Party and Protest Political Participation among Students in Western and Central-Eastern Europe

This paper aims to bridge the literature on students' socio-political attitudes with the wider literature on political participation that previously focused on cross-regional differences in participation rates and on varied forms of participation more generally. In doing so, the paper extends the empirical scope of previous analyses by exploring, on the one hand, the extent to which student political participation varies across wide ranges of both party- and protest-related activities; and, on the other hand, by looking at differences in student and non-student participation across 6 countries – 4 old democracies in Western European (WE) and 2 post-communist democracies in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE). Methodologically, the paper combines a quasi-experimental design based on genetic matching with regression models in order to better isolate the effect of student status on political participation from that of age, gender, and family background. Using original survey data gathered within the framework of the POLPART Project among 6,990 respondents, the results for both WE and CEE suggest that students do not significantly differ from non-students in terms of political participation when they are matched on age, gender, and family background. Additionally, when controlling for other variables commonly associated with political participation, such as political interest, students actually appear to engage in party politics less than their non-student counterparts. This indicates that existing college-effects models focusing on the impact of being a student on socio-political attitudes are, at best, spurious. When matching and formally comparing stu-dents in WE and in CEE, CEE students appear to be more engaged than their WE counterparts. This indicates that the "apathetic" and "atomistic" perspective on CEE political engagement might not hold for more recent years, especially when it comes to Romania

Bounded solidarity? Experimental evidence on cross‐national bonding in the EU during the COVID crisis

Most studies on European solidarity (‘bonding’) during COVID-19 lack a baseline comparison with outside states. We, therefore, cannot say whether European solidarity is universal or geared towards European Union (EU) insiders (‘bounding’). We thus ask whether European solidarity is ‘bounded’, that is, whether it relies on differentiation between European insiders and outsiders. We argue that if existent, bounded solidarity constitutes a long-term and thick basis for institutional building. To explore this ‘bonding–bounding’ dynamic, we use a vignette experiment embedded into an original survey collected in eight European countries (n ∼ 8900), covering all European regions. Our design varies the countries receiving solidarity, and the channels (EU level vs. member state level), policy domains (health vs. economy) and instruments (loans, grants, medical equipment, vaccines) through which solidarity is provided. Regarding bounding, we find that most countries are more solidaristic with EU countries than an outsider, baseline state (Peru), Italy excepted. There is, nonetheless, a strong heterogeneity between countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden mostly want to help themselves and Southern member states, but not Central Eastern European member states, which we show is due to their perceived obstructionism related to the Rule of Law debate. Concerning the nature of solidarity, we find that most respondents prefer solidarity to be channelled through the EU and loans, with evidence suggesting a freeriding mechanism behind this preference. All in all, our results indicate that EU citizens form a distinct community of solidarity which, in line with a Rokkanian understanding of polity formation, plays a key role in political development and consolidation

A missing link? Maintaining support for the European polity after the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Recent research argues that external threats like war spur EU polity formation (Kelemen & McNamara, 2022). One key mechanism of this process is public support for policy responses designed by policymakers. However, like the ‘rally-round-the-flag’ effect (Mueller, 1970), public support wanes over time and we decompose this decrease into two elements: salience and polarisation at the domestic level for national and European policies in both soft and hard security (aid and sanctions). We show that while salience can sustain public support for European policy innovations, polarisation about national and (unexpectedly) European policies accelerates its decline. We thus qualify the story of EU polity formation through external security crises

Protest in unlikely times : dynamics of collective mobilization in Europe during the COVID-19 crisis

Published online: 07 November 2022Based on an original protest event analysis (PEA) dataset covering 30 European countries, this paper provides three sets of results. Despite its unlikeliness due to lockdowns and social distancing measures, protest during COVID-19 has hardly been put to a halt even if, as a result of the restrictions imposed by the lockdown measures on the opportunities of public collective actions, protest occurred at significantly lower levels compared to pre-COVID-19 times, in terms of number of events and, above all, in terms of the number of participants. Moreover, protest was refocused on COVID-19-related issues, in particular on protest against the restrictions imposed by the government lockdowns, while non-COVID-19 issues, in particular economic issues, were crowded out. In addition, protest during the COVID-19-crisis also responded to highly contingent national context conditions which varied between the different regions of Europe

Emergency politics, mass sentiment and the EU during Covid

During crises, do emergency politics impair the EU polity by alienating Europeans? Recent literature suggests that executive decisions in hard times can spur negative European sentiment, increase polarisation in the public and thus create more problems than solutions. The Covid-19 pandemic offers an ideal opportunity to study this important issue. However, studying mass sentiment towards the EU is mostly constrained by imperfect survey data. We tackle this challenge with an empirical strategy that combines two original data sources: first, we use policy process analysis to identify key EU decisions; second, we leverage Twitter data to measure sentiment. As a result, we can study whether key EU decisions impacted EU sentiment and whether this impact is conditional on the level of EU competence, prior politicisation and problem pressure. We find that EU decisions impact EU sentiment positively and do not polarise it (even among highly politicised decisions). Low prior politicisation and healthcare-related decisions increase the positive impact of EU actions. There is thus no punishment of the EU for acting outside its remit. Our findings have important implications for the politics of polity maintenance in the EU

Debordering and re-bordering in the refugee crisis: a case of 'defensive integration'

We present the reaction of the EU and eight member states to the refugee crisis 2015/16 as a case of 'defensive integration'. In the absence of a joint EU solution, the member states were left to t..

