Non-democratic regimes vary in the degree to which domestic groups threaten their rule and the extent to which they need the cooperation of these groups. To both neutralize threats to their rule and solicit cooperation, some dictators coopt potential domestic opposition by providing rents and policy concessions within nominally-democratic institutions, such as legislatures and political parties. These institutions, designed as instruments of cooptation, facilitate cooperation between the regime and outside groups which promotes economic growth.

Objectives. The article examines the opinions of Europeans concerning genetically modified (GM) foods. It first deals with the socio-cultural variables that favour acceptance of such products. It then analyses the minority of respondents who exhibit greater openness towards GM foods. Methods. Mokken Scale Analysis (MSA) is applied to 2002 Eurobarometer 58.0 data to construct an index of acceptance of GM foods. Results. The acceptance of GM foods is associated positively with trust in biotechnologies and negatively with concerns about the environment. The minority consisting of respondents in favour of GM foods possesses specific characteristics. Unlike the rest of the respondents, these principally consider the opportunity to spend less, the absence of fats, and the taste of foods. Conclusions. The analysis confirms that high education level does not favour acceptance of GM foods.

Although recognized for innovations in economics and economic sociology, EmilLederer’s impressive contributions to political sociology have beenalmost completely ignored. Lederer wrote extensively on questions of practicaland theoretical relevance for a sociological analysis of the state and war,especially in response to and anticipation of the World Wars of the lastcentury. This article considers the elements of his political-sociological workin the context of the circumstances under which they developed and concludeswith an attempt to construct an outline of the basic tenets of a sociology ofthe state and war derived from Lederer’s writings. This analysishighlights Lederer’s sensitivity to a dynamic understanding of thetotal social configuration and its impact on the individual psyche as central toexplicating the characteristics of particular political-sociologicalphenomena.

David Laitin has explained the occurrence of Basque and Georgian nationalistviolence as the outcome of language revival in a bilingual setting and aspecific locale. Based on game theory, he has suggested that violence, as arational nationalist strategy, will increasingly be used if specific thresholdslevels in language choice for education are met. A critical reappraisal of hisapproach is made in which the conceptual and methodological limits to theempirical testing are highlighted. Subsequently, an extensive dataset of Basquemunicipalities in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country is used tostatistically verify Laitin’s model by multivariate analysis. In someareas of the Basque Country Laitin’s model seems to fit while inothers not. With the help of both quantitative and qualitative data, alternativeexplanations for Basque ethnic violence are explored.

In many European democracies, religion was an important political cleavagethroughout the twentieth century. But in Denmark and Sweden, religiousdifferences have not been translated into political competition. Instead, classconflict has dominated. This article attempts to explain why. Our argument isthat in the first decades of the twentieth century, the issue that mattered mostfor the politicization of religion elsewhere in Europe – the role ofchurches in the provision of poor relief and education – was alreadysettled. The main reason was that in the nineteenth century, the secular statehad captured the organizational infrastructure that churches used to providethese services.