WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION IN THE USA: LESSONS LEARNT AND TO BE LEARNT

Abstract: In the 1970s, both Australia and the United States instituted legal reforms aimed at promoting greater accountability among public servants. Prompted by growing awareness of the need to encourage and protect federal government whistleblowers, Congress enacted whistleblower protection measures in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978. Although the notion of open government in Australia has never been extended to include whistleblowing by public servants, probing the issue of whether or not United States whistleblower protection can serve as a reform model in the search for more effective legal mechanisms for ensuring government accountability can provide lessons and insights of value to Australian public administrators. Analysis of the role and impact of the Office of the Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board as established under the Civil Service Reform Act reveals many difficulties associated with whistleblower protection. Research has substantiated the jurisdictional ambiguities, administrative and procedural deficiencies and lack of sanctioning power which plague this reform effort. Similar deficiencies also impede the protection of parliamentary witnesses in Australia. Evaluation of whistleblower protection leads to the conclusion that reform models in either country for ensuring government accountability must not be judged solely through examination of statutory provisions. There must also be in place strong stabilising factors such as political unity, economic comfort, social discipline, civic virtue and public service ideology in order to achieve the common public service goal of rendering governmental decision-making more accountable to persons affected by it and open to review by independent decision makers.     

Environmental planning,administration and management in Nigerian Cities: The example of Benin City,Bendel State

Third World cities are characterized by weak administrative and managerial capacity for environmental planning. Benin City, Nigeria, is no exception. Benin's environmental problems result largely from its unplanned land use and weak development control. These problems include lack of open space, substandard housing and an increasing volume of refuse. The administrative arrangements to handle environmental problems include the Town Planning Division, which enforces building and housing codes and land use regulations; and the Task Force on Environmental Sanitation, responsible for solid waste management. However, these arrangements have not produced satisfactory results. Failure has been due partly to the ad hoc organization of environmental administration; the overlapping perception of environmental problems; the alienation of the public; dispersal of authority; and the scale of jurisdictional units. Effective environmental planning administration must adopt a holistic approach, which recognizes the need for a comprehensive environmental planning and a concentration of environmental authority. This is based on the premise that environmental issues are the responsibility of one agency but an obligation for all. Structurally, the concentration of environmental authority hinges on the principle of cooperative leadership by the Federal Government. This calls urgently for the establishment of a Federal Environmental Protection Agency at the centre, and Environmental Management Boards at state levels. The Boards would provide an administrative umbrella under which the management of various aspects of the environment are coordinated. In order to maximize the cooperation of the public, the traditional power structure of the Oba (paramount chiefs and community leaders) must be involved in the conception and implementation of environmental planning. Citizen participation would in turn be maximized if the neighbourhood is adopted as the jurisdictional unit, upon which environmental administration and management are systematically built.     

Evaluating development assistance: A review of the literature

Three phases of development of the subject of evaluation are identified. Up to 1979 it was still in its infancy, with the main impetus coming from the USA (the World Bank and US AID), and from one or two large UN organizations, although the OECD also did some useful work in bringing evaluators together. The second phase (1979-1984) saw rapid ‘take-off’, with greatly increased resources going into evaluation work, and a veritable ‘explosion’ of interest worldwide. All the main donors had by now set up evaluation units and were amassing enough material to begin to ‘synthesize’ the findings. The OECD provided a focus and a forum through its Expert Group on Aid Evaluation. The third phase, from 1984 onwards, finds the subject having ‘come of age’, its maturity being marked by the publication of major works such as Cassen's Does Aid Work?. The emphasis now is switching from ex-post evaluation towards improving project design through such techniques as the logical framework.     

