How preferences,information and institutions interactively drive agenda‐setting: Questions in the Belgian parliament, 1993–2000

In this article an integrated framework of agenda‐setting is proposed that incorporates the two main accounts of agenda‐setting: the information‐processing approach by Comparative Agenda Project scholars and the preference‐centred account advanced by Comparative Manifestoes Project scholars. The study claims that attention allocation is determined at the same time by preferences, information and institutions, and that attention allocation is affected by the interactions between these three factors. An empirical test is conducted that draws upon a dataset of parliamentary questions/interpellations in Belgium in the period 1993–2000. It is found that attention in parliament is indeed driven by preceding party manifestos (preferences), by available information (media coverage) and by institutional position (government or opposition party). The evidence establishes that agenda‐setting is also affected by the interactions between preferences, information and institutions. Actors, given their preferences, treat information in a biased fashion, and institutions moderate information's role.     

The Politics of Recognition versus the Politics of Hatred

Hatred of America expressed in the 11 September attack is more than matched by the hatred by Americans for Islamists expressed in the war on Afghanistan, the War against Terror and the threatened wars against the 'Axis of Evil'. It is argued here that there is a pattern of self-reinforcing hatred operating in the world set in motion by the actions of the United States, particularly by George Bush Snr, and embraced and used by George Bush Jr to reinforce and further develop this pattern. To oppose this it is necessary to understand how hatred is generated, how this system operates and how Bush is exploiting it, and then to provide an alternative. It is argued this requires a new story of civilisation as the quest for justice understood as true recognition to oppose to the myths based on hatred promulgated by Bush. In terms of this story, the extreme economic, social, political and military policies of Bush and the myths used to justify them should be recognised for what they are, the challenge of barbarism to civilisation.     

What Future for the Ombudsman?

The ombudsman institution, in both the public and private sectors, is increasingly identified with the ethos of consumerism and the protection of consumer rights. The current trend is exemplified and reinforced by the EU ADR Directive and by the government response to a recent inquiry into complaints conducted by the Public Administration Select Committee. This article argues that the dominant consumerist ethos diminishes the ability of the ombudsman institution to fulfil its potential. If the ombudsman institution, in particular as manifest in the office of the UK Parliamentary Ombudsman, is to serve the public interest, it must instead promote human rights principles and constitutional morality, adopt a process that is marked by public reasoning and participation and seek by a whole‐system approach to realise a vision that is integrated and truly democratic.     

AN ALTERNATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON DEMOCRATIC DILEMMAS

This is a comment stimulated by the article entitled "Scattered Thoughts on a Democratic Dilemma, by Nicholas Henry (PSR, August 1984). A reconstruction of part of the argument made by Henry is presented and an alternative view of the democratic process is sketched. The democratic process is viewed more as a problem solving process than a clout exercising process.     

Collaborative Federalism

Famously, federalism combines self-rule with shared rule or unity with diversity. Typically, the mix is achieved by creating or preserving two levels of government, each with a direct relationship with the people, and by dividing power between them. Traditionally, unity is achieved through the exercise of power by the central government, in relation to the polity as a whole. Diversity is the consequence of the exercise of power by sub-national governments over a portion of the population, generally territorially identified. The boundaries of power between the two spheres are secured by entrenching them in a written Constitution established as fundamental law, which is interpreted and applied by a court or courts.     

LOCKE AND NOZICK ON PROPERTY

Abstract: In this paper I hope to show that the differences between the Lockian and Nozickian ideas regarding the foundation of private property are far greater than is generally assumed. My purpose is not to criticize Nozick, but to show that the accepted interpretation of Locke on which he relies is mistaken. In particular, I hope to show (1) that the theory of appropriation by labor is not applicable after the invention of money; and is meant to show that the right to property is based on the right to life and self-preservation, and (2) that property arrangements after the introduction of money are justified primarily by utility rather than natural right, and (3) that the conditions created by the invention of money make the'regulation'of private property necessary for the preservation of mankind which is required by the law of nature.     

Black and (thin) blue (line): Corruption and other political determinants of police killings in America

Police violence is not uncommon in America, and the risk of civilians' being killed by police is considerably higher here than in similar countries, making it a major public health issue. For Black Americans the risk is significantly higher. In this study, we analyze the political determinants of police killings of Black Americans, with a specific focus on corruption in American states. Our evidence suggests that police can kill Black Americans with impunity because of a lack of accountability—exemplified by corruption—that is largely determined by political influences. Our findings point to ways in which the responsibility for police violence and killings is deeply rooted and influenced by the values of the wider society.     

