Is Bigger Really Better? A Comparative Analysis of Municipal Mergers in Australian and Japanese Local Government

While structural reform by means of municipal mergers has been employed in many different countries, council consolidation has been especially marked in Australian and Japanese local government. This suggests that much can be learned by examining amalgamation through the analytical prism of comparative analysis. In this article, we investigate structural reform through municipal amalgamation in Australian and Japanese local government by examining the aims of amalgamation, the methods employed by public policy makers and the outcomes which were achieved. From this comparative analysis, we attempt to draw some broader lessons for local government policy making aimed at local government reform.     

Cognitive Maelstroms,Nested Negotiation Networks,and Cascading Decision Effects: Modeling and Teaching Negotiation Complexity with Systemic Multiconstituency Exercises

Negotiation practitioners today struggle to manage complex political, economic, and cultural disputes that often involve an array of intertwined issues, parties, process choices, and consequences – both intended and unintended. To prepare next‐generation negotiators for these multifaceted challenges, negotiation instructors must keep pace with the rapidly evolving complexity of today's world. In this article, we introduce systemic multiconstituency exercises (SMCEs), a new educational tool for capturing this emerging reality and helping to close the experiential learning gap between the simulated and the non‐simulated environment. We discuss our pedagogical rationale for developing The Transition, a seventy‐two‐party SMCE inspired by the complex conflicts in Afghanistan and Central Asia and then describe our experiences conducting multiple iterations of this simulation at Harvard University. We argue that SMCEs, in which stakeholders are embedded in clusters of overlapping networks, differ from conventional multiparty exercises because of their immersive character, emergent properties, and dynamic architecture. This design allows for the creation of crucial negotiation complexity challenges within a simulated exercise context, most importantly what we call “cognitive maelstroms,” nested negotiation networks, and cascading decision effects. Because of these features, SMCEs are uniquely suited for training participants in the art of network thinking in complex negotiations. Properly designed and executed, systemic multiconstituency exercises are next‐generation teaching, training, and research platforms that carefully integrate negotiation, leadership, and decision‐making challenges.     

School Engagement Among Urban Adolescents of Color: Does Perception of Social Support and Neighborhood Safety Really Matter?

In this study we examined the effects of risk factors (perceived neighborhood crime/delinquency problems, neighborhood incivilities) and protective factors (teacher support, family support, peer support) on the school engagement of 123 urban adolescents of color. Age and gender were also examined to determine if different ages (younger or older) or genders (male or female) significantly modified the relationship between the risk factors and school engagement. Results indicated that perceived neighborhood incivilities was uniquely predictive of school engagement. Contrary to hypotheses, different levels of the perceived social support variables did not modify the effects of risky neighborhood conditions on adolescent’s perceived school engagement. Age, but not gender, significantly modified the relationship between perceived family social support and perceived neighborhood crime on adolescents’ reported levels of school engagement. The implications of the results for prevention and intervention programs that address school engagement among early adolescents of color are considered.

The practice and implications of legislative proxy voting in Ukraine

Governing parties often face the challenge of coordinating the behavior of legislators to pass bills and achieve their policy goals. Solutions to this collective action problem vary, but generally involve a combination of inducements and punishments to encourage legislators to toe the party line. “Ghost voting,” a form of proxy voting in which legislators record roll-call votes in place of their absent co-partisans has been noted over time in many representative institutions. This article addresses the process of proxy voting in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, empirically demonstrating that proxy voting has been widespread and essential to the success of crucial legislation. At the same time, proxy voting creates impediments to measures of legislative unity and undermines accountability.     

Human Rights Through the Legislature

Law and Philosophy -     

Last Insurer Standing: Accounting for Policyholder Settlements in an “All Sums” World

Abstract

In 2016, New York became the latest state to interpret insurance policies with prior insurance or non-cumulation of liability clauses as permitting a policyholder to recover damages under “all sums” for long-tail liabilities, including environmental liabilities. But two major questions were left unanswered in New York, as in many other states, when a policyholder seeks all sums recovery from a non-settled insurer after the policyholder settles with other insurers: first, how to account for a policyholder’s prior settlements—through set-off, contribution, or both. Second, how to calculate any set-off or contribution—should it be pro tanto, pro rata, or something else. This article examines the arguments on both sides of these issues and looks ahead to how courts may resolve these questions going forward.