Unraveling the Central State, But How? Types of Multi-Level Governance. IHS Political Science Series: 2003, No. 87

The reallocation of authority upwards, downwards, and sideways from central states has drawn attention from a growing number of scholars in political science. Yet beyond agreement that governance has become (and should be) multi-level, there is no consensus about how it should be organized. This article draws on several literatures to distinguish two types of multi-level governance. One type conceives of dispersion of authority to general-purpose, non-intersecting, and durable jurisdictions. A second type of governance conceives of task-specific, intersecting, and flexible jurisdictions. We conclude by specifying the virtues of each type of governance

Hermann von Helmholtz's empirico-transcendentalism reconsidered: construction and constitution in Helmholtz's psychology of the object

This paper aims at contributing to the ongoing efforts to get a firmer grasp of the systematic significance of the entanglement of idealism and empiricism in Helmholtz's work. Contrary to existing analyses, however, the focal point of the present exposition is Helmholtz's attempt to articulate a psychological account of objectification. Helmholtz's motive, as well as his solution to the problem of the object are outlined, and interpreted against the background of his scientific practice on the one hand, and that of empiricist and (transcendental) idealist analyses of experience on the other. The specifically psychological angle taken, not only prompts us to consider figures who have hitherto been treated as having only minor import for Helmholtz interpretation (most importantly J.S. Mill and J.G. Fichte), it furthermore sheds new light on some central tenets of the latter's psychological stance that have hitherto remained underappreciated. For one thing, this analysis reveals an explicit voluntarist tendency in Helmholtz's psychological theory. In conclusion, it is argued that the systematic significance of Helmholtz's empirico-transcendentalism with respect to questions of the mind is best understood as an attempt to found his empirical theory of perception in a second order, normative account of epistemic subjectivity

Sovereignty Reloaded? A Constructivist Perspective on European Research

This paper addresses three issues. Beginning with the sovereignty puzzle that emerges from multilevel governance analyses (in terms of the endurance of sovereignty within structures of overlapping authorities), it suggests supplementing the static view of multilevel governance with the dynamic perspective of Europeanization literature as an important step forward for the next generation of EU studies. In addition, it calls for a 'constructivist turn' in order to elaborate the dynamics identified by Europeanization approaches. It is argued that this provides the key to the sovereignty puzzle by analysing the link between interaction and identity. Finally, the constructivist perspective of the mutual constitution of structure and agency is advocated as a fruitful lane for the third wave of EU research as a way to overcome its struggles with unidirectional, causality notions of bottom-up and top-down relationships within multilevel governance structures.sovereignty; multilevel governance; Europeanization

High-sensitivity plasmonic refractive index sensing using graphene

We theoretically demonstrate a high-sensitivity, graphene-plasmon based refractive index sensor working in the mid-infrared at room temperature. The bulk figure of merit of our sensor reaches values above $10$, but the key aspect of our proposed plasmonic sensor is its surface sensitivity which we examine in detail. We have used realistic values regarding doping level and electron relaxation time, which is the limiting factor for the sensor performance. Our results show quantitatively the high performance of graphene-plasmon based refractive index sensors working in the mid-infrared.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication/published in 2DMaterials. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1583/aa70f

Euroscepticism Revisited - Regional Interest Representation in Brussels and the Link to Citizen Attitudes towards European Integration

