The Brussels issue in Belgian politics

Belgium is one of the few countries that has been able effectively to accommodate major divisions along linguistic, cultural, ethnic and territorial lines within the fabric of a unitary government. However, one major issue which it has been unable to resolve is the status of its capital city, Brussels, within its devolution reforms. The status of Brussels encapsulates all aspects of the major community divisions in Belgium and has led to numerous unsuccessful legislative proposals, endless parliamentary debates, and the fall of several governments. It was not until 1980 that the Belgian government was able to deal ‘constructively’ with this issue. It did so by removing it from the national political agenda. It is likely that the status of Brussels as a non‐issue is the only resolution possible.     

Ethnic Politics and Women's Empowerment in Africa: Ministerial Appointments to Executive Cabinets

Under what conditions do women participate in executive power in multiethnic societies? Previous research has examined how political institutions, socioeconomic factors, and cultural norms affect the appointment of women as cabinet ministers. However, no study has assessed the extent to which the politicization of ethnicity—a cleavage that shapes political life in many countries—affects women's cabinet appointments. Focusing on sub‐Saharan Africa, we argue that women are less likely to become cabinet ministers where incumbents use such appointments to build patronage‐based alliances with politicians who act as advocates for ethnic constituencies. Using an original dataset on the composition of cabinets in 34 African countries from 1980 to 2005, we show that women's share of cabinet appointments is significantly lower in countries where leaders must accommodate a larger number of politicized ethnic groups, but it rises with higher levels of democracy and greater representation of women in parliament.     

Bottom-Up Federalism: The Diffusion of Antismoking Policies from U.S. Cities to States

Studies of policy diffusion often focus on the horizontal spread of enactments from one state to another, paying little or no attention to the effects of local laws on state-level adoptions. For example, scholars have not tested whether local policy adoptions make state action more likely (through a snowball effect) or less likely (through a pressure valve effect). This study conducts the first comprehensive analysis of vertical policy diffusion from city governments to state governments, while simultaneously examining the influence of state-to-state and national-to-state diffusion. Focusing on three different types of antismoking laws, we find evidence that policies do bubble up from city governments to state governments. State politics are crucial to this relationship, however, as local-to-state diffusion is contingent on the level of legislative professionalism and the strength of health advocates in the state.     

People Power or a One‐Shot Deal? A Dynamic Model of Protest

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, a crucial question is whether popular protest is now likely to be a permanent part of Middle Eastern politics or if the protests that have taken place over the past two years are more likely to be a “one‐shot deal.” We consider this question from a theoretical perspective, focusing on the relationship between the consequences of protests in one period and the incentives to protest in the future. The model provides numerous predictions for why we might observe a phenomenon that we call the “one‐shot deal”: when protest occurs at one time but not in the future despite an intervening period of bad governance. The analysis focuses on the learning process of citizens. We suggest that citizens may not only be discovering the type or quality of their new government—as most previous models of adverse selection assume—but rather citizens may also be learning about the universe of potential governments in their country. In this way, bad performance by one government induces some pessimism about possible replacements. This modeling approach expands the formal literature on adverse selection in elections in two ways: it takes seriously the fact that removing governments can be costly, and it explores the relevance of allowing the citizen/principal to face uncertainty about the underlying distribution from which possible government/agent types are drawn.     

When Governments Regulate Governments

This article advances a political theory of regulation that accounts for the choices of regulators and regulated entities when both are governments. Leading theories of regulation assume that governments regulate profit‐maximizing firms: Governments set rules, to which firms respond rationally in ways that constrain their behavior. But often the entities that governments regulate are other governments. We argue that government agencies and private firms often face different compliance costs, and that agencies have greater incentives than firms to appeal regulations through political channels. Simultaneously, the typical enforcement instruments that regulators use to influence firm behavior may be less effective against governments. Our empirical subjects are public and private entities’ compliance with the U.S. Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act. We find that, compared with private firms, governments violate these laws significantly more frequently and are less likely to be penalized for violations.     

