Environmental Policy Implementation and Electoral Institutions in Germany and Japan

In an era when attention to reconstruction and preservation of the environment is crucial, this thesis looks at the effect that electoral institutions have on attention paid to the environmental policy issue dimension. Specifically, it looks at party manifestos and policies in post-1980 Germany and Japan to determine if specific electoral structures, such as the number of parties in a system, correlates with a greater amount of either attention paid to environmental policy in party platforms or in the actual passing of policy. It finds that though both Germany and Japan employ multi-member proportional systems, the greater number of parties with proportionally larger shares of seats in Germany alongside its environmentally-dedicated Green party incentivized its ‘winning’ parties to pay attention to ecological policy. Conversely, in Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party’s power left it up to smaller parties to bring the environmental conversation to the table

“Be authentic”: Authenticity Norms in German Politics and Self-Idealizations of Members of the Bundestag

This contribution goes back to a study of the formative power of identity norms in professional fields of occupation (fine arts and politics). In this article, we focus on the understanding of identity norms that members of the German Bundestag have to meet and/or to cope with. Thus, our research question is which demands professional politicians encounter and which ways of dealing with them are established. Operating at the intersection of governmentality studies, subjectivation analysis and qualitative inquiry, and based on narrative interviews with MPs, this paper demonstrates how in the field of German politics (at federal level) the MPs orientate their professional praxis towards the identity norm of an authentic self and conform to the expectation of a contradiction-free relationship between professional and private lives. In the process, the MPs develop idealizations of their selves in which aspects of their habitus become reflexive. We especially discuss these results against the backdrop of the emergence of modern parliaments and, methodologically, regarding the relation between habitual-implicit and reflexive-explicit structures of knowledge which are especially relevant in subjectivation analysis

Cheapest Is dearest, though far from professional: A qualitative study on the use of social media during the Federal Election 2021 in Germany

Like in other areas, the importance of social media in the German political communication landscape has rapidly grown in recent years. The purpose of this study is to examine how the communication professionals of the different parties of the German Bundestag describe and characterize the role of social media in their political communication, especially in the last federal election in 2021. This research fills a critical gap by investigating 13 semiopen qualitative interviews with both political and strategic officials of the eight parties represented in the German Bundestag. By doing so, it provides insights into current and future social media practices and their level of professionalization in the German political sphere. Both the sample and focus of this study are, to our knowledge, unique in their nature. The results indicate that, while social media is seen as one of the most important channels to both inform and communicate with potential voters, the professionalization in the field seems to be on a relatively low level. Namely, both strategic and political professionals criticize a lack of human, time, and financial resources. Therefore, the parties lack behind in their practices, particularly considering the newest trends and possibilities of social media like big data, algorithms, or monitoring practices. These results suggest that previous assumptions regarding social media as a cheap and resource-efficient practice are outdated. However, the communicators voice future efforts to catch up on these topics. Further research is needed to investigate how the parties meet these intents

