Making Democracy Work in a Federal System

Elections shape the type of democracy. However, rules of elections, election behaviour, and consequences of elections are also affected by the institutions and patterns of democracy. In federal systems, elected governments exert divided powers or share powers, with significant consequences for the way democracy works. The effects of federal organisation on democracy are, however, unclear. Whereas research on federalism tends to suggest that both forms are complementary and mutually supportive, research on democracy points out negative implications of multilevel structures and interlocking politics. This article presents an analytical perspective and attempts to clarify under what conditions federalism and democracy are compatible or in conflict. Understanding these relations is essential to assess the relevance and effects of elections in federalism. In a comparative perspective, it also sheds light on the particular features of democracy and federalism in Germany.     

Determination of Sex: Interest of Frontal Sinus 3D Reconstructions

Frontal sinuses (FSs) have been studied in radiology, anthropology, and forensic anthropology. This study aimed to determine whether it was possible to predict the age and sex of an individual using FS volume. Sixty‐nine anonymized CT scans were imported to MIMICS 10.01^® software (Materialise N.V.), and each FS volume was calculated in mm³. There was an absence of significant difference between right and left FS volume (p = 0.173) and an absence of correlation between age and FS volume (Pearson's test; p = 0.705). Sexual dimorphism was significantly different (p = 0.001). However, the most discriminant datum for determining sex was found to be the total FS volume (sum of an individual's right and left FS volumes) with linear discriminant Fisher's function coefficients of ?2.759 for the male group and ?1.275 for the female group. With this model, 72.5% of our sample was correctly classified according to sex.     

How to not speak the ‘F‐word’: Federalism between mirage and imperative in the euro crisis

The recent financial and debt crisis has resuscitated the debate about European federalism – a theme that seemed not to have survived the painful constitutional adventure that ended with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. With the adoption of significant policy and institutional measures for tightening macroeconomic and budgetary coordination (including a constitutionally enshrined debt brake), the reforms of the monetary union have undisputedly brought the European Union further on the path towards an ever closer union. In an era where EU integration has been increasingly politicised, and Euroscepticism has been on the rise and exploited by anti‐system parties, national leaders have to face a political hiatus and respond to increased needs for symbolic and discursive legitimation of further federalisation. This is all the more crucial for French and German leaders who have brokered the main decisions during the crisis of the eurozone. Against this background, the purpose of this article is not to assess whether, or to what extent, the recent reforms of economic and monetary union have made the EU more federal. Rather, the purpose is to tackle the following puzzle: How have EU leaders legitimised the deepening of federal integration in a context where support for more European federalism is at its lowest? To elucidate this, a lexicographic discourse analysis is conducted based on all speeches held by the German Chancellor Merkel and the two French Presidents Sarkozy and Hollande, previous to, or after European summits from early 2010 until the spring of 2013. The findings indicate that federalism is both taboo and pervasive in French and German leaders' discourse. The paradox is barely apparent, though. While the ‘F‐word’ is rarely spoken aloud, two distinctive visions co‐exist in the French and German discourse. The coming of age of a political union through constitutional federalism is pictured as ineluctable, yet as a distant mirage out of reach of today's decision makers. At the same time, the deepening of functional federalism in order to cope with economic interdependence is a ubiquitous imperative that justifies further integration. The persisting gap between the constitutional and the functional vision of European federalism has crucial implications. Insofar as the Union is held responsible for not delivering successful economic policy, political leaders will fail to legitimise both functional and constitutional federalism.     

Pakistan,economic change and social scientists

Abstract

The classic works on modern China—by Harold Isaacs, Edgar Snow, Jack Beiden, even Mao Tse-tung himself—have all led us to believe that the revolutionary ferment which surged through China in the twentieth century was the result of rural impoverishment, economic stagnation and governmental weakness and decay. All of them stressed the crucial role of Western and Japanese imperialism which had reduced China to such a sorry state in the first half of the twentieth century.     

The Role of Personal Benefits in Public Support for the EU: Learning from the Erasmus Students

This article presents evidence that the effectiveness of receiving personal benefits from one's country EU membership may have been overestimated. Based on the findings of a longitudinal survey on Erasmus students' attitudes towards the EU, it shows that the beneficiaries of the EU-funded programme did not strengthen their EU support over time. The data analysis controls for a number of alternative explanations and finds that they did not affect the failure of the Erasmus study-abroad experience to instil higher levels of EU support. Neither EU money nor personal contact with other Europeans was capable of influencing students' support for the EU. The empirical results highlight that the increased expectations from both the Erasmus programme and the egocentric utilitarianism thesis are likely to be ill-founded.     

McIntosh on governance and accountability

Overview and scrutiny committees have been introduced in England and Wales as part of constitutional arrangements designed to improve local accountability. This article presents a conceptual framework for the evaluation of scrutiny arrangements based on five variables which have been identified as impediments to parliamentary scrutiny. A survey of Welsh councillors suggests that they perceive ‘resources and technical support’, ‘one-party dominance’, and ‘the relationship between scrutiny and the executive’ as factors which may influence the effectiveness of local scrutiny. The paper concludes that these findings have important implications for the extent to which political management reforms can enhance local accountability.     

Book notes

Law

Nan Berger, Rights, A Handbook for People Under Age, Penguin Books, 1974, £0.60, pp. 160.

M. D. A. Freeman, The Legal Structure, Longmans, 1974, £1.20, pp. 242.

Harry Calvert, Social Security Law, Sweet and Maxwell, 1974, £3.60, pp. 318.

D. Foulkes, The Local Government Act, 1974, Butterworths, 1974, £3.60, pp. 118.

Planning

J. Bailey, Social Theory for Planning, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1975, £4.25 (cloth), £1.95 (paperback), pp. 167.

Gordon E. Cherry (ed.), Urban Planning Problems, Leonard Hill, 1974, £4.50, pp. 259.

Ursula K. Hicks, The Large City: A World Problem, Macmillan, 1974, £6.50, pp. 270.

League of Women .Voters Education Fund, Supercity I'Hometown, USA, Prospects for Two‐Tier Government, Pall Mall Press, 1974, £4.75, pp. 139.

Research

A. F. Comfort and C. Loveless, Guide to Government Data, Macmillan, 1974, £5.95, pp. 404.

G Easthope, History of Social Research Methods, Longmans, 1974, £1.20, pp. 169.

E. Krausz and S. H. Miller, Social Research Design, Longmans, 1974, £1.00, pp. 118.     

Parenting and Intimate Relationship Effects on Women Offenders' Recidivism and Noncompliance with Probation

This study disentangled the effects of intimate relationships and parenting on women probationers’ noncompliance. Data from a sample of 257 women were analyzed using logistic and negative binomial regression. Women with nonconforming intimate partners missed treatment more frequently, had a higher likelihood of missing a probation appointment, and had a higher chance of a new arrest for substance abuse or misdemeanor crimes during a 3-year follow-up period. Women parenting children had fewer missed probation appointments. Missed probation appointments increased the risk of recidivism for all crime categories except driving under the influence. Implications of these findings are discussed.