Strengthening Climate Foreign Policy at the European Level

While the EU is a leader on global climate action, it regularly proves to lack the strategic cohesion needed to quickly meet emerging geopolitical challenges. Taking steps to formalize a European climate foreign policy and improve coordination among the European External Action Service (EEAS), Commission, and member states could help address this deficit and allow the EU to advance ambitious climate standards globally while preserving its strategic interests

Illiberal Social Policy in Europe: When Policy Implementation Meets Welfare Ideas

This article examines the role of social policy in the electoral success of illiberal political parties in Europe between 2010 and 2024, systematically comparing social policies of illiberal actors in Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Poland. Utilizing qualitative content analysis, we differentiate between the welfare ideas of illiberal parties and their actual policy implementations to understand the mechanisms behind their sustained popularity. We paid special attention to the link between ideas and policy reforms to understand whether illiberals carried out paradigmatic changes that altered the underlying goals of social policies. Our findings reveal that illiberal actors align their social policies with the welfare ideas they propagate, targeting specific demographic groups often neglected by earlier democratic politics. We observe that besides their exclusionary rhetoric and reforms against the "undeserving outsiders," such as immigrants, illiberals implement paradigmatic inclusionary reforms, especially to social insurance systems. Notably, the consistency and ideological alignment of their social policies contribute significantly to building loyal constituencies and challenging previous welfare state arrangements. This study highlights the necessity of recognizing the complexity of illiberal social policy to fully grasp the dynamics of their political appeal and offers insights to liberal democratic actors on effective policy responses

Ambitious, misaligned, or uncertain? The occupational and educational aspirations of immigrant-origin youth in Germany

Immigrant-origin students often hold higher educational aspirations than native-origin peers, accounting for socioeconomic status and school grades. The consequences of this ‘Immigrant Aspiration Paradox’ (IAP) on their socioeconomic attainment are debated. Although individuals’ occupational aspirations and how they compare with their educational aspirations (i.e. their alignment) also affect status attainment, they are understudied in the IAP literature. We contribute to the debate on the benefits of the IAP by investigating immigrant-native gaps in the level, (mis)alignment, and (un)certainty of teenage occupational and educational aspirations and their consequences on educational attainment in Germany. First, we describe immigrant-native gaps in teenage aspirations. Then, we investigate whether these differences mediate immigrant-native gaps in upper secondary attainment and tertiary enrollment. In line with the immigrant optimism theory, Asian-origin and Turkish-origin students are more likely to hold aligned high aspirations. On average, immigrant-origin students are less likely to have aligned low aspirations compared to native-origin students, and equally likely to hold misaligned or uncertain aspirations. We find that students from most immigrant-origin groups have a higher upper secondary attainment and tertiary enrollment than native-origin students, net of controls. Large portions of these advantages are mediated by the aspirations of immigrant-origin students, which we interpret as evidence of the benefits of the IAP

The Impact of Leadership Style and Workload on Performance of Employees in the Sub-District Office of Bima District, Indonesia

This research investigated how leadership style and workload affect employee performance in the sub-district offices of Bima Regency. Employing a causal associative research design, this study aimed to assess the impact of these variables on employee performance. A census approach was used in this research, gathering data from 90 workers across various sub-district offices. Data analysis revealed that leadership style has a positive and significant impact on employee performance, indicating that effective leadership enhances employee productivity. On the other hand, workload has a substantial adverse effect on performance, suggesting that excessive workload reduces employee productivity. Moreover, leadership style and workload have a significant combined effect on employee performance, underscoring their interrelated impact. These results emphasise the significance of effective leadership in managing workloads to enhance employee performance in the sub-district offices of Bima Regency

Zwei Gesetzesvorschläge zur Reform des Landesjustizrats (Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa)

Seitdem die von Recht und Gerechtigkeit (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość - PiS) geführte Regierung 2015 mit der Umstrukturierung der Justiz begonnen hat, nimmt die Rechtssicherheit in Polen stetig ab. Nach dem Regierungswechsel infolge der Parlamentswahlen im Oktober 2023 hat nun das beratende Gremium des polnischen Justizministeriums zwei Gesetzesvorschläge zur Wiederherstellung der Rechtsstaatlichkeit mit einem Fokus auf den Landesjustizrat (Krajowa Rada Sądownictwa) vorgelegt: Der erste beinhaltet ein schnelles Vorgehen, während der zweite einen schrittweisen Prozess verfolgt. Beide haben eine kontroverse Debatte darüber entfacht, wie die Rechtsstaatlichkeit in Polen wiederhergestellt werden kann

What do student visas cost? A global comparative analysis

A visa is often required for international student mobility. The costs for this vary enormously, as data from the Global Mobilities Project (GMP) shows. Students from the Global South sometimes pay more than twice as much as students from Europe. The differences are even greater when the standard of living is taken into account: While the costs for students from Western Europe amount to only a fraction of the average daily income, students from Central Asia would have to work for almost three weeks and those from sub-Saharan Africa for more than five weeks to afford a visa. The overall result is therefore a paradoxical situation: students from richer countries have to pay less if they want to be internationally mobile. These global inequalities are connected to injustices at the individual level and point to the dysfunctionality of visa regimes that structurally restrict the international mobility of talented people from the Global South

Youth Norm Deviation and Intolerance: Pathways to Polarized Political Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions

This study examines the psychological foundations of political polarization among adolescents, emphasizing the role of norm deviation and intolerance in shaping polarized political attitudes and behavioral intentions. We applied a structural equation model with latent variables to analyze the relationships between norm deviation and intolerance and five indicators of political polarization in 1,211 adolescents (aged 15-22 years, M = 16.6, SD = 1.5). These five indicators of political polarization were: rejection of democracy, rejection of human rights, conspiracy mentality, hostility toward foreigners, and the affinity for political violence. Multi‐group structural equation modeling was conducted to explore the moderating effects of gender, age, and migration background. Results indicate that both norm deviation and intolerance are significantly associated with polarized political attitudes and behavioral intentions, with distinct patterns across demographic groups. These findings highlight the importance of tailored educational and preventive interventions that consider adolescents' gender, age, and migration background to reduce polarization risks and promote social cohesion

