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Copyright of Papers of the British School at Rome is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Weber's thought has been the object of recurrent interpretative controversies regarding its ontological and epistemological assumptions, its theory of action, the notion of axiological rationality and its position toward values, power and the state. Recent scholarship has however strived to outline a more balanced reading of Weber' opus. The paper revisits some classical Weberian passages and arguments with a view to identifying and highlighting theoretical «links» capable to mediate between the interpretative polarities which have been confronting each in the literature. The focus is on the nexus between science and politics, i.e. a foundational theme of the Weberian doctrine regarding ontology, knowledge, power and values. Such theme s of particular interest as it cuts across a theoretical agenda which currently engages virtually all the neo-institutional schools in political science, i.e the inquiry about the relationship between knowledge and political decisions, «puzzling» and «powering», expertise and democracy. After reconstructing the basic traits of Weber's ontological assumptions, the paper reconstructs the internal logics of the intellectual and political spheres and the nexus between objectivity and truth, on the one hand, and the ethics of principles and responsibility, on the other hand. The conclusion outlines the contours of a possible neo-Weberian consensus on some foundational questions of contemporary political science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democracies always have deficits. They always perform below the expectations of their citizens. But is this, the gap between expectations and performance, the best definition of democratic deficit? This paper is an attempt in conceptual clarification. It explores when and where the concept has been utilized. It identifies the different components of the democratic deficit. It attempts to distinguish between a structural deficit, to be found in the institutions of a democratic political system, and a behavioral deficit, to be attributed to the actions and omissions of the authorities. Providing non-systematic examples and selectively probing into some political systems, the paper comes to the conclusion that there are different types of democratic deficit. That most of those deficits by no means indicate the crisis of democracy, either as an ideal or as a practice. That plenty of remedies can be found and applied to solve, though never once and for all, a variety of deficits. That, probably, the concept is not especially useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War new practices of external interferences in the domestic affairs of states has shown an unprecedented relationship between international intervention and democracy promotion. Indeed, the new generation of peace-building missions aims thoroughly at the democratization of the target country. Moving from the paradoxes brought about by the goal of democratization, the paper offers an explanation of the power-sharing between international officials and local political actors. On the one hand, a democratic approach fosters self-determination, tends to grant sovereignty and independence to the target country and understands the international mandate as temporary. On the other hand, the goal of democratization entails the establishment of enduring neo- trusteeship, violating the sovereignty and independence of the states that suffer external intervention. The paper focuses on three case-studies - Bosnia, Kosovo and East Timor- to assess how those paradoxes result in conflicting attitudes by international officials, who concede and maintain political and executive powers creating an international-domestic power-sharing in the target country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper compares the rational and the constructivist approach to the study of international political economy (Ipe). In doing so, the paper focuses on the ontological and epistemological features that allow distinguishing between the two approaches. This distinction is further itemized in the illustration of the two main, contemporary Ipe schools: the American and the British school. The article concludes by reflecting on the modalities through which recent studies have attempted to reconcile the rational and the constructivist approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at debating Waltz's theory of international politics as a microeconomic model of international relations. First, it focuses on the structural principle of functional differentiation, and suggests that Waltz's model theoretical consistency requires to assume both internal and external functional indifferentiation of international actors: systemic shoving and shaping pressures are assumed to make states not only similar in the domestic functions they have to carry out in order to survive; but also in the balancing logic of action by which they behave in international politics. Second, the paper argues that since balancing policies are ideal-typical behaviours of both great and small powers, then the notion of structure offered by Waltz lacks the differentiation of logic of action that market implies in economics. Accordingly, it maintains that Waltz does not succeed in defining price and products in international politics. Third, the paper revises Waltz's structural model building on the idea of power exchange between security producers and security consumers. As a consequence, the notion of international stability is redefined as the result of both capabilities distribution and security exchanges. Eventually, the paper suggests that such a definition might improve the study of stability in unipolar settings, such as the contemporary system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What should be done to improve the European position in the international arena? Since long time both politicians and politologists wondered how to boost European performance in international affairs. The often-prescribed remedy is to build up military capabilities, in a classic realpolitik scheme of diplomatic counterpoise vis-à-vis other Powers, such as the United States. In this paper we make the very opposite point. First, we argue that investing in military capabilities is neither possible nor desirable, due to both domestic and external constraints. Then we go on to describe how the investment in civilian capabilities might represent a much more fruitful approach to European foreign policy. We lay down a game-theoretical model in order to show the role of civilian power in political bargain with America. Our central thesis is that civilian power can exert a great impact upon transatlantic relations, and be the basis of a growing division of labour among Europe and America. In the second half of the paper we suggest concrete policy prescriptions to improve European civilian capabilities. In particular, we stress the importance of four factors: 1) increasing appropriation of funds for the Esdp missions; 2) a more efficient inter-pillar coordination, obtainable through the Athena mechanism; 3) supranational integration of national forces, e.g. through the European Security and Defense College or the Eurogendforce; 4) a clear division of labour between Esdp and Nato missions, in