Recently, more serious election research has been done in the Netherlands than ever before. The latest additions to the growing number of election-studies concern the elections of February 15th... Show moreRecently, more serious election research has been done in the Netherlands than ever before. The latest additions to the growing number of election-studies concern the elections of February 15th 1967 for the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament. So far, reports have been put out by the Institute for Applied Sociology of the University of Nijmegen, by the Utrecht sociologist Van Dam and by the political science division of the Free University in Amsterdam. Daudt discusses various aspects of these studies and mentions the other election studies that have been undertaken previously. Van Dam’s study is commended for his method of questioning and the quick way in which he was able to produce his first results in a television-program on the very evening of the elections. He should be more cautious, however, in drawing general conclusions from his material that was gathered only in Utrecht. He is wrong in thinking that a few social characteristics would wholly ’determine’ voting behavior. Daudt strongly objects to two aspects of Hoogerwerf’s article ’The Dutch Voters and the Party System’ (Acta Politica vol. II - 4, pp. 297—330). Hoogerwerf’s use of the ’index of affinity’ between two political parties and his typology of the political parties in the Netherlands are rejected on methodological grounds. In a rejoinder Hoogerwerf rejects Daudt’s criticism and defends his own method of analysis. Show less
If David Easton’s A Systems Analysis of Political Life, New York, etc., 1965, offers a conceptual framework around which a valid general empirical political theory can develop, it must be possible... Show moreIf David Easton’s A Systems Analysis of Political Life, New York, etc., 1965, offers a conceptual framework around which a valid general empirical political theory can develop, it must be possible to use this framework to compare political systems. 'This article contains a summary of the main elements of Easton’s systems analysis, followed by some remarks on the problems and possibilities of using this framework in comparative studies. A few tentative conclusions are offered of a seminar in which the Canadian, Indian and Nigerian federal systems were compared. This is followed by an effort to make Easton’s scheme more specifically applicable to federal systems. It is shown that under certain conditions federal structures will be more stable than unitary systems. Even in this early stage of development, Easton’s approach was illuminating and useful. It seems to be worth-while to compare a large number of federations and unitary systems in this manner. This may lead to hypotheses concerning the changes of survival of certain types of systems under certain conditions. However, priority should be given to the further elaborations of Easton’s suggestions and to the development of operational definitions Show less