Lobbying im Rahmen der Entstehung von Rechnungslegungsnormen

Typischerweise entstehen Rechnungslegungsnormen im Rahmen eines politischen Prozesse, gleich, ob dieser parlamentarisch oder privatrechtlich organisiert ist. Daher sieht sich der Normentstehungsprozess regelmäßig Lobbyingaktivitäten diverser Interessengruppen ausgesetzt. Die vorliegende Arbeit undersucht in vier Manuskripten verschiedenste Bereiche der Entstehung von Rechnungslegungsnormen, sowohl im Rahmen parlamentarischer wie auch privatrechtlicher Regulierungsstrukturen. Manuskript A. bereitet den theoretischen Hintergrund des Rechnungslegungslobbying auf und identifiziert thematische wie auch methodische Forschungslücken. Manuskript B. entwickelt daraufhin eine neuartige Forschungsmethode für Rechnungslegungslobbying, die Elemente der sozialwissenschaftlichen Inhaltsanalyse mit solchen der Diskursanalyse verbindet. Im Rahmen der Anwendung dieser Methode auf die Entstehung des Bilanzrechtsmodernisierungsgesetzes wird gezeigt, dass die Methode in einem parlamentarischen Normentstehungsprozess anwendbar ist. Darüber hinaus werden Potenziale für eine Anwendung auch in privatrechtlich organisierten Rechnungslegungssystemen aufgezeigt. Manuskript C. betrachtet die Rolle der Wissenschaftler in einem deutschen Kontext und verbindet methodisch dabei die Inhaltsanalyse mit historisch-kritischer Forschung. Festgestellt werden kann dabei, dass die Einstellung deutscher Hochschullehrer im Bereich zur Zeitwertbewertung im Rahmen deutscher Rechnungslegung durchaus mit rechnungslegungshistorischen Beobachtungen erklärt werden kann. Manuskript D. widmet sich schließlich der privatrechtlich geprägten Normentstehung auf Ebene des IASV. Mit Hilfe einer interpretativen Inhaltsanalyse und deskriptiv statistischen Verfahren wird gezeigt, dass die Mitarbeiter Numerale im Rahmen bestimmter Dokumente inkonsistent verwenden. Dieses Ergebnis konterkariert die Bemühungen des IASB um Transparenz und lässt Lücken für nicht beobachtbare Einflussnahmen auf die Mitarbeiter des IASB. In ihrer Gesamtheit tragen die vier Manuskripte sowohl methodisch wie auch thematisch zur Fortentwicklung der Forschung im Rechnungslegungslobbying bei. Bislang vernachlässigte Forschungsmethoden werden aufgezeigt, modifiziert und auf eine Vielzahl verschiedener Fragestellungen angewandt. Darüber hinaus untersuchen die Manuskripte insbesondere diejenigen Bereiche des Rechnungslegungslobbying, die bislang von den meisten Forschern in diesem Gebiet vernachlässigt wurden.:I. Lobbying im Rahmen der Entstehung von Rechnungslegungsnormen – Gesamtdarstellung der kumulativen Dissertation … 7 1 Übergeordneter Forschungszusammenhang … 9 2 Übersicht der Manuskripte … 13 3 Ergebnisse der Dissertation … 17 II. Politische Ökonomie der Rechnungslegung – Bisherige Forschungsergebnisse und künftige Forschungsperspektiven unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Lobbyingkonzepts … 25 1 Einleitung … 29 2 Charakterisierung der Politischen Ökonomie der Rechnungslegung … 33 3 Hypothesen und empirische Ergebnisse im Rahmen des Lobbying … 36 3.1 Grundlagen des ökonomischen Lobbyingmodells … 36 3.2 Das individuelle und kollektive Engagement von Akteuren im Prozess der Rechnungslegungsregulierung … 39 3.2.1 Hypothesenbildung … 39 3.2.2 Ergebnisse empirischer Studien … 46 3.3 Der Erfolg von Akteuren im Normensetzungsprozess … 50 3.3.1 Hypothesenbildung … 50 3.3.2 Ergebnisse empirischer Studien … 52 3.4 Kritische Würdigung des Lobbyingansatzes … 53 3.4.1 Überblick … 53 3.4.2 Die Definition von Macht … 54 3.4.3 Offenkundigkeit der tatsächlichen Interessenlage … 59 4 Entwicklung der Lobbyingforschung in der Rechnungslegung … 61 5 Ableitung künftiger Forschungsperspektiven … 65 6 Zusammenfassung … 71 III. Lobbying on Accounting Standard Setting in a Parliamentary Environment – A Qualitative Approach … 83 1 Introduction … 86 2 Background to the Modernization of German GAAP … 90 3 Hypotheses development … 94 4 Research design … 98 4.1 Previous methods in accounting standard lobbying research … 98 4.2 Derivation of a different methodological approach … 99 4.3 Content analysis … 102 4.4 Analysis of structured text material … 109 5 Evaluation of the analyzed materials … 110 5.1 Empirical results and interpretation … 110 5.2 Research quality and limitations … 117 6 Conclusion and further research … 122 IV. A Historical View on the Political Fair Value Debate in Germany … 131 1 Introduction … 134 2 Fair value accounting and academic participation in accounting standard-setting in the context of the reform of German Commercial Code … 138 2.1 The parliamentary procedure of changing German Commercial Code … 138 2.2 Some theoretical background of fair value accounting … 140 2.3 Some theoretical background of academic participation in accounting standardsetting … 143 2.4 Concluding implications … 145 3 Analysis of arguments used by academics … 146 3.1 Research design … 146 3.2 Academics’ arguments … 152 4 Analysis of academics’ arguments in the context of German accounting history … 154 4.1 Research design … 154 4.2 Argument 1: vagueness … 155 4.3 Argument 2: fair value and crises … 159 4.4 Argument 3: German accepted accounting principles … 162 4.5 Conclusion … 168 5 Concluding remarks … 171 Appendix 1: The market for excuses … 173 Appendix 2: Non-author-coders for the academics’ statements … 177 Appendix 3: Academics’ arguments and coding results … 178 V. What They Mean When They Use Quantifiers – An Empirical Investigation of IASB’s Staff Analysis Paper on ED 9 … 187 1 Introduction … 190 2 Theoretical Background … 193 2.1 The role of the staff within the IASB and the standard-setting due process … 193 2.2 IASB’s Joint Venture project … 196 3 Methodological Approach … 200 3.1 General considerations … 200 3.2 Determination of the research question … 201 3.3 Determination of the research material … 201 3.4 Construction of a system