The place of corporate ownership and management in local government anti‐poverty strategy in Britain

Since devolution in 1999, the Welsh Government has developed a distinctive approach to the management of local government policy. Alongside an emphasis on welfarism and partnership, local authorities have been exhorted to put the citizen at the centre of public service delivery. Drawing on the notion of assemblage, developed in the governmentality literature, this paper identifies two different rationalities running through Welsh Government policy documents. On the basis of a series of interviews with government officials and their counterparts in the Welsh Local Government Association we find evidence of important tensions in the Welsh approach. While the emphasis on the citizen has worked in building a ‘political rationality’, the evidence from our interviews suggests that it works less well as a ‘government technology’.     

In search of an anti‐terrorism policy: Lessons from the reagan era

Abstract

During the 1980s, terrorist activities became a real threat to Americans at home and abroad. The Reagan administration's policy response to this threat was encumbered by several factors, both of commission and omission. Dominant anti‐communist ideological perceptions in the administration at times blurred the disparate causes of international terrorism and the varied motives of terrorist groups. The administration was unable to back up its words with consistent, resolute policy action. And U.S. intelligence operations were not able to detect or prevent several terrorist strikes against U.S. facilities, especially in the Middle East.

The U.S. air raid on Libya served notice that the United States would strike militarily at state sponsors of terrorism. It also called into the question the Reagan administration's willingness to adhere strictly to international law in its efforts to prosecute certain governments who aid and abet terrorist groups. There is no policy panacea for terrorism; terrorism can only be countered by a resolute policy which combines protection, prevention, and prosecution, including military retaliation if it is necessary and can be carried out proportionate to the aggrieved terrorist offense. The lessons gleaned from the Reagan administration's anti‐terrorist experience are both constructive and instructive. However, only if more deliberate efforts are made to integrate these lessons into policy considerations will they become utilitarian assets to counter terrorist activities, at home and abroad.     

The state‐Moro armed conflict in the Philippines Unresolved national question or question of governance?

The continuing struggle of the Moro secessionist movement in the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia's longest armed conflicts. The tenacity of the conflict lies in two competing concerns: the assertion of self‐determination rights of the Moro separatist movement; and the affirmation of the Philippines’ sovereign right to territorial integrity. However, beneath these rights are crucial issues that remain unanswered both by the contending forces—problems where internecine violence and conflict emanate from. This article argues that self‐determination rights can be adequately exercised by people who have clearly defined their national identity and concept of a nation. Unfortunately, the Moro multi‐ethnic national identity has yet to be crystallised while the idea of a Bangsamoro (Bangsa Nation) remains weak. On the other hand, the state has yet to address the Moron’ legitimate demands of political autonomy, socio‐economic development, and social justice and discrimination. Without underestimating the ethnic component of secessionism, the article concludes that poor governance has prolonged, complicated, and further justified the Moros’ quest to secede from the Republic.     

Measuring trade strategy in the presence of non‐tradeables: Theory and some evidence for the Caribbean

This article models trade policies in the presence of non‐tradeables, and investigates trade strategy interventions and outcomes where the price of non‐tradeables endogenously adjusts to trade interventions. Trade regime bias and neutrality issues are examined within a three‐sector, open economy model. The theoretical framework is operationalised using empirical evidence for Trinidad and Barbados. The robustness of partial equilibrium measures of protection for classifying trade strategies is challenged and evidence on alternative general equilibrium or ‘true’ measures of protection is reported. ‘True’ or revealed trade strategies are shown to differ from those apparently intended by policy‐makers.     

Transformation of the Rural Economy in the Philippines, 1988–2006

This research explores the changing structure of the rural economy in the Philippines from 1988 to 2006. We found that the expansion and upgrade of infrastructure such as electricity and roads and investment in secondary and tertiary education are important factors that induced the economic transformation of the rural economy. The importance of higher education as an entry requirement to the nonfarm labor market has declined over time, indicating that the rural nonfarm sector has been increasingly providing employment opportunities to the unskilled and the uneducated, who form the bulk of the rural poor.     

The anti‐secession law,framing, and political change in Taiwan

Beijing's Anti‐Secession Law (ASL) was promulgated in March 2005. Influenced by the December 2004 Legislative Yuan elections in Taiwan, Beijing's 2005 comments suggested the ASL was intended to increase peaceful interaction, not confrontation. Temporary, cooperative discussions early in 2005 between the People First Party (PFP) and President Chen Shui‐bian (DPP) are analysed as well as trips to the mainland by KMT leaders and the subsequent China visit by PFP leaders. The impact of all these events on the May 2005 National Assembly elections and the December local elections in the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROCT) is discussed. An evolving, more peaceful and interactive status quo has reduced the likelihood of military force becoming an option. Gradual refraining of cross‐Strait relations occurred in 2005. Still to be determined is whedier Taiwan will benefit from the changing status quo to the degree Beijing believes the PRC will benefit.     

