Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism

计量经济分析 = Econometric analysis

In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

Series Editor's Preface. Introduction by John Breuilly. Acknowledgements. 1. Definitions. State and nation. The nation. 2. Culture in Agrarian Society. Power and culture in the agro-literature society. The varieties of agrarian rulers. 3. Industrial Society. The society of perpetual growth. Social genetics. The age of universal high culture. 4. The Transition to an Age of Nationalism. A note on the weakness of nationalism. Wild and garden culture. 5. What is a Nation. The course of true nationalism never did run smooth. 6. Social Entropy and Equality in Industrial Society. Obstacles to entropy. Fissures and barriers. A diversity of focus. 7. A Typology of Nationalisms. The varieties of nationalist experience. Diaspora nationalism. 8. The Future of Nationalism. Industrial culture - one or many?. 9. Nationalism and Ideology. Who is for Nuremberg?. One nation, one state. 10. Conclusion. What is not being said. Summary. Select bibliography. Bilbliography of Ernest Gellner's writing: Ian Jarvie. Index

Nations and Nationalism

Ethnic Groups in Conflict

The enduring electoral success of populist parties across Europe and the increasing opportunities they have gained to access government in recent years bring once more into relief the question of whether populism and democracy are fully compatible. In this article we show how, despite playing different roles in government within very different political systems, and despite the numerous constraints placed upon them (for instance, EU membership, international law and domestic checks and balances), populist parties consistently pursued policies that clashed with fundamental tenets of liberal democracy. In particular, the idea that the power of the majority must be limited and restrained, the sanctity of individual rights and the principle of the division of powers have all come under threat in contemporary Europe. This has contributed to the continuing erosion of the liberal consensus, which has provided one of the fundamental foundations of the European project from its start.

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Populism and Liberal Democracy: Populists in Government in Austria, Italy, Poland and Switzerland

Intergovernmental Cooperation: Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond by Nicole Bolleyer. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-19-957060-7 Multi-level systems offer as many ent...

Intergovernmental Cooperation: Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond

Intergovernmental councils (IGCs) are specific, institutionalized forums of intergovernmental relations. They provide essential horizontal and/or vertical executive channels for preparing, deciding...

The purpose of intergovernmental councils : a framework for analysis and comparison

Part of the project Why Centralization and Decentralization in Federations?, this article studies
dynamic de/centralization in Switzerland since 1848 and seeks to account for the patterns
observed. It shows that, overall, there has been a wide-ranging process of legislative
centralization, whereas the cantons have retained considerable administrative and, especially,
fiscal autonomy. The principal instrument of dynamic centralization has been constitutional
change, followed by the enactment of framework legislation by the federal government. The
process has unfolded primarily through frequent steps of a small magnitude and occurred
throughout the 160-year life of the federation. Modernization, market integration, changing
patterns of collective identification, and expectations concerning the role of government appear
to have played a particularly important causal role. The multilingual and bi-confessional nature of
the country has not presented a major obstacle to this centralization dynamic, particularly since
World War II, with the French-speaking minority becoming increasingly pro-centralization.

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Dynamic De/Centralization in Switzerland, 1848—2010

This article develops a conceptual, methodological and theoretical framework for analyzing dynamic de/centralization in federations. It first reviews the literature and outlines the research design and methods adopted. It then conceptualizes static de/centralization and describes the seven-point coding scheme we employed to measure it across twenty-two policy areas and five fiscal categories at ten-year intervals since the establishment of a federation. The subsequent section conceptualizes dynamic de/centralization and discusses its five main properties: direction, magnitude, form, tempo, and instruments. Drawing from several strands of the literature, the article lastly identifies seven categories of causal determinants of dynamic de/centralization, from which we derive hypotheses for assessment.

/pdf/dynamic-de-centralization-in-federations-comparative-2qxhwpnka9.pdf

Sean Mueller

Papers

Populism and Liberal Democracy: Populists in Government in Austria, Italy, Poland and Switzerland

Intergovernmental Cooperation: Rational Choices in Federal Systems and Beyond

The purpose of intergovernmental councils : a framework for analysis and comparison

Dynamic De/Centralization in Switzerland, 1848—2010

Dynamic De/Centralization in Federations: Comparative Conclusions