Pseudo‐democracy in the Muslim world

This paper investigates the mechanisms of democratisation leading to the formation of pseudo‐democratic political systems in the contemporary Muslim world. It is argued that pseudo‐democracies in the Muslim world are created and strengthened by the structural opposition between three types of democratic doctrines, social practices and institutional mechanisms inspired by liberalism, republicanism and Islamism. Departing from the usual instrumentalist analyses that dominate the democratisation literature, this account emphasises that pseudo‐democratic regimes are not simply an expedient fallback position from liberal democratic systems but dynamic political orders based on alternative notions of democracy. It is argued that what is specific to the Muslim world as a socio‐historical construct is that pseudo‐democracies are produced by the evolving stalemate between the three abovementioned political currents. In these polities liberal democratic discourses and practices are undermined by non‐liberal yet demotic forms of social mobilisation and political learning that are more effective than laissez‐faire models of liberal political mobilisation.     

A replication of “Contracting out: For What? With Whom?”

In the 1980s, governments around the world adopted New Public Management ideas about inserting competition into government as a way to improve the performance of public organizations. In many nations, contracting out was one method of making governments more businesslike. Yet, there have been few studies of how government contracting behaviors have changed since the early 1980s. We replicate Ferris and Graddy's classic 1986 study of local government production and sector choice to assess how public procurement has changed over the past 35 years. Our findings show that today, contracting out is more commonly used across 25 local government service areas. In contrast to the original study, much of the growth has been in government-to-government contracts. For profit firms are also winning more contracts for high transaction cost work, while nonprofits are receiving fewer government contracts in nearly every service area. Our analysis suggests that contracting out remains of the highest importance in 21st-century governance and that additional research is needed on how to manage contracts to achieve the best value.     

The economic impact of a foreign debt bail‐out for private firms in Ecuador

In this article the effect of Ecuador's general foreign debt conversion programme on private firms' financial position is analysed. The programme, called the Sucretización, was similar to programmes implemented by many heavily indebted countries after the debt crisis began. I concentrate on the Sucretización's implicit transfer from the government to firms, arguing that it was large, but unnecessary. Very few firms would have gone bankrupt because of their devaluation‐induced foreign exchange losses. What is more, I find no evidence that firms receiving these transfers used them to strengthen their balance sheets.     

President Gloria Macapagal‐Arroyo's anti‐corruption strategy in the Philippines an evaluation

Fighting corruption has been one of the priority issues for President Gloria Macapagal‐Arroyo for the past five years. Faster‐paced and result‐oriented implementation of anti‐corruption projects did bring some tangible results. There are new laws and executive and administrative orders related to anti‐corruption which have been passed. New strategies during her second term such as strengthening anti‐corruption agencies, more social value formation at the national level, and the use of e‐procurement in the government system, show encouraging signs for success. However, despite the effort and achievement, the public perception of corruption and sincerity of the government performance in fighting corruption remains unchanged or has even worsened. Is it due to lack of political will? Does this mean that the government is losing the war on corruption? The answers are complex, but two important reasons are the slow progress to improve the country's economy and the ineffectiveness of the government which has resulted in a negative public perception. The government needs to gain more public confidence so that the anti‐corruption reforms will strengthen good governance and make it accountable.     

Rice‐burning and the green revolution in northern Ghana

The introduction of high yielding varieties into northern Ghana has given rise to a form of mechanised farming of rice in the river valleys. Much of this land was used only for occasional pasture; now it is cultivated by civil servants, military men, traders and farmers from the locality and from neighbouring areas, who have been encouraged by government policy and by the prospect of private gain. In the course of establishing these large farms, the system of land tenure has been radically changed, since written evidence of registration is necessary to raise a loan and to be produced in case of dispute. These changes, combined with the more direct effects of social differentiation, have resulted in the burning of rice and the destruction of machinery.     

Competition and Contracting in the Transition from CCT to Best Value: Towards a More Reflexive Regulation?

Following publication of the government’s proposals for a statutory framework of Best Value, and the introduction of regulations increasing the flexibility of CCT pending its abolition, this paper examines the relationship between the compulsory regime and its likely successor. First, the paper suggests that the Best Value frame-work is likely to impose a range of regulatory, monitoring and enforcement constraints similar in effect to the formal requirements that operate under CCT. Continuity with Conservative policy will be reinforced practically through transitional arrangements for the gradual abolition of CCT and the phased introduction of its replacement. Second, the paper argues that contracting is likely to continue to have a significant role under the new regime as the natural adjunct to the voluntary competitive processes that will be the preferred management tools for securing improvements in service performance. Open tendering and public-private sector partnership arrangements, both of which imply contractual governance, are given explicit priority in the consultation document over benchmarking, performance indicators and other comparative public management mechanisms. Third, the paper argues that local authorities are likely to want to retain and develop contracting arrangements that potentially permit a degree of control over service provision that might not be available were more radical service-providing alternatives to be adopted, involving the complete transfer of functions outside the public sector and/or their vesting in independent companies. Finally, the paper assesses the transition from CCT to Best Value from the theoretical perspective of responsive and reflexive regulation. Following a brief account of the reflexive failures of CCT, the paper argues that, although the Best Value framework is characterized by inherently reflexive processes involving self-review, consultation and standard-setting, its relative success is likely to depend ultimately both on the tightness with which legislation is drafted and on the manner of its practical interpretation, implementation and enforcement.     

