Weak States,Unruly Capitalists,and the Rise of Étatism in Late Developers: The Case of Turkey

Understanding why some nations turned to étatism in the early stages of economy building remains central to political economy. A general consensus, although it comes in different versions, holds that étatism became the developmental policy in nations where indigenous entrepreneurial classes were weak and small. Traditional accounts of Turkish turn to étatism in the 1930s generally draw on this premise. This article challenges these perspectives that associate étatism with a strong state and a weak entrepreneurial class. I argue that the turn to étatism in Turkey did not simply result from the developmental shortcomings of the newly emerging private sector. The state's own shortcomings at governing the newly emerging class of self-interest seeking entrepreneurs, and instituting order in the markets was a major factor.     

The More,the Merrier? Interest Groups and Legislative Change in the Public Hearings of the German Parliamentary Committees

The article examines the impact of organised interests on the passage of legislation in the German Bundestag through an empirical analysis of the position papers presented in the public hearings of its standing committees in 2011. These committees are the most important forums to revise legislative proposals. Drawing on resource dependency theory, we employ GLM regression analyses to study if interest groups act as change agents that bring legislation closer to their own policy preferences. Controlling for institutional and bill characteristics, we discuss two major findings that shed light on the role of interest groups in legislation. First, business groups' opposition to government bills triggers legislative changes because their members control the means of production and make investment decisions. In contrast, fundamental opposition of non-business groups has no impact. Second, bills debated and opposed by a greater number of interest groups undergo more changes pointing to the importance of the density of interest groups and balance of opinions on a proposal.     

Does Associational Involvement Spur Political Integration? Political Interest and Participation of Three Immigrant Groups in Zurich

This article looks at the determinants of the political integration of migrants at the local level, focusing on two dimensions of political integration: political interest (attitudinal dimension) and political participation (behavioral dimension). Based on a representative survey among Italians, Kosovars, and Turks in the city of Zurich, we tested the thesis advanced by the social capital approach which posits a link between membership in voluntary associations and political integration. Our findings suggest that membership in voluntary associations favors the political integration of the three groups under investigation. Furthermore, we find an impact of both ethnic and cross‐ethnic membership. However, while the effect of associational involvement on the behavioral dimension of political integration is strong and consistent across national groups, the attitudinal dimension displays a weaker and differential impact. Political attitudes and socio‐demographic characteristics play a less important role, except for the effect of the former on political interest, and also tend to have a differential impact on the three groups.     

Politics for the Few: Élites in Bryansk and Smolensk

A French political scientist examines political élites in Russia's depressed, “Red belt” provinces of Bryansk and Smolensk. Research is based on documentary evidence and numerous on-site interviews in the regions. Focus is on the regions' governors and their backgrounds, staffs, interaction with city governments, authority, sources of revenue, and efforts to negotiate special privileges with authorities in Moscow. Analysis also covers the regions' economies, the intertwining of public and private realms, and electoral politics.     

Therapies of Resistance? Yuta,Help-seeking,and Identity in Okinawa

In contemporary Okinawa shamanism and psychiatry are both employed by Okinawans to bring relief from what are understood to be godly or psychiatric interventions in their lives. This paper examines some of the reasons that shamanism is still popular and well-patronized in a society that is part of one of the world's most developed nations. By situating the role of shamans within a historical context, it becomes clear that repression of these women has taken place at a number of junctures in Okinawan history, mainly because they were seen as “backward,” “primitive,” or “too” Okinawan. In other words, their primary identity as Okinawans led those in political power to attempt to remove them from being socially acceptable, forcing them underground as the state reinvented itself to suit broader political strategies. Notwithstanding almost four centuries of discrimination and attempted repression, shamans continue to prosper in contemporary society, using markers of Okinawan identity (in particular ancestor worship) to legitimate their roles as therapists and healers. Patients, too, hybridize both systems today in informed and idiosyncratic ways, moving comfortably between treatment regimes. Both shamans and psychiatrists are perceived as therapists in this article.     

Yet another coup d'État in Germany? Schröder's vote of confidence and parliamentary government in Germany

According to some political commentators Gerhard Schröder's decision in May 2005 to use a ‘false’ vote of confidence in order to have the Bundestag dissolved was nothing less than a coup d'état. From this vantage point an incumbent chancellor had put party interests above crucial aspects of the Basic Law. The debate ensuing Schröder's decision is, thus, to be understood as a variation of a controversy about the legitimate power of parties in the political system, i.e. about the essence of the parliamentary form of government in Germany. In order to bring these issues to the fore the article first describes the chronology of events triggered by Gerhard Schröder's (and Franz Müntefering's) announcements on 22 May 2005. It then examines the five motions for a vote of confidence that have been brought to the floor of the Bundestag since 1949. Finally, it discusses the question of whether the Bundestag should receive the constitutional right to dissolve itself. Overall the analysis supports the view that the vote of confidence has been totally subsumed under the logic of parliamentary government in Germany.     

