The Class of 96: A Biographical Analysis of New Government Members of the Australian House of Representatives

The 1996 federal election brought thirty-six new government members into the House of Representatives. The size of the "Class of 96" provides an opportunity for a comparison of biographical characteristics, looking for common experiences and backgrounds, as well as for an exploration of similarities and differences with previous cohorts of Coalition MPs. This examination will suggest that, in biographical terms, the "Class of 96" represents a significant new development in Australian politics. Further, a detailed analysis of the first speeches of the members of the "Class of 96" provides a window into the minds of those who have sought and achieved office on behalf of the Liberal and National parties after thirteen years in the political wilderness.     

学者与决策者的关系——来自白宫的看法

到目前为止,在美国政治学界和国际关系学界,已形成了一套完善的评价学者与决策者之间鸿沟的研究文献(如乔治、詹特尔森、李侃如、奈、威尔逊等人的文章)。不过,这一所谓的鸿沟主要集中体现在正式的国际关系理论上,与那些直接与现实世界联系密切的经济学领域关系不大。值得庆幸的是,就美洲国家之间的关系而言,各种意识形态、文化和社会差异在学界和政界所造成的鸿沟已随着时间的流逝而不断缩小。意识形态的两极化与共有价值观的缺失,这一标志冷战时期特征的现象已大     

American policy toward Beijing, 1989–1990: The role of president Bush and the White House staff

The Tiananmen massacre of June 1989 created a major crisis in U.S. policy toward China. President Bush and his aides on the National Security Council staff took the lead in formulating the U.S. response to the crisis. The president took charge personally in dealing with various issues during the next two years. He strove hard to maintain a balanced policy that would allow for continued U.S. involvement with the people and leaders of China. In the crisis atmosphere of 1989–1990, the president appeared to judge that it was important to narrow sharply the circle of officials who would manage U.S. policy toward China. In part, this was because the president was attempting to strike a difficult balance in U.S. policy. On the one hand, he was attempting to elicit positive gestures from Beijing's beleaguered leaders in the wake of Tiananmen. On the other hand, he was attempting to avoid what he judged were overly punitive and counterproductive U.S. measures against China, which were being pressed on the administration by U.S. leaders in the Congress, media and elsewhere. The president and his close advisors took steps to ensure that State Department and other U.S. officials avoided comment on the most sensitive policy issue of 1990—the extension of most-favored-nation tariff treatment to China. By the end of 1990, however, the president's policy efforts had not stilled congressional debate or restored a consensus in U.S. China policy. President Bush still labored under the misperception in many quarters that he was less interested than others in human rights in China, was overly attentive to the interests of Chinese leaders, and stressed excessively China's alleged strategic importance for the United States. In fact, the Chinese government's relatively constructive role in world affairs, especially over such vital issues as the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf crisis, appeared to do more to win U.S. support for the president's carefully balanced approach to China than the efforts by administrative leaders to explain the policy.     

A Feminised Style of Politics? Women MPs in the House of Commons

One hundred and one Labour women MPs were returned to the House of Commons at the 1997 general election. Constituting 24 per cent of the Parliamentary Labour Party, they were, according to critical mass theory, a 'tilted group' and in a position to effect change. Drawing on 23 in-depth interviews with Labour women MPs first elected in 1997, this article establishes that many of them believe that women politicians practise politics in a feminised way. This claim is, however, premised upon gender rather than sex differences and party identity is also identified as an important determinant. The women MPs' perception that women's style is less legitimate than men's is explored through a discussion of the newly elected Labour women MPs' loyalty in parliamentary votes.     

Stephen H. Roberts' The House That Hitler Built as a Source on Nazi Germany

This article is a critical evaluation of Stephen H. Roberts' The House that Hitler Built (1937) as a source on Nazi Germany. Roberts' book was one of the most successful contemporary accounts of Nazi Germany by an English-speaking visitor, at least as far as the number of printings and translations was concerned. The work is also of interest on account of Roberts' important position in the history of the historical profession in Australia. The present article proceeds by examining the evidence about Roberts' visits to Germany in 1936, and the context of the book's composition, relating it to other contemporary sources, in order to arrive at an assessment of the book's merits as a primary source and as a scholar's assessment of the "Third Reich". The article finds that while Roberts' work contains some shrewd insights and is persuasively written, the scholarship is sometimes flawed, with Roberts ultimately arriving at correct conclusions for the wrong reasons.     