of categories … 202 3.5 Definition of categories … 202 3.6 Determination of units of analysis … 203 3.7 Coding … 203 3.8 Data analysis … 206 3.9 Presentation and interpretation of results … 208 4 Statistical Analysis … 209 4.1 Descriptive Statistics … 209 4.2 Mean-median-tests … 213 4.3 Concluding interpretation … 218 5 Qualitative Analysis … 221 6 Conclusion … 227Typically, accounting standards emerge within a political process, be it that this process is driven by a parliament or a private institution. Consequently, the whole process is subject to lobbying efforts by several interest groups. Four essays examine various parts of processes of emergence of accounting standards in parliamentary as well as private standard setting environments. Essay A. provides the theoretical background concerning lobbying on accounting standards and identifies research potential, in terms of topics as well as methods. Essay B. develops an innovative research method for research of lobbying on accounting standards combining elements of content and discourse analysis. It is proven that this research design is applicable in a parliamentary setting. Moreover potentials for research in private settings are identified. Essay C. focuses on academics in accounting standard setting in a German context and combines a content analysis with historical research. For the attitude of German accounting academics concerning fair value accounting in a German context it is shown that German accounting history may be a source of explanation. Finally, essay D. focuses on a private standard setting institution, namely the IASB. Using a content analysis and descriptive statistics, it is shown that the IASB staff uses quantifiers in certain documents inconsistently. This finding counteracts the IASB’s efforts towards transparency. Through all four essays a contribution to accounting standard lobbying is made. Alternative research methods are introduced, modified and used for a variety of lobbying areas. Moreover, the essays focus on groups in the context of accounting standards lobbying that have not yet been paid attention by most accounting researchers.:I. Lobbying im Rahmen der Entstehung von Rechnungslegungsnormen – Gesamtdarstellung der kumulativen Dissertation … 7 1 Übergeordneter Forschungszusammenhang … 9 2 Übersicht der Manuskripte … 13 3 Ergebnisse der Dissertation … 17 II. Politische Ökonomie der Rechnungslegung – Bisherige Forschungsergebnisse und künftige Forschungsperspektiven unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Lobbyingkonzepts … 25 1 Einleitung … 29 2 Charakterisierung der Politischen Ökonomie der Rechnungslegung … 33 3 Hypothesen und empirische Ergebnisse im Rahmen des Lobbying … 36 3.1 Grundlagen des ökonomischen Lobbyingmodells … 36 3.2 Das individuelle und kollektive Engagement von Akteuren im Prozess der Rechnungslegungsregulierung … 39 3.2.1 Hypothesenbildung … 39 3.2.2 Ergebnisse empirischer Studien … 46 3.3 Der Erfolg von Akteuren im Normensetzungsprozess … 50 3.3.1 Hypothesenbildung … 50 3.3.2 Ergebnisse empirischer Studien … 52 3.4 Kritische Würdigung des Lobbyingansatzes … 53 3.4.1 Überblick … 53 3.4.2 Die Definition von Macht … 54 3.4.3 Offenkundigkeit der tatsächlichen Interessenlage … 59 4 Entwicklung der Lobbyingforschung in der Rechnungslegung … 61 5 Ableitung künftiger Forschungsperspektiven … 65 6 Zusammenfassung … 71 III. Lobbying on Accounting Standard Setting in a Parliamentary Environment – A Qualitative Approach … 83 1 Introduction … 86 2 Background to the Modernization of German GAAP … 90 3 Hypotheses development … 94 4 Research design … 98 4.1 Previous methods in accounting standard lobbying research … 98 4.2 Derivation of a different methodological approach … 99 4.3 Content analysis … 102 4.4 Analysis of structured text material … 109 5 Evaluation of the analyzed materials … 110 5.1 Empirical results and interpretation … 110 5.2 Research quality and limitations … 117 6 Conclusion and further research … 122 IV. A Historical View on the Political Fair Value Debate in Germany … 131 1 Introduction … 134 2 Fair value accounting and academic participation in accounting standard-setting in the context of the reform of German Commercial Code … 138 2.1 The parliamentary procedure of changing German Commercial Code … 138 2.2 Some theoretical background of fair value accounting … 140 2.3 Some theoretical background of academic participation in accounting standardsetting … 143 2.4 Concluding implications … 145 3 Analysis of arguments used by academics … 146 3.1 Research design … 146 3.2 Academics’ arguments … 152 4 Analysis of academics’ arguments in the context of German accounting history … 154 4.1 Research design … 154 4.2 Argument 1: vagueness … 155 4.3 Argument 2: fair value and crises … 159 4.4 Argument 3: German accepted accounting principles … 162 4.5 Conclusion … 168 5 Concluding remarks … 171 Appendix 1: The market for excuses … 173 Appendix 2: Non-author-coders for the academics’ statements … 177 Appendix 3: Academics’ arguments and coding results … 178 V. What They Mean When They Use Quantifiers – An Empirical Investigation of IASB’s Staff Analysis Paper on ED 9 … 187 1 Introduction … 190 2 Theoretical Background … 193 2.1 The role of the staff within the IASB and the standard-setting due process … 193 2.2 IASB’s Joint Venture project … 196 3 Methodological Approach … 200 3.1 General considerations … 200 3.2 Determination of the research question … 201 3.3 Determination of the research material … 201 3.4 Construction of a system of categories … 202 3.5 Definition of categories … 202 3.6 Determination of units of analysis … 203 3.7 Coding … 203 3.8 Data analysis … 206 3.9 Presentation and interpretation of results … 208 4 Statistical Analysis … 209 4.1 Descriptive Statistics … 209 4.2 Mean-median-tests … 213 4.3 Concluding interpretation … 218 5 Qualitative Analysis … 221 6 Conclusion … 22