论轮奸的复行为理论与共同正犯说

在我国刑法中，轮奸被定位为强奸犯罪的一种加重情节，而非独立的罪名。因强奸犯罪属复行为犯，复行为中的强制行为之上可成立共同正犯，而奸淫行为具有亲手性和排他性，故不能成立共同正犯，各犯罪人只能轮流地、各自地实施奸淫行为。轮奸不是典型意义上的共同正犯，而是数个独立意义上的强奸犯罪之叠加，也只能在宏观上被拟制成为“共同正犯”，即多犯罪人“在实现各自轮流奸淫被害人的目的支配下”通过参与实施“团体性”强制行为而实现每个犯罪人对被害人的奸淫行为。     

Elemental tests of the traditional rational voting model

A simple, robust, quasi-linear, structural general equilibrium rational voting model indicates turnout by voters motivated by the possibility of deciding the outcome is bell-curved in the ex-post winning margin and inversely proportional to electorate size. Applying this model to a large set of union certification elections, which often end in ties, yields exacting, lucid tests of the theory. Voter turnout is strongly related to election closeness, but not in the way predicted by the theory. Thus this relation is generated by some other mechanism, which is indeterminate, as no existing theory explains the nonlinear patterns of turnout in the data.     

The Influence of EU Membership on Methods and Processes of Budgeting in Britain and France, 1970–1995

This article explores the impact European Union (EU) integration has had on methods and processes of budgeting in France and Britain from 1970 to 1995. It assesses whether convergence of budgetary institutions occurs and, if so, whether it is promoted by an obligation of compliance or by an hybridization effect. Compliance refers to changes in national budgetary institutions made compulsory by membership in the EU. Hybridization emphasizes that national and EU budgetary processes are increasingly interwoven and indivisible. Public budgeting is no longer purely national because part of the decision-making on national expenditure is made at the EU level and because the national budget is closely linked to the EU budget in financial and policy terms. Based on an institutional analysis, combined with elite interviewing, the article suggests that hybridization is a significant factor contributing to a convergence of budgetary practices in Britain and France. Underlying the argument is the fact that an increasingly important function of departmental actors involves negotiating with their EU counterparts at the EU level, in addition to the conventional budgetary game at the domestic level. Regarding compliance, there is an influence as testified by significant formal institutional convergence. However, compliance seems a less effective factor in influencing convergence than hybridization because it conveys a "negative" approach to convergence, based on enforcement and sanctions. The article suggests that the convergence of administrative systems is promoted by the growing similarity of administrative practices more than by the harmonization of rules.     

Victimization,rent-seeking and just compensation

When should government compensate citizens for harm inflicted by public policy? In practice, all public policy is harmful to somebody, even when it is beneficial to society as a whole. The common view in the legal profession is that a fuzzy but serviceable line can be drawn between “taking” which should be compensated and the proper exercise of the “policy power” where no compensation is warranted. Recently this view has been challenged by some authors who argue that harm to victims of socially-advantageous public policy should never be compensated, and by others who argue that compensation is almost always warranted. The latter would go so far as to proscribe all redistribution of income as a “taking” from the well-to-do. This paper is a defense of the common view against both challenges. The key to the problem is the distinction between unalterable risk and the risk of victimization of citizens by the government, giving rise to rent-seeking and a general disorganization of society.     

Legislative ratings as a metric of goal cohesion within interest groups: Business vs. labor

This study investigates the instrumental goals of business and labor by analyzing legislative ratings issued by a number of organizations. Results indicate that the business community is more diverse in its political goals than is the labor community. The methodology employed is as follows. First, a business/labor categorical scheme is validated by using cluster analysis. Next, the degree of cohesion of the goals of business is compared with that of labor. Euclidean distance, which represents the degree of dissimilarity in the evaluation of Congress, is the metric used for this purpose.     

The religious transition. A long-run perspective

Religiosity is defined as the importance of religion in all aspects of life. The definition is operationalized into a robust measure by aggregating 14 items from the World Values Surveys. Religiosity falls by 50 % when countries pass through the transition from being underdeveloped to becoming a developed one. A formal test shows that long-run causality is predominantly from income to religiosity. The transition slope is robust to measurement error and composition of the country sample. The empirical macro relation is rationalized by some micro theory: Most components of the demand for religious goods are reduced by rising income. Churches supply religious goods directly and through three additional channels: education, healthcare, and social security. Rising income caused churches to lose control over the additional channels.     

Welfare state structures and the structure of welfare state support: Attitudes towards social spending in Canada, 1993–2000

Abstract.  The comparative welfare state literature contends that different welfare state structures engender different structures of welfare state support. The argument is that social welfare regimes that distribute their benefits selectively tend to produce patterns of support graduated by the likelihood of accessing these selective (or 'targeted') social benefits, especially as indexed by social class. Where benefits are universally distributed, by contrast, support is expected to be more consensual and to cut across class and related cleavages. This article empirically tests this 'interest-based' account and extends it by adding a 'values-based' component. The authors find that the impact of both interests and values – specifically, orientations toward the capitalist system – on welfare state support is conditional on welfare state structures. It is argued that these results help to resolve a paradox in the comparative welfare state literature: strong evidence for differentiation in social welfare support by program type, but weak evidence for differentiation in class effects by program type. Data for the analysis come from the Canadian Election Studies of 1993, 1997 and 2000.     

