SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PROGRESS -
THE PRAGMATIC APPROACH OF HENRIK KREUTZ - CELEBRATING HENRIK
KREUTZ'S 60th ANNIVERSARY
Edited by: Ronald J. Pohoryles and
Liana Giorgi, with the assistance of Sasa Cvijetic
Philip Schlesinger
Collective Identities, Friends, Enemies
Abstract
This
essay explores the inherent issues, questions and complexities
that surround the notion of the European cultural identities.
The article points out that, quite apart from the economic
entities that constitute the European continent, Europe is
also a problematic socio-cultural and socio-political entity.
The socio-cultural and geo-political legacy of the Cold War as
well as the perceived cultural threat from west of the
Atlantic, have seriously questioned what the term ‚European
identity‘ may means. The issue of European and national
identity, with all it’s political connotations, however,
will play a central role in the changes of the European
cultural and political space in the years to come. The
essay provides both theoretical and historical reflections on
how these factors will shape the developments of the future.
John Crowley
Some Thoughts on Theorizing European Citizenship
Abstract
The
purpose of this contribution is to try to identify certain
generic features of political order that would necessarily
characterise any future Europe, and to try to draw some conclusions
from them. Whether the idea of generic features of political
order as such makes sense is far from clear. If, however, one
introduces the additional, fairly reasonable consideration
that any future Europe will give normative significance to the
principle of democracy and involve some form of liberal
representative government, things become easier to handle.
Henrik
Kreutz' concern about the question of citizenship is well
known. He was among first thinkers advocating dual citizenship
and thus granting rights to migrants. Henrik Kreutz visions
about a common Europe and his warnings against an
imperialistic attitude in this respect are very challenging
and an incentive for further research. Without going into
depth of these questions this article might contribute to
further discussions.
Steven Ney and Nadia Molenaars
Cultural Theory as a Theory of Democracy
Abstract
The
rapid economic, social, and political changes of the past two
decades have placed considerable stress on democratic
institutions. Changes in the labour market, new forms of
social co-operation, as well as an ever growing multiplicity
of life-styles have undermined the relevance of many
socio-political arrangements central to democracies in
advanced capitalist societies. In particular, growing social
heterogeneity has given rise to the question of whom or what
organised interest groups actually represent. Moreover, the
theoretical approaches used to analyse and assess democratic
structures and democratic practices have become increasingly
unable to explain current political behaviour. Based on an
individualist concept of interest, these theories have
consistently ignored the socio-insitutional, that is the
cultural, dimension. In an attempt to realign democratic
theory with socio-cultural reality, this paper is a first stab
at systematically introducing culture into democratic theory.
The paper applies Mary Douglas‘ ”Cultural Theory” to the
theory of democracy and outlines a theoretical framework for
assessing democratic structures and practices.
Martin Peterson
Collaboration and Competition
Abstract
This
brief paper provides a concise overview over the historical
development of European research systems. Although social
science has recently discovered national science and research
systems as a topic of study, the historical origins of
different national systems is as old as European science
itself. The article provides a condensed tour of the major
historical developments that have contributed to shaping the
present European research landscape. These historical
developments, which began with the establishment of the first
European university in Bologna, show that the evolution of the
European research system has been marked by forces pulling in
opposite directions: on the one hand, the universalistic
nature of science has forged co-operative relations across
national boundaries; on the other hand, the national
orientation of research systems embedded in nation states has
led to fierce competition. The article shows that this
ambivalent historical legacy has shaped structures and
practices in today’s European research system.
Hans-Liudger Dienel
Bilateral Scientific and Technical Collaboration
between Hostile Countries in Europe: France and Germany
Abstract
Common
wisdom suggests that collaboration between scientists that
populate different national research systems crucially depends
on good relations between the countries involved. Some people
would even argue that scientific and cultural exchange between
two countries is the fundament of peaceful relations. What,
then, happens to scientific collaboration between countries
that are fundamentally hostile to each other? This article
looks at the history and substance of scientific collaboration
between France and Germany from 1860 to 1950. Unlike common
wisdom would lead us to believe, scientific and technical
collaboration between France and Germany did actually take
place in a number of significant fields. The article reviews
the structure and substance of these collaborations and places
them in a general historical and political context.
Friso D. Heyt
Popper’s Vienna. A Contribution to the History of the
Ideas of Critical Rationalism
Abstract
The
following article traces the main elements of Karl Popper‘s
philosophy and theory of science to the social, cultural and
political environment of inter-war Vienna. By providing a
brief biographical sketch, both in terms of Popper’s
intellectual and social development, the author sets
Popper’s influential and somewhat contentious approach into
historical context. Not only does the article show that
Popper’s ideas emerged from the very fertile intellectual
ground of inter-war Vienna, it also shows how political and
social conflicts of the time left their indelible mark of
Popper’s thinking.
Heinz Sahner
The Contribution of the Working Group of Social Science
Institutes (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher
Institute e.V. (ASI)) to the Institutionalization of Sociology
after the Second World War
Abstract
This contribution will
attempt to defend the thesis that the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft
Sozialwissenschaftlicher Institute e.V.” (ASI) has played a
major role in the institutionalisation and professionalisation
of sociology in West Germany after World War II. The paper
will show that, to date, the significance of the ASI has been
grossly underrated in historical assessments of the
development of German sociology.
