Fehlschlüsse über die „Weltgesellschaft“

In a contribution to this journal (KZfSS 63/2011) Bettina Heintz und Tobias Werron worked out a reorientation of the theory of world society. They discuss an explanatory model that identifies the conditions under which global structures may emerge along the lines of a theory of institutional differentiation. The following reply critically examines Heintz’ and Werron’s concept concerning the theory of world society. To evaluate their thesis, we need to ask whether the assumption will lead to successful research in this area.     

Einmal mehr: Ranking oder Rating?

In his discussion of our article “Ranking and Rating Procedures for the Measurement of Values, Analyzed with an Example of the Inglehart-Index. Empirical Results of a Methodological Experiment” (KZfSS 51, 1999: 550–564) Stefan Sacchi questions the appropriateness of the methodological experiment described in our paper. In this rejoinder we show that Sacchi’s criticism does not do justice to our analysis in all respects, because — among other things — he starts from inappropriate theoretical assumptions. In addition, his own modified research design is not suitable to decide the question whether the method of ranking or of rating is more appropriate for the measurement of value orientations.     

Gay men's experiences coming out online: A qualitative study

The current study employed qualitative methodology to investigate the experiences of 12 gay men who came out online, using Facebook. Analysis of coding data yielded several key themes. First, gay men discussed a range of experiences that influenced their online disclosure, including homophobia, internalized homophobia, and previous salient sexual identity disclosures. Participants also commonly expressed a variety of goals and concerns about coming out online, including improving relationships and loss of friends, respectively. Finally, gay men identified several benefits to coming out on Facebook, including increased efficiency in coming out as compared to face-to-face disclosures, increased authenticity, and decreased ambiguity about their sexuality. Results are discussed within the context of literature on men's coming-out experiences and online identity management.     

Promoting Development in Weak Institutional Environments: The Understanding and Transmission of Sustainability by NGOS in Latin America

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are a major institutional force in promoting sustainable development, especially in institutional environments where governments have often not been able to assume the role of development agent. Despite this importance, the approach of Latin American NGOs to sustainability has received only little attention so far and respective research is scarce. To address this research gap, we conducted an online survey of 306 Latin American NGOs, investigating their understanding of sustainability and how they seek to transmit it. Due to the lack of previous empirical studies, our study is exploratory in nature and examines eight research categories: (1) NGOs definition of sustainability; (2) the role they see for themselves in its promotion, (3) dimensions of sustainability judged as important, (4) stakeholders and (5) partners considered, (6) motives for pursuing sustainability, (7) forms of implementation, and (8) measures regarded as necessary for spreading it further. Our findings are discussed against the institutional environment of Latin America, as we assume that the understanding and transmission of sustainability is contextual in nature. Our study shows that the sustainability concept of the sample NGOs is broad and that they take a wide variety of efforts for implementing it. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the reliability and validity of the eight-component-model we applied for our study. Thus, it serves as a valuable starting point for future research into the “terra incognita” of Latin American NGOs’ approach to sustainability.     

Third Sector Organizations and Migration: A Systematic Literature Review on the Contribution of Third Sector Organizations in View of Flight,Migration and Refugee Crises

Long before the current refugee crisis, third sector organizations (TSOs) have played a pivotal role in dealing with the multifaceted challenge of migration. Researchers have analyzed this role in many ways. What is missing, however, is a comprehensive overview of how the third sector contributes to dealing with migration. To close this gap, we conduct a systematic literature review (SLR) that maps the scholarly debate on TSOs and migration. Our SLR identifies four domains of TSO migration engagement: first, the direct provision of basic services and social welfare; second, migrant-oriented capacity development; third, system-oriented advocacy; and fourth, complementary research activities. We propose a conceptual framework that highlights the contribution of TSOs with regard to individual-oriented and system-oriented services that are necessary for a successful integration of migrants. A key implication of our derived framework is to understand migration as a holistic challenge that requires contributions by different actors on different levels, thus highlighting the need for coordination and communication between the TSOs, the state and other stakeholders.     

Including Covariates in the Regression Discontinuity Design

This article proposes a fully nonparametric kernel method to account for observed covariates in regression discontinuity designs (RDD), which may increase precision of treatment effect estimation. It is shown that conditioning on covariates reduces the asymptotic variance and allows estimating the treatment effect at the rate of one-dimensional nonparametric regression, irrespective of the dimension of the continuously distributed elements in the conditioning set. Furthermore, the proposed method may decrease bias and restore identification by controlling for discontinuities in the covariate distribution at the discontinuity threshold, provided that all relevant discontinuously distributed variables are controlled for. To illustrate the estimation approach and its properties, we provide a simulation study and an empirical application to an Austrian labor market reform. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.     

Locating Guatemala in Global Counterinsurgency

Guatemala, a country that during the 1980s experienced one of the most lethal counterinsurgency (COIN) campaigns during the Cold War, is currently witnessing a revival of counterinsurgent order-making within the context of the global renaissance of COIN. Against this background, this article locates Guatemala within the context of the ‘global counterinsurgency’. It highlights how contemporary COIN, through depoliticizing and criminalizing forms of counterinsurgent knowledge production that frame Guatemala as a country facing a transnational ‘criminal insurgency’, becomes increasingly integrated into externally supported and community-centered ‘democratic’ police reform and neoliberal development agendas, promoted within the context of the Central America Regional Security Initiative. This integration, the article highlights, increasingly blurs the boundaries between war-making, law enforcement, peacebuilding, and development, thereby contributing to the reappearance of counterinsurgent order-making in post-conflict Guatemala.