The Spanish peace movement in a European context

Since the late ‘sixties the Italian Socialist Party has abandoned its attempt to isolate the Communist Party and instead has sought to re‐integrate it into the group of so‐called ‘democratic’ parties. This process has culminated in the P.S.I.’s proposal for a ‘Socialist Alternative’ government, to replace Christian‐Democrat rule. The Communist response has been to accept the legitimacy thus bestowed, but to use it to impose its own solution: the Historic Compromise—a grand coalition of Communists, Socialists and Christian Democrats. The consequence has been a partial reversal of the conventional roles of the two parties of the Left.     

Eurocommunism and the Spanish communists

The DCs development from the mid‐1970s is examined in the light of its overall characteristics as a political party. A sceptical viewpoint is expressed about its prospects for change, in spite of talk of party reform since 1975 under Zaccagnini's secretaryship, if only because the ‘historic compromise’ confirms the DCs governing role even though in a modified policy setting. The main consequence of Moro's death is likely to be an accelerated change in leadership generation rather than a weakening of his ‘strategy’. At the same time, the DC has not yet found an alternative role to replace the political dominance it has lost. The new relationship with the PCI causes some confusion about the party's identity, so that DC leaders tend to view this in a short‐term perspective and to treat it as an empirical rather than ‘historic’ compromise.     

Conflict and cohesion in the British labour party and French communist party

The article examines the differing organisational structures and political cultures which provide the bases for cohesion in the PCF and British Labour Party. It argues that the electoral decline of the two parties since the late 1960s, and the rise of new political forces to challenge their primacy on the Left, have generated growing internal conflict in each case. Despite the greater pressures towards unity in the PCF such conflicts have threatened the existing bases of cohesion in both parties. The article concludes by considering the possibilities of surmounting the current problems.     

Nordic labour market policies in transition

This article provides an overview of the Nordic labour market policies targeted to promote employment and reduce open unemployment since the early 1980s. Applying a disentangled approach, the goal is to analyse the policies of stimulating employment, the policies of influencing labour supply and, finally, active and passive labour market policies. It is argued that the employment crises of the early 1990s were mainly caused by domestic factors and, partly as a way to react to the challenge, the Nordic countries learned to use labour force supply as a policy instrument to combat unemployment. Additionally, the Nordic countries choose different ways to adapt to the imperatives of the globalised economy, hence, at the beginning of the new millennium, Nordic labour market policies are in flux.     

The use of antisemitism in the Spanish Civil War

The Spanish Civil War saw an outburst of antisemitism in the Nationalist-controlled areas of the peninsula and in the Moroccan protectorate, an antisemitism influenced by the work of ultra-right-wing intellectuals associated with the Acción Española review. All the factions of the Nationalist camp interpreted the civil war as a crusade against the 'Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevist' conspiracy. In mainland Spain, where there were only a few Jewish families, antisemitism was largely confined to the written word. In this way, it was used mostly as a rhetorical tool to attack the Nationalists' real and imaginary enemies: the Republican forces, the French and the Soviets. Although there was no systemic persecution of the Jews, some aggressive acts took place in Seville and Barcelona. The situation of the larger Jewish community in Spanish Morocco was quite different. The Moroccan Jews were adversely affected by the Nationalists' efforts to enlist the support of the Muslim population against the Republicans and by the German presence in the protectorate. They were also victimized by the Falangists who confiscated their property and imposed heavy fines on them. The military authorities of Morocco tried to restrain these excesses as they realized that blatant antisemitism could hurt the rebels' image abroad. They also believed that Jewish wealth and connections could serve the Nationalist cause.     

The marginal pole of the economy and the marginalized labour force

The paper proposes the concept of ‘marginal pole’ of the economy to characterise a new level of Latin American economic activity, which has a precarious relationship with the basic means of production controlled by the dominant levels of the economy as a whole. The ‘marginalised labour force’ employed here is a distinct new sector within the working population. It is argued that the concept of ‘marginalised labour force’ is more appropriate in this case than that of ‘industrial reserve army’ and enables certain consequences of marginalisation to be analysed.     

The military and the prospects for Spanish democracy 1

Involvement of the army in Spanish politics derived from the weakness of political institutions, but it was accentuated by the caste‐like qualities the army acquired. Defence of career interests supplies a clear element of continuity and helps to explain the emergence of Franco's dictatorship. That regime retained military support by skilfully managing professional interests, but the price of army support was the retention of outdated military structures. Reform is now desired by the new generation of army officers, and military allegiance to democratic institutions may partly depend on satisfying these aspirations. In the long run, however, the resolution of this issue depends on developments in the national polity.     

