Central Weakness and Provincial Autonomy: Observations on the Devolution Process in Russia

A specialist on regional politics and center-periphery relations in the Russian Federation examines the process of devolution of authority from Moscow to the regions in the 1990s. A discussion of the process by which federal treaties were negotiated is followed by an examination of types of de facto policy autonomy that have emerged at the regional level by default. Research sources include Russianlanguage documents and interviews with a range of central and regional officials. There follows a discussion of the impact on the devolution process of the institutional structure of the Russian state.     

新冠疫情对中日韩价值链的影响

2020年初暴发的新冠疫情给世界经济造成了不可低估的损失,全球价值链受到巨大冲击,流通受阻、贸易萎缩、价值链一度濒临断裂,中日韩价值链也不例外。疫情下,中国、日本、韩国为实现价值链重组,从政策与导向、供给与需求、贸易与流通等方面实施了多项策略。中日韩三国采取的应对措施有利于完善其国内价值链,促进价值链技术革新,加深中日韩价值链的区域化程度,但也不可排除存在割裂原有价值链的风险。后疫情时代,中日韩三国应携手抗疫,深化合作,共同提升价值链抗压能力,快速推进价值链数字化建设,最终实现中日韩价值链重组并带动区域乃至世界经济增长。     

The Impact of 3/11 on Japan

The question posed in this paper is whether the triple disaster of 3/11 constitutes a ??critical juncture?? in Japan. We can point to minor discontinuities in Japanese policies, institutions, and identity caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear plant meltdown that eventuated on March 11, 2011, but in the year following the event there was no evidence of a critical change. The disaster and post-disaster situation in Japan are summarized, and an explanation for the lack of critical change in nuclear policy??an area where change might have been expected in view of the fact that European countries reacted to 3/11 with critical changes in nuclear energy policy??is sought by comparing the ability of mainstream theories of Japanese politics to explain the situation.     

The Impact of WTO Accession on Russia's Agriculture

The article analyzes the impact of WTO accession on Russia's agricultural sector. Three aspects of WTO rules that will affect Russian agriculture are examined: (1) financial support from the Russian government, (2) market access for foreign imports, and (3) market access for Russia's food exports. Addressing the question of positive and negative impacts on Russia's agricultural sector, the article asks if a pessimistic view that sees primarily negative consequences as a result of accession is justified. Claims made by skeptics who are dismissive of the impact WTO entry will have on Russian agriculture are also considered.     

The Impact of Municipality Mergers on Political Participation

The citizen assembly of the Swiss canton Glarus in 2006 decided to radically reduce the historical number of communes from 25 to three. Studies show that the financial and economic consequences are surprisingly small. This paper analyzes the effects on citizens' vote participation as an indicator of their political involvement. Using the difference-in-difference and the synthetic control methods, we empirically show that vote participation dropped significantly, also compared to neighboring cantons and the rest of Switzerland.     

The Origins of the British Commonwealth Strategic Reserve: The UK Proposal to Revitalise ANZAM and the increased Australian Defence Commitment to Malaya

At the end of 1952 the UK proposed to revitalise the ANZAM arrangement by concentrating it more closely on the defence of British interests in Malaya. Hitherto ANZAM had focused almost completely upon planning for the wartime defence of sea communications in the Southwest Pacific. This article explains why the UK sought to revitalise ANZAM, and why Australia accepted the British proposal. The British proposal arose from the adoption by the UK of a strategy of nuclear deterrence which led it to project both a future reduction of British conventional forces available for overseas commitments, and a greater reliance upon Commonwealth partners for the protection of British interests in Malaya. It also represented an attempt to reduce the value of the ANZUS security treaty, signed in early September 1951. Australia accepted the British proposal that Commonwealth partners should shoulder a heavier burden in Malaya as a way of preserving the value of ANZUS and of adjusting to the future reduction of the British military presence in Asia.     

The Condition of the Ottoman Mine Labour and Its Impact on the Republican Period

In the Ottoman state, mining was important for the conduct of war, mints, public works, crafts industry, and financing the centralized administration system. In the republican period, mines were also important in the state's industrialization project, and they were used to subsidize the developing industries through provision of low-cost raw materials. These policies of the Ottoman and Turkish states had serious consequences for mine labour. Analysis of the Ottoman mining industry in the classical and post-classical periods, and also during the Turkish Republican period, highlights a range of emerging patterns. These include the strict control of the production by the state, the common practice of subcontracting, the role of foreign capital in the history of mining, the village-based division of labour around the mines, the use of peasant cultivator miners, the exploitation of unfree labour, the lack of investment, and traditional labour-intensive working conditions. The concept of ‘development and persistence’ is invaluable in explaining the longevity and extent of these practices stemming from historical circumstances, and we can see the persistence of some of these practices during the Republican period, despite the changes in the political regime and economic development. Throughout, the miners have been in a vulnerable position in relation to the state, exacerbated by their ambiguous peasant-miner position as wage labourers.