Coalition government and electoral accountability

Single-party governments are commonly thought to be more clearly responsible for government policy than coalition governments. One particular problem for voters evaluating coalition governments is how to assess whether all parties within a coalition should be held equally responsible for past performance. As a result, it is generally argued that voters are less likely to hold coalition governments to account for past performance. This article uses data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems project to assess whether and how the composition of coalition governments affects the way in which people use their votes to hold governments to account, and which parties within coalitions are more likely to be held to account for the government’s past performance.     

Regime Types and Discrimination against Ethnoreligious Minorities: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Autocracy–Democracy Continuum

Although many assume that the relationship between the autocracy–democracy continuum and discrimination is linear, with autocracies discriminating the most and democracies discriminating the least, the assumption is not universal. This study uses the Minorities at Risk dataset to test this relationship with regard to government treatment of religiously differentiated ethnic minorities (ethnoreligious minorities) as well as ethnic minorities that are not religiously differentiated. The results show that the pattern of treatment of ethnoreligious minorities differs from that of other ethnic minorities. The extent to which a state is democratic has no clear influence on the level of discrimination against non-religiously differentiated ethnic minorities, but it has a clear influence on the level of discrimination against ethnoreligious minorities. Autocracies discriminate more than democracies against ethnoreligious minorities, but semi-democracies, those governments that are situated between democracies and autocracies, discriminate even less. This result is consistent on all 11 measures used here and is statistically significant for seven of them, and it remains strong when controlling for other factors, including separatism. This phenomenon increases in strength from the beginning to the end of the 1990s. Also, democracies discriminate against ethnoreligious minorities more than they do against other minorities. The nature of liberal democracy may provide an explanation for this phenomenon.     

Making a difference? Public perceptions of coalition,single-party,and minority governments

It is often argued that coalition governments are less likely to ‘make a difference’ than single-party governments. Because they are composed of multiple actors who need to agree to policy innovations, and because there are fewer personnel changes between successive coalition governments, coalitions are associated with fewer policy differences. From this it follows that public perceptions that governments should ‘make a difference’ will be weaker under coalition than single-party governments. The same logic applies to minority governments, which require support to pass legislation from opposition parties, and hence are less likely to deliver on their commitments. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, this paper tests these hypotheses. The expected effects, albeit small ones, are found for coalition governments, but only in old democracies.     

Federalism in Africa: Origins,Operation and (In)Significance

Abstract

Recent years have seen major advances in the comparative study of federalism and a growing literature on decentralization in Africa, but there has been surprisingly little systematic comparison of African federalism. This article explains several commonalities in the origins and operation of Africa's three main federal states: Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa. Each country used ‘holding-together’ federalism in order to accommodate ethnic pluralism. Each country—especially Ethiopia and South Africa—also experienced several key centripetal forces: dominant governing parties, top-down state administration and high degrees of fiscal centralism. Federalism mattered in offering accommodative decentralization, but in its operation subnational governments have limited autonomy because of these interlocking centralizing features. This African variant of federalism can have certain salutary features, even as it precludes the possibility of many of the theorized advantages of federalism that are predicated on real subnational autonomy.     

Political participation of ethnic minorities in the 1980s

Currently political participation, especially voter registration and turnout, varies substantially with ethnicity. Blacks and non-Hispanic whites participate at roughly equal rates, while Latinos and Asian-Americans are substantially less active. This variation may be the direct product of cultural factors, or it may reflect differences in the distribution of various determinants of participation, most notably education, citizenship, and age. Using data collected in 1984 on samples of California's black, Latino, Asian-American, and non-Hispanic white populations, we conclude that such variables fully account for lower Latino participation rates. Even with these controls, however, Asian-Americans remain less likely to vote. Because ethnic group consciousness is one of the variables related to activity, we conclude that ethnicity does have an indirect effect on participation as a basis for mobilization. In addition, we establish that noncitizens engage in nonelectoral activities, and we project future political participation rates of Latinos and Asian-Americans under several scenarios.     