György Lengyel and István János Tóth
Class Position, Income Opportunities and Satisfaction
Abstract
How do emerging markets
affect income opportunities and social stratification in
transition economies? The authors set out to empirically
analyse the income opportunities and the resulting
satisfaction with living standards of economic agents in
Hungary. Using household panel data as well as data from a
separate survey of high income households, the authors attempt
to unravel how income opportunities come about and how these
opportunities are related to overall satisfaction with
prevailing living standards. Showing that the analysis of
income inequalities is too broad a means of measuring income
opportunity and satisfaction, the authors use a more
fine-grained analysis based on the participation in different
productive markets one the one hand, and a differentiation
between propertied and income-generating classes on the other.
Using this framework, the authors investigate the relationship
between market participation, wealth, and satisfaction with
prevailing living standards. They find that, counter to common
wisdom, increased access to income opportunities does not men
that economic agents are any more satisfied with their
circumstances.
Massimo Bellotto and Alberto Zatti
Working Values and the Italian Family
Abstract
History
teaches us that it is through the family that new generations are
equipped with ethics and values regarding work. The advent of
bourgeois society, with its characteristic openness towards other
social classes, appears to have relegated the promotion of working
values by families to the background. This study sets out to test
the hypothesis according to which the family continues to maintain
an important role in the transmission of working values. Based on
data from the Work Importance Study (Super and Sverko, 1995), two
subgroups were compared (Working Adults and High School and
University Students), considered as representing two different
generations (Youths vs. Adults).
Some
results from cluster analysis show how substantial similarity
exists between adults and youths in terms of ideal values,
expressing "what would be important in an ideal world".
The difference between the subgroups lies in expectations (termed
"expected values") relating to "what would be
important in my actual work environment". Here relatively
more important values for young people are relatively less
important for working adults.
Another
result presented concerns the relationship existing between value
typologies (classified into six categories) and personal character
associated with birth order. What emerges is that the only child
are prevalently the "tough type", while the first born,
considered by some to be custodians of family traditions, turn out
to be more independent than the second or third born, identified
above all by their calm and sociable characters.
Ernst Gehmacher
Regio-Vision - Reich und Grün - A Model of Regional
Development. Visions of the Future 50 Years
Abstract
Regional
development as a social process over 50 years cannot be
explained and envisioned for the future by reference to
economy alone. Neither by politics alone. A systemic approach
is proposed including modernization values, redistribution
politics and growth investments in education and
infrastructure. The output, characterised by the formula „Rich
and Green“, wealth and life quality, depends on the balance
of inputs from the society and its elites. A computer model is
presented simulating this balance of forces.
Arthur Schneeberger
Changing Patterns in Initial Education and Training in
Austria: New Challenges on the Way Towards the Information
Society
Abstract
Unemployment and
education, as labour market experts have pointed out, are very
closely related. Well designed educational structures and
successful practices at secondary and tertiary levels are not
only reflected in the general quality of the labour force but
also in unemployment figures. The crucial element of any
successful education system, however, is how it manages the
transition from education to work. This article looks at the
rather complex and multi-tiered system of education in Austria.
After briefly reviewing the major characteristics of the
system and the potential pathways open to school leavers, the
article explores the strengths and weaknesses of the present
Austrian educational edifice. In particular, the article shed
light on the motives and structures behind educational
drop-outs and drop-down at all levels of the system. The
article concludes with highlighting the major shortcomings of
the Austrian system of education, particularly in the tertiary
sector, and relates these weaknesses to probable causes of
unemployment in the present and the future.
Zoltán Szántó
Principals, Agents, and Clients. Review of the Modern
Concept of Corruption
Abstract
This brief article
outlines a theoretical framework for analysing political
corruption. The framework relies on rational and public choice
approaches and thus conceptualises political corruption in
terms of economic gains and trade-off. Based on this framework,
the article outlines a set of empirical hypothesis concerning
corruption.
Jaroslaw Górniak
Attitudes towards Money and Dealing with Money:
Selected Results of the Research in Poland
Abstract
The article
seeks to explore the socio-economic and socio-psychological
motivations that guide and direct household financial
management. Using survey techniques, the author constructs a
series of models in which he related socio-economic status
and attitudes towards personal financial management to
saving behaviour in Poland. The aim is to understand the
micro-level mechanisms that affect economic decision-making.
What is more, the article widens the scope of conventional
micro-level analysis for saving and investment by explicitly
relating values and attitudes towards money management to
saving behaviour. Understanding the way socio-psychological
motivations affect financial management practice, the
article argues, provides the key to understanding economic
behaviour in transition economies.
Eckart Kühlhorn, Björn Hibell, Stig
Larsson, Mats Ramstedt and Hans L. Zetterberg
Can Surveys Measure Alcohol Consumption? Advances in
Survey Methodology in the KALK Project
Abstract
This articles
explores the merits and problems of survey research in
analysing national alcohol consumptions. Whereas sales and
taxation records usually provide the macro-level data for
estimating alcohol consumption in a country as a whole, this
data says very little about both the distribution of alcohol
consumption with smaller social groups or the consumption of
alcohol that is not registered by sales or taxes (such as
the consumption of alcohol abroad or contraband liquor).
However, survey research into alcohol consumption faces
significant challenges: typically, alcohol consumption
reported in surveys accounts for about 40-60% of overall
consumption. The article evaluates, assesses and compares
different survey and questionaire methods aimed at
minimising the problem of underreporting of alcohol
consumption. These methods combine both conventional
positivist as well as more interpretative approaches.