Mobilising the Periphery: Brazil's My House My Life Programme and the Homeless Workers' Movement

Brazil's Movimento de Trabalhadores Sem Teto (MTST, Homeless Workers' Movement) has grown dramatically in recent years. This growth was partly provided for by the use of a large government housing programme, Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV, My House My Life), which allowed the MTST to construct housing for its members and swell its ranks with thousands of new members. Yet some have argued that the MCMV programme used by the MTST may compromise the autonomy of civil society organisations. This article, by contrast, argues that while the MCMV programme encouraged bureaucratic practices, it also helped to promote the cultural politics of the MTST.     

Uncounted Votes: Informal Voting in the House of Representatives as a Marker of Political Exclusion in Australia

This article examines the implications of high levels of informal (or invalid) voting in Australian national elections using a social exclusion framework. The rate of the informal vote is an indicator of social and political exclusion with particular groups of Australians experiencing inordinate electoral disadvantage. Poorer voters, voters from non‐English speaking backgrounds and those with low education levels are especially disadvantaged by factors peculiar to the Australian voting experience. We begin by exploring the character and pattern of informal voting and then canvass the technical and socio‐economic factors which explain it. We conclude by considering proposed options for reducing informality, some of which are: the abandonment of compulsory voting, major structural change to the voting system as well as ballot re‐design, electoral education and community information initiatives.     

From the Gallery to the Parliament: Journalists in the House of Representatives and Senate, 1901–2007

In this article we examine the extent of career cross‐over from journalism to politics in Australia using biographical data on the pre‐parliamentary careers of federal politicians since 1901. We find that while journalists continue to be over‐represented in Australia's national Parliament, there is evidence of a decline in the number making the career switch to politics. We argue that one explanation for this is the growing professionalisation of both vocations, and of journalism especially. Journalism education inculcates in graduates a strong sense of the media's Fourth Estate role, contributing to a professional identity that militates against taking up a political career. We also find that in recent decades, in spite of a small number of celebrated cases of journalists joining the ranks of the ALP, prior careers in journalism have been more prevalent among Coalition MPs. We argue that this reflects an ALP pre‐selection system that has become less accommodating of all pre‐parliamentary occupations other than trade union official and political staffer.     

Establishing an Islamic niche in Kazakhstan: Musylman Publishing House and its publications

There has been an increase in Muslim piety and practice in Kazakhstan since the fall of the Soviet Union. Much of this increase is due to the efforts of members of the piety movement in Kazakhstan, who preach and publish about Islam in an effort to inspire more Kazakhs to embrace a particular vision of Islam emphasizing daily prayer, modest dress and condemnation of saint and ancestor veneration. From its humble beginnings as a press primarily publishing translations of short books on Islam, Musylman Publishing House has grown to become an influential Islamic press in Kazakhstan. Building on observations at the Musylman Publishing House editorial office and interviews with its staff, this essay examines the history and publications of Musylman Publishing House. It is argued that the publishing strategy directed by Qayrat Isa, the owner and chief editor of Musylman Publishing House, has been a conscious effort to establish, expand and consolidate a publishing niche for the piety movement in Kazakhstan. The result of this strategy has been the establishment of a readership that no longer simply reads about Islam, but actively preaches to others and contributes articles and books to Musylman Publishing House, creating a self-sustaining piety movement.     

议员解读国会——读《众院之内:前议员解释国会如何运作》

正如书名所显示的,《众院之内:前议员解释国会如何运作》①一书的特色在于它是一本从议员视角解读美国国会运作的文集。该书的主编之一卢·弗雷在参加美国前国会议员协会的“国会到校园项目”时,发现国会研究著作缺乏从议员个人观点看待国会的内部视角,遂精选参加该项目的前众议员演讲稿编成该书,旨在提供关于国会运作的第一手资料。本书收录了34名前众议员、1名前众议员的配偶、1名前议员助手、1名前游说者和1名加拿大学者的文章,内容涉及议员生活的诸多方面。一议员角色及其投票行为本书指出,议员通常具有立法者、社会工作者、教师和政治…