S.M. BRUCE, IMPERIAL RELATIONS AND WAR FINANCE, 1939–1943

Abstract: This article deals with bargaining between Australia and the United Kingdom over some main aspects of wartime finance. Australian politicians and administrators took advantage of the wartime emergency to persuade the British to provide cheap loans with which the Australian government met its overseas military spending. The British Treasury also had to guarantee the preservation of Australia's sterling balances in the context of lend-lease arrangements between the UK and America. A number of bureaucracies, public and private institutions were involved, including the Australian High Commission, the Commonwealth Bank, the British Treasury, the Bank of England and the underwriting firm, Nivison & Co. It is argued that the wartime emergency enhanced the bargaining power of the Australians so that they were able to extract substantial concessions from the British.     

PRODUCTIVITY, SOCIETAL WELL-BEING, AND PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

The assumption that bureaucratic rationality and efficiency promote democracy is examined briefly from several theoretical perspectives. The efforts of the new conservativesu1 and new corporatists to impose private sector and business forms on the public sector as a way of achieving greater public sector productivity is reviewed. The contribution of this symposium and its specific articles to understanding the ethical and practical consequences of these efforts is presented.     

STATE LEGISLATORS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIPS AND THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

This article presents a detailed examination of some key political dimen- sions underlying cooperative research in agricultural biotechnology among state land-grant universities, state legislatures, and biotechnology corpora- tions. Factor analysis and path analysis methods are employed to assess differences in the perceptions of university administrators, biotechnology corporation researchers, and state legislators, using national and state survey data. Two attitudinal dimensions, one regarding cooperation among university and corporate researchers, and the other regarding barriers to joint research, are extracted. Generally similar attitudes are shared by university and legislative respondents, who are concerned over the prospects of market-oriented university research. In contrast, corporate respondents are more concerned with reducing barriers to cooperative research and the need for more open communication between academia and industry, and with issues of patent rights. Extensions of this work to other states and to other high-technology industries are considered.     

AMBIGUITY, CONTRADICTIONS, AND FRUSTRATIONS AT THE BALLOT BOX: A PUBLIC CHOICE PERSPECTIVE

A theoretical analysis of citizen participation in politics from a public choice perspective indicates that widespread apathy and disinterest are not aberrations in citizen behavior due to civic irresponsibility or the personal failings of individuals. Rather such responses are highly rational adapta- tions to a political system and political decision-making process over which the individual has little control and participation in which, while demand- ing, yields few tangible returns. Elections and voting are poor mechanisms for aggregating choice, allocating resources or directing public policy.     

HOW TO BE SOPHISTICATED, LIE, CHEAT, BLUFF AND WIN AT POLITICS

Abstract. This paper presents an informal argument about the relationship between strategic interaction and'economic'theories of political processes. It is concerned with interactions between small groups of rational actors, in which each knows the preferences of the others and is attempting to get the better of the others. In these circumstances, the outcome is usually determined by the strategic interaction involved and is often, therefore, rather unstable. Since formal models in themselves do not help us very much to interpret the processes involved, the bulk of the paper is concerned with an analysis of various aspects of strategic interaction. These include being sophisticated, lying, cheating and bluffing.     

RULING ELITE MODELS: A CRITIQUE AND AN ALTERNATIVE

Abstract. The argument that theories of elite rule are'unrealistic'and 'straw men', is rejected, and the need for such ideal-type models is demonstrated on methodological grounds. The classic ruling elite model associated with Mosca and Michels is shown to be grossly deficient. Robert Dahl's approach is critically examined. An alternative ruling elite model is proposed, and its advantages in terms of a broad theory of political power and of its methodological and empirical application, are analysed. Finally, the research implications of this alternative model are presented.     

MEASURING THE WAR ON DRUGS: A CYBERNETIC MODEL FOR ANALYZING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DRUG SEVERITY, DRUG SALIENCE AND DRUG FUNDING

This study explores the rationality of drug policy. It proposes a cybernetic relationship between actual drug severity, public salience of the drug problem, and anti‐drug funding. The study hypothesizes that increases in the severity of the drug problem will cause an increase in the salience of the drug issue. Increased salience in turn leads to political pressure and increased drug funding. As funding increases, anti‐drug programs become more robust and effective and drug severity decreases. When severity decreases, salience should in turn decrease. And so on. To test the cybernetic model, the study correlates trends of drug data from 1970 through 1996. It finds significant correlation between drug severity, measured by hospital emergency room drug episodes, and drug salience, measured by media coverage of drug events. The study finds correlations of drug funding and severity to be ambiguous, and finds no correlation between drug funding and drug salience. The findings do not support the overall hypothesis of a rational, cybernetic process but offer insights on drug policy dynamics.