On either side of a moat? Elite and mass attitudes towards right and wrong

This article develops a cognitive institutionalist account of mass and elite evaluations of political ethics, which is tested on a new dataset from the United Kingdom. The analysis explores the extent of contemporary disagreement among British political elites and those they represent by comparing responses to questions asked in a representative survey of the public with similar questions asked of incumbent MPs and parliamentary candidates. There are systematic differences between members of the public, candidates and MPs at both aggregate and individual levels – differences which can be accounted for with reference to the framing effects of Parliament as an institution. Candidates for parliamentary office display significantly more tolerance of ethically dubious behaviour than other members of the public. Within the elite category, elected MPs exhibit more permissive ethical standards than those candidates who are unsuccessful.     

Do intergovernmental grants create ratchets in state and local taxes?

A large literature on the ‘flypaper effect’ examines how federal grants to states at time period t affect state spending (or taxes) at time period t. We explore the fundamentally different question of how federal grants at time period t affect state tax policy in the future. Federal grants often result in states creating new programs and hiring new employees, and when the federal funding is discontinued, these new state programs must either be discontinued or financed through increases in state own source taxes. Government programs tend to be difficult to cut, as goes Milton Friedman’s famous quote about nothing being as permanent as a temporary government program, suggesting that it is likely that temporary federal grants create permanent (future) ratchets in state taxes. Far from being purely an academic question, this argument is why South Carolina’s Governor Mark Sanford attempted to turn down federal stimulus monies for his state. We examine both the impact of federal grants on future state budgets and how federal and state grants affect future local government budgets. Our findings confirm that grants indeed result in future state and local tax increases of roughly 40 cents for every dollar in grant money received in prior years.     

Who controls the wealth? Electoral system design and ethnic war in resource-rich countries

Both natural resource wealth and electoral system design are frequently investigated factors in the civil wars literature. So far, however, there is no well-known study which explicitly considers the interaction effect between these two factors on the risk of violent ethnic conflict. We argue that resource-rich countries with a proportional electoral system for the legislature are less prone to ethnic civil war than resource-rich countries with a majoritarian or mixed electoral system, as proportional electoral systems tend to increase the effective number of parliamentary parties and thus the number of groups who can share state control over resource wealth. We find empirical support for this argument using binary time-series-cross-section analysis covering 83 to 140 countries between 1984 and 2007.     

Business as usual? Civil society organizations in a marketized Swedish welfare state

ABSTRACT

This article aims to examine the participation of pensioners’ organizations in a context of marketization within local elderly care. The literature on New Public Management (NPM) points out different views on the effects of marketization on the participation of civil society organizations within the decision-making process. One view states marketization implies less of participation by civil society organizations since this stands in conflict with inherent values of NPM, such as efficiency and the citizen as customer on a market. An opposite view states that marketization does not cause this effect, i.e., civil society organizations participate in the same manner as before. The empirical investigation consists of results from a questionnaire sent out to pensioners’ organizations in Swedish municipalities with a marketized elderly care. The main result is that marketization does not cause any major crowding out effect on civil society organizations from the decision-making process. However, according to the survey, there exists a variation in this respect – participation varies between municipalities.     

Is the state social or the computer inhuman? Claims for state support and citizenship in post-socialist Georgia

In the discussions of citizenship in post-socialist Georgia, the topic of social entitlements predominates. Soviet social citizenship, which granted the full range of social rights, significantly shaped the people's current expectations of social rights in Georgia. In order to address the external and internal pressure for poverty alleviation, the Georgian government started reforming the social support system of the country. The cornerstone of Georgia's current social policy is a new social assistance programme, the main principle of which is to provide social benefits to the poorest families as identified by an evaluation system. This paper explores the enactment of the ‘targeted social assistance’ (TSA) programme in a village in north-western Georgia. By participating in the TSA programme, Georgian citizens exercise social citizenship as a practice of bargaining for universal social rights that at present are not achievable for all as the state provides social security only to extremely needy families. The category of social citizenship described by T.H. Marshall helps us to understand the claims of Georgian citizens for state support. The discrepancy between social security and social citizenship causes people to misunderstand the goals of the TSA programme and this ultimately leads to dissatisfaction among Georgia's citizenry.     

What has gone wrong with inclusive education in Thailand?

This article critically reviews the inclusive education policy in Thailand. Since 1939, the Thai government has promoted the right of persons with disabilities to education. However, very little is known about the reasons why the inclusive education policy in Thailand has failed to motivate school‐aged children to participate in mainstream schools. This article argues that (i) the government has no coherent policy implementation; (ii) school teachers are not well trained to deal with students with disabilities; and (iii) universal design is not well placed. These three major factors have hindered the Thai government in its efforts to empower persons with disabilities through education. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Resource allocation and voter calculus in?a?multicandidate election

This paper links campaign resources and voter calculus through a microeconomic optimization framework. I assume that candidate policy positions are fixed while personal valence scores and the salience of issue dimensions are malleable. Low valence candidates with many proximate competitors in the policy space will focus on building valence. High valence candidates who are relatively ??unclustered?? in the policy space will focus on manipulating issue salience. Resources devoted to diminishing others?? valence scores will increase as the number of viable candidates decreases. The model??s results are tested, where feasible, using data from the Democratic Party primary of 2004.     