order to avoid unproductive duplications and conflicts of attribution among states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies Nato burden-sharing in the contemporary international system. By focusing on Nato operations that involve the use of force, it aims at evaluating whether the nature of security goods Nato produces -- purely public or joint products -- influences the pattern of members' contributions to the Alliance. The paper has a threefold structure. First, it introduces to the debate on burden-sharing and the role of security goods from the perspective of the economic theory of alliances. Second, it defends why these theoretical tools seem useful to study the problem of burden-sharing in the contemporary system. Third, it carries out an empirical research on members' «fair share» of Nato operations in the Balkans (Deliberate Force and Allied Force Operations; Ifor-Sfor; Kfor), and in Afghanistan (Isaf). The research results show that the smaller allies' contributions are often bigger than their «fair share»; and that the status gained through membership is very important to explain members' contributions. As a consequence, it suggests that, instead of «exploiting the bigger», Nato allies «exploit those who are able and willing to fight» in high intensity operations; and they «exploit the newcomers» in medium or low intensity operations. The paper sums up that, if this suggestion holds true, one could expect a trade-off between the solution of the burden-sharing conflict and of the decision-sharing conflict in contemporary Nato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a constructivist theory of governance. It begins by challenging rational choice and institutionalist accounts for neglecting meanings. If we are to take meanings seriously, we need to allow for the constructed nature of governance -- governance depends on concepts that are themselves in part products of wider webs of belief. The paper then argues, first, that constructivism is compatible with various forms of realism, and, second, that constructivism is strengthened by recognition of situated agency. Finally, the paper identifies the kind of aggregate concepts associated with this type of constructivism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers of the British School at Rome is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper seeks to bring political charisma back into the study of comparative politics by reconstructing the concept and rendering it applicable to empirical research. Unlike previous approaches, the present study examines charisma as a pure power term by focusing on what makes it appear in ordinary democratic politics as an extraordinary phenomenon, namely, its personal (as opposed to impersonal) character of leadership and the pursuit of a politically radical (as opposed to moderate) program. Accordingly, political charisma is defined as a distinct type of legitimate leadership that is personal and aims at the radical transformation of an established institutional order. Such an understanding of political charisma enables us to further analyze the core features of charismatic leadership and construct an «index of charismaticness» ready to be put under comparative empirical investigation. Sampling from post-war and contemporary European politics, a number of charismatic leaders are examined and then contrasted to non-charismatic ones. It is argued that, once reclaimed for political science, charisma may prove a useful concept with surprising analytical potential. Renewed interest in political charisma is expected to offer valuable clues in such important research areas as political leadership, populism, and contentious politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intergenerational transmission of political traits within the family, in particular from parents to children, has been widely discussed in the political literature during the 1950s and 1960s, and also recently several studies have put in evidence the persistence of such a linkage. The paper aims to compare the level of similarity/dissimilarity between parents and children on the key dimension of Left-Right self-placement in two different periods. Our recent survey (2010) on a representative sample of parent-child dyads replicates the research conducted in 1975 by Samuel Barnes and Max Kaase (Eight Western nations) on a sample of adolescents (16-20 years old) and their parents. Results show the emergence of important discontinuities over time. The general level of parent-child political dissimilarity has remained the same, but its direction has reversed. In 1975 diverging orientations were mainly rooted in dyads of right-wing parents/left-wing children, while today they prevails where children are fight-wing and less interested in politics. Moreover, unlike the 1970s, similarity on Left-Right dimension is no more related to other similarities on attitudes and political orientation, as the two political-ideological labels had lost any specific political content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the issue of the growing concern surrounding the Eu's «democratic deficit» resulting from the expansion of the Eu's competences. In particular it raises the question of whether the development of genuine Europarties competing in a European party system could be sufficient to promote and assure democratic government at Eu level. The article discusses the ways in which integrated parties and party systems operate in «normal» democracies and perform functions that are conducive to a correct functioning of the political system. It then examines the current state of affairs at Eu level, by assessing the nature and character of Europarties as well as whether a genuine European Party system exits in the Euro-arenas in which parties are expected to compete. Finally the paper analyses the potential impact of the political and institutional changes induced by and surrounding the Lisbon Treaty on Europarties and their system. The conclusions of such analysis are somewhat contradictory: while the development of a real European party system within might enhance accountability and responsiveness, it might come at the cost of the developing capacity of the parties to represent and articulate the diversity of voices that are found in the Eu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have portrayed the personalization of politics as a consequence of the changes in the electoral market and the resulting transformations at the party level. However, empirical research has not reached a consensus on whether this process has actually exerted an impact on citizens' voting calculus. Long-term feelings of partisan attachment appear still central in voters' behavior, whereas party leader evaluations seem to play only a marginal role. This paper tries to examine the electoral consequences of the personalization of politics employing an alternative approach. In particular, we hypothesize that leader evaluations have become the key determinants of partisan ties at the individual level. We focus on the Italian case, a prototype of personalized parliamentary democracy. In the empirical section, we examine the ways in which leaders have influenced Italian voters' behavior in the last two decades. The results show that the electoral effect of party leaders (once the mediating effect of partisanship is taken into account) has steadily increased during