Strength of Strong Ties in Intercity Government Information Sharing and County Jurisdictional Boundaries

Studies have found that information sharing between city governments can be easily observed within the same county jurisdiction, but less attention has been paid to the reasons why the jurisdictional boundary matters. This article fills this lacuna, drawing on the insight of the “strength of strong ties” argument that “people help their friends first.” The analysis reveals that city governments in the Orlando, Florida, metropolitan area are more likely to share economic development information (EDI) with governments in the same county as the collective demand for such information in that area increases. This study additionally finds that the greater the demand for EDI, the more likely it is that city governments will seek the information from their county members. As a result, as the demand for information increases among city governments in a metropolitan area, the likelihood that it will be shared by all members of the area beyond the county boundaries decreases.     

Implementing eGovernment without promoting dependence: open source software in developing countries in Southeast Asia

Given that eGovernment is likely to become part of development strategies, the most desirable form of eGovernment is that which promotes the domestic generation of intellectual property or, at least, contributes least to the international intellectual property (IP) imbalance. One way to achieve these ends is to implement eGovernment using free or open source software (FOSS). This will reduce dependence on software owned by major companies in developed countries. It could also promote an IP generating capacity in developing countries. An examination of the status of free or open source software in developing countries in Southeast Asia reveals that governments in these countries are aware of FOSS and wish to foster its use (but face considerable pressure to use proprietary software). This examination also reveals the presence of small but active groups seeking to develop and promote the use of free or open source software. This article is comprised of a discussion of FOSS (including that suitable for eGovernment), an explanation of the importance of FOSS for developing countries, a justification of government's centrality to the introduction of FOSS and a consideration of policies and initiatives undertaken by governments in developing countries in Southeast Asia. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The political obstacles to economic reform in North Korea: The ultra cautious strategy in comparative perspective

As a result of the financial crisis, some commentators see the reform process in the East Asian states as an outcome of the disciplining behaviour of financial markets that will lead to the emergence of a neoliberal form of capitalism. The Malaysian experience suggests, however, that progress to neoliberal forms of economic organization will not be inevitable, despite governments having to increasingly accommodate global markets. In Malaysia, the degree to which a neoliberal adjustment response could be embraced was limited by domestic political factors. First, the government needed to maintain the ethnic based distributive policy that favours ethnic Malays with material entitlements for reasons of state and regime security. Second, the state was not wholly insulated from a key social group that emerged as a result of the ethnic-based distributive policy, namely an elite Malay corporate group. A third reason was economic nationalism, a major component of Prime Minister Mahathir's vision for the country that stressed the building up of Malaysian corporations and conglomerates. Access to domestic sources of funds for adjustment and the centralization of power in the government, particularly in the office of the Prime Minister, facilitated this process of defending national economic arrangements, at least during the period in question. The limited liberalization of the ethnic based distributive policy did not, however, imply a shift in the ideological and policy agenda towards complete embrace of neoliberal norms and practices. The imposition of capital controls, although announced as a temporary measure to allow space for the government to pursue its preferred course of adjustment, further indicates that the commitment to free markets in Malaysia is instrumental. The Malaysian case suggests that movement towards neoliberal forms of economic organization as a result of the financial crisis may be limited and is not inevitable.     

四川“三州”民族地区扶贫搬迁战略研究

恶劣的自然条件和和特殊的人文环境导致四川"三州"民族地区贫困人口众多、贫困程度深重,必须进行扶贫搬迁才能彻底摆脱贫困。由于受扶贫搬迁耗资巨大、国家补助太低、可迁入地越来越少等因素的制约,四川"三州"民族地区必须确立战略目标、找准实施重点,保障政策、资金、产业、人才支持,才能确保扶贫搬迁工程的顺利推进。     

Administrative problems of the provincial sales tax on beer in Papua New Guinea

With the establishment of provincial government in Papua New Guinea, the Organic Law has conferred on the provincial governments the authority to raise revenue using local revenue bases including retail sales taxes. These taxes have significant advantages and a sales tax on beer has particular benefits in P.N.G. in terms of potential yield and ease of administrative management. The tax is levied on the two breweries and the breweries collect the tax at their breweries and wholesale warehouses on behalf of the provincial governments. For the brewery with the dominant share of the market the arrangement under which it collects the tax for a commission and pays over quarterly to the provincial governments brings financial advantage. The brewery with a smaller share of the market and localized sales is less likely to be benefitting by the arrangement. For the future given expected beer consumption a change from a quantity based tax to ad valorem rates would be financially advantageous to the provincial governments, and would reduce the need for some provinces to seek tax sources elsewhere, but experience shows the general benefit of raising the tax, not at the point of final sale, but on the wholesaler or manufacturer.     

