Revolution,longevity and legitimacy in communist states

This article examines key linkages in the dramatic turn of events in totalitarian states by reviewing the literature on regime legitimacy and longevity in communist regimes. But that longevity is a poor substitute for legitimacy. Eastern Europe states, where communist rule was externally imposed, were relatively “easy” to overcome. However, changes occurring in countries where quasi-legitimacy was achieved by mass movements, as in China or the Soviet Union; and those under family dictatorships, such as North Korea and Cuba, are not as subject to collapse. These pseudo forms of legitimacy resist liberalization in political terms, although economic changes are increasingly feasible as a half-way house. Still it is now clear that longevity in and of itself is not a substitute for legitimacy. The former is a function of time, the latter of social structure. This paper was written and accepted for publication in the wake of events following the collapse of communist power in most states of Eastern Europe during 1989. It does not cover the events which led to the collapse of communist power in the Soviet Union during 1991. Rather than simply adjust the paper to reflect current events, I take this opportunity to simply note the time frame during which the paper was produced. Indeed, I would also note that the Russian Revolution of 1991 served to delegitimize communist power by the exposure and then collapse of the coup attempt orchestrated by the KGB, a sector of the military elite and the upper stratum of the Communist Politburo. Such delegitimation accelerated a process of communist disintegration that could have taken a much longer period of time, and with possibly a different set of outcomes. [ILH] Irving Louis Horowitz is Hannah Arendt distinguished professor of sociology and political science at Rutgers University. He has written widely on developmental subjects, includingThree Worlds of Development (1965);Equity, Income, and Policy: Comparative Studies in Three Worlds of Development (1977); andBeyond Empire and Revolution (1982); all published by Oxford University Press.     

Morocco: Monarchy,legitimacy and succession

Letting history be the guide: writings by African‐American women

The Temple of My Familiar Alice Walker London: The Women's Press. 1989. 405pp. £12.95hb.

Quicksand and Passing Nella Larsen London: Serpent's Tail. 1989. 277pp. £7.95pb.

Corregidora Gayl Jones London: Camden Press. 1988. 185pp. £5.95pb.

Bird at my Window Rosa Guy London: Virago. 1989. 282pp. £4.99pb.

Lyrical Campaigns: selected poems June Jordan London: Virago. 1988. 143pp. £5.99pb.

Moving Towards Home: political essays June Jordan London: Virago. 1989. 213pp. £5.99pb.

Living by the Word, Selected Writings 1973–1987 Alice Walker London: The Women's Press. 1988. 193pp. £5.95pb.

Brazilian backwaters: Jorge Amado's Bahia

The violent land Jorge Amado Translated from the Portuguese by Samuel Putnam London: Collins Harvill. 1989. 336pp. £6.95pb

Shepherds of the Night Jorge Amado Translated from the Portuguese by Harriet de Onis London: Collins Harvill. 1989. 364pp. £6.95pb

Tent of Miracles Jorge Amado Translated from the Portuguese by Barbara Shelby London: Collins Harvill. 1989. 380pp. £6.95pb

Show‐down Jorge Amado Translated from the Portuguese by Gregory Rabassa London/New York: Bantam Books. 1988. 422pp. £12.95hb     

Democratic legitimacy and the ec:crossing the rubicon

Democratic legitimacy in the European Community has usually been seen in limited terms as a problem of securing the election of the European Parliament by direct, universal, manhood suffrage. The issue is more complex and multi-faceted. Legitimacy is contested and divided between the supranational and national levels of government. It is conditional and evolutionary. It is expressed through the dispute over the appropriate balance of power and exercise of authority among the key supranational decisionmaking institutions and the argument over the issue of decisionmaking appropriateness, efficiency, transparency and accountability. The article concludes that the continuing problem of democratic legitimacy inheres in the EC's crisis of political authority; that the new provisions introduced through the Maastricht process may de-legitimize rather than reinforce legitimacy; and that the new Treaty provisions are an essential but not sufficient precondition to remedying the democratic deficit and democratic legitimacy.     

Value orientation and value profile of nigerian public managers: implications for management practice

Using England's personal value questionnaire the value orientations and value profile of public managers at the state level in Nigeria were analyzed. The analyses revealed that most of these managers have a pragmatic value orientation. Implications for management practice and management development in the Nigerian public sector were discussed. Future research directions were also suggested.     

Transition in government pay policies: The problem of legitimacy

In this article the problem of legitimacy is discussed in the context of pay-for-performance in government agencies. The doctrine of a new public management implies a direct single track between individual performance and organizational result. In practice, however, this seems to be much more complex. It will be argued on theoretical and empirical grounds that public agencies will be hard-pressed to resolve the tension between quality and efficiency imposed by the new pay system. An examination of four empirical cases in different national agencies reveals that the bonus system creates a delicate management problem and poses a risk for the perceived legitimacy of public sector pay.     

The sources of European Union legitimacy: Political theories old and new

David Beetham and Christopher Lord, Legitimacy and the European Union (Longman, Harlow, 1998), 144 pp., ISBN 0–582–30489‐X (pb)

Thomas Banchoff and Mitchell P. Smith (eds), Legitimacy and the European Union: the Contested Polity (Routledge, London, 1999), 225 pp., ISBN 0–415–18189–5 (pb)

Albert Weale and Michael Nentwich (eds), Political Theory and the European Union: Legitimacy, Constitutional Choice and Citizenship (Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science, London, 1998), 205 pp., ISBN 0–415–17313–2 (hb)     

The role of a small town in rural development: A Sierra Leone case study

The distribution of services, personnel, and infrastructure in rural development projects has not usually been subject to a thorough scrutiny. Locational decisions have been arbitrary, without reference to the needs and mobility of the rural population. This study advocates one particular revision of past policies: the incorporation of small towns into programs designed to improve agricultural production and economic opportunity in rural regions. When such towns already function as a center for political activity, marketing, employment, and service provision, a development project can reinforce these linkages in ways that enhance productivity. A case study is used to illustrate the efficacy of this proposal: the town of Panguma, Kenema District, Sierra Leone and its role in development programs. Panguma has several features that make it an ideal focal point, but it has not been incorporated into regional projects in any systematic way. This town and its hinterland provide an illustration of how rural-urban interaction at a local scale can further the achievement of rural development goals. C.A.R.E.     

Corruption networks as a sphere of investment activities in modern Russia

This paper studies a new phenomenon, the ‘top to bottom’ corruption networks of organized crime, law enforcement and Government officials in Russia. We examine the Soviet roots of corruption and its transformation during transitional period. By focusing on contemporary Russian corruption networks this paper explores the complex of state-run oligarchic structure with established rates, well organized inter-institutional groups incorporated by common ideas of extracting profits. The danger is in the existence of extensive and stable corruption networks, which not only profit by their illegal activities between Organized Crime groups and Law Enforcements, but invest in further corrupt developments to control the government. We argue that corruption in Russia, for a long time, has been imbedded in the system of social relations and, by the majority of citizens, was not considered to be a crime. Presenting arguments against existing simplified understanding of corruption, this study elucidates corruption networks as an expansion of Organized Crime in all spheres of post-totalitarian Russia. It also shows that a magic circle of corruption closely intertwines with the inefficiency of power and the inefficiency of rule of law.     

Writers from Anhui and provinciality in modern China

Abstract

This article discusses the problems of Chinese local and national identity in relation to Anhui province in the twentieth century. It begins with Anhui's contradictory image as both the location of some of the country's most esteemed cultural sites and a place currently perceived as backward and impoverished. After explaining the social uses of local affiliation in the Republican era, it then focuses on the attempts of aspiring young writers from Anhui to join the national literary scene in Beijing during the early 1920s, and analyzes their subsequent reception. It looks at the personal and professional choices that these writers made and, following a selective survey of developments in Anhui since the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC), concludes with a consideration of the evolving self-image and changing realities in the province today.     

Childhood lead toxicity: a paradox of modern technology

Lead toxicity, a man-made disease of young children, has only recently come to the focus of professional and public awareness. Lead has become increasingly bioavailable to humans as a direct result of industrial processing and manufacturing. While lead-based paint in older dwellings is the primary cause of lead toxicity among young children, airborne lead from gasoline fumes and factory emissions, plus dirt and dust into which high concentrations of lead have settled, are also significant sources of undue exposure. A variety of consumer products, including kitchen utensils, newsprint, and cosmetics are likewise potentially hazardous because of their high lead content. Exposure to excessive amounts of lead is especially harmful for young children: they are biologically and developmentally more vulnerable to its toxic effects. Even at levels of absorption that produce no medical symptoms, lead may impede children's overall developmental progress by interfering with their performance in serveral crucial areas. Although the United States has been reluctant to assume an aggressive regulatory position toward lead, the federal government currently supports comprehensive lead poisoning control programs in 60 American cities.     

PLO Messianism: Diagnosis of a modern gnostic sect

Abstract

Placed against the backdrop of the recent war in Lebanon, this original analysis of the PLO rests upon the conviction that this movement is not merely a military‐political body, but is a kind of “religious” sect in meaning, intent, and form. This philosophical interpretation of the PLO draws upon a gnostic model in order to uncover the psychological universe of the PLO. In so doing, the author employs the interdisciplinary method of linking religion and politics (which is a view of political culture in the Arab‐Muslim world) to penetrate to the ultimate inner reality of the PLO. In this search, it is difficult to avoid concluding that the PLO represents a highly disorderly force in the Mideastern and global settings.