Business Power in European Politics

This dissertation is guided by a general interest in the organisation of business interests and their power and success in achieving optimal outcomes in policy-making processes. One of the main results of this dissertation is that business interests should not be studied as a homogeneous unit. Challenging contemporary quantitative research on interest group lobbying that usually treats business actors as uniformly lobbying for the same policy outcome, the findings indicate that it makes sense to contextually differentiate between different kinds of business actors. Another main result is the highly contextual nature of business success in influencing policy processes. While researchers try to make their findings as general as possible, the literature review as well the empirical analyses make it clear that it is difficult to generalise across a wider range of cases. More specifically, the studies featured in this dissertation discuss the role of issue characteristics such as salience and issue-specific ad hoc coalitions on interest group success in preference attainment as well as the effect of financial expertise of the respective counter-party to business in policy-making processes. Last, this dissertation confirms previous findings that large business organisations do not always get what they want and, in fact, often have considerable difficulties and constraints in attaining their preferences and in creating large coalitions of actors lobbying for the same outcome

Tourism development and public policy: perceptions of the Chuukese community

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2019Tourism is a widely used tool for economic development in small insular communities. This mixed methods study examines factors that influence residents' perceptions toward tourism development in Chuuk and the relevance of "complexity theory" in describing the island's stage of development. Empirical evidence and data triangulation corroborate general support for tourism development and sensitivity to cultural impacts, economic impacts, social impacts, environmental impacts, local control and sustainability. Economic and cultural impacts were the strongest factors influencing perceptions and are most significant to sustainable development and destination development. This reflects residents' beliefs that the island will benefit from tourism because of perceived improvements in the economy, infrastructure, tourist facilities and expanded social amenities. It also reflects residents' expectations for long term planning, managed growth, and laws to protect the environment. Some differences and similarities are noted between sampled residents living in Chuuk and Guam. This study is the first of its kind in an isolated region lacking scholarship literature on tourism. As such, basic information gathered is a wellspring, for further research into issues of social justice using a more sequential transformative framework

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: monitoring the evolution of an agency through rhetorical snapshots of speeches by Generals Omar N. Bradley, Earle G. Wheeler, George S. Brown and Colin L. Powell

There is a need to examine the long term rhetorical strategies of military spokesmen within a democratic state characterized by civilian hegemony. This study uses Kenneth Burke\u27s discussion of cluster analysis to discover the various recurring themes from Chairman to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This form of analysis enabled the researcher to document periodic variances or shifts in emphasis among the four Chairmen whose speeches will be examined. The investigation involved two speeches representative of each of these four distinct periods of the discourse of Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, one given to a civilian audience and one given to an audience of military veterans. The snapshots revealed a consistent constraint of talking in the limited space as a subordinate who represents the national security policy decisions of the President. This constraint, seen within each of the four snapshots, indicates a consistent underlying motive to the discourse of each Chairman. Since most organizations go through periodic shifts in their public image, cluster analysis could provide insights into the decline and resurgence of organizations that replace key leaders either on a planned rotation similar to the cycle for the Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or due to retirements or even terminations. It may be worthwhile to apply the same method of study to a more loosely structured organization or one in which a leader is given more license to build the authority of his or her office. In many economic, religious and political institutions the leader is not bound to higher authority in a firm statutory manner as he or she is in the military

Power

"In 2018, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was, by most measures, more powerful than at any other time in its history and had become one of the most powerful countries in the world. Its economy faced serious challenges, including from the ongoing ‘trade war’ with the US, but still ranked as the world’s second largest. Its Belt and Road Initiative, meanwhile, continued to carve paths of influence and economic integration across several continents. A deft combination of policy, investment, and entrepreneurship has also turned the PRC into a global ‘techno-power’. It aims, with a good chance of success, at becoming a global science and technology leader by 2049 – one hundred years from the founding of the PRC. In surveying the various ways in which the Party-state wields its hard, soft, and sharp power, the China Story Yearbook: Power offers readers a sense of the diversity of power at work both in China and abroad. Citizens of the PRC have long negotiated the state’s influence; increasingly, diaspora communities and other actors are now being subject to its might. As with previous editions in the series, we place important developments in historical context, and adopt a cross-disciplinary approach: it is our view that economy and politics cannot be divorced from culture, history, and society. The Yearbook provides accessible analysis of the main events and trends of the year and is an essential tool for understanding China’s growing power and influence around the world.

Territorial cohesion in Europe, the role of transport corridors

The ‘territorial cohesion’; is in the latest focus of spatial science, after its incorporation into the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon together with economic and social cohesion. CTP and TENs policies with their clear territorial character have the objective of a more efficient and environmentally friendly transport, while reinforcing economic, social and territorial cohesion across the European territory. However, these goals are partly in conflict with each other. In some cases transportation policy initiatives cannot favour all those goals at the same time. Phenomena such as ‘tunnel’ and ‘absorption effects’ are particularly expressed territorially, and are considered to be the polar opposite to territorial cohesion. So, the purpose of this Thesis is to investigate both developmental and spatial impacts of the TEN-T in the light of territorial cohesion. Conclusions given by this thesis may provide a benchmark for TENs and their developmental role. At last, a series of solutions are given for the cases where transport improvements cause territorial imbalances