Forming government elites in a new democracy: The case of Poland

In this article we describe a study of the construction of governments in Poland by concentrating on the recruitment of individuals to government positions. (1) We therefore consider social, political, and institutional factors in the construction of the government's cabinets. (2) We examine the question of the path to the highest government positions—where did the people exercising power come from and what qualifications do they have? Finally, we discuss the results in the context of institutionalization of political life in Poland.     

Stories about the world economy: The quest for the grail

Equality, the Third World and Economic Delusion. Peter Bauer, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. 1981. 304pp. £15.00

Crisis: in the Third World. André Gunder Frank, London: Heinemann. 1981.. 375pp. £5.50pb

Crisis: in the World Economy. André Gunder Frank, London: Heinemann. 1980. 366pp. £4.95pb

Dependency Theory: a critical reassessment. Edited by Dudley Seers, London: Frances Pinter. 1981. 211pp. £15.00

Critical Perspectives on Imperialism and Social Class in the Third World. James Petras, London: Monthly Review Press. 1978. 314pp. £3.25

Recession, The Western Economies and the Changing World Order. Lars Anell, London: Frances Pinter. 1981. 181pp. £12.50     

The Production of Social Science Knowledge beyond Occidentalism: the quest for a post-exotic anthropology

This article makes the case for a post-exotic anthropology as an alternative disciplinary practice adapted to the emerging historical conjuncture that is reconfiguring the political and epistemic relations between different parts of the world. This is raising anew a legitimation challenge to mainstream social sciences but especially academic anthropology, as its a practice is still characterised by a chronic exoticist inflection thanks to its allegiance to the epistemology of Occidentalism. The article calls for a revision of anthropology's geo-theoretical premises in light of an emergent post-exotic historical conjuncture, which entails the abandonment of the duopoly exercised by the epistemic regimes of postmodernism and postcolonialism, in favour of a post-exotic standpoint. It suggests the adoption of mesography as the optimum means of operationalising a post-exotic anthropology as well as an alternative mode of social science knowledge production. Finally, it proposes an ethic of reciprocity to rectify the extractive fieldwork practices that sustain the illiberal politics of interpretation of academic anthropology.     

Regulators and the quest for coherence in finance: The case of loss absorbing capacity for banks

After the international financial crisis, new financial regulation was adopted at the international, regional and national levels, raising the issue of how to promote regulatory coherence, defined as the consistency between the rules adopted at different governance levels and in a variety of policy venues. A major recent area of reform concerned the loss absorbing capacity (LAC) of banks. In practice, the lack of regulatory coherence concerning LAC hampers the effective resolution of large international banks in a timely manner, ultimately undermining financial stability. We examine the role of regulators in the quest for coherence on LAC, explaining the incentives they had and how they deployed their delegated competences at different levels to achieve coherent rules that ensure financial stability. Theoretically, we combine insights from the public administration and political economy literatures. Methodologically, we process trace the making of LAC rules on three governance levels and in multiple policy venues.     

Lula's foreign policy and the quest for autonomy through diversification

The objective of this article is to analyse the changes brought about by the foreign policy of Lula's first administration (2003 – 06). To discuss the topic, we will make use of three notions: autonomy through distance, autonomy through participation and autonomy through diversification. These notions explain the main changes occurring in Brazilian foreign policy from 1980 to the mid-2000s. We will conclude by demonstrating how the autonomy through diversification notion best applies to the 2003 – 06 period.     

The quest for legitimacy in independent Kosovo: the unfulfilled promise of diversity and minority rights

When Kosovo declared its independence in 2008, it did so not as a nation-state, but as a “state of communities,” self-defining as multiethnic, diverse, and committed to extensive rights for minorities. In this paper, this choice is understood as a response to a dual legitimation problem. Kosovo experienced both an external legitimation challenge, regarding its contested statehood internationally, and an internal one, vis-à-vis its Serb minority. The focus on diversity and minority rights was expected to confer legitimacy on the state both externally and internally. International state-builders and the domestic political elite in post-conflict Kosovo both pursued this strategy. However, it inadvertently created an additional internal legitimation challenge, this time from within Kosovo’s majority Albanian population. This dynamic is illustrated by the opposition movement “Lëvizja Vetëvendosje” (Self-Determination Movement), which rejects the framing of Kosovo as first and foremost a multiethnic state. The movement’s counter-narrative represents an additional internal legitimation challenge to the new state. This paper thus finds that internationally endorsed “diversity management” through minority rights did not deliver as a panacea for the legitimacy dilemmas of the post-conflict polity. On the contrary, the “state of communities” continues to be contested by both majority and minority groups in Kosovo.     

Russia's quest for respect in the international conflict management in Kosovo

This article examines the emotion-based status-seeking logic in Russia's foreign policy vis-à-vis the West, presenting the example of Russia's reactions to NATO's military campaign against Serbia in 1999. It is argued that Russian assertiveness in combination with expressive rhetoric must be understood as a result of the ruling elite's need to have Russia's identity and self-defined social status as an equal great power in world politics respected by its Western interaction partners. Russia's reactions to NATO's intervention, which was not authorized by the UN Security Council, must be read as a strategy coping with the emotion anger about the perceived humiliation and provocation of status denial and ignorance by the West. We find various elements of such a coping strategy, among them the verbalization of the feeling of anger among Russian political circles and the media; uttering retaliation threats, but no ‘real’ aggressive, retaliatory action; minor and temporary activities aimed at restoring Russia's image and status as an influential an equal power. On the surface, the Kosovo episode did not result in any visible break or rift in the Russian–Western relationship. However, emotionally it has lead to a significant loss of trust in the respective partner on both sides.     

Agency problem and bureaucratic governance in the people's republic of china

This article argues that the Chinese idea of agency problem is misconstrued. The analysis provides an alternative approach to empirically reassess the nature of the problems, along the principal-agent models. The article demonstrates the relevance of using law to make the case for the profitability of examining the issues of bureaucratic governance from principal-agent perspectives. The analysis concludes by arguing that bureaucratic governance in China cannot be achieved by intensifying hierarchical domination. The concern about agents’ moral quality cannot sufficiently induce responsible bureaucratic behaviour. The key to reinventing the bureaucratic state in China lies mainly on the recognition of the agents’ need for protecting their own interests. Seen in this fashion, macro-level alternative methods of accountability should be introduced to reflect the interests of both principal and agents.