Volume 1, Issue 1

The open and strong support of Israeli businessmen and business organizations for the peace process between 1992 and 1996 highlights the emergence of a business community ready for political involvement and provided support, even if temporarily, to the idea of the "New Middle East" and for the proposed linkages between globalization, peace and economic growth. Several studies have engaged with the involvement and support of Israeli businesspeople in the peace process (Nitzan and Bichler 1996; Shafir and Peled 2000a) and provided a convincing explanation both for the motivations of Israeli businesspeople in the era of globalization to promote peace and for their influence on policymakers in the context of what can be described as emerging neo-liberal hegemony. But, as this work argues, while the business community was able to influence the economic agenda its influence on the peace process, despite its support, was rather limited. The derailment of the peace process some three years after its initiation until its almost final collapse in 2000 raise important theoretical-conceptual questions on the linkage between business and The open and strong support of Israeli businessmen and business organizations for the peace process between 1992 and 1996 highlights the emergence of a business community ready for political involvement and provided support, even if temporarily, for the idea of the "New Middle East" and for the proposed linkages between globalization, peace and economic growth. Several studies have engaged with the involvement and support of Israeli business people in the peace process (Nitzan and Bichler 1996; Shafir and Peled 2000a) and provided a convincing explanation both for the motivations of Israeli businesspeople in the era of globalization to promote peace and for their influence on policymakers in the context of what can be described as emerging neo-liberal hegemony. But, as this work argues, while the business community was able to influence the economic agenda, its influence on the peace process, despite its support, was rather limited. The derailment of the peace process some three years after its initiation until its almost final collapse in 2000 raise important theoretical-conceptual questions on the linkage between business and politics as well as empirical questions on the actual ability of the business community to influence the peace process.

This article analyses the effects of German federal election campaigns on citizens' orientations towards chancellor candidates. Three hypotheses are formulated. They refer to polarization, party politicization, and priming of candidate attitudes; additionally, it is argued that campaign context moderates the effects. The hypotheses are tested empirically using survey data collected in the election campaigns from 1980 to 1998. Empirically, the perceptions of the chancellor candidates become more polarized during campaigns; additionally, the perceptions are brought into line with party preferences. Finally, priming effects are less common, but in some cases, substantial candidate priming is found. Hence, election campaigns influence candidate orienta- tions in Germany, and the effect varies according to political conditions.

The growth of the Internet during the last decade has resulted in much scholarly attention. Supporters of the optimistic mobilization-theory argue that cyber politics and cyber discussions are comparable and sometimes even superior to traditional politics. Moreover this new form of politics has the potential of mobilizing new citizens into the realm of politics. Critics, however, argue from a reinforcement perspective that the effects of cyber politics are utterly limited. Even in a utopia with the digital divide in Internet access abolished, reinforcement proponents argue that politics on the internet still only appeals to the politically "converted" citizens. In this study I focus on six Finnish electronic discussion boards. The main question asked is whether these electronic debates display traits of either the mobilization or the reinforcement theory. Is cyber politics mobilizing the masses or do the discussions resemble social clubs for the motivated?