Administrative reform in developing countries: A comparative perspective

This study investigates administrative reform in seven Arab states, delineates common problems and describes general tendencies via content analysis of official statements. The study deals with reform in three major phases: defining administrative problems and needs; developing strategies for reform; and developing instruments of action for implementation. Appraisal of reform efforts discloses mediocre results based on a poor implementation record attributable to incongruities of methods and objectives of reform. Among such incongruities are the conventional limitations of bureaucracy, the copying of Western administrative rationality in form if not in substance, and insufficient attention paid to traditional, cultural, religious, and political contexts of administration. Recognizing the difficulties involved in conceptualizing and implementing reform in any society, the analysis offers several recommendations to improve the outcome of reform efforts, among them: encouraging employee involvement in reform decisions; improving collected diagnostic data; providing special training for employees responsible for managing reform; soliciting unwavering political commitment; developing incentive systems; and replacing the piecemeal approach with reliance on a systems perspective.     

Local government and development in a regional city: The case of Iloilo City,Philippines

The development of urban hinterland centres, known as the Regional Cities Development Project (RCDP), is a key strategy applied by the Philippine government to rectify the country's grave regional imbalances. Yet RCDP has not markedly altered the distorted demographic, spatial and economic growth patterns of the Philippines. Unlike the sizeable body of literature which mainly explains failures of the ‘growth centre approach’ by economic factors emanating from the metropolis-periphery relationship, this study places greater emphasis on politico-administrative factors that affect regional city development. The article demonstrates that regional city development in Iloilo City–one of four Philippine secondary centres selected as RCDP sites–is impeded by an elitist, conservative local oligarchy, excessive patronage politics, severe financial constraints, limited managerial capabilities, a low degree of local autonomy, over-politicization and the impact of an adverse economic environment. Following an in-depth analysis of the politico-administrative culture of Iloilo City, the authors present suggestions that in the long run may positively affect the city's developmental path.     

Security implications of economic and political nationalism in the United States and South Korea

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not represent the position of any U.S. government agency.     

B. Reviews: general

THE HISTORY OF AL‐TABARl (TA'RIKH AL‐RUSUL WA ‘L‐MULÜK). (An annotated translation] (Bibliotheca Persica) (SUNY Series in Near Eastern Studies):

VOLUME II: PROPHETS AND PATRIARCHS. Translated and annotated by WILLIAM M. BRINNER. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987. xii, 207pp.

VOLUME IV: THE ANCIENT KINGDOMS. Translated and annotated by MOSHE PERLMANN. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1987. xii, 205pp.

THE FIRST DYNASTY OF ISLAM: THE UMAYYAD CALIPHATE ad 661–750. By G.R. HAWTTNG. London and Sydney, Croom Helm, 1986. xx, 141pp., 4 genealogical tables, 2 maps. £19.95.

THE ADVENTURES OF IBN BATTUTA, A MUSLIM TRAVELLER OF THE 14TH CENTURY. By ROSS E. DUNN. London, Croom Helm, 1986. xvi, 357 pages, 12 maps. £22.50

TRADE AND CIVILISATION IN THE INDIAN OCEAN. AN ECONOMIC HISTORY FROM THE RISE OF ISLAM TO 1750. By K..N. CHAUDHURI. Cambridge, C.U.P., 1985. xiv + 269 pp. £25.00 Hardback, £8.95 Paperback.

MAMLUK JERUSALEM: AN ARCHITECTURAL STUDY. By MICHAEL HAMILTON BURGOYNE and DONALD S. RICHARDS. London, World of Islam Festival Trust for the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem, 1987. xii, 623pp. £115.00

ISLAMIC TECHNOLOGY: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY. By AHMAD Y. AL‐HASSAN and DONALD R. HILL. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press/Paris, Unesco, 1986. xiv, [ii], 304pp. 165 illustrations, 1 map. £25.00.

OIL, INDUSTRIALISATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE ARAB GULF STATES. By ATIF A. KUBURSI, London, Croom Helm, 1984. 144 pp. Paperback.

BRITAIN'S INFORMAL EMPIRE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: A CASE STUDY OF IRAQ 1929–1941. By DANIEL SILVERFARB. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. xii + 200 pp. $24.95 cloth.

