness in multiparty autocracies, but has no effect in democratic settings. This paper contributes to the burgeoning literature on democratization through elections and highlights how unfavorable economic structures impede the chances of elections leading to liberalization
Austrian and Swiss Foreign Policy: A Comparison and Research Agenda
Full text linkForeign policy analysis (FPA) appears to have become quite marginal in academic political science research, not only in Austria, but also in other countries, such as neighboring Switzerland or Germany. In this essay I argue that, contrary to conventional wisdom, this is not primarily due to the fact that scholars based in these countries and their research have internationalized, and that Austria and Switzerland are too small to really matter in international politics and thus be of academic interest. Rather, it derives from two conditions: first, continued adherence of many if not most FPA scholars to interpretational (hermeneutical) research methods, which have become rather peripheral in modern political science; and second, limited creativity of political scientists focused on causal explanation and statistical analysis in coming up with new and interesting FPA questions and appropriate study designs. This argument is illustrated with examples from FPA as reflected in two recent books on foreign policy in Austria and Switzerland respectively, and suggestions on several areas where political scientists could add valuable insights that are both academically interesting and policy relevant
Representing Society? Development of Austrian Party-Voter Issue Salience in Social Policy
Full text linkIn representative democracies citizens hand over responsibility to parties, which represent their interests in policy-making. Current socioeconomic and political developments might foster declining quality of representation. We analyse the state of substantive representation of social policy issues in Austria and ask: How do voters and parties assess the importance of different social policy issues? How does the fit of voters’ and parties’ issue salience develop over time? Comparing the supply and demand side of social policy issue saliences between 2009 and 2019, we unexpectedly find convergence. Austrian parties and voters show more similar relative importance of social policy areas over time. Variations in issue saliences are partly explained by the material and sociocultural values of disaggregated social policy areas.In representative democracies citizens hand over responsibility to parties, which represent their interests in policy-making. Current socioeconomic and political developments might foster declining quality of representation. We analyse the state of substantive representation of social policy issues in Austria and ask: How do voters and parties assess the importance of different social policy issues? How does the fit of voters’ and parties’ issue salience develop over time? Comparing the supply and demand side of social policy issue saliences between 2009 and 2019, we unexpectedly find convergence. Austrian parties and voters show more similar relative importance of social policy areas over time. Variations in issue saliences are partly explained by the material and sociocultural values of disaggregated social policy areas
Small State Studies: Austria’s Bid to get Elected on the UNSC
Full text linkThis article provides an overview of small state studies and offers a comparative study of the respective 2008 United Nations Security Council campaigns by Austria and Iceland. It examines how quantitative and qualitative characteristics between small states play a decisive role in mounting successful UNSC bids. The analysis indicates that Austria’s ‘smallness’ did not significantly impact the country’s ability to garner votes towards a seat, and that its size and status was utilised in concurrence with skilful diplomacy to meet objectives. Iceland, on the other hand, was thwarted not only by its limited size, but also by a lack of political and diplomatic commitment to the cause, and an inability to ‘absorb’ an untimely exogenous shock that damaged the country’s reputation
