Interest groups in EU

Existen hallazgos contrastantes sobre la influencia de los grupos interés en las políticas públicas. A partir de una metodología mixta, se analiza si los grupos de interés empresarial locales influyeron en la formulación de las políticas de beneficio fiscal decretadas por los gobiernos estatales mexicanos en 2020 durante la COVID-19. El argumento teórico que conduce la investigación es el poder instrumental. En los modelos estadísticos se analizan tres variables dependientes; muestran que ninguna variable explicativa tuvo efecto en el número de programas fiscales y en las políticas en el Impuesto al Hospedaje. Sin embargo, hay un efecto condicionado en el Impuesto a la Nómina: su influencia depende de que gobiernen partidos con ideología conservadora y de que los empresarios tengan presencia en el gabinete del poder ejecutivo local. Además, los estudios de caso sobre Durango, San Luis Potosí y Tlaxcala, corroboran que estos grupos recurren a diferentes fuentes de poder instrumental para lograr sus preferencias en políticas fiscales.

Louis Wiart est titulaire d'une chaire en communication à l'université libre de Bruxelles, où il fait partie du Centre de recherche en information et communication (ReSIC). Stratégie collective, industries culturelles, vidéo à la demande, politiques culturelles, Europe, plateformes Collective strategy, cultural industries, video-on-demand, cultural policies, Europe, platforms Cet article étudie le cas d'une stratégie collective développée au niveau européen dans la filière de la vidéo à la demande. L'étude réalisée à propos d'EuroVoD montre comment, depuis une dizaine d'années, une stratégie s'est structurée autour des plateformes européennes du cinéma indépendant pour faire face collectivement à la fragilité de leurs modèles d'affaires et à l'instabilité de leur environnement. L'analyse pointe également le discours véhiculé par EuroVoD en appui aux activités de lobbying et de coopération mises en oeuvre, qui se concentre sur la valorisation de la diversité culturelle et sur la défense des industries cinématographiques européennes vis-à-vis des grandes plateformes américaines.

Depois de analisar e refletir várias vezes sobre as transformações, muitas vezes disfarçadas, das instituições formais da UE à superfície, dos processos dos seus verdadeiros mecanismos de tomada de decisão e dos constrangimentos estruturais neles contidos sobre cada Estado-Membro, tive gradualmente de admitir que estava enganado e que não se tratava apenas de uma distorção que tinha chegado ao ponto de uma semi-federação.  Se nos virarmos para o lado em busca de informação e olharmos para a federação por excelência, os Estados Unidos, podemos rapidamente perceber que aí os Estados-membros têm mais liberdade em relação à administração federal em Washington do que nós em relação à oligarquia de Bruxelas. A resistência que a Hungria experimentou na última década, tal como a Polónia, parceira da resistência, e agora os eslovacos de Fico começam a senti-la, como indicam os ultrajes da senhora deputada Meloni em Itália, e os holandeses politicamente de direita irão senti-la. Ao nível do cerceamento da soberania, esta já não é apenas uma distorção semifederalista, e já ultrapassa a coerção federal dos EUA sobre os Estados-membros. Lá, no entanto, os antigos Estados colonos se uniram abertamente na federação, embora após disputas, mas unidos, enquanto na Hungria eles rejeitaram explicitamente a fusão em federação quando ela foi fundada em 1957. Aqui foi apenas com a estabilização de uma oligarquia decisória subjacente, contrária ao Tratado Fundamental, que se tornou uma formação ainda mais cerceadora de soberania do que uma federação unida pela força, os ESTADOS EUROPEUS COERCITIVAMENTE UNIDOS.

Тезата дека во последно време во нашето општество се изгубени и измешани вредностите, не поттикна да ја провериме истата користејќи ја Теоријата на вредности на Шварц. За таа цел беше користен TwIVI инвентарот кој се однесува на десетте основни вредности. Добиените податоци покажуваат дека најприоретизирани вредности во нашето општество се самонасочувањето, универзалноста и добронамерноста, а моќта и традицијата се на дното на листата. Со ова истражување се потврди дека и во нашето општество доминираат истите вредности како и кај останатите култури и тезата дека десетте вредности на Шварц се универзални и исто приоретизирани како и во другите култури.

a ajuda na revisão do texto português. Sem ela nunca teria acabado de escrever o artigo! Queria também agradecer a todos os entrevistados e, em particular, ao Dr. Seixas da Costa, secretário de Estado para os Assuntos Europeus, pelo tempo que me dedicaram, com enorme cortesia e competência.

