The ‘problem’ with youth: young people,citizenship and the community

Fears that we are experiencing a crisis in citizenship have been increasingly directed towards youth. Popular political and government rhetoric has frequently positioned young people as a threat to the healthy functioning of citizenship and democracy. Policies have been implemented to educate them and control their behaviour, particularly in their local communities, in an attempt to foster them as citizens deemed appropriate to join adult society. This article provides evidence to the contrary, of young people who wish to be part of their local communities and incorporated in the development of relationships of mutual trust and respect. In this context it is argued that the New Labour government's approach to renewing citizenship for the modern age is contributing to the alienation of young people from any sense of inclusive citizenship. It is put forward that if we are truly concerned with the engagement and empowerment of young people, what is needed is a broader definition of citizenship that enables them to participate as young citizens and respects their voices as an important part of a fair society. This, it is argued, would entail a departure from currently dominant conceptions of citizenship towards, instead, a cultural citizenship approach.     

It’s the economy, and then some: modeling the presidential vote with state panel data

Using data for the 50 US states for presidential elections from 1972 to 2004 two theories for determining state voting outcomes are considered jointly: the ‘economy matters’ and ‘home grown-ness’ theories. Fixed-effects regressions show that measures of the ‘economy matters’ (real income, unemployment and a proxy for inflation) have the predicted effects on state voting patterns for presidential elections. The home grown theory receives mixed support. There is weak evidence that incumbent-party candidates garner greater support in their home states. There is strong support, however, for the proposition that incumbent-party candidates fare worse in the home state of rival-party candidates.     

The road to Bletchley Park: the British experience with signals intelligence, 1892–1945

This essay examines the evidence and the literature on British signals intelligence between 1892 and 1945. It assesses the relative significance of the documents on signals intelligence released since the Waldegrave Initiative. It criticizes many conventional assumptions in the literature and argues that signals intelligence has been a normal practice of the British government throughout the twentieth century. The text sketches an alternative history of British signals intelligence during 1892–1945 and analyses its value for the British state in various aspects of the two world wars and diplomacy during the inter-war period.     

‘Appointment with history’: The referenda on the Stormont peace agreement,May 1998

The Emergence of Democracy, By Tatu Vanhanen. Helsinki: The Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, 1984. Pp. 168. N.P.

Contemporary Democracies. By G. Bingham Powell, Jr. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 1982. Pp. xi + 279. £7 (paperback).

Democracy, East and West. By Howard P. Kainz. London: Macmillan, 1984. Pp. 152. £20.

Electoral Change in Advanced Industrial Democracies: Realignment or Dealignment? Edited by Russell J. Dalton, Scott C. Flanagan and Paul Allen Beck. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985. Pp.xvi + 513. £59.20 (hardback), £12.60 (paperback).

The Place of Ideology in Political Life. By D.J. Manning and T.J. Robinson. London: Croom and Helm, 1985. Pp. 128. £17.95 (hardback).

Against Socialist Illusion: A Radical Argument. By David Selbourne. London: Macmillan, 1985. Pp. vii + 327. £25 (hardback), £8.95 (paperback).

Socialism, The State and Public Policy in France. Edited by Philip G. Cerny and Martin A. Schain. London: Frances Pinter, 1985. Pp. vi + 298. £17.50 (hardback).

Wohlfahrtsstaatliche Politik unter bürgerlichen und sozialdemokratischen Regierungen: ein internationaler Vergleich. By Manfred G. Schmidt. Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag, 1982. Pp. 258. DM 45.00 (paperback).

Vom Armenhaus zum Wohlfahrtsstaat: Analysen zur Entwicklungder Sozialversiche‐rungin Westeuropa. By Jens Alber. Frankfurt/New York: Campus Verlag, 1982. Pp. 280. DM 45.00 (paperback).

Western Europe and Japan Between the Superpowers. By Wolf Mendl. London: Croom Helm 1984. Pp. 181. £15.95.

Economic Summits and Western Decision‐making. Edited by Cesare Merlini. London: Croom Helm, in association with EIPA, 1984. Pp. 212. £15.95.

From Dictatorship to Democracy. Coping with the Legacies of Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism. Edited by John H. Herz. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1982. Pp. xii + 311.

Die Neue Freiheit: 1945–1961. By Erich Mende. Munich and Berlin: Herbig, 1984. Pp. 491. DM 44.

West German Lay Judges: Recruitment and Representativeness. By John P. Richert. Tampa: University Presses of Florida, 1983. Pp. ix + 223. $19.00 (hardback).

The Politics of Public Enterprise: Oil and the French State. By Harvey B. Feigenbaum. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1985. Pp. 194. £26.90 (hardback) £7.40 (paperback).

The View From Inside: A French Communist Cell in Crisis. By JANE Jenson and George Ross. Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. x + 346 (no index or bibliography). £29.95 (hardback).

Industrial Policy and the Motor Industry. By Stephen Wilks. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1984. Pp. xviii + 318. £18.95.

