Potential State Government Practices Impact of the New GASB Accounting Standard for Retiree Health Benefits

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has adopted a new accounting standard for state and local government retiree healthcare benefits that, for many states, will require accrual accounting for such benefits for the first time. The purpose of this paper is to examine the recent reporting practices of state governments with respect to retiree health insurance programs sponsored by the states in order to determine the dimensions of potential state employer practices likely to be changed by the new Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) standard with respect to accounting for such state plans, as well as financing and offering such state plans.     

Liberalism and Minority Rights. An Interview

The interview focuses on Kymlicka's major area of research, i.e., the issue of minority rights. Kymlicka explains why the rights of national minorities have been traditionally neglected in the Western political tradition. He argues that these rights promote individual freedom, and so should be seen as promoting liberal democratic principles. The interview covers many issues including the relationship between ethno-cultural groups and other forms of "identity politics"; how to individuate cultural groups with legitimate claims to minority rights; whether something like a "cosmopolitan view" can seriously challenge the need for minority rights; what are the dangers of building transnational political institutions such as the EU for democratic citizenship; what are the bases of social unity in multination states and what are the limits of toleration of illiberal minorities.     

SATI AND PERFORMATIVITY

This article explores some of the conceptual and representational difficulties sati presents for Western feminist analysis, and draws upon Judith Butler's concept of performativity to generate an account of the constitution of satis’ subjectivities and agencies that may also provide a basis for theoretical and political contestations of sati.     

Mainstreaming Gender into European Family Law? The Case of International Child Abduction and Brussels II Revised

Gender mainstreaming is an EU policy tool encouraging equality between men and women by incorporating gender concerns into the formation of EU law. The EU has intervened in private international family law, an area where concerns over gender equality may be present. Child abduction, which is regulated by the Brussels II Revised Regulation, is an aspect of international family law where issues of gender have been highlighted. Women are predominantly the abductors of their children and may abduct a child to escape a violent relationship. These factors were in evidence in the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention and an effective gender mainstreaming strategy should promote discussion to address these concerns. By examining the proposals for Brussels II Revised, this article will demonstrate that the gendered nature of child abduction was not clearly addressed in the development of the legislation and questions how mainstreaming can be effective as an aspect of the legislative process.