This book argues that a third wave of research on the EU is needed to adequately understand the increased interconnectedness between the European and national political levels. We posit that this third wave should be sensitive to the temporal dimension of European integration and Europeanization. In particular, we seek to link the processes of Europeanization and European integration in a new way by asking the question: how has Europeanization affected current modes of integration and cooperation in the EU? Preparing the ground for the third wave, the first part of the book concerns Europeanization. In order to fully understand the feedback of Europeanization on cooperation and integration it is important to analyze how European integration has had an impact on member states in the first place, in particular indirectly, beyond the direct mechanism of compliance with European policies. The research presented here stresses the role which domestic actors and in particular governments have in guiding the Europeanization impact on the member states. The second part of the book concerns integration and cooperation, in line with what we see as a third wave of research. Here we analyze how prior integration effects, that is Europeanization, influences current preferences for integration. We find that earlier integration effects have had a significant influence on those preferences, resulting however, somewhat surprisingly not always for a preference for closer integration. The multi-faceted interrelationships between the EU level and the national level and the increased interconnectedness between them cast doubt on the appropriateness of traditional readings of central concepts of political science and international relations such as territory, identity and sovereignty. The final section of the book therefore concerns the conceptual challenges faced by the continued development of multi-level governance. These contributions show that a conceptual reorientation is necessary because up until now these concepts have been almost exclusively linked to the nation state. One of the key findings of the book is the astonishing variation in modes of cooperation and integration in the EU. We suggest that this variation can be explained by taking into account the sources of legitimacy at the national and at the EU level on which cooperation and integration are based. We argue that whereas economic integration, in particular the creation of a single market, could be sufficiently backed by output legitimacy, deeper integration in other areas requires a degree of input legitimacy that is currently lacking in the EU. Therefore, non-economic integration is often taking the form of looser types of cooperation, such as the open method of coordination and benchmarking, allowing domestic actors more control over the Europeanization of these policies onto the member state. We elaborate on this speculation in the conclusion and believe that it should be part of the future research agenda of the third wave of European research.

Different types of interest groups use different lobbying strategies. In this paper, we investigate this already well-established hypothesis once more, but in addition we propose that the institutional framework of the country in which interest groups operate also influence their lobbying behavior. More specifically, it is shown that groups working in the interest of the public are better integrated into the policy making process when direct democratic instruments, such as referendums, occur regularly (as in Switzerland), than when referendums are the exception (Germany). We demonstrate that Swiss cause groups, often also referred to as public interest groups in the literature, use a more balance mix of insider and outsider strategies than their German peers, but also that this moderating effect cannot be found for specific interest groups such as industry groups or unions.

En Chile la producción nacional de vinos de vides para vinificación aumentó de 238 a 736 millones de litros desde 1991 a 2005. Este explosivo crecimiento ha modificado la estructura de la industria vitivinícola chilena, observándose un masivo ingreso de nuevas viñas a la industria, una ...

In this chapter, we address the origin and the pos si ble future of equity planning. Working in cities characterized by inequalities and power differences along lines of class, race, gender, and more, equity planners have strug gled for de cades to translate lessons about po liti cal structure and organ ization into specific, useful practices serving ends of social justice. In so doing, equity planners have integrated concerns with the "ends" or "outcomes" of social justice with the "pro cess" skills and interactive techniques of organ izing and co ali tion building. They have engaged sensitively and productively with "difference" and listened critically not only to learn, to honor community history, and to re spect community partners but also not least of all to get results. In addition, we will suggest that learning to use social media will matter. Studying urban communities ethnographically via area studies will matter. Examining and rejecting racial privilege will matter. Co ali tion building by mediating differing interests and values will matter. Organ izing and prob lem solving with others in participatory action research will matter. Equity planners will have to assess both the written texts of researchers as well as the lived texts of community members. They will have to learn about potential outcomes and practices, about both goals and methods, about ideals of social justice, as well as about grounded methods of paying re spect and building working relationships with community partners, too.

