Kornai goes to Kenya

Public Choice - János Kornai developed soft budget constraint logic to explain the socialist world’s dysfunctional economies. We extend his logic to explain dysfunctional land reform in...     

Challenges to decentralisation in Ghana: where do citizens seek assistance?

Decentralisation in Ghana, and across sub-Saharan Africa, faces a number of challenges to successful local governance provision because there are a number of formal and informal actors to choose from. Citizens may take problems they want a governance provider to solve to a member of parliament or a district assembly person, a traditional chief or a police officer, a neighbour or an NGO. In this article we report on a four-constituency survey administered to explore and understand how citizens choose between the options of local institutions available to them in order to solve a problem important to their community or themselves. We find that formal national (Parliamentarians) and informal traditional (Chiefs) institutions are where respondents turn for assistance most often instead of constitutionally described local modes of governance (District Assemblies). We consider the implications of this finding in terms of decentralisation in Ghana and the need to build institutions that are context-sensitive and reflect how citizens understand political options.     

Carriers of the Creed: Examining Democrats’ Commitment to Egalitarianism as Principle and Policy

Political Behavior - The Democratic Party is a coalition of interests sharing a common desire to use government to ameliorate societal inequities. Research shows that the party’s programmatic...     

Re‐evaluating US strategic priorities in the Caspian Region: balancing energy resource initiatives with terrorism containment

In the aftermath of September 11, US strategy has shifted in the Central Asian region from protecting the sovereignty of the southern post‐Soviet states to ensuring their stability in light of the dual impacts of energy development and the rising threat of Islamic terrorism. Although US–Russian cooperation has made strides, particularly concerning Russian acquiescence toward US and NATO military engagement in the region, geostrategic rivalry and conflicting economic goals have hindered a joint approach to initiatives regarding the region's energy development. While both agree on the goal of maximising Russian and Caspian gas and petroleum exports, US policy is increasingly prioritising Central Asian energy prosperity as a key factor in the region's ability to contain terrorism. Development of the region's energy resources has therefore become a critical US security concern. Yet, by failing to engage with Russia in a meaningful cooperation that could encourage Moscow to diversify its own energy export prospects, competition between the two powers is likely to reduce, rather than improve, the effectiveness of either in offering the Central Asian states the kind of support they need to strengthen their domestic profiles or withstand the incursion of terrorism.     

住宅搜查的程序正义：美国最高法院伦道夫案述评

以伦道夫案为契机,美国最高法院宣示了其在犯罪嫌疑人权利保护方面的最新立场,自由主义大法官完成了"第三人同意无证搜查住宅"法律体系的建构,认为如果犯罪嫌疑人当场拒绝警方进入其私人住宅,即使合法的第三人同意无证搜查,警方的侦查行为对于犯罪嫌疑人来说仍然是无效的、不合理的。但保守主义大法官提出了强有力的反对意见,认为犯罪嫌疑人与他人分享住宅的事实意味着该特定空间内的所有权益均可由任意一方处分,第三人同意警方搜查有罪证据是犯罪嫌疑人必须承担的风险。其刑事诉讼法律思想的合理内核可兹中国修改刑事诉讼法借鉴。我国刑事诉讼法应当规定,只要对住宅享有共同权利的第三人同意警方搜查犯罪嫌疑人的住宅,警方所获得的证据就能够对犯罪嫌疑人产生证据效力。     

From Thaw to Deluge: Party System Collapse in Venezuela and Peru

What conditions facilitate party system collapse, the farthest‐reaching variant of party system change? How does collapse occur? Numerous studies of lesser types of party system change exist, but studies of party system collapse are rare. This study draws on the existing literature and the cases of party system collapse in Venezuela (1988–2000) and Peru (1985–95) to advance some answers to the important questions about the phenomenon. The study posits three conditions that predispose political party systems to collapse: the presence of an acute or sustained crisis that questions the ability of system‐sustaining political parties to govern; extremely low or extremely high levels of party system institutionalization; and the emergence of an anti‐establishment figure with the desire and personal authority to generate a viable alternative to the established party system. The study also posits a three‐election sequential process during which collapse takes place.     

Rethinking human rights

He is author of The Political Economy of the International Monetary Fund (published by Transaction).He is presently a visiting lecturer on ethics and statecraft at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville.