The Politics of Inequality as Organised Spectacle: Why the Swiss Do Not Want to Tax the Rich

In 2015, Swiss voters had the opportunity to impose a tax on the super rich in a popular vote and thereby fund a redistributive policy. However, a large majority voted against its seemingly obvious self-interest and rejected the tax. We propose an explanation for this puzzling outcome, bridging the usually separate behavioralist and institutionalist perspectives on the politics of inequality. We start from the observation that political economy tends to neglect processes of preference formation. Theorising preferences as socially constructed, we show that interest groups played a major role in shaping the outcome of the vote. Business frames were multiplied through allied parties and the media and had a major impact on individual voting behaviour. In addition, we demonstrate that interest groups representing business interests derive the content of their communication from business’s structurally privileged position in the capitalist economy. Specifically, creating uncertainty about possible perverse effects of government policies on jobs and growth is a powerful tool to undermine popular support. Frames based on this structural power ultimately explain why the Swiss refrained from ‘soaking the rich.’     

以“三个代表”重要思想为指导建设社会主义政治文明

江泽民同志在十六大报告申提出发展社会主义民主政治,建设社会主义政治文明,这是我们党根据历史潮流和时代发展的要求提出来的一个新的理论概念。从我国国情出发建设社会主义政治文明最根本的就是坚持党的领导,人民当家作主和依法治国的有机统一。社会主义政治文明与"三个代表"重要思想是不可分割的有机整体。在当前国际国内形势下,更迫切地要求我们要以"三个代表"重要思想为指导,加强社会主义政治文明建设。     

论县域民主与和谐社会的构建

随着我国社会主义现代化建设的推进，我国迎来了全面建设社会主义新农村，构建和谐社会的新时期。同时，县域经济的大发展为县域社会的和谐建设提供了新契机。因此，发展县域民主，改革传统落后的政治文化体制，成为了构建和谐社会的重要一环。     

Between Neoliberal Governance and the Right to the City: Participatory politics in Berlin and Tel Aviv

Based on a comparison of Berlin and Tel Aviv, this article investigates the ways in which ensembles of participatory instruments mediate between neoliberal urban regimes and political agency shaping differentially the meaning of participation and the types of claims that can be advanced. The article gives an overview of the recent history of both cities through the lens of participatory politics. Two in‐depth case studies further examine the relationship between participatory politics and claim making in each setting: the recent conflict over a social center in the district of Friedrichshain‐Kreuzberg in Berlin and the Levinsky tent city of 2011 in Tel Aviv. In the concluding section, the article suggests that, rather than assuming that participatory tools either co‐opt movements or can be appropriated by them, we need to rethink the relationship between participatory tools, rights and recognition, and ask how participatory structures and political agency constitute each other in interwoven dynamics.     

The nature and dynamics of counter-implementation in strategic marketing: a propositional inventory

This paper highlights the idea that a broader perspective is needed in research into barriers to marketing implementation. It is suggested that this broader perspective should take account of contextual and behavioural issues along with an acknowledgement of implementation as a process. The nature and dynamics of counter-implementation are introduced and a propositional inventory that explicates such behaviour as encompassing actions that may be both intentional and unintentional in nature is developed.These actions may occur at the individual and group level as they evolve over the implementation process and may be both constructive and destructive to organizational performance. Particular emphasis is given to intentional counter-implementation behaviour in terms of how it initiates, manifests and develops, gaining momentum through the transition from individual level action to collective action and, therefore,greater potential leverage for successfully sabotaging implementation efforts. The paper offers implications for management and a research agenda is proposed that highlights content, context and process perspectives for future research in this area, as well as potential methodologies for future research.     

Charging for public services: the case of utilities in Norwegian local governments

This paper empirically analyzes the determinants of utility charges using a panel data set for a sample of Norwegian local governments. There is strong evidence of revenue substitution in the sense that local governments increase their utility charges when other sources of revenue (lump-sum grants and regulated tax revenue) become more restricted. Moreover, local political institutions are shown to be important: a high share of socialist representatives in the local council leads to high utility charges, whereas a strong political leadership is able to keep utility charges low.     

Political actions in business networks a Swedish case

In international business studies, as well as in political science, the influence of political rules on business firms is assumed to be homogeneous and unidirectional. However, if the relationship between the political and the business actors is seen as an interaction, a different conclusion will be reached. We would like to add more knowledge to international business studies by analysing the interaction between governmental bodies and business units using a network model. In this paper, we study a ‘political case’ — the Bofors-India case — and analyse how this affair influenced other Swedish companies and their way of doing business in India. The question addressed is how the interaction between some parts of the government and a company — the development of one business relationship — is interwoven with other relationships. One conclusion reached is that a political act toward one MNC will affect other companies, although not in the same way. The degree to which and the way in which the other companies will be influenced depends on where they are positioned within the networks in relation to the problematic relationship.     

深圳经济特区:中国对外经济政策的窗口——以深圳作为中国对外经济政策窗口作用论述为中心

邓小平关于经济特区是中国"对外政策的窗口"的著名论断,其完整的内涵表现在:经济特区是中国反对霸权主义和强权政治的窗口;经济特区是中国维护世界和平的窗口;经济特区是加强中国同第三世界的团结和合作的窗口.不能简单地把经济特区定义和解释为"对外开放的窗口",在和平与发展为主题的国际大背景下,改革开放以来的深圳经济特区,一直发挥着中国对外政策尤其是对外经济政策窗口的作用.     

Participation in groupware-mediated communities of practice: a socio-political analysis of knowledge working

This paper adopts a communities of practice approach to examine how the introduction of a groupware application in a UK pharmaceuticals company enabled and constrained knowledge working. We will refine the analysis by distinguishing between participation that is undertaken in what is referred to as political enclaves, and participation that takes place in safe enclaves. We will discuss how the deliberate intervention of some employees moderated some of politicising, and facilitated increased participation. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which existing theoretical conceptualisations of information systems and knowledge work may be expanded to consider socio-political issues in more depth.