Cultural Studies Now andin the Future 5-9.4.90 University of llinois (Champagne-Urbana) Il linoisin yliopistossa j arj estettiin huhtikuun alussa I 990 kansainvdlinen kongressi, jonka suureellinen otsikko oli "Cultural Studies Now and in the Future". Jdrjestelytoimikunnan puheenjohtajan, Suomessakin alkuvuodesta kdyneen, Larry Grossbergin mukaan tarkoituksena oli koota yhteen kaikki kansainvrilisesti merkifi avat kulttuurintutkimuksen "teoreetikot" ja luodata sekd ongelmia ettd suuntaviittoja 90-lur,u11e siirryttiiessii. Tapahtuma itsessddn rakentui esitelmdsessioiden ympiirille, jotka oli ryhmitelty viiljiksi kokonaisuuksiksi tyyliin "The Politics of the Popular", "Fictions of Science and Technology" tai "Audiences; Is Anybody Out There?". Puhujakaarti oli kokonaisuudessaan vaikuttava: mm.

Distribution électronique Cairn.info pour La Découverte. © La Découverte. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays. La reproduction ou représentation de cet article, notamment par photocopie, n'est autorisée que dans les limites des conditions générales d'utilisation du site ou, le cas échéant, des conditions générales de la licence souscrite par votre établissement. Toute autre reproduction ou représentation, en tout ou partie, sous quelque forme et de quelque manière que ce soit, est interdite sauf accord préalable et écrit de l'éditeur, en dehors des cas prévus par la législation en vigueur en France. Il est précisé que son stockage dans une base de données est également interdit.

Studies of organised interests in Central and Eastern Europe have overlooked constituencies shaped by the welfare state such as retired people. The article compares the development, structure and strategies of pensioners' interest organisations in the Czech Republic and Slovenia. It finds that sizeable, if poorly resourced, membership-based pensioners' interest organisations have emerged, largely independently of trade unions, and integrated into interest representation systems. Although lack of resources and organisational problems hamper lobbying capacity, these groups retain mobilisation potential. Comparison suggests that legacies and modes of transition still shape pensioners' interest organisations more than institutional structures or new population ageing strategies. THE EXISTENCE OF DISTINCT AUTONOMOUS ORGANISED interests is central to the notion of a liberal-democratic polity (Schmitter 1992; Ost 1993, pp. 454-57; Baumgartner & Leech 1998). Indeed, Schmitter (2008, p. 199) goes so far as to suggest that interest groups are now the 'effective ''citizens'' of their respective democracies'. Unsurprisingly, therefore, studies of socioeconomic interests and their representation and their linkage to policy makers have been a key strand of research on the development of the newer democracies in Central and

87 Mikko Vähä-Sipilä EUROKRATIAN OLEMUS Johdanto Eurokraateilla viitataan yleensä Euroopan unionin (EU) keskushallinnon poliittiseen ja erityisesti hallinnolliseen eliittiin, vallanpitäjiin, jotka näyttä-vät toimivan aidon demokraattisen kontrollin tavoittamattomissa. Tämän läpi- ...

While understanding interest group systems remains crucial to understanding the functioning of advanced democracies, the study of interest groups remains a somewhat niche field within political science. Nevertheless, during the last 15 years, the academic interest in group politics has grown and we reflect on the state of the current literature. The main objective is to take stock, consider the main empirical and theoretical/ conceptual achievements, but most importantly, to reflect upon potential fertile future research avenues. In our view interest group studies would be reinvigorated and would benefit from being reintegrated within the broader field of political science, and more particularly, the comparative study of government. The study of interest group politics-that is the organisation, aggregation, articulation, and intermediation of societal interests that seek to shape public policies-is a relatively small field within political science. There is no special journal devoted to interest group studies, and mainstream political science journals publish less on interest groups than they do on other areas of political science such as electoral, legislative, and party politics. 1 This phenomenon is not due to interest group scholarship being less advanced or less sophisticated than the other sub-fields. It is largely an artefact of size: fewer scholars work in the group area than in party politics or policy studies. There are also more substantive reasons for the paucity of interest group research: several conceptual, methodological and disciplinary barriers militate against the accumulation of knowledge. Nevertheless, during the last 15 years, the academic interest in group politics has grown. This is evidenced by numerous empirical studiesqualitative and quantitative-within the fields of European Union studies, comparative European politics, and American politics. In recent years, the

