State intervention and agrarian class formation: Dimensions of the access problem in the Kosi Development Region of NE Bihar,India

The theme of this paper is that access has to be discussed along a number of dimensions simultaneously, and that the language of discussion must discard the ‘David and Goliath’ metaphor of the individual versus the large organization. Access is a relationship which occurs systematically, not by chance. Its structural forms are determined by the formation and dissolution of social classes. Although access is more about power than rationality, to be examined more by reference to class struggle than culture, certain groups and classes are structurally unable through both processes to connect with alien criteria of resource allocation. At the same time the development of the bourgeois state and the transformation of rich peasants into rural capitalists cannot be completed without the incorporation of petty owners, tenants and labourers for the appropriation of their surplus value. This is maintained through the ideology of inclusion (populism) which presents access as an opportunity rather than a problem, and operates through the language of community, target groups, special programmes, extension and decentralization. The discussion in this paper is pursued in the context of material collected during fieldwork in the north-east of Bihar State, India where land reform, irrigation and intensive agricultural programmes have been undertaken since the early sixties.     

Highlights of Mediation at Work: Studies of the National REDRESS® Evaluation Project

This research report reviews some of the highlights of the ongoing longitudinal evaluation of the REDRESS® program at the United States Postal Service, the world's largest employment dispute resolution program. These results represent the first systematic data on how a mediation program can function in the workplace setting. This synopsis of the REDRESS® evaluation compares results between the outside neutral and inside neutral conflict resolution systems, explores the role of representation in mediation, and examines the impact of mediation on formal EEO discrimination complaint filings.     

Privacy and Technology: Reconsidering a Crucial Public Policy Debate in the Post-September 11 Era

In the post September 11 era, one truism in the ongoing public policy debate surrounding technology and privacy is that there is no easy solution to the increasing presence of technology in our lives. There are, however, several long-standing guiding principles. We must be wary of extending political authority to protect privacy without careful contemplation of the consequences. While it may appear that the idea of balancing technology and privacy is novel, the tension between them is informed by a broader theoretical framework that is inherent to democracy. Understanding this broader theoretical framework is helpful in identifying ways to advance the debate toward policy solutions rather than continuing a dogmatic discussion that juxtaposes technological innovation with the loss of privacy. The purpose of this discussion is not to settle the public policy debate. Instead, the aim is to consider how long-standing constitutional doctrine and the theoretical framework of democracy can lend insight into the current debate surrounding privacy and technology.     

Diplomacy in isolation

Isolated States: A Comparative Analysis by Deon Geldenhuys. Jonathan Ball, Johannesburg, 1990.764 pp. including notes and index.

South Africa's Foreign Policy: The Search for Status and Security 1945 ‐ 1988 by James Barber and John Barratt. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and Southern Book Publishers, Johannesburg, 1990. ix plus 398 pp. including appendix, notes and index.     

Policy monitoring and policy analysis

In this article we introduce a policy analytic technique that we call “policy monitoring.” Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency's Hazardous Waste Division, we demonstrate how the technique can be employed in actual practice. The case study demonstrates that EPA enforcements were responsive to stimuli emanating from outside the agency. In particular, relevant congressional committees were able to influence and effect change in the EPA's policy. In addition to demonstrating how policy monitoring can be employed, we also discuss how it can be used in other policy analytic situations.