The concept of ’negative sanctions’ has for many years been employed in political science. The author describes the way in which the concept has been operationalized by R. E. Agger, D. Goldrich and... Show moreThe concept of ’negative sanctions’ has for many years been employed in political science. The author describes the way in which the concept has been operationalized by R. E. Agger, D. Goldrich and B. E. Swanson in the Rulers and the Ruled and by J. F. Medler in Negative Sanctions: Their Perception and their Impact in the Political System. Since the author’s main interest centers on reasons for political apathy, special attention is paid to the subjective aspect of the problem: do citizens expect to be sanctioned for political activities? Some of the problems of adapting the questions used in American research to measure sanction-perceptions, to the Dutch situation, are discussed. Sanction expectations were, in the author’s research, tied to a special kind of political activity namely expressing one’s opinion in public on an issue salient at the time: Republic or Monarchy. Sanctions included reprisals expected from governmental authorities. One fourth of the Amsterdam respondents expected to be registered by the B.V.D. (the Dutch F.B.I.), if they openly expressed a preference for the Republic. Fifteen percent thought that a preference for the Republic would make it harder to get governmental financial support. Eight percent thought they would get trouble with the police. Other expectations with regard to economic and social sanctions, as well as with regard to positive sanctions, are presented. Show less
In a reaction to ’The Implications of Proportional Representation with Eighteen Districts’ by R. Verboom {Acta Politica III: 2 Jan. 1968, p. 118-131), the author defends his proposal to divide the... Show moreIn a reaction to ’The Implications of Proportional Representation with Eighteen Districts’ by R. Verboom {Acta Politica III: 2 Jan. 1968, p. 118-131), the author defends his proposal to divide the country into rather large districts, with a system of proportional representation and the possibility of combined party lists. This would facilitate the formation of two large political groups, which could offer real alternatives to the voters at the polls. The winning group would form the new cabinet, which would represent the will of the majority of the voters. Thus there would be no need for a directly elected prime minister as proposed by ’Democrats ’66’. Show less
It is argued that the forthcoming formation of a ’National Institute for Peace Problems’ in the Netherlands necessitates research which will undoubtedly be applied research since it has a clear... Show moreIt is argued that the forthcoming formation of a ’National Institute for Peace Problems’ in the Netherlands necessitates research which will undoubtedly be applied research since it has a clear relation to a particular value of worldwide significance; the value of peace. However, the author fears that the prevailing method of teaching international relations at Dutch universities concerns itself predominantly, if not exclusively, with the teaching of so-called pure science. In this context the recent public lecture of Dr. P. R. Baehr at the University of Amsterdam, on ’Teaching and Research in International Relations’ is discussed. The new institute will inevitably suffer from the above-mentioned contradictory situation, as it obviously needs the support of the universities. With a view to avoiding the isolation of the institute, the author makes a plea for the reconsideration of the present situation. In criticizing the position taken by Dr. Baehr the author emphasizes the need for the effectuation of research and teaching on an applied basis. In the opinion of the author, research and teaching on an applied basis would be of multiple utility as compared with the pure basis. Finally, the author advocates the convocation of a — preferably international — conference in the Netherlands in order to discuss certain items, some of which have already been put forward by the Norwegian peace-researcher, Dr. J. Galtung; 1) Is peace-research to be considered a value-oriented field of inquiry built around the value of peace? 2) Is this field of inquiry an applied field of research, and is its task then to present what will generally seem like ’policy implication’? 3) Will the science of international relations on the one hand, and peace-research on the other, converge into one science that could presumably best be called ’irenology’ ? 4) If the preceding question must be answered negatively, what will be the position allotted to these branches of science in research and teaching at the universities? In a rejoinder Dr. Baehr defends his earlier standpoint and rejects the proposed international conference, as he feels that there should be scope for both methods of scientific approach. Show less