Objectives: Smoking is the leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity. The aim of this study was to provide the first national description of organizational capacity and involvement in tobacco control (TC) measures outlined by the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) within the Czech Republic. Methods: Data were collected in a national cross-sectional survey of all 14 organizations engaged in TC activities within the Czech Republic. Organizational capacity (defined as skills, supports, partnerships, resources, and leadership) to implement TC activities, and level of involvement in key FCTC measures were assessed and compared across organizations. Results: Despite the high economic costs of tobacco use, few organizations were involved in TC activities. 50% of all organizations involved in TC activities were non-government or non-profit organizations. Less than one third of organizations reported having a sufficient number of staff or adequate funding to work effectively. Skills for chronic disease prevention (CDP) practice including assessment, identifying relevant practices, developing and implementing initiatives were rated more favourably than skills to evaluate these activities. Level of involvement was ranked highest for activities that focused on creation of smoke-free environments and lowest for activities that focused on raising taxes and sales to minors. Organizations tended to be more involved in individual, rather than population-level prevention strategies. Inadequate funding, insufficient number of staff dedicated to working on TC, and lack of political will were major barriers. Conclusions: This paper provides the first national description of organizational capacity and level of involvement in FCTC measures within the Czech Republic.

Background There is a significant global lack of policy action on consumption of sustainable diets. Application of political science theories such as theories of the policy process can help in understanding policy inaction. Applying these theories could provide a more in-depth understanding of how various influences on the policy process shape decision making for consumption of sustainable diet policy. Methods A systematic review to examine application of eight key political science theories of the policy process to research on consumption of sustainable diets was conducted. Results The review identified no papers applying a theory of the policy process although 17 papers did mention or discuss influences on the policy process that are common elements within theories of the policy process. Most notably these elements were the influence of coalitions/networks, evidence use, narratives and framing, institutional and political system factors, and the importance of value and belief syst...

Partant du principe que l'amélioration du travail contribue à l'amélioration des sociétés, le défi qu'entend mettre en évidence l'introduction de ce numéro spécial de Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, consiste à déterminer ce qui rend le travail meilleur, ou pire, et comment il est possible de l'améliorer. Alors que des expériences très variées contribuent à façonner l'avenir de nos économies et de nos communautés, l'un des principaux enjeux consiste à s'engager dans un apprentissage partagé de ces processus afin de stimuler un dialogue entre l'aspiration à un meilleur travail et les conditions susceptibles de entraver ou de faciliter cette amélioration du travail. Cette démarche veut nous inciter à dépasser une conception étroite de la qualité de l'emploi pour adopter un point de vue plus large sur la manière dont les acteurs du monde du travail élaborent des stratégies, innovent et intègrent l'incertitude dans leur quête de solutions durables pour un travail de meilleure qualité. Les principaux thèmes de discussion sont les suivants : pourquoi le travail doit être meilleur (alors qu'il est souvent pire) ; pourquoi un meilleur travail permet-il d'améliorer les sociétés ; comment améliorer le travail ; quel est le rôle des institutions dans cette amélioration du travail ; comment, enfin, les stratégies syndicales sont-elles essentielles dans les processus d'expérimentation destinés à améliorer le travail.

The paper develops an argument for the criteria that a theory of ignorance should meet. It starts from the distinction between instrumental and non-instrumental action. Usually, the latter is considered irrational and the former rational as being based upon known cause-effect relations whilst the latter is not. I argue that the former requires a reasoned basis in predictive knowledge of cause and effect, without which good council is either for inaction or noninstrumental action. The argument proceeds by exploiting mainstream statistical methods to explore an example of a 'metric of advised ignorance' to guide explicit reasoned choice allowing rejection of instrumental action in favour of inaction or non-instrumental action. The argument then explores a case study of how such rejection is disallowed by official requirements in International Development Assistance (aid) that contexts must always be believed predictive and so action organised as instrumental. This shows the basic irrationality of mainstream policy rationality. The paper then discusses wider social epistemological issues of this irrationality and concludes with a list of criteria a theory of ignorance should meet.