Left behind but not forgotten: Psychosocial well-being and influencing factors in children with parents working abroad - Evidence from Romania

Objective: This study explored whether children with parents working abroad differ from their peers across a broad range of psychosocial well-being indicators, and which contextual and individual factors influence these outcomes. Background: Rising international economic migration has led to a growing number of 'left-behind' children. While most research points to negative effects on well-being, findings in European settings are inconsistent, highlighting the need for further investigation. Method: Participants were 314 children aged 10 to 16 from Romanian schools, including 92 with at least one migrant parent. We used propensity score matching to create comparable groups based on demographic and background characteristics. Measures of well-being included self-reports of anxiety and depression, teacher ratings of externalizing behaviours, and objective data on academic performance and peer acceptance. Caregivers provided information on contextual migration-related factors, while individual characteristics were assessed via self-reports and cognitive tasks. Results: There were nonsignificant differences between children with migrant parents and their peers (p ≥ .29). However, within the group of children with migrant parents, better psychosocial outcomes were predicted by (1) contextual factors such as the migrant parent’s involvement in child-rearing, frequent and sustained communication with the migrant parent, and better financial circumstances; and (2) individual characteristics, including functional information processing patterns and adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Conclusion: These findings highlight that the impact of parental migration is not uniform, suggesting that both contextual and individual differences play important roles in children's psychosocial well-being. - Appendix: https://ubp.uni-bamberg.de/jfr/index.php/jfr/article/view/1087/840Fragestellung: Diese Studie untersucht, ob sich das psychosoziale Wohlbefinden von Kinder, deren Eltern im Ausland arbeiten, von ihren Altersgenossen unterscheiden und welche kontextuellen und individuellen Faktoren diese Ergebnisse beeinflussen. Hintergrund: Die zunehmende internationale Wirtschaftsmigration hat zu einer wachsenden Zahl von "zurückgelassenen" Kindern geführt. Während die meisten Forschungsarbeiten negative Auswirkungen auf das Wohlbefinden aufzeigen, sind die Ergebnisse in europäischen Studien uneinheitlich, was weiteren Untersuchungsbedarf unterstreicht. Methode: Es wurden 314 Kinder im Alter von 10 bis 16 Jahren aus rumänischen Schulen befragt, darunter 92 mit mindestens einem Elternteil, das im Ausland arbeitet. Mithilfe von Propensity Score Matching wurden vergleichbare Gruppen auf Basis demografischer und hintergrundbezogener Merkmale gebildet. Das Wohlbefinden wurde anhand von Selbstauskünften über Ängste und Depressionen, Lehrerbeurteilungen zu externalisierenden Verhaltensweisen sowie objektiven Daten zu schulischen Leistungen und Akzeptanz durch Gleichaltrige gemessen. Die Betreuungspersonen lieferten Informationen zu migrationsbezogenen Kontextfaktoren, während die individuellen Merkmale durch direkte Befragung der Kinder und durch kognitive Aufgaben erhoben wurden. Ergebnisse: Es konnten keine signifikanten Unterschiede zwischen Kindern mit Elternteil im Ausland und ihren Altersgenossen nachgewiesen werden (p ≥ .29). Innerhalb der Gruppe der Kinder mit Elternteil im Ausland zeigten sich jedoch bessere psychosoziale Ergebnisse durch (1) kontextuelle Faktoren wie die Beteiligung des betreffenden Elternteils an der Kindererziehung, häufige und anhaltende Kommunikation mit dem Elternteil und bessere finanzielle Umstände und (2) individuelle Merkmale des Kindes, wie funktionale Informationsverarbeitungsmuster und adaptive Emotionsregulationsstrategien. Schlussfolgerung: Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Auswirkungen elterlicher Migration nicht einheitlich sind, was darauf hindeutet, dass sowohl kontextuelle als auch individuelle Unterschiede eine wichtige Rolle für das psychosoziale Wohlbefinden der Kinder spielen

Food Business Owner Perspectives on Meal Delivery Platforms in Belgium: A Qualitative Investigation

Reflecting global trends towards food retail digitalisation, meal delivery platforms such as Uber Eats have operated in Belgium since at least 2016. These platforms enable registered food businesses to sell ready‐to‐eat meals online. How such partnerships impact the function of food businesses in urban areas is poorly understood. This is critical given concerns that meal delivery platform business models support unfair levels of competition between international food corporations and independent food businesses. Based on 21 in‐person interviews with the owners or managers of restaurants and takeaway food businesses, we describe how meal delivery is (re)shaping food retail in the region of Flanders, Belgium. Owners and managers informed us that meal delivery platform registration allows them to meet consumer demand. Nevertheless, online orders only supplement continued in‐person ordering and dining. During busy periods, food businesses prioritise customers visiting their brick‐and‐mortar location by temporarily removing themselves from meal delivery platforms. Furthermore, they typically pass on "excessive" and "unfair" meal delivery platform commission fees to consumers through inflated online prices. The evolution of meal delivery platforms has encouraged the development of dark kitchens, where meals are prepared inside non‐customer‐facing locations and sold exclusively online. Monitoring the development of these facilities and the broader meal delivery system is needed to understand implications for urban areas. Food accessibility measures and definitions should continue to include brick‐and‐mortar food business locations. They must also consider variation in availability and price across neighbourhood and digital food environments according to the time of day