Suing the State in Russia

An expert on Russian law and politics uses statistical data as well as field-work in Moscow, Saratov, and Yekaterinburg to examine the uses of arbitrazh courts in Russia. Data on cases initiated by the state and by private enterprises are compared to determine whether there is a trend of increasing faith in the court system to fairly resolve disputes between private actors and the state.     

The Australian Welfare State: Has Federalism Made a Difference?

This paper examines the historical development of the Australian welfare state with a view to identifying the role that Australia's federal constitutional arrangements have played in shaping that development. Theoretical paradigms have been unanimous in their prognoses: that federal states are likely to be slow in developing welfare state programmes and typically spend less on them than unitary states. But recently it has been argued that federal institutions may have a “ratchet effect” of slowing down the pace of change, irrespective of its direction. The purpose of this chronological account of significant stages in the development of the Australian welfare state is to use the unfolding of historical events — far too rich in nuance and detail to be captured in quantitative modelling — as a test‐bed for establishing whether, and, if so, to what extent, federalism has impacted on the trajectory of Australian welfare state development.     

Federalism: Distance and Devolution

Is the current federal system in Australia still relevant? Have the historical forces which made federation a necessary step in Australia's journey toward nationhood largely disappeared? Australian federalism has united six disparate states into one nation and established national infrastructure to enhance our position domestically and internationally. The geographic tyranny of distance that divided the colonies has been overcome through improved transport, telecommunications and information technology. This article explores the historical basis of Australian federalism and asks whether federalism remains relevant for meeting the challenges facing Australia in the twenty‐first century.     

Russian Federalism in Comparative Perspective

A specialist on the comparative analysis of states and polities provides a framework for investigating the extent to which federal states are democratic in their operations. The article outlines propositions derived from data on eleven continuously democratic federal systems in the world during the 1990s. Russia is then compared systematically with these systems with respect to the federal legacies of pre-Soviet and Soviet power, the distinctiveness and democratic viability of its current “asymmetrical federalism,” and the roles of presidential, legislative, and party-system power. Aggregate data and a case study are presented that bear on the difference between levels of democracy in republics as opposed to oblasts. The dynamics of central “power creation” since August 1998 are explored.     

Value Pluralism and Multinational Federalism

This article is mainly concerned with the notion of value pluralism. In the first section I present it as a theory of the structure of moral normativity in liberal democracies, and defend its greater suitability compared with rival theories in attempting to revise democratic liberalism from the perspective of the cultural, national and normative pluralism of present-day democracies. In the second section, I link value pluralism with multinational federations in order to discuss its role in establishing the recognition of national pluralism, a plurinational division of powers, the participation of the different national collectives in the processes of constitutional reform, and the constitutional regulation of the right of self-determination, following the 1998 decision of the Canadian Supreme Court.     

俄罗斯国家定位:从帝国到面向欧亚的民族国家

冷战后的俄罗斯丧失了帝国但还没有形成清晰的国家定位。关于俄罗斯国家定位,从内部看是如何处理帝国后遗症与走向正常的民族国家之间的关系,从外部看是关于走向西方与面向欧亚之间的矛盾。在经历国内政治、经济的艰难转型以及对外的外交博弈,帝国之后的俄罗斯其国家定位必然是建设在面向欧亚基础上的正常的民族国家。     

Federalism and Governability in Brazil: Oil Royalties in Dispute

This article discusses the relationship between governability and federalism in Brazil, analysing the dispute among Brazilian states for oil royalties. This conflict features an unusual pattern in federal legislative voting, leading to regional alignment, rather than the usual party political configuration. This study explains the phenomenon by showing how this organisation makes it possible to align the preferences of national party leaders, regional party leaders, parliamentarians, and each state's voters. The political influence of governors and mayors is also underlined, and the Union's role in the process is described in detail.     

不对称同盟与韩国的反美主义

韩国与美国之间是一种不对称的军事同盟关系。1953年朝鲜战争结束后,应韩国的强烈要求,美国开始在韩国长期驻军。民主化后,韩国的反美主义日益高涨,直接针对韩美军事关系,出现了要求驻韩美军撤出的呼声。韩国人态度发生转变的根源在于:经济的高速发展和政治的民主化激发了韩国人空前的民族主义,由于美国的军事存在与民族主义相冲突,导致一些韩国国民对韩美不平等关系的不满日益增长。尽管韩美两国也试图对双边关系做出调整,但这种调整未能满足韩国人的心理需求,反而激起了更多的不满。     

Federalism,Party Organization and the Australian Greens

The influence of federalism on the organizational arrangements adopted by Australia's parties endures. This study examines the organizational structure of the State and Territory divisions of the Australian Greens through an analysis of their local party constitutions. It shows that there are important areas of difference in the organizations of state and territory Greens, despite their shared ideological commitment to inclusive internal party structures. These variations are a function of institutional and political factors, especially those induced by the Australian federal system. It is argued that differences in the organizational formats of state and territory party divisions reflect the historical circumstances in which they emerged and variations in the institutional (regional) setting in which they are located.