Governance and Regulation of the Peruvian University System: Overcoming Reform Resistance through Quality Assurance Policies

This article examines the new governance of the Peruvian university system, which evolved in response to market liberalisation and weak quality assurance mechanisms. New actors and commercial interests emerged, building their network of relationships within the political arena. With the passing of a new Universities Law in 2014, ambitious reforms were set in motion, designed to reverse the decline in the quality of higher education. This study examines these reforms, focusing on whether and how they are changing the governance and structure of the system. It also identifies some conceptual and design flaws, such as the weaknesses of the main steering body and the accreditation regime, as well as limitations on the independence of the regulatory agency.     

Supervising the Implementation of Legislation on Land Use

For a long time, land use in the Russian Federation (RF) lacked a proper legal foundation. On October 30, 2001, the Land Code of the Russian Federation entered into force. In many respects it has facilitated a positive solution to questions of land use. The experience of application of the law accumulated over the period of its effect was analyzed by the procurators of subjects of the Federation, who in the first half of 2003 on the instructions of the General Procuracy of the RF conducted a verification of the implementation of the Land Code of the RF.     

The political parties in Trans‐Jordania

Japan. An Economic Survey 1953–1973. By Andrea Boltho. London, Oxford University Press, 1976. P. xii +204. Figures. Tables. Index. £5.00 (paper £2.75).

Choices for the Japanese Economy. By Hiroshi Kitamura. London, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1976. Pp. 205. Tables. Index. £7.00.

The Japanese Economy in International Perspective. Edited by Isaiah Frank. Baltimore and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975 (paper £2.55).     

Pro-Government Militias and the Repertoires of Illicit State Violence

Most studies of pro-government militias (PGMs) take a narrowly functionalist approach. This article sees PGMs as the product of broader processes of state formation and regime dynamics that generate distinctive repertoires of violence. The article uses a cross-national dataset to shows that low state capacity is singularly correlated with the appearance and activity of all forms of PGMs. Once militias are active, they tend to endure even after initial conditions change, suggesting a strong measure of path dependence in how states PGMs evolve. Democracy curbs the activity of semi-official PGMs but not informal ones. Different authoritarian regime sub-types have varying propensities for militia activity. These findings have major implications for efforts to address state frailty.