L'état britannique. By CLAUDE Journes. Paris: Publisud, 1985. Pp. 267. N.P.

No Pope of Rome: Militant Protestantism in Modem Scotland. By Steve Bruce. Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing Co., 1985. Pp. 270. £12.95 (hardback).

Socialism and Abundance. Radical Socialism in the Danish Welfare State. By John Logue. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983. Pp. XX11 + 353. $35.     

Non-Compliance with EU Directives in the Member States: Opposition through the Backdoor?

To what extent are European rules complied with, and what are the reasons for non-compliance with EU law? According to an intergovernmentalist perspective, implementation problems should occur when member states failed to assert their interests in the European decision-making process. Focusing on 26 infringement procedures from the area of labour law, we show that such ‘opposition through the backdoor’ does occur occasionally. However, we demonstrate that opposition at the end of the EU policy process may also arise without prior opposition at the beginning. Additionally, our findings indicate that non-compliance is often unrelated to opposition, and due to administrative shortcomings, interpretation problems, and issue linkage. This study is based on unique in-depth data stemming from a ground-level analysis of the implementation of six EU Directives in all 15 member states.     

EU Democracy Assistance in the Mediterranean: What Relationship with the Arab Uprisings?

This article analyzes the European Union (EU) policy for democracy assistance toward the Southern Mediterranean countries and tracks changes in the last decade, with a special emphasis on the most recent period. It shows that the EU policy, which goes under the acronym of EIDHR, has evolved, but predominantly in response to internal dynamics rather than to developments in Arab countries. The EU has increasingly provided assistance to local actors on the ground in non-member countries and has differentiated its action in authoritarian countries from countries in transition. When it comes to implementing its own policy, however, the EU is less able to promote democracy than human rights, and most of the funds go to support projects centered on relatively uncontroversial rights such as women's and children's.     

Conceptualizing China–Latin America relations in the twenty-first century: the boom,the bust,and the aftermath

Despite the emergence of a rich literature on the rise of China in Latin America (LAC) since 2000, we are still grappling with this phenomenon. In this article we seek to theorize this expanding South–South relationship from two vantage points. First, from the perspective of China, we argue that, by necessity, the PRC has had to internationalize its development strategy in order to compensate for its serious natural resource deficit, feed the world's largest domestic population, and fuel the soon-to-be largest economy in the world. LAC has been just one slice of China's ‘go out’ strategy. Our second perspective probes the effect of China's entry into the region. Through the lens of development economics, we identify three separate political economy scenarios that have been accentuated within those countries that have the strongest economic ties with China. We rely on measures of institutional performance and macro-economic trends to illustrate the variable effects of China on LAC.     

‘Consistent with an Intention’: The Far East Combined Bureau and the Outbreak of the Pacific War, 1940–41

Abstract

From 1934, Britain expanded its military and naval intelligence agencies against Japan. At the outbreak of war in Europe, they, and most of their personnel, were moved from Hong Kong to Singapore, and joined into an interservice organization, the Far East Combined Bureau. Much of the evidence about the Far East Combined Bureau is lost, but the surviving record illustrates what intelligence was available to decision-makers in Singapore during 1940–41, thus illuminating every debate about this disaster. Even more: it enables a reconceptualization of the relationship between intelligence and the outbreak of the Pacific War as a whole.     

Sensitive Questions, Truthful Answers? Modeling the List Experiment with LISTIT

Standard estimation procedures assume that empirical observationsare accurate reflections of the true values of the dependentvariable, but this assumption is dubious when modeling self-reporteddata on sensitive topics. List experiments (a.k.a. item counttechniques) can nullify incentives for respondents to misrepresentthemselves to interviewers, but current data analysis techniquesare limited to difference-in-means tests. I present a revisedprocedure and statistical estimator called LISTIT that enablemultivariate modeling of list experiment data. Monte Carlo simulationsand a field test in Lebanon explore the behavior of this estimator. Author's Note: My thanks to Robert Axelrod, Janet Box-Steffensmeier,Sarah Croco, Adam Glynn, Sunshine Hillygus, John Jackson, LukeKeele, Gary King, James Kuklinski, Irfan Nooruddin, Mark Tessler,Ashutosh Varshney, and two anonymous reviewers for their commentsand suggestions. Replication materials are available on thePolitical Analysis web site.     

Gals on the slab: Fetishism,re‐animation,and the dead female body

The simultaneous presence and absence signified by the dead body constitutes a very powerful, and resistant, text. This paper examines the representation of the dead female body in a range of fiction and films, and explores the extent to which these silent and absent bodies might be said to speak louder, and exert a greater presence, in death than in life. The power and appeal of these bodies is further explored in relation to the arguably fetishistic impluse underlying the desire to possess, and somehow re‐animate, them, as readily controllable substitutes for the ‘real’ women they once embodied.     

