For Whom the Bellwether Polls: The Electorate of Eden‐Monaro as an Indicator of Australian Electoral Trends

This article examines the concept of bellwether electorates through a case study of the federal electorate of Eden‐Monaro. Eden‐Monaro is known in Australia for its unparalleled bellwether record, that is, as an electorate whose results consistently approximate national results. The article finds that bellwether seats must have an enduring demographic partisan balance between major parties, organisational competitiveness between the parties in that electorate, and national factors must outweigh local factors in determining election results. A study of Eden‐Monaro particularly focusing on data from the 2013 elections, demonstrates that the seat meets these criteria, and that Eden‐Monaro's bellwether status is not merely coincidence. We argue that if used cautiously, the bellwether concept can be valuable as an indicator of national trends, rather than for any supposed predictive capacity.     

Export Cartels: Is there a need for Global Rules?

One of the reasons sometimes given in support of internationalcompetition rules is the need to curb export cartels. Exportcartels, however, are not necessarily competition or welfarereducing. They are just as likely to enhance competition andwelfare. The evidence reveals that opinions are quite divided.However, there is one constant: no country has a strong incentiveto ban export cartels unilaterally. The reason for this is thatmost of the adverse effects generated by the cartel are experiencedabroad, not locally. Therefore, if there is a case for curbingexport cartels, the alignment of incentives means that an internationalagreement is probably necessary. This article suggests one possiblearrangement.     

The Expansion and Normalization of Police Militarization in Canada

Despite extensive analysis of police militarization in the United States (US), the case in Canada has been overlooked. Building on Kraska’s (in Policing 1(4):501–513, 2007) framework of police militarization indicators, this paper examines militarization within Canadian police forces between 2007 and 2016. Drawing from data on deployments disclosed under freedom of information law, our research shows deployment of special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams have escalated in many major Canadian cities and are even higher in some cases than those reported by Kraska on militarization of US public police. We show how SWAT teams are increasingly used by public police for routine police activities such as warrant work, traffic enforcement, community policing, and even responding to mental health crises and domestic disturbances. We also analyze data on SWAT team growth, and benchmarking between police service SWAT units. We conclude by reflecting on the implications for public policing in Canada and avenues for future research on police militarization and police violence in Canada and other countries.     

Book reviews

Making Sense in Law: Linguistic, Psychological and Semiotic Perspectives, BERNARD S. JACKSON Liverpool: Deborah Charles Publications 1995

Culture And Sexual Risk: Anthropological Perspectives On Aids, HAN T. BRUMMELHUIS &; GILBERT HERDT (Eds) Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach Publishers, 1995

Virtual Geography, MCKENZIE WARK, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994     

Policy Change and Industry Associability: The Australian Mining Sector

In this paper we use evidence from the recent trajectories of mining industry associations in the Australian federation to argue for the significance of institutional explanations for the formation and maintenance of interest groups. We argue that the recent lack of consultation by the Commonwealth government with the Minerals Council of Australia over resources rent taxation proposals reflected a weakness that resulted from the shifting basis of associability stemming from institutional changes.