Recent scholarship has suggested that nation-states will gradually fade away in favor of regions and super-regions as the main actors within a European Union characterized by strong regional identities. At the same time, recent developments have shown that citizen support for European integration is essential for any future development of the Union. The puzzle inspiring this paper is the finding that the greatest support for the EU increasingly stems from minority nationalist, or strong identity regions seeking to bypass their central states to achieve their policy goals at the EU level. This paper empirically tests this suggestion, while shedding light on the relationship between the quality of representation of regional interests at the EU level and positive citizen attitudes towards the EU. In particular, it finds two explanations for cross-regional variation in the relationship between Euroscepticism and representation: (1) a cultural explanation, embodied by differences in the nature and quality of representation between regions that are linguistically distinctive and regions that are not; and (2) an institutional explanation, embodied by differences in the nature and quality of representation between regions from federal and non-federal member states. The paper uses an eclectic methodological approach, first utilizing multivariate regression analysis, estimating logistic and ordinal logit models that help explain variation in Euroscepticism at the regional level. The results are then complemented by the findings of indepth elite interviews of regional representatives—more specifically the directors of a selection of the many regional information offices present in Brussels. This paper takes the study of Euroscepticism to a new level, as most previous scholarly work has focused on explanations at the individual or at the member state level. At the same time it strengthens the notion of a growing importance of a “Europe of the regions.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE EU MULTI-LEVEL GOVERNANCE IN THE FIELD OF COMPETITION POLICY – A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF COHESION AND COMPETITION POLICY

The paper has in view to present the intrinsic characteristics of the European Union and to show that these characteristics require in an objective way the implementation of a multi-level governance. A comparative analysis of cohesion and competition policy of the European Union is presented from the point of view of these elements. Further on, given the implications of the economic crisis the paper explores the possible translation from multi-level governance to polycentric governance and the implications for the cohesion and competition policies.nature of European Union, multi-level governance, polycentric governance, cohesion policy, competition policy, possible structural changes of the European Union

The Neofunctionalists Were (almost) Right: Politicization and European Integration

This paper examines the politicization of European integration. We begin by asking how neofunctionalism and its precursor, functionalism, conceive the politics of regional integration. Then we turn to the evidence of the past two decades and ask how politicization has, in fact, shaped the level, scope, and character of European integration.political science; integration theory; neo-functionalism; identity; multilevel governance

A Postfunctionalist Theory of Regional Government

The structure of government―the number of tiers and the allocation of tasks over these tiers―has been a subject of political research since Althusius (1603) and Pufendorf (1672). More recently, the process of European integration revived the interest in the allocation of tasks across government tiers.1 One approach to this topic is the subsidiarity principle of the European Union which states that matters ought to be handled by the lowest feasible tier. However, the subsidiarity principle has also been used by the member states of the European Union as an argument to safeguard national autonomy (Van Kersbergen and Verbeek 1994). The precise allocation of tasks across government tiers remains a matter of fierce normative and empirical debate.federalism;decentralization;regional authority; fiscal indicators

The impact of parental gender, catastrophizing, and situational threat upon parental behaviour to child pain: a vignette study

Background: This study examined which parents report to be solicitous or discouraging in response to their child's pain, and when they do so. Methods: Using a vignette methodology, mothers (n = 472) and fathers (n = 271) imagined their child in pain situations varying in duration (1 day or several weeks) and cause of pain (known or unknown biomedical cause). Results: In general, fathers demonstrated similar tendencies toward solicitousness than mothers, but reported to engage more in discouraging behaviours. In line with expectations, parents who catastrophized about their child's pain reported a higher inclination to engage in solicitous behaviours. Only for fathers, high catastrophizing was also related to a higher report of discouraging behaviours. However, the effects of catastrophizing differed across situations varying in duration and cause of pain. Specifically, the effect of parental catastrophizing upon self-reported solicitous behaviours was particularly strong when imagining their child in pain with unknown biomedical cause. Further, high catastrophizing in fathers only translated in a higher inclination for discouraging responses when imagining their child in pain of short duration. Conclusions: The findings of the current study highlight the importance of parental catastrophizing in explaining parental behavioural tendencies in response to their child in pain. Further, reported behaviours were found to vary across pain situations, attesting to the importance of studying parental behaviour 'in context'

Individual Farmers and Land Renting in Hungary

This paper uses data from a survey of more than 1,400 farming households in Hungary to identify a set of profiles of farming households, which are active in the rental market and to estimate econometrically the impact of household characteristics, such as social, physical, and human capital, as well as regional and environmental characteristics on land rental activities. We show that the decision of farming households to lease in land is related to their land endowment, their access to capital assets, human capital variables such as age and education and their social capital. Environmental factors are also important.Land Economics/Use,