Provocation at the center: A study in the history of counter‐terror

Abstract

This paper deals with the early beginnings and subsequent history of the secret, or political, police in nineteenth‐century Europe, whose task was to tame and terrify the masses, appeal to fear, and to root out revolutionary groups and secret societies, including even revolutionary attitudes. As pointed out here, the origins of such police forces, specializing in counter‐terror, go back to the French Revolution and the Ministry of Police headed by Fouche. Autocratic governments not being unusual, the history of counter‐terrorism displays many practitioners and techniques during the nineteenth century. A true heir of Fouche was Louis Andrieux, a Chief of Police of the Third Republic in France, who gave advice to Tsar Alexander III that has since been followed by many agents provocateurs and counter‐revolutionaries. The Russian Okhrana and the role played by Plehve in containing the revolutionary movement are discussed as are also the alliance between Degayev and Sudeykin, in addition to the Zubatov system and the Azef affair. Throughout, the struggle between revolution and counter‐revolution illustrates the fact that the physical blows that were the results of provocation were not always decisive; the exposure of provocation was often more harmful than anything that provocation itself could achieve. Moreover, the author concludes, the role played by the Russian secret police served to perpetuate terrorism and made all other state authorities a domain for the machinations and intrigues of the leaders of the secret police.     

Population pressure and agricultural change in the land‐intensive economy

Boserup's view that population pressure is an important determinant of technical change in agriculture is examined in the context of Sierra Leone. Population density is misleading when used as an indicator of population pressure, at least in conditions where cultivation is mainly of the ‘cut and burn’ type. The ratio of population to labour is suggested as an alternative on the basis of a theoretical definition of the term ‘pressure’, and on the whole it provides a good explanation of the variation in resource use.     

The muslim experience in the Balkan states, 1919‐1991

This article analyzes the effects of nationalizing policies of the state, processes of democratization, and uneven socio-economic development on the rise of Kurdish ethno-mobilization led by the PKK terrorist organization since the 1980s in Turkey. Three features of the Turkish modernization context are identified as conducive for the rise and continuation of Kurdish ethno-mobilization: a) a nation-building autocratic state that resisted granting cultural rights and recognition for the Kurds; b) democratization with the exclusion of ethnic politics and rights; c) economic regional inequality that coincided with the regional distribution of the Kurdish population. It is argued that autocratic policies of the state during nation-building accompanied the development of an illiberal democracy and intolerance for cultural pluralism. These aspects of Turkish democracy seem to be incompatible with both the liberal and consociational models of democracy that accommodate ethnicity within multiculturalism.     

Subcontracting,growth and capital accumulation in small‐scale firms in the textile industry in Turkey

This study examines capital accumulation and growth among subcontracting small‐scale textile firms. We find that, in spite of the higher average profitability of non‐subcontracting production relative to subcontracting, the average annual rate of capacity expansion between the two groups is not statistically different from the former. This implies that the higher average productive capacity of the non‐subcontractors relative to that of the subcontracting firms are due to differences in their initial capacity. The study further suggests that there may be no easy transition from subcontracting to independent production. For many subcontractor firms in the sample, the cost of inputs required for independent production exceeds the current value of their gross earnings by a multiple.     

Controlling “Uncontrollable” Agency‐Influenced Spending in the United States

Abstract

The present study is a comparative investigation of implicit and explicit parameters that exist to constrain agency actors from the rational pursuit of increasing agency‐influenced spending over time. The underlying assumption is that agencies that are relatively free from the constraint of budget structure and process will exhibit higher levels of related proportional spending. In particular, state mandatory spending is investigated through application of the tenets of institutional theory to the growth and expansion of Medicaid, which has been charged with inducing “uncontrollable” spending. Findings from a panel data analysis of states indicate that beyond the often‐cited drivers of Medicaid costs, states that are less restrictive in terms of budget rules exhibit higher proportional levels of Medicaid spending. The primary implication of the study is that a vigorous inquiry into the drivers of state expenditures must consider the institutional constraints that hinder programmatic growth and spending influenced by agencies implementing policy.     

Coming out of the shadow? Studies of local governments in Central and Eastern Europe in European academic research

This article is an analysis of the changing role of research on local governments in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) within mainstream European studies. It refers to dependency theory (Wallerstein, Prebish) as applied to scientific research. It classifies CEE as being in the semi-periphery of academic research. The empirical analysis consists of two parts: (1) qualitative review of the most important of the comparative studies of European local governments. It includes a discussion on the role of local governments and researchers from CEE in these studies; (2) quantitative based on an analysis of articles published in international journals and citations for those articles in Scopus. The analysis covers 14 countries (all new member states who joined the EU from 2004 onwards, plus the Balkan countries: Albania, Macedonia, and Serbia).