Collective Bargaining in the Twenty-First Century: A Negotiations Institution at Risk

Collective bargaining, a core social institution, faces a fundamental transformational challenge. National survey data provide unique insights into the current status of the bargaining process — revealing challenges and opportunities. Awareness and use of interest-based bargaining principles is widespread but complicated by underlying tensions between labor and management. The findings illustrate the value of conducting an institutional-level analysis of a negotiations process.     

The use of referendums in Ireland: an analysis

The referendum is a phenomenon which is becoming increasingly normalised in the constitutional practice of many countries. Ireland is an EU member state with particularly extensive experience of the referendum as a decision-making tool. To date, it has held 39 referendums on a variety of issues – ranking it among the top four states in Western Europe in this regard.

This article seeks to review the emergence of referendums in Ireland as a decision-making instrument and to ask what constitutional, legal or institutional factors have led to referendums enjoying such comparatively extensive use there. It seeks to examine which political issues have formed the subject of referendums in Ireland, and to investigate what kinds of issues have succeeded in gaining electoral approval and what kinds have not. The extent of electoral participation in (and thus representativity of) Irish referendums is also scrutinised, and factors affecting participation rates examined.     

LEGAL IMPLEMENTATION OF PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR DIVORCING AND SEPARATING PARENTS

This article traces the legislation permitting or mandating the use of parent education for divorcing and separating parents in state courts. Explored are State mandatory and discretionary programs, local court rules, voluntary programs, and some of the constitutional issues that are raised.     

Authors Index of Volume 11

Authors Index

Authors Index of Volume 11     

Congress, health care, and congressional caucuses: an examination of the Diabetes Caucus

Caucuses have become a critical feature of the congressional landscape, yet are neglected in the literature on health-policy making in Congress. The principal goal of the article is to use the Diabetes Caucus as a case study to highlight this significant yet underappreciated political actor in the health-policy realm in Congress. The exploration, which draws on information gathered from thirty-two interviews with members of the Diabetes Caucus and their staff, will contribute to an increased understanding of both Congress's operations in the health area and the potential impact of caucuses on health-policy making. The article emphasizes particular characteristics relating to the membership and objectives of the Diabetes Caucus. In addition, the study stresses that the group had the requisite political momentum to achieve legislative successes when a policy window opened in the 105th Congress because it served much like, in the terminology of John Kingdon, a "policy entrepreneur".