Fiscal Illusion and Political Accountability: Theory and Evidence from Two Local Tax Regimes in Britain

Local tax reform in Britain in 1993 (reinstating a propertytax) may have reversed some intended fiscal illusion reducing,and ``accountability'' improving, features of the poll tax(itself a reform introduced in 1990 with the specific aim ofpromoting accountability). We formalize these features withina median voter model of the demand for local publicexpenditure that distinguishes between accountability andfiscal illusion effects. The model shows that a prioriaccountability effects on expenditures are ambiguous.Available data for England and Wales are used to test themodel. We find strong evidence of grant illusion (the flypapereffect), similar across tax regimes, with evidence of renterillusion and of less accountability under the property tax.The degree of local income inequality appears to affectexpenditure levels only with the property tax.     

Analysis: The effects of the Iraq War on the Kurdish issue in Turkey

This article examines the potential repercussions of the Iraq War on the Kurdish issue in Turkey. An introduction to the Kurdish problem and its securitisation in Turkey precedes an analysis of the Gulf War's impact on Turkey's policies towards the Kurds—in both Turkey and Iraq. The article briefly documents the struggle between the EU's pressures on Turkey after 1999 to improve Kurdish rights and the state's reluctance to implement reforms. Impacting reforms is the heightened sense of insecurity in Turkey after the Iraq War and the perceived threat of greater autonomy for the Kurds in Northern Iraq. In response, Turkey has identified the Turkmen minority as a key strategic concern. None the less, increasingly the ruling Justice and Development Party's attitude towards Iraqi Kurdish groups indicates the evolution of a more pragmatic approach. In conclusion, two possible options emerge: the continued desecuritisation of the Kurdish issue in Turkey or its re-securitisation.     

Modernist nationalism: statism and national identity in Turkey

The year 1989 marked a turning point for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). But unlike other places in the region, that year saw a turn towards growing political conflict which soon led to violent warfare. This paper identifies and discusses three processes that led to this outcome. The first process was the impetus towards reform of the Yugoslav federal state, its political and economic system. The second was the conflict over the future of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (Savez komunista Jugoslavije – SKJ). The third was the shifting meanings of ethnic and nonethnic labels and the ways in which putative “national” and “ethnic” interests came to be aligned with specific political options. By the end of 1989 these three processes had come together to spell the end of the SKJ, of the SFRY, and of “Yugoslavism” as a political identity. In their places, ruling parties threatened by changes within their own societies, as well as by pressures created by the 1989 revolutions in the region, resorted to strategies of conflict and violence in an attempt to forestall the kinds of changes and elite turnovers seen in other socialist countries.     

The neoliberal discourse on corruption as a means of consent building: reflections from post-crisis Turkey

This article draws attention to the ideological role that the neoliberal discourse on corruption has fulfilled in the promotion of the second generation reforms in Southern countries since the 1997 East Asian financial crisis. This discourse is ahistoric insofar as it fails to recognise corruption as a problem of modernity; biased insofar as it associates corruption with Southern countries' historical and cultural specificities only; contradictory in terms of its counter-productive anti-corruption strategies; and politicised as it has redefined ‘corruption’ as ‘rent-seeking’. In the absence of alternative radical conceptualisations, this essentially competition-induced neoliberal orthodoxy on corruption has been easily articulated within morality-based popular concerns in domestic politics and hence acquired a hegemonic capability. The article substantiates these arguments by examining the trajectory of the neoliberal anti-corruption agenda in Turkey with a particular focus on the developments of the post-2001 financial crisis period.     

Conversion of Ajarians to Orthodox Christianity: Different Narratives and Perceptions

Abstract

Based on field research and interviews conducted in both Ajaria and Tbilisi, this article focuses on the different interpretations of the conversion of ethnically Georgian Muslim Ajarians to Orthodox Christianity. It is argued that Orthodox Christianity is an important aspect of self-identification and the national narrative of all Georgians. For many Muslim Ajarians, conversion appears to be a pragmatic act, with the ultimate goal of being recognised as ‘fully Georgian’ by both state and society.     

Looking for ‘the International’ beyond the West

As international attention focuses on the rebuilding of Afghanistan, this paper looks critically at the evolution and meaning of the core concepts underpinning aims and strategies for recovery: the key role of institutional development and capacity building in establishing good governance based on collaboration between state, civil society and market; the empirical consensus, over many decades, for best practice in development; the acknowledgement that recovery of war-torn societies is a development challenge. It is shown that, despite this understanding, operational practice continues to contradict the principles and lessons learned from proven experience. The financial and administrative culture of the international institutions, lack of political will, donor conditionality and recipients' contrary agendas are seen to contribute to this failure. The paper concludes by examining the implications of this analysis for the recovery of Afghanistan.     

Sufism, spirituality and sustainability： Rethinking Islamic mysticism through contemporary sociology

People are looking for therapeutic ways to deal with the damaging rhythms and handicaps of modem life styles which threaten the physical, social and psychological endurance of human-beings. Reconsideration of＂old＂ philosophies, ancient wisdom and spiritual/mystical paths in a contemporary context was among the solutions that were launched to overwhelm the modem sense of alienation in the second half of 20th century and this tendency is still going on nowadays at the first decade of 21 st century. Sufism has been one of the traditions from which modem individuals expected answers to their ontological dilemmas produced in daily life by the society, social relations, media and finally by themselves. The purpose of this paper is to discuss sociologically whether Sufism, the mystical, peaceful and tolerant way of Islam could be an answer to the social problems of modem societies. What is the social alternative of Sufi traditions regarding the contemporary issues such as： Social and technological alienation, sustainable development and environmental/ecological crisis？ This paper is an attempt to emphasize the possibilities of Sufism beyond spirituality, with a discussion based on the sociological conception of the subject.     

Competing to Kill: Terrorist Organizations Versus Lone Wolf Terrorists

Are organizationally linked suicide attacks deadlier than those launched by lone wolf terrorists? This article elaborates a perpetrator-based distinction among suicide terrorist attacks between organizations and lone wolf terrorists, who operate in the absence of a financially or physically supportive terrorist organization. The expectation is that terrorist organizations would serve as commitment tools that increase the loyalty of suicide bombers to their missions through material and non-material incentives. Findings demonstrate that when terrorist organizations are involved in the planning and execution of suicide terrorist attacks, not only do they increase the lethality of these attacks but they also accentuate the tactical advantages of suicide terrorism. These findings suggest that despite the recent upsurge and concern about lone wolf terrorism, the lethality and security impacts of suicide terrorism continue to be driven by terrorist organizations.