Reforming the state: The policy of administrative reform in Italy under the Ciampi government

Since 1992, administrative reform has become a major theme on the Italian political agenda. This article examines the pressures leading to reform under the Ciampi government (April 1993‐May 1994). It focuses, first, on the directions to be taken by reform that were identified and, second, on their implementation. Also considered are the obstacles to reform found in the political and administrative systems. The limits to the reform and its legacy illustrate the more general problems of the Italian legal and constitutional order.     

Reforming the Swedish employment-related social security system: activation,administrative modernization and strengthening local autonomy

The Swedish system of social security has often been regarded as comprehensive and comprehensive and inclusive. During major reforms in the 1990s and 2000s, it has maintained its essential character as a popular and well-endowed provider of social security and stability. Employment-related benefits are generous in financial terms, but come with the need for recipients to remain actively engaged in the economic or educational field. However, Sweden’s geographical and demographic diversity made it necessary to increase the role of local authorities in implementing active labour market policies. This article tracks these developments since the mid-1990s, both with regard to changing the benefits system and with regard to changing local government involvement. It argues that backed by broad political support, the Swedish system has achieved the necessary modernization and adaptation to remain a viable alternative to more neo-liberal welfare retrenchment projects conducted in other European countries.     

Strengthening administrative capabilities in India

Reform in public administration has been pursued in India since 1947 and received particular attention since the 1960s. The approach in the 1940s and 1950s was to hold inquiries into different facets of administration, then in the 1960s the strategy was adopted of having an administrative reforms commission with terms of reference which gave it uniquely wide powers and an opportunity to recommend an overhaul in the country's administration. Its recommendations were, indeed, far reaching, but the failure of its report to result in significant reforms being implemented has contributed to a change in emphasis in the 1970s. Attention has come to be directed once more to administrative improvements at the microlevel, and there are a number of significant criticisms to be made of these currently continuing approaches to improvement and reform.     

The Relevance of Political Trust in Postwar Lebanon

Political trust in Lebanon is perceived to be drastically low. Instead of being regarded as agents of citizens' well-being, public officials are deemed as corrupting forces in the society. This attitude reflects people's discontent as a result of official policy. However, findings indicate that people's dissatisfaction with the government reduces political trust. This situation creates an environment in which it is difficult for those in government to succeed. The consequences of loss of trust could be detrimental to the legitimacy of the regime in question. The study derives its importance from the return to power of billionaire Rafik Hariri, a three time former premier, on the 22nd of October 2000, two years after being forced out of office and accused of corruption. Hariri hopes to reinvigorate his post-civil war reconstruction program that stalled while he was out of power. With many former ministers from Hariri's former 1992-1998 tenure reappointed and in light of Hariri's pledge to proceed with his previous policy, the survey findings indicate the low levels of political confidence that constrain the new government program to prevail over the country's bitter political situation.     

Reforming Credit Reform

The Federal Credit Reform Act (FCRA) improved the treatment of credit in the federal budget, but failed to make the budget cost of credit and noncredit programs fully comparable. Inconsistencies and downwardly biased credit costs arise from the restriction under FCRA that cash flows be discounted at Treasury rates, and from the omission of certain administrative costs. We describe the shortcomings of FCRA and policy distortions that may occur, and propose modifications to the Act that would more closely align budget costs of credit and noncredit programs.     

行政价值视角下中国特色行政文化构建

行政价值作为行政文化的核心,其形成、变迁与创新对行政文化来说意义重大,对于行政实践活动而言更是起到"挈领而顿,百毛皆顺"的作用。由于行政价值观的差异,相应的行政文化就会出现差异,因此行政发展理念、行政发展模式和行政发展道路也就大相径庭。本文正是基于行政价值的视角,通过认识中国传统行政文化和西方行政文化中特定的行政价值,结合我国特有文化背景和现实行政生态环境的需要,构建出一种将以人为本作为行政价值核心、兼顾公平正义和贯彻落实和谐共生的行政整体发展观的具有中国特色的行政文化,这一理论及其实践在目前有着较为重要的现实意义。     

WTO与当代中国区域行政构设

当前我国区域经济正面临着无序竞争、产业同构、重复投资等一系列问题 ,在WTO的背景下 ,这些问题显得尤为迫切。经验表明 ,单纯的市场机制已经不能妥善地解决这些问题 ,因此需要借助政府的力量来进行区域间的协调。为此 ,本文引入了区域行政的概念 ,并通过建立区域发展委员会的设想 ,对我国区域行政构设提出了可供选择的政策建议。     

政府管理变革的三个维度

在西方"新公共管理"运动的影响下,政府管理领域的变革已经成为具有全球性的普遍现象。这种变革涉及三个方面的内容,即:政府管理模式的重塑、政府管理职能的转变和政府管理方法的创新。我国的政府管理变革,是在特殊国情的背景下展开的。因此,既要借鉴西方"新公共管理"运动的积极成果,又要有适应我国国情的变通并针对我国特殊问题的新举措。     

Descent of the nation: Kinship and citizenship in Lebanon

The mechanisms which underpin kinship are mobilized by states to organize the citizenry for state‐building, often transporting patriarchy and (reinscribing it in public arenas. While the gendering and aging of citizenship is predictable in the deployment of patriarchal kin institutions for state‐building, the focus of this paper is less on these outcomes (well theorized elsewhere) and more on a mechanism undertheorized in feminist analyses of patriarchy and state dynamics—patrilineality. Patrilineality is commonly subsumed in feminist analyses of patriarchy, particularly in the study of the Middle East. Understood as kinship descent through the father's lineage, patrilineality is often conflated with patriarchy in societies in which both are present, resulting in the essentialization of patriarchy and a glossing of critical cultural differences in the gendering and aging of citizenship. While kinship in Lebanon has been fluid and Lebanese have mobilized both patrilineal and matrilineal principles of kinship as deemed necessary, the codification of rules of patrilineal descent in citizenship laws by the state has narrowed the spaces for negotiation for women and men, children and adults. By disaggregating patrilineality from patriarchy, this paper exposes a key substructure of patriarchy, significant to the gendering and aging of citizenship in Lebanon.     

Popular Mobilizations in Lebanon: From Anti-System to Sectarian Claims

In Lebanon, the Arab uprising is often analyzed through the lens of the side effects the Syrian uprising had on the country thanks to the massive refugee influx and involvement of Sunni and Shia Lebanese in Syria’s battleground. In fact, popular mobilizations happened prior to and during the current crisis as two different types of effects of the Arab uprisings at large. First, in late 2010 emerged an anti-sectarian movement that brought up an anti-system claim in line with other Arab social movements targeting authoritarian regimes and corruption. Second, the Sunni radical mobilization that started in Saida in 2011 around the popular Imam Sheikh Assir gathered resentments toward the Shia leading party Hizbullah as involved alongside the Syrian regime and, surprisingly, adopting an active minority mobilization strategy. Both movements conducted demonstrations of different types (from classic marches to on-road sit-ins) starting from a completely opposite perspective and in a very different environment: when the anti-sectarian mobilization faded, the sectarian one rose. This article will try to address the historical process of both mobilizations and assess their differences in light of several mobilization theories. It intends to raise questions about the types of actors involved, their discourses and justifications, and the contextual local and political environments.     

市场经济与行政道德

市场经济条件下的行政道德日益成为政府和整个社会中的热点、重点和难点问题.本文从市场经济的一般规律出发,结合行政道德特性,进行分析和论证,认为市场经济与行政道德是双向互动的辨证关系.并提出了加强行政道德建设的对策.