This paper examines the formation of social organizations in the two forms of urban habitat most commonly used by low-income groups in Buenos Aires-the invasion of vacant land, mostly in peripheral areas, and the occupation of vacant buildings within the city centre. In the first, community organizations are widespread, of long standing and relatively effective. They helped develop (and negotiate for) basic infrastructrure and services and helped negotiate land tenure. Government agencies recognize them and work with them. In the second, community organizations are less evident and less effective, in part because the illegally occupied buildings are scattered between those legally owned by higher-income groups, in part because the inhabitants seek to disguise their illegal status and in part because government organizations do not recognize the legitimacy of such organizations and have made no provision to allow their tenure to be regularized.

Sophie Jacquot-Tommaso Vitale Résumé : Cet article part d'un premier constat, relatif à un usage très différencié des mobilisations juridiques par deux acteurs collectifs transnationaux, la Lobby Européen des Femmes (LEF) et le Forum Européen des Roms et des Gens du Voyage (FERV) qui pourtant appartiennent au même secteur européen de la lutte contre les discriminations. Il a pour objectif d'expliquer les raisons de cet usage différencié, et de discuter les dimensions d'analyse pertinentes. Il s'inscrit dans la problématique plus générale de la réponse des acteurs collectifs au changement de l'action publique. Les données empiriques ont été recueillies sur la base d'un principe de triangulation entre sources secondaires, sources documentaires et entretiens semi-directifs et elles ont été élaborées dans une optique qualitative de process-tracing. Dans une première partie nous explorons les différentes stratégies de promotion des droits du LEF et du FERV (le droit comme référence et le droit comme ressource), pour nous concentrer ensuite sur les principaux facteurs à l'origine de cette situation contrastée : le rôle des ressources organisationnelles des groupes et des cadres d'identité collective, mais également le rôle des effets itératifs liés aux interactions entre groupes et leur positionnement au sein du système européen de gouvernance. L'apport principal de ce travail comparatif est de montrer que face aux évolutions des modalités de gouvernance, les acteurs collectifs ont dû s'adapter de façon réflexive, pas seulement en regardant les marges de manoeuvre et les incitations existantes, mais avec une forte attention à leur propre composition, à la recherche de formules organisationnelles et stratégiques capables de prendre en compte les conflits internes.

Derechos de autoría (©) Los derechos de autor (para la distribución, comunicación pública, reproducción e inclusión en bases de datos de indexación y repositorios institucionales) de esta publicación (Cuadernos Europeos de Deusto, CED) pertenecen a la editorial Universidad de Deusto. El acceso al contenido digital de cualquier número de Cuadernos Europeos de Deusto es gratuito inmediatamente después de su publicación. Los trabajos podrán leerse, descargarse, copiar y difundir en cualquier medio sin fines comerciales y según lo previsto por la ley; sin la previa autorización de la Editorial (Universidad de Deusto) o el autor. Así mismo, los trabajos editados en CED pueden ser publicados con posterioridad en otros medios o revistas, siempre que el autor indique con claridad y en la primera nota a pie de página que el trabajo se publicó por primera vez en CED, con indicación del número, año, páginas y DOI (si procede). Cualquier otro uso de su contenido en cualquier medio o formato, ahora conocido o desarrollado en el futuro, requiere el permiso previo por escrito del titular de los derechos de autor.

