Search Results

Introduction

Christoph Knill, Christian Adam, and Steffen Hurka

in On the Road to Permissiveness?: Change and Convergence of Moral Regulation in Europe

The introductory chapter defines central features of morality policies and summarizes the state of the art of morality policy research. Based on this assessment, the two leading research questions ... More

The introductory chapter defines central features of morality policies and summarizes the state of the art of morality policy research. Based on this assessment, the two leading research questions guiding the subsequent analysis are identified. The first is a descriptive question about how morality policies have been changing in recent decades. This chapter describes how this question falls into comparative and conceptual contributions. For the comparison, the areas under review are listed, including manifest morality policies and latent morality policies. For the conceptualization, the chapter summarizes the description of the styles of regulatory policy. The second research question is about how to explain changes in the styles of regulatory policy. The chapter goes on to discuss the book’s relationship to the existing literature and whether morality policy constitutes a valid policy type.Less

Conclusion

Christian Adam, Steffen Hurka, and Christoph Knill

in On the Road to Permissiveness?: Change and Convergence of Moral Regulation in Europe

This chapter summarizes general features of the book’s overall approach to study morality policies from a cross-national and cross-temporal perspective. Building on a new dataset compiled within the ... More

This chapter summarizes general features of the book’s overall approach to study morality policies from a cross-national and cross-temporal perspective. Building on a new dataset compiled within the MORAPOL project, the chapter focuses on empirical patterns in eight different policy areas and nineteen European countries, over a time period of fifty years (1960–2010). In a second step, the basic empirical and theoretical findings are presented. We begin with a discussion of central mechanisms triggering changes of the status quo of moral regulation. In a second step, we concentrate on the factors that affect the direction of change, that is, the moves towards different styles of moral regulation. The final part discusses the general implication of the book for the study of public policy in general. While a first central implication refers to the measurement of policy change in general, a second issue touches upon the explanatory scope that should guide policy analysis.Less

Christianity and Foreign Policy

in Evangelicals and American Foreign Policy

Although some realists, like Kennan, claim that morality has no place in international affairs, this chapter shows that moral norms have played an important role in international affairs. Religious ... More

Although some realists, like Kennan, claim that morality has no place in international affairs, this chapter shows that moral norms have played an important role in international affairs. Religious values and perspectives have also influenced foreign policy decision making. Historically, the Christian faith has had a deep impact on public life in the United States by providing its leaders with a moral foundation for reflection and action. This political morality has included a belief in American exceptionalism and the integration of religion with public life (civil religion). Even though the Christian religion does not offer direct guidance on international affairs, Scripture provides principles that can influence thought and action. The chapter presents a framework, or Biblical Code, comprising eight core norms and then examines how political morality can be integrated into foreign policy decisions.Less

Empirical trends and conventional explanations: some puzzling misfits

Steffen Hurka, Christoph Knill, and Christian Adam

in On the Road to Permissiveness?: Change and Convergence of Moral Regulation in Europe

The basic objective of this chapter is to provide an empirical overview on trends of moral regulation and morality policy change. Based on this analysis, the chapter shows that basic expectations on ... More

The basic objective of this chapter is to provide an empirical overview on trends of moral regulation and morality policy change. Based on this analysis, the chapter shows that basic expectations on permissiveness trends derived from modernization theory are only partially supported by the aggregate data. Although moves towards liberal rules and/or lenient sanctions constitute a dominant feature, there are at the same time important trends that counterbalance these developments. At the same time, we find that classical country-specific explanations like varying degrees of Catholicism or party cleavages are of limited relevance in order to understand these tendencies. By contrast, the most important variable that makes a difference for trends of regulation is the type of morality policy. While manifest morality policies characterized by mere value cleavages show a clear trend towards permissiveness, latent morality policies, in which value conflicts overlap more strongly with instrumental considerations, reveal an opposite trend.Less

Conceptualizing and measuring styles of moral regulation

Christian Adam, Steffen Hurka, and Christoph Knill

in On the Road to Permissiveness?: Change and Convergence of Moral Regulation in Europe

This chapter conceptualizes four different styles of moral regulation and outlines the way that these styles are measured throughout the book. It argues that styles of moral regulation emerge through ... More

This chapter conceptualizes four different styles of moral regulation and outlines the way that these styles are measured throughout the book. It argues that styles of moral regulation emerge through the interplay of the rules that states uphold for morally contested behaviour and the sanctions they impose if those rules are violated. Depending on a state’s configuration on those two dimensions, it pursues a style of authority (restrictive rules/severe sanctions), lenient authority (restrictive rules/lenient sanctions), permissiveness (lenient rules/lenient sanctions) or punitive permissiveness (lenient rules/severe sanctions). Based on those conceptual considerations, the chapter presents the measurement approach, which is applied to a dataset on a particular type of public policies, i.e. morality policies, in nineteen European countries (1960–2010), put together within the scope of the MORAPOL project. Finally, it outlines the methodological approach and general research design pursued by the individual empirical chapters to explain puzzling patterns of policy change.Less

Abortion: finding the impossible compromise

Kerstin Nebel and Steffen Hurka

in On the Road to Permissiveness?: Change and Convergence of Moral Regulation in Europe

This chapter analyses the changing styles of abortion policy in nineteen European countries between 1960 and 2010. First, it empirically identifies a long-term cross-national development towards ... More

This chapter analyses the changing styles of abortion policy in nineteen European countries between 1960 and 2010. First, it empirically identifies a long-term cross-national development towards permissiveness in the morality policy, which is characterized by less restrictive rules for pregnant women and decreasing sanctions for rule violations. However, a closer examination reveals that these movements were often the result of multiple reform steps, undertaken separately on the rules and sanctions dimension. By compensating policy changes on one dimension with temporal policy stability on the other, states have managed to reform an area of public policy that is commonly considered immune to compromise. Policy developments in Great Britain (the Abortion Act 1967), which serves as a typical case in the context of our theoretical framework, and Switzerland, which deviates from our expectations, are analysed to extract explanatory factors for changing styles of moral regulation regarding termination of pregnancy.Less

Homosexuality: patterns of hidden compensation on the road towards sexual liberty

Stephan Heichel

in On the Road to Permissiveness?: Change and Convergence of Moral Regulation in Europe

Since the 1960s, almost all countries in Western Europe have shifted towards more permissive styles of regulating homosexuality. This has mostly been the result of two intermediate shifts: as ... More

Since the 1960s, almost all countries in Western Europe have shifted towards more permissive styles of regulating homosexuality. This has mostly been the result of two intermediate shifts: as expected for manifest morality policies, the impulse on authoritarian styles of regulation was deflected into compensatory policy changes during early reforms before 1980. Surprisingly, however, later reforms seem at first glance to have simply transmitted impulses pushing towards more permissive styles of regulating homosexuality. By analysing developments in Great Britain, which stands out from the sample as particularly at odds with theoretical expectations, this chapter makes two arguments. On the one hand, the low institutional hurdles for policy-making in Britain have lowered the effective need for compromise and therefore compensatory policy shifts. On the other hand, compensatory elements can generally be detected when one extends one’s focus beyond the regulation of homosexuality to regulating sexuality and the age of consent.Less

“Becoming Visible”: Italian Women and Their Male Co-Citizens in the Liberal State

Sabina Donati (ed.)

in A Political History of National Citizenship and Identity in Italy, 1861-1950

“Becoming Visible”: Italian Women and Their Male Co-Citizens in the Liberal State