IRAQ BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS: THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONALIST IDEOLOGY. By REEVA S. SIMON. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. xviii + 233 pp. $30.00 cloth.

SADDAM'S IRAQ: REVOLUTION OR REACTION? London, Zed Press, 1986, for CARDRI (Committee against repression and for democratic rights in Iraq). 254pp. Paper.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SHATT AL‐ARAB BOUNDARY DISPUTE. By RICHARD SCHOFIELD, London, MENAS Press, 1986. 111 pp. Paper.

JORDAN IN THE 1967 WAR. By SAMIR A. MUTAWI. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1987. 228pp. £22.50.

UNDER SIEGE: P.L.O. DECISIONMAKING DURING THE 1982 WAR. By RASHID KHALIDI. New York, Columbia University Press, 1986. 241 pp.

EMPIRE ON THE NILE. THE ANGLO‐EGYPTIAN SUDAN, 1898–1934. By M.W. DALY. Cambridge University Press, 1986. xv + 524 pp. + Map and 21 illustrations. £40.00.

ISLAM AND THE THIRD UNIVERSAL THEORY: THE RELIGIOUS THOUGHT OF MU'AMMAR AL‐QADHDHAFI. By MAHMOUD MUSTAFA AYOUB. London, KPI Ltd., 1987. 155pp.

APPROACHES TO ISLAM. (World Religions in Education Series.) By RICHARD TAMES. London, John Murray, 1982. 264pp. P/B £4.95

MORALS AND MANNERS IN ISLAM. By MARWAN IBRAHIM AL‐KAYSI. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation, 1986. 200pp. H/B £9.50 P/B £4.50

REMEMBRANCE AND PRAYER. By MUHAMMAD AL‐GHAZAALI. Translated by Yusuf Talal de Lorenzo. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation, 1986. 232pp. H/B £10.00 P/B £4.95

THE ISLAMIC WAY OF LIFE. By SAYYID ABUL A'LA MAWDUDI. Edited by Khurshid Ahmad and Khurram Murad. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation, 1986. 80pp. H/B £6.50 P/B £2.00

ADMINISTRATIVE DEVELOPMENT: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE. By A. AL‐BURAEY. London, KPI Ltd., 1985.470pp.

ARAB SOCIETY. Edited by SAMIH K. FARSOUN. London, Croom Helm, 1985. 125pp.

WOMEN OF SAUDI ARABIA. By SORAYA ALTO'RKI. New York, Columbia University Press, 1986. 183pp. $30.00

THE DEVELOPMENT OF EARLY ARABIC DRAMA 1847–1900. By MOHAMED A. AL‐KHOZAI. London, Longman, 1984. ix, 245pp. £7.95.

FROM NATIONALISM TO REVOLUTIONARY ISLAM. Edited by SAID AMIR ARJOMAND. Albany, State University of New York Press, 1984. 256pp.

OCCIDENTOSIS: A PLAGUE FROM THE WEST. By JALAL AL‐I AHMAD (translated by R. CAMPBELL, edited by HAMID ALGAR). Berkeley, Ca, Mizan Press, 1984. 160pp. $5.95.

THE RISING OF AL‐HUSAYN: ITS IMPACT ON THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MUSLIM SOCIETY. By SHAYKH MUHAMMAD MAHDI SHAMS AL‐DIN (translated by I.K.A. HOWARD). London, Muhammadi Trust (distributed by Routledge and Kegan Paul), 1985. 218pp.

IRAN SINCE THE REVOLUTION: INTERNAL DYNAMICS, REGIONAL CONFLICTS AND THE SUPERPOWERS. Edited by BARRY ROSEN. (Brooklyn College Studies on Societies in Change, No. 47.) New York, Columbia University Press, 1985. 187pp., 27 plates, 4 maps.

IN IRAN: STUDIES IN BÁBÍ AND BAHÁ'Í HISTORY. Volume 3. Edited by PETER SMITH. Los Angeles, Kalimat Press, 1986. 237pp. HC $19.95.