Book reviews

James A. Smith, The Idea Brokers: Think Tanks and the Rise of the New Policy Elite (New York: The Free Press, 1991), 313 pp. $24.95.

Dinesh D'Souza, Illiberal Education: The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus (New York: The Free Press, 1991)., 319 pp.

Michael Glennon, Constitutional Diplomacy and Constitutionalism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990), 353 pp. $35.00.     

Winnowing in Environmental Policy: Jurisdictional Challenges and Opportunities

While scholars developed an understanding of the processes moving issues from the systemic to the institutional agenda, we know little about the inner workings of the institutional agenda. Winnowing theory addresses this gap by examining the leadership, bill sponsor, and contextual factors helping bills move through the institutional agenda. By expanding winnowing theory to incorporate a fragmented policy domain, the environment, we find that multiple referral status actually helps a bill's chances of receiving attention and passing through the committee.     

Discourse rights and the Drumcree marches: a reply to O'Neill

In a recent BJPIR article Shane O'Neill uses Habermas' discourse theory of rights to argue that the conflicts over marches in Drumcree can be resolved rationally in the nationalist residents' favour. I question this conclusion via a critique of Habermas' theory. Habermas' apparently unexceptionable requirement that political outcomes win universal acceptability is bought at the cost of vagueness: it fails to specify how acceptability is secured, or how the requirement itself is derived. So it cannot justify the exceptions to equal civil rights which O'Neill wants, such as exceptions to rights of freedom of expression or movement. Unionists can claim that their position respects Habermas' universal acceptability requirement. This exposes the limitations of attempts to impose abstract principles such as Habermas' on real political conflicts. A possible alternative to this is a form of Schmittian decisionism, in which rules either prove indeterminate, or are confronted with exceptional cases that call for executive intervention outside the framework of rules. Sensitivity to political context requires not derogations from rights, but respect for the autonomy of political processes.     

Depressive Symptoms, Stress, and Support: Gendered Trajectories From Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Stressful transitions in adolescence increase depressive symptoms, especially among girls. However, little is known about this risk as adolescents mature into young adulthood, especially about how parental support affects depression trajectories during this period. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this analysis investigates the role of gender in structuring the associations among stressful life events, parental support, and depression. Females reported more depressive symptoms at the outset of the study, a rank order that persisted along declining depression trajectories into young adulthood. In addition, stress accounts for the decline in trajectories for females but not males. Support from both parents has a salubrious effect on mental health, regardless of gender, but this effect dissipates as adolescents age into adulthood.     

Canadian energy security: the state of Canada's emergency preparedness system

Abstract: Because Canada has regions totally dependent on imported oil and is a trading nation dependent on international trade for a significant share of its national income, it is vulnerable both directly and indirectly to the consequences of oil supply shortfalls and the attendant price hikes. The Canadian energy emergency preparedness system, through Canada's membership in the International Energy Agency, is integrated into the iea's international emergency oil-sharing system. Despite being well over a decade old, the nature and state of Canada's system has never been independently analysed. By highlighting the close relationship between energy security and economic security, the argument is made that continued attention to energy security is prudent. The article attempts to make the very technical features of these systems comprehensible to non-energy specialists. The implications of iea membership for Canada are analysed and the relationship between Canada's responsibilities to the iea and its obligation under the free trade agreement with the United States is discussed. Sommaire: Dans la mesure où il a des régions entièrement dépendantes des importations de pétrole et où il est tributaire du commerce international pour une part importante de son revenu national, le Canada est vulnérable directement et indirectement aux conséquences d'un arrêt des approvisionnements pétroliers et aux montées des prix en résultant. Le plan d'urgence énergétique dont le Canada s'est doté dans le cadre de son appartenance à I'Agence Internationale de 1'Énergie est intégré au système international de partage de pétrole en cas d'urgence élaborré par cet organisme. Bien qu'il existe depuis plus d'une décennie, la nature et la situation du plan canadien n'ont jamais étéétudiées de façon indépendante. En attirant I'attention des lecteurs sur les relations étroites existant entre la sécurité en matière énergétique et en matière économique, les auteurs expliquent qu'il est prudent de prêter constamment attention à la sécurité en matière énergétique. 11s essaient égale-ment de vulgariser les caractéristiques extrêmement techniques de ces systèmes. Les auteurs analysent en outre les conéquences qu'entraîne ^Pappartenance du Canada à I'AIE et le rapport existant entre les responsabilités du Canada vis-à-vis de I'AIE et ses obligations dans le cadre de I'accord de libre-échange avec les États-Unis.