Genetic Diversity of Some Sweet Cherry Cultivars Based on Molecular Markers

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), originated around the Caspian and Black Sea, is an important fruit tree species of economic interest, and hence, breeding and conservation are requested (. Genetic analysis at the molecular level can be used effectively to study molecular polymorphism existing between intraspecific and interspecific tree species and phylogenetic relationships between them and their hybrids. The purpose of this study was to characterize and determine genetic relationships among the sweet cherry native genotypes belonging to Fruit Research & Development Station Bistrita, Romania, using RAPD markers. To eliminate the existence of possible synonyms from national romanian collection, we collect four Van cultivars, from four different national collection. For molecular analysis of the 16 varieties of sweet cherry were considered 13 RAPD primers selected from the literature. They were later used to determine the genetic variability at the molecular level using PAST program, and the dendrogram was generated based on Jaccard’s genetic distance. The dendrogram constructed by PAST software. The quantity and quality of the DNA obtained was suitable to achieve PCR amplification step. Only seven out of the 13 RAPD primers have generate polymorphic bands. The rest of seven were monomorphics. The most polymorphic primer was OPB10 which generated 11 bands from which 100% were polymorphic.Seven RAPD primers generated a high level of polymorphism which allowed to divide these cherry varieties into two groups according to their genetic geographical origin and the pedigree

A novel method for studying policymaking: Policy Process Analysis (PPA) applied to the refugee crisis

This paper introduces a comprehensive method for data collection and analysis, which systematically records and evaluates various features of policy debates across space, time, and issue areas within selected policy episodes. We apply this method to the refugee crisis, discussing advantages, challenges, and best practices. Policy Process Analysis (PPA) incorporates into a single framework the constitutive elements of such policy episodes – including actors’ positions and relations, activities taking place in different policymaking arenas and at different levels of governance, which allows for theoretical and empirical synthesis on a large scale. PPA lies at the cross-roads of the methodological approaches of two distinct research fields that have developed in relative isolation from each other: the study of contentious performances and the study of policy change. Drawing from these methods, it relies on hand-coded datasets collected via the mass media to construct indicators that characterise the substantive elements of policy debates, including the participants, their positions, their interactions, their issue-emphasis, and framing strategies. This holistic reconstruction enables the large-scale, comparative study of the policy process from multiple angles at different levels of analysis, both statically and over time.Funding: The data were collected for the SOLID research project (‘Policy Crisis and Crisis Politics, Sovereignty, Solidarity and Identity in the EU Post-2008’) financed by EU Grant Agreement 810356 – ERC-2018-SyG (SOLID

Colostrum management practices in some Romanian dairy farms

When calves are born they have no innate immunity so consumption of an adequate volume of high-quality colostrum in the firs hours of life is vital to a dairy calf’s ability to survive and become a productive herd member. Colostrum handing and feeding are essential management protocols for dairy producers. The aims of this study were to investigate current colostrum management practices in Romanian dairy farms using a questionnaire-based that was sent to 30 dairy veterinarians from all over the country between March and June 2019. The questionnaire objective was to describe colostrum management practices carried out in Romanian dairy farms and to identify weaknesses in these areas that may affect calf health and welfare by comparing the results with the current industry recommendations. The way colostrum is managed and fed to calves has changed a lot in recent years in Romania. More operations are removing calves from their dams immediately after birth (83,3%), which decreases the risk of direct disease transmission. Colostrum quality is being evaluated on a higher percentage of operations (63,3%), but the passive transfer of immunoglobulins into the blood of cattle is still tested in a few cases (26,7%). Knowing all these current colostrum practices on our dairy farms help us to identify the possible mistakes that are made and to find solutions to improve the management of colostrum and reducing the morbidity and mortality rates of newborn calves

PNEUMONIA MASIVĂ ŞI PANCITOPENIA CONDUC LA DIAGNOSTICUL DE LEUCEMIE ACUTĂ LIMFOBLASTICĂ LA COPIL – PREZENTARE DE CAZ ŞI DATE DIN LITERATURĂ

Leucemia acută limfoblastică (LAL) reprezintă unul dintre cele mai comune tipuri de neoplazii la copii, dar, în acelaşi timp, unul dintre cancerele cu cel mai bun prognostic. Pancitopenia tranzitorie a fost descrisă ca fiind o entitate foarte rară, definită ca o stare preleucemică la copii şi adolescenţi. Prezentăm cazul unui copil în vârstă de 2 ani, de sex masculin, cu infecţie a tractului respirator de 2 săptămâni, fără ameliorare după antibioterapie, internat în clinica noastră cu febră, stare generală influenţată, tuse productivă, paloare marcată, edeme palpebrale şi abces perianal. Analizele de laborator au evidenţiat anemie severă, leucopenie uşoară şi markeri inflamatori crescuţi. Radiografia toracică a pus în evidenţă o pneumonie masivă dreaptă. Copilul a fost externat după 3 săptămâni de antibioterapie cu spectru larg, prezentând evoluţie favorabilă. Hemoleucograma de control după aproximativ 2 săptămâni de la externare a arătat leucocitoză marcată, iar imunofenotiparea măduvei osoase a stabilit diagnosticul de leucemie acută limfoblastică cu celule pre-B. Toţi pacienţii care au primit tratament pentru pancitopenie trebuie monitorizaţi adecvat în pe termen lung pentru a exclude dezvoltarea ulterioară a unei potenţiale LAL