History and perceptions of regionalism in Botswana, 1891–2005

Although economic, political, ethnic and religious factors have led to regionalisms and other divides, causing civil strife and civil wars in many countries, in Botswana the north–south divide existed for a long time merely as a political undercurrent. However, the turn of the twenty-first century saw the explosion of issues motivated by perceptions that it was the north–south divide that caused imbalance in the provision of infrastructural development and ethnic inequality. This article traces the north–south divide in Botswana back to the early British colonial enterprise, when it was used for administrative convenience. Although in the post-colony the first president handled the situation pro-actively, his successors abandoned this approach. Regionalism ensued as personal ambitions for power and wealth took political and sometimes tribal dimensions. Ethnic identities were used to bolster campaigns despite the fact that identities in Botswana are multiple and multilayered rather than mutually exclusive.     

Fission and fusion of parties in Estonia, 1987–1999

Abstract

We provide a schematic history of contemporary Estonian political parties, 1987–99, in which we specify dates of party origin and subsequent fissions and fusions of some fifty movements and parties, and we briefly discuss some important factors and features in party formation. Our analysis begins with the seminal 1987–94 period that marked the rebirth of Estonian democracy, with an extension to two subsequent parliamentary elections (1995 and 1999). We argue that the early phase of Estonian party competition generally exemplifies what we call “kaleidoscopic parties”: parties that form around leaders rather than durable issues and lack any organizational permanency or any real voter attachment. However, the rate of formation of new groups has decreased, and the major parties may be becoming more stable than in the past. While there is some evidence of a left-right patterning now emerging in the political debate in Estonia, the parties have not aligned themselves along such a left-right continuum.     

Patterns of ‘Othering’ in Turkey: A Study of Ethnic,Ideological, and Sectarian Polarisation

This study explores who Turkish citizens view as the Other, their perceptions, evaluations, and the degree of Othering of these groups in the private and public spheres. Drawing from varied political science and social psychology literature, it also examines the role of social contact, perceived threat, and the strength of national and religious identification in predicting levels of Othering. Using a national representative sample, the findings reveal that Kurds are the most Othered group in the private sphere, while both Kurds and AKP (Adalet ve Kalk?nma Partisi – Justice and Development Party) supporters are the most Othered groups in the public sphere. Regardless of who the Other is, lower social contact and higher levels of perceived threat are associated with higher levels of Othering of Kurds, Alevis, AKP supporters, and AKP opponents in both the private and public spheres.     

Arab Booksellers and Bookshops in the Age of Printing, 1850–1914

The emergence of massive printing in the Arab Middle East in the nineteenth century entailed a multiple set of changes. As well as the production of written texts in unprecedented quantities and the rise of a big reading public, that historic shift also gave birth to a range of diffusion channels-from bookshops to public libraries and from newspaper agents to reading clubs-which carried the printed works to their audiences. This article examines a small section of this scene: the growth, spreading and changing characteristics of book dealerships and bookshops in the Arab Ottoman provinces during the formative half-century prior to World War I. Exploring this mechanism casts light on the nature and pace of printing assimilation in the region, projecting it as a rather dramatic makeover.     

The Legacies of ‘Race’ Science,Anti-Chinese Racism,and COVID-19 in Mexico

In Mexico, links have been made between the COVID-19 pandemic and China that point to the continuing deprecation of the Chinese and the perpetuation of anti-Chinese logics reflecting the legacies of ‘race’ science. This short article argues that these dynamics reflect a systemic and collective anti-Chinese sentiment that stems from Mexican eugenics and the modern conceptions of mestizaje. The purpose of this piece is to observe how discourses of ‘race’ link with the COVID-19 pandemic in order to explore how these ostensibly natural occurrences exacerbate pre-existing social inequalities.     

The Birth of Cultural Autonomy in Estonia: How,Why, and for Whom?

The 1925 law on cultural autonomy of minorities guaranteed Estonia's most significant minorities the right to independently decide how they wanted to arrange their own national-cultural matters. In this article I will focus on why Estonia decided to pass a law that was exceptional in the atmosphere of that time. To find an answer, it is necessary also to analyze how (through what process) the law was shaped and for whom the law was ultimately intended. In summary, it can be said that there were about ten factors, which were different, yet interconnected and similar in their impact, and only together did they provide sufficient impetus to make it possible to approve autonomy.     

Sites of power,instruments of public intervention: the Palace of Congress and the construction of federal power in Argentina, 1880–1916

SUMMARY

This article intends to provide an analysis of the process of building a house for the Argentine congress between 1880 and 1916. After the presidential campaign and revolution of 1880, Argentina entered a new political era that saw the definition of a political system under the hegemony of the Partido Autonomista Nacional and the consolidation of the federal state. The defeat of porteño militias in 1880 represented the end of the project of a national state controlled from Buenos Aires and the transformation of the city into the federal capital of the country. This new role meant that the city now needed buildings to accommodate new functions, a house for parliament among them. This article explores the significance of building the Palace of Congress as part of a broader plan by politicians, urban planners and bureaucrats to place symbols of republican greatness in central areas of the new capital. This study also focuses on the parliamentary debates that discussed the allocation of public funding for the construction of congress and the importance of giving the new capital examples of monumental architecture as a way to underscore its new political status. Finally, this article analyses the impact of the debates in congress and in the press about allegations of embezzlement and corruption that surrounded the building of the Palace of Congress.