司法权与法律解释权辨析

司法权是法官在个案中行使的以裁判权为重心的权力,法律解释权是法官在个案中行使的对所适用的法律和所要处理的案件事实进行解释的权力,法律解释权属于司法权的一部分。司法权与法律解释权是同一种性质的权力,二者有许多相同之处。但法律解释权是一种相对独立存在的权力,它与司法权有一定的区别。厘清二者的关系,才能正确适用法律,保证司法公正。     

Employees’ resistance to users’ ideas in public service innovation

This article contributes to the existing criticism of the positive emphasis on user participation in service innovation as co-creation by examining employee resistance to user-driven innovation. The empirical base comprises interviews, document studies, and observations from a project that focused on implementing a user-initiated idea in public care services in Norway. To discuss employee resistance to innovative user ideas, a power perspective is included by drawing on the Foucault-based theory of identity regulation and discourse. Employees resist the required identity regulation by distorting the initial innovative idea to align with their problem representations, which is facilitated by entangled discourses. The power relations embedded in the different parties’ subject positions emphasize how governing the user side is incompatible with being governed by the users. The article contributes to our knowledge of service innovation and the co-creation of value by demonstrating discursive mechanisms for twisting value propositions.     

The myth of social capital in community development

Abstract

This article argues that contemporary interest in social capital by community development theorists, funders, and practitioners is misguided and needs to be thoroughly rethought. It argues that social capital, as understood by Robert Putnam and people influenced by his work, is a fundamentally flawed concept because it fails to understand issues of power in the production of communities and because it is divorced from economic capital. Therefore, community development practice based on this understanding of social capital is, and will continue to be, similarly flawed.

The article further argues that instead of Putnam's understanding of social capital, community development practice would be better served by returning to the way the concept was used by Glenn Loury and Pierre Bourdieu and concludes with a discussion of how these alternative theories of social capital can be realized in community development practice.     

江泽民依法治国论

实行依法治国,建设社会主义法治国家,是以江泽民同志为核心的党的第三代领导集体对邓小平民主与法制建设理论的继承与发展,是党领导人民治理国家的基本方略。依法治国,是党的领导、发扬人民民主和严格依法办事的统一,是政治体制改革的重要内容。依法治国是一项巨大的系统工程,从立法、行政、司法和普法教育等方面有大量艰苦的工作要做。加强对权力的监督制约,实行依法治国与以德治国并举是依法行政的重要保障。     

The effectiveness of institutional borrowing restrictions: Empirical evidence from Spanish municipalities

The need for restrictions on borrowing by subnational governments is a generally accepted notion that is justified both by public choice theory and by the fact that such restrictions are in force in the majority of decentralized countries. Furthermore, recent breaches of the Stability and Growth Pact of the European Union have led to the introduction of legislative tools aimed at balancing the budget at all levels of government have come to the forefront of interest in European public finance research. This paper is concerned with the financial situation and debt level of Spanish municipalities from 1988 to 2000. We have two main objectives: the first is to assess the value of mandatory limitations on municipal borrowing and past trends in the borrowing policies adopted by Spanish local authorities. The second is to develop an econometric model using panel data stratified by population size to measure indebtedness in Spanish municipalities. These measures enable us to formulate a series of hypotheses to explain municipal borrowing practices, which are then tested empirically. The evidence thus obtained appears to support the effectiveness of institutional borrowing restrictions to introduce some financial discipline in the borrowing policies adopted by local governments in Spain.     

The Changing Finnish Democracy: Stronger Parliamentary Accountability, Coalescing Political Parties and Weaker External Constraints

Examining constitutional and political developments since the Second World War, this article shows that Finland has moved from a system dominated by the president toward a normal parliamentary democracy. Government formation is now based on partisan negotiations and the president is almost completely excluded from the policy process in domestic matters. The chain of delegation from the voters to the civil servants is thus now simpler than before and subject to fewer external constraints. In fact, Finland is probably the only West European country where parliamentary democracy has become less constrained since the 1980s. Leadership by presidents has effectively been replaced with leadership by strong majority governments, which have ruled, without much effective opposition, since the early 1980s. The stronger role of parties in shaping public policy stands in contrast to the weakening of the parties among the electorate. The ability of political parties to effectively align preferences is increasingly in doubt, as indicated by the transforming cleavage structure, lower turnout and declining party membership.