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.     

Capitalising on the financialisation of agriculture: Cargill’s land investment techniques in the Philippines

This paper has two objectives. First, it aims to analyse how transnational agricultural traders are positioning themselves in, and capitalising on, the financialisation of agriculture. Second, it seeks to position land investments in this process. This is done by situating Cargill – one of the largest agricultural trading companies in the world – into the transformation of agriculture in the world economy and by assessing its strategies of adaption through private equity-driven land investment in the Philippines. The article notes, following Burch and Lawrence, that the transforming position of agriculture is created by reshaping relationships in the agri-food supply chain and is based on the logic of finance capital. An example of this process from the Philippines is provided, where Cargill’s private equity arm – Black River Asset Management– is investing in land through equity acquisitions of a Philippine company, Agrinurture, in a manner that allows the company to adapt to national and local dynamics. The evolving and deepening connection between finance and agriculture is presented first, followed by a discussion of how Cargill fits into this transition in the Philippine context.     

Is Local Development Good Politics? Local Development Expenditures and the Re-Election of Governors in the Philippines in the 1990s

Abstract

Are incumbent governors who put more weight on development spending likely to be re-elected? To answer this question, an economic model of a re-electionist local chief executive is introduced and validated with a panel data of provincial governors who ran for another term of office during the election years 1992, 1995 and 1998 in the Philippines. It is found that incumbent governors improve their re-election chances with higher spending on economic development services, other things being constant. Moreover, governors who are members of political clans also have higher development spending especially when faced with rival clans. Thus, elections are still an effective disciplining device, more especially when rivalry is intense among political clans. The policy implication then is to enhance political competition rather than just ban political dynasties to improve the performance of elected officials under decentralization.     

The anti‐terrorism act of 1987—An update on the controversy surrounding efforts to close down PLO offices in the U.S.

Abstract

The basic intent of Congress in enacting the Anti‐Terrorism Act of 1987 was not to deprive supporters of the Palestinian Liberation Organization of expressing their opinions but to induce the PLO to renounce the use of terrorism. By reaffirming United States abhorrence of terrorism, the supporters of this legislation also hope to encourage the emergence of Palestinian leaders who are dedicated to a peaceful resolution of the Arab‐Israel conflict. While the United States Government and major Jewish organizations have supported the closing of the PLO's Washington‐based Palestine Information Office, there has been considerable questioning in these same circles of the wisdom of the Congressional action to close the PLO's Observer Mission to the United Nations. This action was challenged by the United Nations, and the International Court of Justice asked the United States to resolve this matter through arbitration. The Reagan Administration finally accepted a Federal court ruling that the law did not require closing the U.N. Mission.     

New jobs in urban areas—an evaluation of advance factory building

TEACHING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Richard A. Chapman, Joint University Council for Social and Public Administration: RIPA, 1973, pp. 95, £1.00.

THE EVOLUTION OF BRITISH TOWN PLANNING, Gordon G. Cherry, Leonard Hill, 1974, pp. 275, £6.00.

CITY POLITICS AND THE PRESS—JOURNALISTS AND THE GOVERNING OF MERSEYSIDE, Harvey Cox and David Morgan, Combridge University Press, 1973. (reprinted with corrections 1974), pp. 159, £2.80.

DEMOCRATIC THEORY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, Dilys M. Hill, Allen &; Unwin, 1974, pp. 243, £5.00 (£2.75 paperback).

GUERRILLAS IN THE BUREAUCRACY: THE COMMUNITY PLANNING EXPERIMENT IN THE UNITED STATES, Martin L. Needleman and Carolyn Emerson Needleman, John Wiley, 1974, pp. 386, £6.90.

THE MANAGEMENT OF URBAN CHANGE IN BRITAIN AND GERMANY, Richard Rose (ed.), Sage Publications, 1974, pp. 267, £5.00.

BIRMINGHAM 1939–1970, Anthony Sutcliffe and Roger Smith, Oxford University Press, 1974, pp. 514, £12.00.

MAKING INSTITUTIONS WORK, Geoffrey Vickers, Associated Business Programmes, 1973, pp. 187, £4.00.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT TRENDS 1973, CIPFA, 1974, pp. 301, £2.50.     

The birth of corruption and the politics of anti-corruption in Albania, 1991–2005

This paper analyzes the transformation of the signifier “corruption” in the Albanian public sphere during the period 1991–2005 from a discourse analysis approach. The aim is not to trace corruption in its presence and consequences, but to show how different articulations of corruption supported different agendas. More specifically, this paper aims to show how the corruption discourse that dominated Albanian public discussion during the period 1998–2005 served to legitimize a neoliberal order by articulating corruption as inherent to the public sector and to state intervention in the economy. This meant that corruption could be eliminated through neoliberal policies such as privatization and deregulation. Through a discourse analysis of corruption it is possible to politicize the concept of corruption instead of reducing it to a static and inherent feature of Albanian culture and society.