the period under analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Literature on party factions has investigated the elements that affect factionalism, and particularly the elements that affect the number of factions. Scholars raised a set of hypotheses that have never been systematically tested. Building on those hypotheses the present work analyzes the determinants of the number of factions within Italian parties from 1946 to 2010. Thanks to a new dataset that allows the estimation of policy positions of factions through a quantitative text analysis of motions presented during party congresses, this paper investigates the effects of intra-party polarization as well as the impact of internal rules and the characteristics of party system. The results show that proportional intra-party rules, availability of resources and internal polarization increase the degree of factionalism. Moreover open-list electoral systems contribute to increase the number of factions but only among parliamentary parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at answering the following questions: which dimensions best describe governments' decision-making potential in parliamentary democracies? How Italy (1979-2008), Germany (1976-2009), Great Britain (1979-2010) and Spain (1982-2008) can be categorized in terms of such dimensions? I try to achieve these aims by proposing a complex, multidimensional index combining the most important sources of governments' decision-making potential., namely: the ideological cohesion of the executive (the most important feature); the «colour» of the government compared with the previous one (alternation in office); the number of partisan veto-players; the institutional context i.e. the relationship between government and parliament; the size of parliamentary majority (the least important feature). This index fits quite well with qualitative literature on comparative governmental systems, and seems a reliable tool that scholars could use when studying the decision-making potential of parliamentary governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate about the rule of law and the role it plays as driver of democratization processes is now fairly developed and diffused worldwide. Despite that, the concept is still contended and its semantic characterized by a byzantine complexity. Firstly and foremost, political scientists do not share a common conception of rule of law encompassing formal and substantial aspects of the <

The paper studies the relation between the social class of an individual and his (her) party vote in Italy in four elections: 1972, 1983, 2001 and 2006. The analyses are based on (electoral) survey data, including for 2006 a rolling cross section survey. Independence indices, Kappa indices, cumulative logit models and binomial logit models are used in the analyses. Results show that, theories about the «death of class» notwithstanding, the association between class and vote continues to exist and it matters, though it is not very strong. A slight decline of the association across elections can be detected, as well as some interesting variations in the aggregate vote of certain classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the earlier studies about the voting behavior of the United Nations members during the 1950s, there is no agreement among voting analysts on the best methodology to detect states aggregations and blocs in the General Assembly. Almost every author involved in this topic proposed a new method - or at least a new application of a previous method- to better show the map of UN members vote. The aim of this paper is to find some common patterns in the wide universe of voting behavior studies in order to turn out the methodological diversity in cumulative knowledge, and to provide practical paths of analysis for future researches. The first paragraph classifies the researches on voting behavior in the General Assembly by the goals, the object and the method of research. The following paragraph shows the main methods used in the last fifty years and their evolution. Finally, the Conclusion underlines the common aspects of voting behavior analysis in the General Assembly and suggests strategies of researches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarkozy's presidential large success in 2007 has raised a debate about the specificity of the phenomenon. As far as electoral process is concerned, the paper argues that Sarkozy's success is related to the scope of the mobilization and his capacity to unify the French right. Electoral mobilization can not been understood without taking in account party mobilization and UMP members recruitment. Thanks to a members survey carried out in November 2004, the organizational and social features of recruitment are analyzed. UMP membership is not only flexible but related to electoral and presidential contexts. Compared to socialist membership, UMP social selection is not stronger; moreover, UMP happens to be better rooted in the categories of employees and more classically in the catholic world and the private sector. Globally, party mobilization gives clues in order to understand electoral mobilization. In terms of party system, Sarkozy's phenomenon can be analyzed as part of a bipartisan dynamic. Electoral changes and the distribution legislative seats attest that French dynamic is moving towards an increased domination of the two main parties. In 2007, Sarkozy has succeeded unifying a large part of the French Right even though part of the electorate has resisted to this attempt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents an attempt to apply a framework for the analysis of party attitudes to the EU in the study of political discourse. We found that in the member states the EU is mostly represented under its functional face and less for its appeal to identity. We also found that party attitudes to the EU are influenced by the positions of parties along the political spectrum that shape a pattern of competition over the EU that is not so different from competition over other issues. However, this pattern presents important differences between old and new member states and between countries with more and countries with less liberal economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Papers of the British School at Rome is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of International Journal of Microwave & Wireless Technologies is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Bulletin of Entomological Research is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Il presente testo nasce da alcune considerazioni compiute nel corso della totale revisione dell'opera edita e manoscritta di Antonio Bosio e si focalizza, in senso più ampio, sul fenomeno della nascita dell'archeologia cristiana nel corso del XVI secolo. Partendo da alcuni spunti storici offerti appunto dall'opera di Bosio, vengono presentate alcune vicende relative al cantiere della basilica di San Pietro durante la seconda metà del Cinquecento, testimoniate soprattutto da Tiberio Alfarano. L'obiettivo è quello di riconsiderare il ruolo degli scavi e dei lavori architettonici della Basilica Vaticana nella nascita dell'archeologia cristiana, qualche anno prima dell'accidentale scoperta della catacomba anonima di via Anapo, evento ad oggi considerato l'inizio della disciplina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]