Cyberattacks at the Grass Roots: American Local Governments and the Need for High Levels of Cybersecurity

This article examines data from the first‐ever nationwide survey of cybersecurity among American local governments. The data show that these governments are under constant or near‐constant cyberattack, yet, on average, they practice cybersecurity poorly. While nearly half reported experiencing cyberattacks at least daily, one‐third said that they did not know whether they were under attack, and nearly two‐thirds said that they did not know whether their information systems had been breached. Serious barriers to their practice of cybersecurity include a lack of cybersecurity preparedness within these governments and a lack of adequate funding for it. The authors make recommendations to local governments to improve their cybersecurity practice and to scholars for additional research into local government cybersecurity, an area that, to date, has largely been neglected by researchers from the social sciences and computer science.     

Are Some Citizens More Equal than Others? Evidence from a Field Experiment

The equal treatment of all citizens is one of the fundamental principles of good administrative practice. Nevertheless, there are growing numbers of media and scientific reports on unequal treatment by public administrations. This article examines the unequal treatment of citizens by gender and ethnic origin by means of a survey‐based field experiment in German local government. With the help of two vignettes and randomized assignment of names, responses to fake citizen requests by local governments are analyzed for speed, quality, and service orientation. The results show very limited discrimination effects. While there is no evidence for general ethnic discrimination, a more differentiated analysis indicates patterns of ethnic discrimination conditioned by gender.     

政府评价层级差异与差序政府信任--基于2011年全国调查数据的实证研究

在2011年全国调查数据的基础上,尝试以民众对不同层级政府的评价差异解释差序政府信任产生和维系的原因。研究发现民众在对中央和地方政府在绩效、动机以及腐败程度等问题进行评价时显著青睐于中央政府,这种评价上的差异导致民众对中央政府的信任显著高于对地方政府的信任,从而产生了差序政府信任。     

Autonomous Local Climate Change Policy: An Analysis of the Effect of Intergovernmental Relations Among Subnational Governments

Local governments have emerged as important players in climate change governance, both at home and on the international stage. Likewise, action by states and provinces has been increasingly highlighted, particularly as national actors have moved slowly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But to what extent do local governments act independently from state and provincial governments in the area of climate change mitigation? Using an explicit process tracing approach, the article tests two hypotheses regarding the influence of upper level subnational governments on local policy. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a city that is a climate change leader, provincial government intervention cannot explain the results of climate change mitigation policy making. This suggests that local governments can exercise an important degree of autonomy over climate change policy, but also implies that where municipalities are less independently committed to climate action, active upper level government intervention will likely be needed.     

Consumer capture of regulatory institutions: The creation of public utility consumer advocates in the United States

We examine the conditions under which state legislatures in the United States organized public utility consumers during the 1970s and 1980s by creating independent consumer advocates with resources and authority to intervene in public utility rate-making procedures. While economic factors, notably utility fuel cost increases, were important predictors, state political conditions were estimated to have a larger impact on the probability of implementation. We find that the pattern of adoption is consistent with the hypothesis that legislatures deploy institutions as a mechanism for insulating regulatory policies against future reform: in general, Democrat-controlled governments were significantly more likely to implement consumer advocates when they were less certain about being re-elected to office during this period. We find also that the effect of political re-election expectations was particularly acute for the creation of advocates representing solely residential consumers, a relatively disorganized interest group. Our results suggest that legislatures organize and publicly fund interest groups to protect supportive but vulnerable groups against adverse future political environments.