The present volume is the result of a combination of two unrelated types of research domains which, so far, were not linked in any significant way. The first field lies within the well-established world of comparative survey research which over the last two decades saw a massive expansion through the European Social Survey (ESS) which can be qualified as an international best practice example for data production in comparative surveys and as a huge success story in terms of resource mobilization, international participation and scientific productivity of journal articles based on ESS-data. The second area is based on recent explorations into second-order cybernetics in particular and into second-order science in general which to a very large extent are the result of big changes in the overall re-organization of the science system as a whole, in particular the strong growth of research and research results, and, as a consequence, its complexity. This is why the scientific system has to set up new tools for self-observation and summarization of results (i.e. second order science) The book consists of three major parts. Part I presents relevant theoretical background and a short summary of major changes in the evolution of science and science landscapes and on the scope and dimensions of second-order science. It also poses three grand challenges for the European Social Survey (ESS) in the years to come. Part II leads into the core of second-order analyses, with an initial section on second-order investigations for surveys, with a central part on empirical results of second-order ESS-analyses and with a final chapter on possible second-order explorations of the ESS. Part III addresses the issue of meeting the grand challenges and of accommodating the results of the second-order ESS-analyses so far. This volume offers a series of new perspectives and insights which are unique for European survey research. It can be expected that the wider resonance of this volume will be unusually strong and far-reaching.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33715549
Based on a social constructivist framing, this article seeks to address the gap in the literature on the impact of Europeanisation on the national interest group political culture in general and in the post-communist context in particular. The impacts of Europeanisation on interest group domestic policy behaviour, in terms of national interest groups networking with their European counterparts, their contacts with EU-level decision makers, and their access to EU funds, are tested based on the panel surveys that were conducted in 1996 and 2012 of the most influential interest groups in eleven policy fields in Slovenia. Our key findings are that Europeanisation does support changes in the national interest group political culture in the direction of a more proactive approach in influencing national policy processes. However, Europeanisation explains only a small portion of the variability among the domestic policy behaviour of interest groups.
COBISS.SI-ID: 32724829
This article firstly proposes a classification of the current economic and religious debate, and then discusses the relationship between religion and neoliberalism as the pre-eminent contemporary political and economic paradigm. An investigation follows of the economic orientations of Slovenians with regard to their expressed faith or non-belief as evident in the findings of the World Values Survey. Compared to the nation's non-religious and atheist population, religious Slovenians tend to reject neoliberal values and are more favourably predisposed to socialist ones. Such an orientation has, in general, been more strongly expressed since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008. A regression analysis reveals that this is less a consequence of religious belief, but of the specific socioeconomic characteristics of religious Slovenians.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33418077
In Slovenia, the shaping of an autonomous state also meant replacing the socialist system with a capitalist one. The article presents the Slovenian population's changing evaluation of these two systems based on data collected through the Slovenian public opinion survey from 1990 to 2013. The analysis considers general assessments regarding: a) the socialist period in general and by time sequences; b) the quality of life before and after establishing the independent state; c) the relationship to the notions of Europe, socialism and capitalism, which are complemented by the respondents' statements on how four selected notions (justice, humanity, inequality and well-being) correspond to their images in both systems.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33794909
The chapter deals with comparison of citizens’ social and political participation in countries that have emerged from the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. Social survey data from the fourth round of the European Values Study (EVS 2008) was the basis for the analysis. The comparative analysis of these countries is focused on the following aspects of citizen participation: membership of interest organisations and the activities of these groups; membership and activities of political parties; and participation in various forms of political protest activities. The chapter aims to formulate a description of civil society in analysed countries in terms of citizen engagement. In this respect the level of citizen participation is also understood as a relevant indicator of the functioning of democracy in each of the countries investigated. Results show that citizens' civic and political engagement is the highest in Croatia and Slovenia (as the only members of the EU from the region). At the same time, the level of protest participation is the highest in Kosovo and Macedonia. In comparison to other European countries, the countries on the territory of the former Yugoslavia have modest levels of membership and voluntarism, and therefore compare similarly to the other new democracies of Eastern Europe, which confirms the thesis about relationship between democratization and citizens' civic and political engagement.
COBISS.SI-ID: 33449821