Leveraging trade opportunities with non-traditional partners: the Malaysia–GCC perspective

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of economic factors on bilateral trade flows between Malaysia and the GCC through estimations of panel data using a gravity model. In particular, the paper compares the determinants of bilateral trade and trade potentials between Malaysia and two regions, the non-traditional Gulf alliance and the traditional ASEAN counterpart, to provide insights for leveraging opportunities through trade with the former. The gravity estimates imply the importance of size effects, similarities in GDP and differences in factor endowments as drivers of trade flows between Malaysia and the GCC, underlying the fact that inter-industry trade dominates these flows. The opposite holds in the case for the Malaysia–ASEAN trade. Though export potentials for industrial products per se appear exhausted in trade with both regions, the Gulf region provides opportunities for Malaysia to export quantity-based final (end-use) products and to diversify its exporting strategy away from quality-based parts and components.     

Desecuritization,Domestic Struggles,and Egypt’s Conflict with Ethiopia over the Nile River

Egypt maintained a policy of antagonism at arm’s length toward Ethiopia throughout Husni Mubarak’s presidency. This pattern changed immediately following Mubarak’s ouster. The burst of rapprochement and diplomatic activism that took shape in the spring of 2011 signaled a fundamental shift in the content and form of Egyptian policy vis-à-vis Ethiopia, which was reflected in President Muhammad Mursi’s reluctance to respond belligerently to Ethiopian initiatives 2 years later that threatened to diminish the northward flow of the Nile. Cairo’s evident restraint during the Mursi era cannot be explained by a change in the strategic circumstances that confronted Egyptian policy-makers. A more promising explanation can be found in a reformulation of desecuritization theory, which highlights the internal dynamics whereby potentially dangerous aspects of a country’s external environment get transformed into matters of routine political contestation.     

Adorno and Marcuse at the Barricades?: Critical Theory,Scholar-Activism,and the Neoliberal University

When Marx proclaimed the importance of not just interpreting the world but actually changing it, he initiated an important imperative that has existed within all forms of critical theory up to today. Drawing upon the work of Theodor Adorno and Herbert Marcuse, we use their unique way of looking at the theory/praxis couplet as an avenue to rethink the role of critical theory as a form of “scholar-activism.” Theory, to paraphrase Adorno, lives on because the moment to realize it was missed; and it is because of this lack of immediate utility that theory occupies a space of resistance. Nonetheless, as Marcuse avered, theory itself may retreat into the privileged space of scholastic philosophy if it does not constantly engage activist movements that challenge the historical and social conditions of human oppression. In the first part of the essay, we will look at Adorno and Marcuse’s critical theories as well as their own political engagements to clarify the concept of critical theory as scholar-activism. In the second part of the essay, we will demonstrate the importance of this particular kind of scholar-activism in the context of (and against the logic of) the neoliberal university.     

‘Close and continuous liaison’: British anti-communist propaganda and cooperation with the United States, 1950–51

In January 1948 the British government launched a new anti-Communist propaganda policy, and established a new Foreign Office Information Research Department (IRD) to coordinate that policy. This article examines the extent to which anti-Communist propaganda was coordinated with Britain's principal Cold War ally the United States, following the launch of America's own anti-Communist propaganda offensive, the ‘Campaign of Truth’ in 1950. It traces the policy and organizational machinery for cooperation which was established in 1950 and examines the implementation of the policy for ‘close and continuous liaison’ in London, Washington and in the field.     

State-sponsored violence as a tragedy of the commons: England's privateering wars with France and Spain, 1625–1630

The “tragedy of the commons” is the familiar problem that open access to a common property resource leads to overexploitation and to zero profits. A commons model is applied to an example of state sponsored private violence, the practice of privateering or licensed piracy. It is predicted that the presence of uncertainty about the value of the prey will reduce the amount of exploitation effort, and that industry profits may be positive due to both uncertainty and heterogeneous exploiters. Using data from England's wars with France and Spain between 1625 and 1630, the model suggests that the commons, represented by enemy merchant shipping, was not overexploited and that privateering profits were positive. The dynamic paths of privateering effort, ships seized, and individual firm profits were, however, consistent with the normal expectation that commons exploitation will peak and fall, as competition drives down returns through entry. “England was never richer than when at war with Spain.” Sir Edward Coke      

Can't get no satisfaction with the Westminster model? Winners,losers and the effects of consensual and direct democratic institutions on satisfaction with democracy

Are citizens in consensus democracies with developed direct democratic institutions more satisfied with their political system than those in majoritarian democracies? In this article, individual‐level data from the second wave of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and an updated version of Lijphart's multivariate measure of consensus and majoritarian democracy covering 24 countries are used to investigate this question. The findings from logistic multilevel models indicate that consensual cabinet types and direct democratic institutions are associated with higher levels of citizens' satisfaction with democracy. Furthermore, consensus democracy in these institutions closes the gap in satisfaction with democracy between losers and winners of elections by both comforting losers and reducing the satisfaction of winners. Simultaneously, consensus democracy in terms of electoral rules, the executive–legislative power balance, interest groups and the party system reduces the satisfaction of election winners, but does not enhance that of losers.