The Federal State and the Breakup of Czechoslovakia: An Institutional Analysis

This article examines the breakup of Czechoslovakia from aninstitutionalist perspective. The federal state adopted afterWorld War I failed to accommodate tensions in society and heightenedethnic conflict. After World War II, an "asymmetrical" federationwas created that, while designed to provide a degree of homerule to Slovakia, further alienated Slovaksfrom national politics.Each effort to reform the federal order unintentionally promptednew concerns over the balance of political power. The inabilityto construct an enduring federal state helps explain why thetransition from communism proved fatal for the union that wasCzechoslovakia.     

Book notes

Political Participation and Democracy in Britain by Geraint Parry, George Moyser and Neil Day. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Pp.xviii + 510; index, bibliography, three appendices. £60 (hardback); £17.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 521 33298 2 and 33602 3

Work and Citizenship in the New Europe edited by Harry Coenen and Peter Leisink. Aldershot: Edward Elgar, 1993. Pp.254; index, bibliography. £38.50. ISBN 1 85278 739 2

Capitalist Development and Democracy by Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Evelyne Huber Stephens and John D. Stephens. Cambridge and Oxford: Polity Press, 1992. Pp.387; index, bibliography, appendices. £45 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 7456 0398 X

Minority Representation and the Quest for Voting Equality by Bernard Grofman, Lisa Handley and Richard G. Niemi. Cambridge, London and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Pp.174; index, bibliography. £30. ISBN 0 521 39128 8

Peace, Politics and Violence in the New South Africa edited by Norman Etherington. London: Hans Zell Publishers, 1992. Pp.352; index. £45. ISBN 1 873836 75 6

The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly by Jean‐François Bayart. London and New York: Longman, 1993. Pp.370; index. £14.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 582 06421 X

Russia in Flux: The Political and Social Consequences of Reform edited by David Lane. Aldershot: Gower, 1992. Pp.xvi + 248; index. £45 (hardback); £14.95 (paperback). ISBN 1 85278 680 9 and 713 9

Democracy and Development by Axel Hadenius. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Pp.xi + 218; index, bibliography, appendices. £30. ISBN 0 521 41685 X

Power and Empowerment: A Radical Theory of Participatory Democracy by Peter Bachrach and Aryeh Botwinick. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1992. Pp.ix + 211; index, bibliography. ISBN 0 87722 930 9

Democratization in Africa: African Views, African Voices edited by Sahr John Kpundeh. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1992. Pp.85. £17.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 309 04797 8

Marxism and Democracy by Joseph V. Femia. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993. Pp.204; index, bibliography. £25 (hardback). ISBN 0 19 827494 7

Dirty Politics: Deception, Distraction and Democracy by Kathleen Hall Jamieson. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. Pp.335; index, bibliography, appendices. $25 (hardback). ISBN 0 19 597854 3

Viva ‐ Women and Popular Protest in Latin America edited by Sarah A. Radcliffe and Sallie Westwood (International Studies of Women and Place Series). London and New York: Routledge, 1993. Pp.270; index, bibliography. £40 (hardback); £12.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 415 07312 X

Dimensions of Radical Democracy edited by Chantal Mouffe. London: Verso, 1992. Pp.254; bibliography. £12.99 (paperback). ISBN 0 86091 556 5

Democracy and Discontent: India's Growing Crisis of Governability by Atul Kohli. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Pp.420; index, bibliography. £35 (hardback). ISBN 0 521 39161 X     

