Expert Ministers in New Democracies: Delegation, Communist Legacies, or Technocratic Populism?

This article examines the appointments and survival of expert ministers (i.e., ministers with educational and professional expertise in the portfolio to which they are appointed) in new democracies. Using a novel data set on 11 Central and Eastern European countries from 1990 until 2012, I test competing hypotheses derived from delegation theory, communist legacies approach, technocratic populism studies, and semi-presidentialism literature. The first study shows that experts without political experience (technocrats) have specific cabinet appointment patterns distinguishing them from party politicians and politically experienced experts. For example, technocrats have high chances of being appointed during an economic downturn. The conditional risk set survival analysis has revealed that compared to their politically experienced colleagues, technocrats have higher chances of remaining in their positions if there was a change in the PM’s candidacy. Moreover, they have long careers independently of the continuity of the PM’s party in government and the PM’s partisan status. Strikingly, patterns of portfolio specialization from the communist period remained in place after the regime change (e.g., expert ministers holding the portfolios of finance and economy). However, holding these specific portfolios does not decrease the minister’s risk of being dismissed. These findings have ramifications for issues surrounding cabinet formation, institutional choice, and populism in new democracies

Corporate Recruitment and Networks in Germany: Change, Stability, or Both?

This article analyzes the recruitment of CEOs at the 100 largest German companies, focusing on how the transition from "Deutschland AG" to integration with European and global markets has impacted the recruitment and career patterns as well as networks of German CEOs. This study found signs of both continuity and change. The percentage of technically educated German CEOs, as well as CEOs with a Ph.D., continues to be quite high. In contrast, the professionalization of managerial positions in Germany, the decline in corporate tenure, and a gradually opening recruitment market reflect the changing orientation of German corporate culture toward international markets. The analysis of the overall corporate network and its components reveals that the density of the overall corporate network in Germany has increased, which corresponds to the increased number of CEOs with shared alumni experience as well as with additional connections through various policy associations. The density of co-worker networks has, however, decreased. The structure of the German corporate network is not unified but consists of a set of highly dense groups (cliques). The findings and their implications for further research on change in German corporate structures are discussed

Continuities in the formation of Russian political elites

"The article investigates continuities in the formation and careers of political elites in post-Soviet Russia. Data on the recruitment and careers of MPs (from 1993 until 2003), cabinet ministers (1991 until 2011) and governors (from 1991 until 2011) were used. The authoress identified a partial reproduction of the political elite which may be defined as reproduction circulation. The first form is structural reproduction that is evident in continuities of the socio-demographic profile of political elites. The second-strongest form of path dependency is functional reproduction that was found in career paths of political elites. Finally, individual reproduction was prominent. This reproduction should decrease over time, while functional and structural reproduction are likely to remain." (author's abstract

Presidential power effects on government and ministerial durability: evidence from Central and Eastern Europe

In this article, we examine the variation in the institutional powers granted to president to terminate cabinets (by dismissing prime ministers), and appointing ministers to show how variations affect both cabinet durability (and the mode of cabinet termination) and ministerial durability (i.e., the overall time a minister remains in cabinet). Using the most extensive survival data set on ministers in 14 Central and Eastern European countries available to date alongside data on government survival, our Cox regression models demonstrate that the institutional rules granting extensive powers to the presidents are powerful determinants of ministerial durability. We show that the effect of presidential powers reduces cabinet durability but increases ministerial durability. These results demonstrate that the specific powers given to chief executives are essential for issues surrounding implications for ministerial and cabinet durability, institutional choice, policy stability, and governmental accountability

A Motivational Analysis of Russian Presidents, 1994–2018

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156202/2/pops12652.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156202/1/pops12652_am.pd

Вклад Ж. Делёза в разработку концепта «юмор против иронии»

The article is devoted to ideas of Gilles Deleuze about humor and irony, set out in his The Logic of Sense and Difference and Repetition, which, according to the present author, have not been considered as a stage in the formation of the concept of “humor versus irony”. In order to evaluate Deleuze’s contribution to the development of the concept of “humor against irony”, I propose to refer to the results of the modern interdisciplinary science, “anthropology of laughter”. The form of a correspondence trilogue between Deleuze, Mikhail Bakhtin and Alexander Kozintsev on the subject of differences between humor and irony is used in the paper.Статья посвящена идеям Ж. Делёза о юморе и иронии, изложенным в двух его работах «Логика смысла» и «Различие и повторение», которые, по мнению автора, не были рассмотрены в качестве стадии формирования концепта «юмор против иронии». Чтобы оценить вклад Делёза в разработку концепта «юмор против иронии», предлагается обратиться к результатам современной междисциплинарной науки «антропология смеха». В статье используется форма заочного триалога между Ж. Делёзом, М. М. Бахтиным и А. Г. Козинцевым на предмет отличий юмора от иронии

Presidentes, primeros ministros y designación de ministros outsiders: un análisis cuantitativo longitudinal de catorce países de Europa Central y del Este

En este artículo se examinan los principios de reclutamiento ministerial en catorce países de Europa Central y del Este (ECE), con un énfasis particular en la selección de ministros sin experiencia partidaria ni parlamentaria (outsiders). El análisis descriptivo del reclutamiento de los gabinetes en catorce países de ECE entre 1991 y 2012 revela que aproximadamente la mitad de los ministros eran outsiders. Examino las posibles razones para la selección de ministros outsiders, así como los factores que determinan su nombramiento en los gabinetes. Los resultados de una regresión binaria multinivel muestran que la probabilidad de nombrar ministros outsiders es alta en sistemas semipresidenciales, en gabinetes interinos, en parlamentos altamente fraccionalizados, y si hay pathdependency en el reclutamiento de ministros outsiders inmediatamente después del colapso del comunismo. Asimismo, muestro que el nombramiento de ministros outsiders tiende a ser tecnocrático, y que predomina en las carteras de finanzas y economía, así como en relaciones exteriores y defensa. Finalmente, argumento que el creciente reclutamiento de ministros outsiders en los gabinetes de los países de ECE es principalmente generado desde el lado de la demanda —los presidentes, primeros ministros y (hasta cierto punto) los partidos políticos— antes que desde los candidatos outsiders

Development of Clonal Micropropagation Technology for Ludisia Discolor (Ker Gawl.) A. Rich. In Vitro Conditions

The features of clonal micropropagation in three variations of Ludisia discolor were studied. Brood buds, apical shoot meristems, immature seeds and mature seeds were used as explants. They are grown using Murashige & Skoog modified medium. A special technique has been developed for the sterilization and planting of microscopic mature seeds. Mature seeds germinated for 60-70 days. Seeds from 25-day-old capsules showed the best results among immature seeds. They gave mass shoots already on the 25-30 day after planting. The roller of the future first leaf of the protocorms was laid in the dark 2 months after germination. Switching to the light mode induced rapid gemmorizogenesis - the formation of the first green leaves, stem and adventitious roots. Seeds from 15-day-old capsules did not germinate at all. Planting with immature seeds is the most effective method of clonal reproduction of L. discolor in vitro

Two preachings on Lazarus Saturday: The moral dimension of friendship according to Saint Justin (Polyansky) and Saint Innocent of Kherson

Introduction. The article is devoted to the concept of friendship in Christian ethics. The author analyses the idea of friendship and its moral aspect in two previously underexamined in Russian theology sermons of Saint Justin (Polyansky) and Saint Innocent of Kherson on Lazarus Saturday. Theoretical analysis. The research allows us to make the following conclusions. According to Saint Justin (Polyansky) and Saint Innocent of Kherson, friendship represents: the friendly love of the Lord Jesus Christ for His friends, the ideal of friendship for every Christian in the terms of one’s relations with neighbours; the friendly love of a human for God (sincerity and openness, service), which is impossible without the assistance of Divine grace, and which is rewarded by achieving the Divine friendship in relation to a human (salvation); friendship between a human and God, which is characterized by mutual sincerity and openness, and mutual service; human friendship, which is characterized by mutual sincerity and openness (confession of sins to each other), mutual service of love, patience with shortcomings, and compassion. Conclusion. According to Saint Justin and Saint Innocent, friendship has a moral dimension; it is a part of Christian morality, and the telos of the Christian moral life