浅析三次产业与我国劳动力就业

当前在工业化、城镇化快速发展以及产业结构调整和优化的多重因素影响下,如何妥善安排劳动力就业,特别是有效解决初级劳动力、农村剩余劳动力的和高校毕业生的就业问题已成为我国经济工作的重点之一。在简要回顾我国劳动力就业压力及劳动力市场供求关系的基础上,从三次产业视角探索了促进劳动力就业的途径。     

Islamophobia and postcolonialism: continuity,Orientalism and Muslim consciousness

ABSTRACT

In this article, Meer tentatively delineates three ways in which he understands that the concept of Islamophobia is being informed by postcolonial scholarship. The first functions as continuity, in so far as it is claimed that historical colonial dynamics are reproduced in contemporary postcolonial environments, broadly conceived. The second involves translation. This is related to the first but different in that it focuses in particular on the utility of Orientalist critique for the concept of Islamophobia. The third concerns an account of Muslim consciousness, in so far as it is argued that ‘the making of Muslims’ is signalled by the emergence of the concept of Islamophobia, part, as one view has it, of a wider ‘decentring’ of the West. Meer argues that this third framing rests on terrain that is also populated by scholarship beyond the postcolonial tradition. This is because it expresses a story of how Muslims have contested and sought revisions to existing citizenship settlements, not least the ways in which approaches to anti-discrimination are configured. This is a story that is observable within imperfect liberal democratic frameworks that contain some institutional levers through which to challenge Islamophobia.     

The Transformation of the Central Administration in Spanish Intergovernmental Relations

The role of the central administration in Spain is examinedin relation to the European Union, autonomous communities, andlocal governments. The position of the central administrationhas changed dramatically in light of the transformation of theregime from dictatorship to democracy. Once the dominant actorin the system, it now plays more of a "middleman" or brokerrole within a decentralized state. Fundamental questions ofthe efficacy and legitimacy of the central administration ina federalizing system are also raised.     

Economic liberalisation,market institutions and labour rights

What effect do pro‐market economic policies have on labour rights? Despite significant debate in policy and academic circles about the consequences of economic liberalisation, little is known about the labour rights effects of pro‐market policies. Extant literature has focused only on the possible outcomes of market‐liberalising policies, such as trade and investment flows, rather than directly assessing market‐friendly policies and institutions. Moreover, this line of research has found mixed results on how these outcomes influence labour conditions. To provide a comprehensive assessment of this linkage, this article combines data on five distinct policy areas associated with economic liberalisation with data on labour rights for the period 1981–2012. The results indicate that pro‐market policies – except the ones involving rule of law and secure property rights – undermine labour rights. Thus while there are some positive economic and political outcomes associated with market‐supporting policies, economic liberalisation comes at the cost of respect for labour rights.     

Barely legal: racism and migrant farm labour in the context of Canadian multiculturalism

This article investigates how colonial attitudes towards race operate alongside official multiculturalism in Canada to justify the legally exceptional exclusion of migrant farm workers from Canada's socio-political framework. The Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program is presented in this article as a relic of Canada's racist and colonial past, one that continues uninterrupted in the present age of statist multiculturalism. The legal continuation and growth in the use of non-citizens to conduct labour distasteful to Canadian nationals has provided an effective means for the Canadian state to regulate the ongoing flow of non-preferred races on the margins while promoting a pluralist and ethnically diverse political image at home and abroad. In the face of a labour shortage constructed as a political crisis of considerable urgency, the Canadian state has continued to admit non-immigrants into the country to perform labour deemed unattractive yet necessary for the well-being of Canadian citizens while simultaneously suspending the citizenship and individual rights of those same individual migrant workers. By legislating the restriction of rights and freedoms to a permanently revolving door of temporary non-citizens through the mechanism of a guest worker programme, the Canadian state is participating in the bio-political regulation of foreign nationals.     

Economics,democracy, and Spanish elections

The argument is advanced that economic conditions have played an important role in Spanish elections but, until recently, one secondary to the establishment of democracy itself. First, the Spanish economy's development at the time of these elections and the Spanish public's response to it are considered. Next, Spain's three national elections and significant economic policy activities and conditions are analyzed. Unemployment is then considered as the central economic influence on recent Spanish elections. Finally, Spain's politics of consensus is presented as an explanation for the initial lack of influence of economic conditions on elections.