Corpus in fabula. Imperativi benefattivi come azioni congiunte è uno studio cross-linguistico interdisciplinare che mette a confronto alcuni modi di formulare richieste facendo uso dell'imperativo in italiano (I), in portoghese brasiliano (PB) e in castigliano andino ecuadoriano (CAE). In particolare, vengono prese in esame tre modalità (una per ogni lingua) che, nonostante le differenti strutture grammaticali, presentano la peculiarità di utilizzare l'imperativo accompagnato da un pronome dativo benefattivo, esempio: I-Chiudimi la porta; PB-Feche a porta pra mim; CAE-Dame cerrando la puerta. La nostra ipotesi è che il pronome dativo benefattivo (+ il verbo DAR, nel caso del CAE) conferisca un valore attenuato alla richiesta in quanto, evocando la presenza di un'altra persona al posto o a beneficio della quale si svolge l'azione espressa dal verbo, introdurrebbe un elemento di interazione più o meno esplicito e aggiungerebbe un valore affettivo, di solidarietà, all'azione stessa. Dal punto di vista empirico, l'indagine ha previsto due fasi: nella prima, tre questionari online (uno per ogni lingua) sono stati sottoposti a parlanti nativi per valutare principalmente il valore attenuativo e interazionale delle forme imperative oggetto di analisi. I questionari sono stati costruiti in modo da risultare propedeutici (studio pilota) alla seconda parte empirica della ricerca, la quale si fonda sulla teoria della simulazione incarnata (embodied simulation) applicata al linguaggio. Secondo tale approccio teorico, la comprensione di frasi che esprimono azioni attiva la simulazione, a livello sensorimotorio, di quelle azioni. In base a ciò e anche in base a numerosi esperimenti realizzati nell'ambito del linguaggio e della cognizione incarnata (embodied cognition), è stato proposto (abbozzato in via teorica, ma non implementato) uno studio comportamentale dal quale dovrebbe emergere la diversa organizzazione dell'azione evocata dalle forme linguistiche con l'imperativo standard (senza pronome) e con l'imperativo benefattivo (con il pronome dativo benefattivo) in I, PB e CAE. I risultati della prima parte della ricerca hanno messo in luce che, per i rispondenti italiani, l'imperativo benefattivo non attenua le richieste verbali; al contrario, i dati relativi sia ai rispondenti brasiliani che a quelli ecuadoriani (andini) dimostrano che l'imperativo benefattivo è considerato un attenuatore. L'analisi statistica, inoltre, ha messo in evidenza che l'imperativo benefattivo, rispetto all'imperativo standard, evoca maggiore interazione in tutti e tre i campioni/lingue oggetto di studio e ciò anche quando, dal punto di vista pragmatico, non funziona come un attenuatore (è il caso dell'italiano). Questi elementi supportano la possibilità, a livello teorico, che la simulazione elicitata nello studio comportamentale, se presente, si manifesterà in modo diverso nei due tipi di imperativo. Parole chiave: Attenuazione linguistica. Comunicazione interculturale. Dativo benefattivo. Embodied Cognition. Empatia. RESUMO GAZZONI, Sandra. Corpus in fabula. Imperativos benefactivos como ações conjuntas.

This article investigates the extent to which European Union (EU) accession and EU funding contribute to the professionalization of interest groups in Slovenia. Have EU accession and funding had a more profound impact on the professionalization of interest groups in Slovenia than the shift from socialism to capitalism? Our novel empirical evidence is drawn from two surveys of interest groups in Slovenia-the first in 1996 eight years prior to Slovenia's membership of the EU (in 2004) and the second in 2012 eight years after its accession. Our findings show that EU accession and funding accentuate the professionalization of interest groups. However, these processes are intertwined with the partitocratic role of national political parties and parties mediate the shape and structure of interest group professionalization via their decisions on the allocation of EU funding to groups.

Based on a social constructivist framing, this article seeks to address the gap in the literature on the impact of Europeanisation on the national interest group political culture in general and in the post-communist context in particular. The impacts of Europeanisation on interest group domestic policy behaviour, in terms of national interest groups networking with their European counterparts, their contacts with EU-level decision makers, and their access to EU funds, are tested based on the panel surveys that were conducted in 1996 and 2012 of the most influential interest groups in eleven policy fields in Slovenia. Our key findings are that Europeanisation does support changes in the national interest group political culture in the direction of a more pro-active approach in influencing national policy processes. However, Europeanisation explains only a small portion of the variability among the domestic policy behaviour of interest groups.

Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy "Better engagement between scholars in the not-for-profit and policy advocacy fields is long overdue. In their book Nonprofits in Policy Advocacy, Sheldon Gen and Amy Conley Wright pursue just that. Based on a rich multi-year study of US not-for-profits, they offer a set of six advocacy strategies illustrated by case examples. This is a mustread for researchers and students in public administration, political science, public policy and sociology."