Enslaved by one's body? Gender,citizenship and the ‘wrong body’ narrative

This paper uses the concepts of slavery, citizenship, the body and political subjectivity to interrogate how gendered bodies are produced, regulated and normalised. It explores the ‘wrong body’ claim within transsexual narratives to analyse how we can be enslaved by/to our body. The coercive force of embodied existence is demonstrated by examining how gender norms act on us through our bodies, thus identifying the body as a major conduit of power. It argues that the ‘wrong body’ claim must be understood as a discursive construction that is rendered possible by established gender norms and practices, which place heavy restrictions on the available actions of individuals. These norms and practices are linked to the normalising processes of becoming an acceptable citizen. It is argued that the enslaving effects of embodiment can be mitigated through constructing alternative narratives of gender based upon performativity and fluidity. Such alternative gender narratives are used to contest and disrupt the meaning of the acceptable citizen, thus opening up new claims for citizenship and new forms of embodied subjectivity. These narratives are then used to critique the medical community's understanding and treatment of transsexuality, which is itself a site of coercion and normalisation.     

Long‐Haired women,short‐haired spies: Gender,espionage, and America's war in Vietnam

Women who fought the Americans and the South Vietnamese in the Vietnam War performed many tasks. Some were the usual women's work: nursing, providing food, shelter, repairing trails, and preparing ambushes. But, they also were useful as combatants and spies. Less obvious than men, they exchanged information on troop movements while at market. They were couriers, demonstrators and recruiters. They fought and also performed intelligence through ingenious strategems. One old woman cut off her hair, was half naked, and convinced the Southern troops that she was harmless; then she entered a base and gathered information that aided the NLF forces to defeat the enemy. The communist women were indeed a key to victory.     

The business of a secret war: Operation ‘Remorse’ and SOE salesmanship in Wartime China

The prime British objective in China during the Pacific War was the re-establishment of pre-war trade and influence and the recovery of Hong Kong. Through Operation ‘Remorse’ (1944–45) the Special Operations Executive covertly established a wide network of distributors and buyers throughout occupied and unoccupied China for high-value low-bulk goods and currencies, using the returns acccruing to buy influence, information, safety and food for Allied prisoners, subsidise politically problematic operations, and smooth the British path back into Hong Kong. ‘Remorse’ epitomised the concerns and demonstrated the methods of the British presence in China generally: a readiness to innovate and adapt, market sensitivity and a capacity for making unlikely local alliances, all held together through a strong focus on a fixed target – a secure China base for Sino-British trade.     

Exploitation dressed in a suit,shining shoes,and carrying a suitcase full of dollars: What does China want in Africa?

China has provided billions of dollars in loans to African countries with no strings attached compared with Western financial aid. Although the argument that China is exploiting Africa for its resources has often clouded Beijing's continued support for Africa, many African leaders have welcomed China's economic assistance and have begun to see China as a more reliable partner compared with the West. By strictly examining relevant literature on Sino–African relations, this study comprehensively explores the dynamics, implications, and benefits of Chinese investments in Africa. Whether China is indeed exploiting Africa, which will continue to be debated, it is clear that Chinese investments have contributed significantly to the development of Africa and will continue to do so as the West has been replaced by Beijing as Africa's biggest trading partner. African countries are therefore likely to continue strengthening their relationship with China further jeopardising the interests of West in the continent.     

Getting to Peace? Negotiating with the LRA in Northern Uganda

Getting to peace is not a straightforward process. In Uganda, internal conflict has raged for more than 20 years between the Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The construction of a comprehensive negotiated settlement is at the mercy of conflicting ideologies and influences at the international, national and grassroots levels. This paper examines the Juba peace talks, the major actors in the negotiation process, and tension between prosecution and amnesty.

Domestic divisions and external actors in Libya’s civil war

With the Libyan National Army having failed to capture Tripoli, Libya’s civil war – which has attracted foreign support on both sides – is now stalemated around the town of Sirte. The parties are abiding by a ceasefire agreement, but there is little prospect they will reach a political settlement before fighting resumes and the conflict becomes further internationalised.     

A High Bar or a Double Standard? Gender,Competence, and Information in Political Campaigns

This study seeks to determine whether subjects in two dynamic process tracing experiments react differently to information related to a candidate’s competence when that candidate is a woman, vs. when he is a man. I find that subjects evaluate a candidate whose competence is in doubt less favorably, and are less likely to vote for the candidate, when she is a woman. In general, evaluations of women seem to be influenced much more by information related to their competence than are evaluations of men. I also find that competence as portrayed by the composition of a candidate’s facial features does not alter this relationship. My findings suggest that gender-based stereotypes may have an indirect effect on candidate evaluations and vote choice by influencing how voters react to information about them.     

Mission Bogotá: pedagogical governance in a weak state

Wracked by crime and violence, Bogotá, Colombia adopted a unique urban security policy in 1998 called Mission Bogotá (MB). MB identifies the poor as ‘at risk’ of being violent. The program seeks to decrease crime by employing the poor and educating them on entrepreneurial urban citizenship, fomenting their sense of belonging to the city, a good work ethic, conflict resolution skills, and cosmopolitanism. Participants are then employed as citizen ‘guides,’ modeling their citizenship skills in public in order to instill exemplary citizenship in others by example. There is no evidence that MB reduces either crime or poverty. Nevertheless, the program establishes norms for ideal citizenship and structures the relationship between state and society. Based on one year of ethnographic research, I argue that MB uses pedagogy as a technology of governance to transfer responsibility for security provision from the state to society by making citizens responsible for their own security provision.