Public expenditures in Canadian provinces: An empirical study of politico-economic interactions

It is widely believed that government ideology and electoral constraints are two major factors that influence the level of public expenditures. However, Frey and Schneider argue that the effects of the two phenomena are not simultaneous. Only when a government is popular can it pursue ideological goals, and when popularity is low, energies must be redirected toward gaining support from voters to win the next election. Data draw from the Canadian provincial case are used to test empirically this hypothesis. The findings support the Frey and Schneider explanation.     

The Northern territories: Source or symptom?

The issue of the Northern Territories has often been described as the “centerpiece” of Soviet-Japanese relations, and this is seemingly reflected in the forty-five years of postwar diplomatic history between the soviet Union and Japan. At the same time an examination of the actual legal and strategic problems surrounding the islands sheds little light on why they have been so persistently unamenable to resolution, unlike, for instance, the Sino-Soviet border dispute, or the Sino-Japanese islands dispute. This article suggests turning the argument on its head—that is, that the islands dispute is a symptom, not a source, of the tension that has been generated by the timing and course of modernization taken by these two neighbors in the context of the contemporary international situation. The research for this article was conducted while the author was a master’s degree candidate at the Russian Research Center at Harvardy University, under the supervision of Professor Susan Pharr.     

Injustice and Employees' Destructive Responses: The Mediating Role of State Negative Affect

The focus of this study was employees' destructive behavioral intentions (i.e., exit, neglect, and aggressive voice) as a result of perceived injustice. In order to get an indication of the generalizability of the results, two studies employing different methodologies were conducted among different samples: a survey study (Study 1) among 244 female maternity nurses from The Netherlands, and a vignette study (Study 2) among 71 male and 43 female employees from an international company in South Africa. Furthermore, the second study tested whether the effects of injustice on destructive behavioral intentions were mediated by state negative affect. Two models appear to fit the data well. The first model suggests that interactional injustice gives rise to negative behavioral reactions through an increase in state negative affect. The second model shows that procedural justice can buffer the negative effects of low distributive justice. Specifically, employees report more negative affect and, subsequently, a stronger tendency to leave the organization only when both distributive and procedural justice are low. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The boundaries of acceptability: France’s positioning and rhetorical strategies during the Arab uprisings

Why did French leaders adopt vastly different positions during the Arab uprisings? Building on recent studies that emphasize the importance of rhetoric to understand states’ behaviour, this article argues that France’s inconsistent positioning results from decision-makers trying to remain within political boundaries that are acceptable both to their domestic audiences and to foreign partners. Through a chronological content analysis of France’s top decision-makers’ responses to the crises in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Bahrain, the article provides evidence that acceptability-enhancing rhetorical strategies contribute to explaining foreign policy positioning.     

Who gains from contract farming? Dependencies,power relations,and institutional change

ABSTRACT

The paper highlights the mechanisms through which outgrower contract farming creates dependencies at the local level. Using sugarcane case study in Malawi, we show that dependencies are created through redefinition of use rights to customary land and through the redefinition of cash flows into outgrower communities. Through this two-dimensional process, corporations can secure access to land, exert control over local communities and transform the local social relations of reciprocity serving as the pillars of resistance. Our results indicate that contract farming changes rural agrarian relations, transforms local family institutions by carefully selecting a few household members with influence into the scheme and selectively dispossessing the poor community members.     

Trade,non-state actors and conflict: evidence from Greece and Turkey

Abstract

To what extent does growing trade lessen the probability of inter-state conflict? This paper addresses this question by using the curiously under-studied dyadic relationship between Greece and Turkey. Measuring trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) volumes as well as tourism flows and by use of elite interviews with key actors from both countries, we find that economic relations have become stronger and more diverse over time, non-state actors now featuring prominently in deepening interaction. Such developments, however, fail to translate into conflict resolution at the political level. To account for these findings, we use a New Liberal approach, arguing that this helps us explain both enhanced plurality in bilateral economic exchange and the incompatibility of the two countries' respective conceptions regarding legitimate national borders.     

From Victimization to Criminalization: General Strain Theory and the Relationship Between Poly-victimization and Delinquency

Although it is well established that victimization and delinquency are related, it is not clear how this relationship works, and victims and offenders are still often studied and treated as two distinct groups. General strain theory views victimization as a form of injustice, which can give rise to anger and eventually lead to delinquency. The authors examine victimization, in particular polyvictimization, as a criminogenic factor. Based on a sample of 1,400 youths 12–17 years old in Quebec (Canada), they examine polyvictimization in relation to delinquency as well as negative emotions that can result from victimization namely anger, depression, and posttraumatic stress. The findings show support for general strain theory and highlight the importance of anger for the relationship between victimization and juvenile delinquency.     

Religious revival,nationalism and the ‘invention of tradition’: political Tengrism in Central Asia and Tatarstan

This article aims to analyse the birth of a new ideological movement called ‘Tengrism’. According to its theoreticians, Tengrism represents a key element in the identity renewal of Turkic–Mongol peoples and should be adopted as the official religion by the new states of the region. This paper enquires into the ways in which Tengrism is being politically deployed in the service of post-Soviet nationalisms in Kyrgyzstan and Tatarstan and to a lesser extent, in Kazakhstan, Bashkortostan and Buryatia. Although the ideologues of Tengrism may be marginal to the political mainstream, it is nonetheless important to analyse the role of ‘ethnicized’ forms of religious expression and their relationship with the search for post-Soviet national identities.