Since political scientists were introduced to the concept of 'the scope and bias of the pressure system' by Schattschneider more than half a century ago, we have grappled with the lack of a standard against which to assess bias. Still, scholars have continued to address Schattschneider's provocative claim. This means that they must have in their minds at least implicit images of the unknown state of an unbiased interest system. We uncover these implicit images in this analysis both for their own intrinsic interest and perhaps as a foundation for more progressive research on biases in interest representation. Ten scholars who have done considerable work on the politics of interest representation were asked to provide a brief description of what he or she would see as an unbiased interest system. After presenting each, we summarize the themes that emerged and discuss possible avenues for empirical research on bias.

Дваесет и први век! Македонија, земја среде Европа којашто ги поврзува Западот со Истокот. Земја во која што се влеваат сите цивилизации. Дали можеме да претпоставиме дека во дваесет и први век, во Северна Македонија, конкретно во Куманово, жени, мајки со мали деца нема да бидат примени на работа само затоа што имат деца на возраст од 1 до 3 години? Ако ги гледаме податоците на пазарот на трудот, можеме да разбереме дека има многу нееднакво распроделување на работата помеѓу мажите и жените.

Antitrust Laws consider cartel formation to be one of the most serious infractions. A cartel is an agreement among competitors of the same market, illegal and, therefore, secrete, generally complex and continued in the time, which gets for object to impose to the market similar conditions to those that a monopolist would establish (or at least to those of a dominant operator), with the consequent effects on the quantity and the price equilibrium, and carrying the reduction of the general well-being. Empirical literature, which has studied cartels formation and development, has underlined an approach of causality based on the profitability and the duration of cartels as factors of their success. As regards the determinants of profitability, its importance is related to the level of market concentration, the homogeneity of the product or the similarity in the competitor’s structure costs, besides more or less low rates of growth in the sales or falls of profits they appraise. As for t...

Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world's largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.

Climate change denialism hinders climate action. Researchers have repeatedly attempted to understand and thus influence the phenomenon, but despite these efforts, progress has been slow. Climate Obstruction: How Denial, Delay and Inaction are Heating the Planet seeks to bring together the basic information on climate denialism so far and to answer the question, “why have we […] not taken appropriate measures to avert the unfolding climate crisis which is itself part of a much broader ecological crisis?” (p. 2) The authors point out that the main actors behind climate change and the obstruction of climate action, the fossil fuel companies, have largely continued to do business as usual. However, in addition to vested economic interests, climate denialism more broadly is about complicated political and cultural interests, ideologies, social structures and the sentiments of ordinary citizens.

In this paper, we aim to present the major challenges in the attempt to quantify the concept of rule of law. At the present, there are several approaches for measurement of rule of law among different countries among time. This paper analyses four different indicators that are frequently used, including: (1) Rule of Law index, published by the World bank in the Worldwide Governance Indicators database; (2) Rule of Law index published by the World Justice Project; (3) Rule of Law set of indicators, including property rights, judicial effectiveness and government integrity, published by the Heritage Foundation in the Index of Economic freedom; and (4) Rule of Law indicator integrated in the Civil Liberties report prepared and published by Freedom House. We focus on the Western Balkan countries, by using case studies and situation analysis. Assuring rule of law is one of the basic preconditions for EU integration of this region

Les reticences que les puissances occidentales ont eu a intervenir en Syrie illustrent le fait que la Mediterranee n'est plus le centre du monde qu'elle a ete des siecles durant. Epicentre culturel, commercial et politique, elle apparait aujourd'hui comme une region eclatee et sans avenir unifie dans une « mondialisation » qui dicte la nouvelle marche du monde. Et, c'est desormais une autre mer-celle de Chine-qui semble impulser la dynamique mondiale. Pourtant, les « revoltes » populaires sans precedent au sud de la Mediterranee ont mis fin a des regimes autoritaires ouvrant une periode nouvelle a une jeunesse souhaitant se reinventer un avenir empreint de normes, de valeurs et d'institutions democratiques. Ces mutations ont ete particulierement spectaculaires du point de vue du regime politique puisque la plupart des pays du Maghreb ainsi que l'Egypte et la Syrie sont de fait engages dans des transformations plus ou moins radicales, plus ou moins decisives, ...