Towards the mainstream? The AfD as a case study

The radical right-wing party, the Alternative für Deutschland, caused a political tremor in 2017 German election by changing the political landscape significantly while becoming the third largest party in the Bundestag. Also, with most of the studies that asses AfD’s development being published while the party was starting to transform itself, the Euro crisis has lost its urgency, and given that party has been going through internal struggles for a while between ‘liberals’ and ‘extremists’ leads to the question on whether the AfD has shifted towards the mainstream? This dissertation works with the definition of ‘mainstreaming’ provided by Akkerman et al. (2016) and assess the party change along four key dimensions: 1) changes with respect to radical positions on core issues; 2) changes from a niche party to a party that focused on socioeconomic issues; 3) changes in the anti-establishment profile; and 4) changes regarding the party reputation. The research strategy adopted to this dissertation is the qualitative case study and consisted of a review of relevant literature the topic, coupled with the collection and analysis of a comprehensive range source of data. The findings from this research show that there is no sign that the AfD is shifting towards the mainstream; on the contrary, the party is tending to radicalize along first three dimensions while showing signs of mainstreaming on the fourth dimension to avoid possible juridical actions.https://www.ester.ee/record=b5193795*es

The Principle of Subsidiarity and Institutional Predispositions : Do the European Parliament, the German Bundestag, and the Bavarian Landtag Define Subsidiarity Differently?

The goal of this working paper is to organize and to clarify the multiple definitions currently being used to describe the principle of subsidiarity within the European context while at the same time highlighting the significance in variations between the “positive” and the “negative” interpretations of the term. To gain insights into how politicians define the principle of subsidiarity, a survey was distributed to members of the European Parliament, the German Bundestag, and the Bavarian Landtag. The results of this project are collected and analyzed in the following paper and show that many of the “crude assumptions” regarding institutional predispositions towards defining the principle of subsidiarity prevail among many of the surveyed politicians

The principle of subsidiarity and institutional predispositions: do the European Parliament, the German Bundestag, and the Bavarian Landtag define subsidiarity differently?

"The goal of this working paper is to organize and to clarify the multiple definitions currently being used to describe the principle of subsidiarity within the European context while at the same time highlighting the significance in variations between the "positive" and the “negative” interpretations of the term. To gain insights into how politicians define the principle of subsidiarity, a survey was distributed to members of the European Parliament, the German Bundestag, and the Bavarian Landtag. The results of this project are collected and analyzed in the following paper and show that many of the “crude assumptions” regarding institutional predispositions towards defining the principle of subsidiarity prevail among many of the surveyed politicians." (author's abstract