Political Scepticism: A Reply to the Critics

In a previous article in this journal ( Bufacchi, 2001 ) I argued that political scepticism is a defining characteristic of liberal democracy. I have been criticised for inadequately distinguishing political scepticism from fallibilism (Festenstein, 2001) and for failing to appreciate the role of moral autonomy within liberal democracy (Hyland, this issue). In this article I respond to my critics, first by clarifying the difference between political scepticism and fallibilism, and secondly by suggesting that political scepticism is a necessary condition for moral autonomy.     

A Modest Defense of Politically Engaged Best Practices: The Case of Legislative Strengthening

Critics of donor‐funded democracy promotion claim that these programs are frequently designed to reproduce social and governmental models drawn from developed countries and imposed on the recipient country without regard to local conditions, with experts parachuted in to provide guidance based on international “best practices.” The critique focuses on first‐generation development with a neutral, technical focus, whereas democracy promotion has evolved toward a more politically engaged approach to programming—what we label as second‐generation and, more recently, third‐generation development practices. We apply this distinction to the area of legislative strengthening (LS) by describing its history from the post–World War II period to the present and provide examples of LS projects to support the argument. The challenge is to combine valuable insights from best practices from decades of experience while adapting them through political engagement with local partners and with bilateral donors.     

中国发展低碳经济的路径选择

以低能耗、低污染、低排放为基础的低碳经济是人类社会的一大进步,国外已采取多种措施发展低碳经济。发展低碳经济,是中国做负责任的大国、实现和平崛起和可持续发展的必然选择。中国应采取多种措施发展低碳经济。     

In Defence of Associative Political Obligations: Part One

Part One of this article seeks to defend the idea of associative political obligations against a number of criticisms that have been advanced opposing it. The purpose of this defence is not to demonstrate that the associative account is therefore the best explanation of political obligations, but only that the principal reasons which have been given for rejecting it are much less compelling than its critics maintain. The argument focuses in particular on the various criticisms advanced by A. John Simmons. Two general lines of defence figure especially prominently. First, it is shown how many of the criticisms in one way or another ultimately rest on the assumption that political obligations must be voluntarily acquired, when it is just this assumption that is contested by an associative account. Secondly, it rebuts the charge that the idea of associative obligations faces a particular problem because it entails the view that members must have obligations to associations or groups that are evil. While it is not claimed that the idea of associative political obligations is entirely without difficulties, it is contended that stories of its demise are greatly exaggerated, and in this respect the ground is laid for Part Two of the article, which sketches a particular account of associative political obligations.     

Federalism at the American Founding: In Defense of the Diamond Theses

Vincent Ostrom's analysis of The Federalist's understandingof federalism fails to consider the historical and theoreticalcontext of The Federalist's arguments. Ostrom takes certainrhetorical devices of The Federalist too much at face value.He correctly sees that the authors of The Federalist view eighteenth-centuryfederalism as bad government. He incorrectly concludes thatsince it is bad government, that understanding could not havebeen the true meaning of federalism. The Federalist understandseighteenth-century federalism to be "the true meaning" of federalismas established by the political discourse of the times. TheConstitution departs radically from eighteenth-century federalism,but The Federalist seeks to conceal how radical the departureis, in part, by offering a looser definition of federalism thatwill allow the Constitution to be characterized as a federalsystem. A consideration of the writings of the opponents tothe Constitution suggests the limited success of this attemptat redefinition.     

In Defense of Comparative Statics: Specifying Empirical Tests of Models of Strategic Interaction

Christopher Zorn Department of Political Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208 e-mail: zorn{at}sc.edu e-mail: ccarrub{at}emory.edu (corresponding author) Beginning in 1999, Curtis Signorino challenged the use of traditionallogits and probits analysis for testing discrete-choice, strategicmodels. Signorino argues that the complex parametric relationshipsgenerated by even the simplest strategic models can lead towildly inaccurate inferences if one applies these traditionalapproaches. In their stead, Signorino proposes generating stochasticformal models, from which one can directly derive a maximumlikelihood estimator. We propose a simpler, alternative methodologyfor theoretically and empirically accounting for strategic behavior.In particular, we propose carefully and correctly deriving one'scomparative statics from one's formal model, whether it is stochasticor deterministic does not particularly matter, and using standardlogit or probit estimation techniques to test the predictions.We demonstrate that this approach performs almost identicallyto Signorino's more complex suggestion. Authors' note: We would like to thank Randy Calvert, Mark Hallerberg,Andrew Martin, Eric Reinhardt, Chris Stanton, and Craig Voldenfor their valuable feedback on this project. All remaining errorsare our own. Replication materials are available at the PoliticalAnalysis Web site.     

Varieties of Liberalism: Keynesian Responses to the Great Recession in France and Germany

This article argues that distinctive liberal traditions shaped France and Germany's Keynesian policy responses to the post‐2007 economic crisis. In France, “statist liberalism” privileges an activist state that favors macroeconomic intervention and investment. German “corporate liberalism,” by contrast, is more pluralist and emphasizes the powers and responsibilities of social and economic groups, who are viewed as the fundamental components of the social order. The article argues that these traditions shaped elite interpretations of the crisis and played central roles in defining policy trajectories. They informed a modest French response focused on macroeconomic stimulus that relied on existing income support and a larger German effort centered on a microeconomic strategy of group subsidization. It concludes that these outcomes are inconsistent with traditional institutional accounts and highlights the importance of research on the role of ideas in shaping national responses to economic crises.     

The Disappearance of a Gender Gap: Tolerance and Liberalism in Denmark from 1971 to 1990

Bad on data from Denmark, the paper examines the development of gender differences in political tolerance during the 1970s and 1980s. There was a large gender gap in tolerance at the beginning of the 1970s. which had totally disappeared by the end of the 1980s. The analysis shows that at the beginning of the 1970s. the gender gap is partly explained by differences in political involvement. Interpreted as a result of the different political socialization of men and women. However. part of the difference is unchanged by any control. and this "unexplained" difference is interpreted as the result of a specific female culture. Against this background, it is surprising that the gender difference in political tolerance has vanished only twenty years later. The paper argues that, during these twenty years. a cultural shift has taken place in Denmark. merging the female and male cultures. and eliminating the hitherto 'unexplained' gender difference.     

Defending the Articles of Confederation: A Reply to Dougherty

This reply addresses the issues raised byDougherty in response to my 1999 article in this journal. Ialso develop a new graphical model of the optimal collectionrate under the Articles, where states made contributions, andcontrast it to the revenue potential from direct taxation. Ibelieve that despite Dougherty's criticisms, my argumentremains valid. While the Articles were not perfect in anabsolute sense, that when more properly viewed in acomparative manner, that the system of state contributions forraising revenue under the Articles was (and still is) superiorto a system of direct federal taxation.