Modernization theory and the sociological study of development∗

The focus of this article is methodological and macro‐sociological. Its purpose is to disentangle some of the issues which arise in the sociology of development, and to question the assumptions and implications of a particular mode of conceptualization based on the notions of modernity and modernization which has provided the characteristic theoretical framework of the sociology of development. The principal assumptions of modernization theory as understood here—often enough made explicit by those who use this approach—are (1) that modernization is a total social process associated with (or subsuming) economic development in terms of the preconditions, concomitants, and consequences of the latter; (2) that this process constitutes a ‘universal pattern’. Obviously among various writers there are differences of emphasis with respect to the meaning of modernization, partly due to its relationship with—or derivation from—that most contentious concept ‘development’. For Lerner modernization is ‘the social process of which development is the economic component’ (Lerner, 1967, p. 21); while Apter sees development, modernization and industrialization as terms of decreasing conceptual generality (Apter, 1967, pp. 67–9). Some writers stress structural aspects while for others ‘the concept of modernization has to do with a transformation of culture and of personality in so far as it is influenced by culture, rather than of some aspect of social organization or of human ecology’ (Stephen‐son, 1968, p. 265). It is hoped that the following discussion is both specific enough to convey the essential aspects of the type of theory under review, and flexible enough to allow for some of the variants on the basic theme in what is a highly condensed survey of a substantial body of literature.1 The critical approach adopted reflects certain ideas about societies and hence the questions social scientists should ask; these preoccupations cannot be discussed fully within present limits but are indicated in the suggestions contained in the concluding section. The first section serves to outline the context in which the concept of development studies arose. This is followed by a schematic outline of the central concepts and conceptual procedures of the sociology of development, and more specifically of modernization theory, which are then criticized on a number of counts. These criticisms lead on to an argument for the use of a historical perspective—moreover, one which results in a re‐examination of the concept of underdevelopment, relating it to the expansion of Western capitalism and the effects of this process on the diverse indigenous societies of what is now called the Third World. The relationships of dependence and exploitation created by the process are exemplified in the colonial situation as narrowly defined though this is by no means the only situation characterized by such relationships. This perspective, developed in the work of certain political economists, can serve as the basis of a sociological approach which would prove more fruitful both in understanding the nature of underdevelopment itself, and in assessing the range of possibilities of development in the Third World, than that generally employed in the sociology of development at present.     

Third World multinationals revisited: A research critique and future agenda

ABSTRACT In this work we test the hypothesis that Israel has a strategic dependency on territorial labour. We also look at the situation of dependency on this commuting labour in both the occupied territories and Israel and, subsequently, examine the strategic impact of the growth in Israeli capital on the future of this labour market.     

Ethics and public administration: critique and reconstruction

In the post-Watergate era, many observers saw the renewed interest in administrative ethics as a passing fad. Now, over a decade later, the continued interest in this area belies this judgment. Indeed, this increased concern with administrative ethics is rooted in the realization that administration is as much an ethica, as technical pursuit. One cannot read John Rohr's "Ethics in Public Administration: A State of the Discipline Report," delivered at the 1986 ASPA Conference, without receiving the distinct impression that administrative ethics is an area of practice and study that is experiencing a profound upheaval. Views are diverse and often inchoate. Assumptions behind ethical prescr- ptions are still frequently unstated and unexamined. In addition, we still continue to seek techniques that will ensure administrative ethicality without understanding the nature of the ethical problems confronted in public administration and the reasons they are confronted. In short, there exists a need for theoretical clarification and classification in the area of ethics and public administration.     

Kommunale Repräsentation auf den Landtagen Schwäbisch-Österreichs. Eine Prosopograhie der Abgeordneten aus der Grafschaft Hohenberg und der Landvogtei Schwaben,Schriften zur Südwestdeutschen Landeskunde

Anthony Fletcher: Reform in the Provinces: The Government of Stuart England. (Yale University Press, 1986; pp.xiv, 386; ISBN 0521 330637; £22.00.)

J.C.D. Clark: Revolution and Rebellion: State and Society in England in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. (Cambridge University Press, 1986; pp.x, 182; ISBN 0521 33710 0; pb, £6.95 ($9.95.))

J.M. McEwen (ed.): The Riddell Diaries, 1908–1923. (The Athlone Press, London and Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 1986; pp. xviii, 430; ISBN 0 485 11300 7; £25.00.)