Policy Coalitions,Economic Reform and Military Power in Ecuador and Venezuela

Military coups and coup attempts, as well as the establishment, or continuation, of economic/social development roles for the military far outside traditional security missions have been a part of civil–military relations in Ecuador and Venezuela since 1990. The military's greater role in Ecuador and Venezuela has in part been a consequence of the failure of neoliberal and globalist policy coalitions to establish and maintain a hegemonic consensus over political power and national policy. This failure has undermined progress in orienting the military in a ‘democratic’ direction that prioritises traditional security roles under the ultimate command of civilian authorities. It has also allowed for competing models of civil–military relations to emerge that draw upon nationalist or socialist models of military power and democracy.     

Presidential hegemony and democratic backsliding in Latin America, 1925–2016

ABSTRACT

Does the executive's institutional hegemony represent a risk to the survival of democracy? By hegemony, we refer to the president's ability to control other institutions, particularly the legislature and judiciary. To answer this question, we develop two indices of presidential hegemony and analyze the duration of democratic regimes in 18 Latin American countries between 1925 and 2016. The results show that executive hegemony is a major driver of democratic instability. This finding is robust to non-linear effects and to potential endogeneity in the relationship between presidential power and democratic backsliding. Our findings challenge traditional concerns about executive-legislative deadlock, and have significant implications for the nascent literature on democratic backsliding, which highlights executive aggrandizement as a risk factor.     

The frequency of alcohol,illicit and licit drug consumption in the general driving population in South-East Hungary

In the framework of the DRUID (Driving under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol, and Medicines) EU-6 project, a roadside survey was performed in South-East Hungary to determine the incidence of alcohol and the most frequent illicit and licit drug consumption (amphetamines, THC, illicit and medical opiates, cocaine, ketamine, benzodiazepines, zopiclone and zolpidem) in the general driving population. All 3110 drivers stopped between 01 January 2008 and 31 December 2009 were checked for alcohol, and among them 2738 persons (87.7%) participated in the further examinations, on a voluntary basis. Licit and illicit drugs were determined from their oral fluid samples by GC–MS analysis.Illicit drugs were detected in 27 cases (0.99%), licit drugs in 85 cases (3.14%), and alcohol (cut off: 0.1 g/l) was found in 4 (0.13%) cases. Illicit drug consumption was the highest among men of the ages 18–34, during the spring, and on the week-end nights. With respect to licit drugs, the highest incidence was found among women over the age of 50, during the summer, and on the week-days. All alcohol positive cases were men over the age of 35. In comparison to international European averages, the alcohol and illicit drug consumption was low, but the licit drug consumption was over the European average.     

「克隆」銀行卡之民事責任

近年來,隨著銀行卡業務的迅速發展,圍繞銀行自動櫃員機出現的不法分子「克隆」銀行卡竊取儲戶資金的案件頻頻發生。不法分子多通過在銀行的自動取款機上加裝盜竊裝置,竊取儲戶的銀行卡卡號及密碼並偽造卡片,通過取現、轉賬或消費等行為竊取卡內資金。由於在實務中被「克隆」的銀行卡主要是借記卡,因此本文試圖就借記卡被克隆情形下,相關各方的法律責任做一具體分析,並進一步探討銀行應該如何防範此類風險的產生。     

The selection of committee leadership in the Brazilian chamber of deputies

This article contributes to the study of legislative organisation by contrasting the process of committee chair selection in two distinct institutional environments. The goal is to verify how party loyalty affects the distribution of committee chairmanship in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, focusing on two distinct historical periods. The main hypotheses are tested using a data set that contains information about federal deputies' career characteristics, both inside and outside the Chamber, measured on an annual basis, in two distinct democratic periods – 1946 to 1964 and 1989 to 1998. The article's main conclusions are: first, in a situation where parties are oriented by a factional logic and where power distribution between party leaders and committee chairs is more equal, party loyalty is a crucial factor in the allocation of committee chairmanships. Second, in a broader perspective, the interaction between committees and parties cannot only be explained by incentives emanating from the electoral connection, for it also suffers from the influence of executive–legislative relations.     

Developing Countries and the Implementation of CITES: The Mexican Experience

A key issue for the success of international conventions regulating biodiversity conservation is to understand the different philosophical positions of each party for initially acceding to that convention, and for the measures each party takes to implement that convention. This paper documents policies for wildlife trade regulation in Mexico from the early 1980s to the early 2000s, with emphasis on the process of CITES implementation. Mexico was slow to adopt environmental policies, but when Mexico did recognize wider environmental concerns, the prospect of acceding to CITES was not considered because of existing bans on all wildlife trade in native species. However, Mexico could not control the illegal trade of wild species during the 1980s. Mexico acceded to CITES in 1991 mainly in response to international pressure and to bilateral pressure while seeking to join a free trade agreement. The step of joining CITES was taken without clear analysis about the consequences of being a party to the Convention. Between 1992 and 1996, Mexico had no clear policy about its role within CITES. The period from 1997 to 2001 witnessed an improved legal and administrative structure and a greater internal coordination between the institutions involved with CITES. Mexico has now improved its policy toward international wildlife trade.     

CSDP,Strategy and Crisis Management: Out of Area or Out of Business?

The EU's ineffectiveness vis‐à‐vis Libya and the southern Mediterranean crises more broadly is largely explained by the CSDP's narrow mandate centred on crisis management. The EU's emphasis on external crisis management was strategically sound given the geopolitical context of the 1990s. CSDP's quiet drift towards a ‘softer’ kind of crisis management from the middle of the first decade of the 2000s was also instrumental in highlighting the EU's differences from post‐11 September US unilateralism. That said, (soft) crisis management has become progressively obsolete in the light of a rapidly changing geopolitical environment characterised by an overall retreat of Western power globally, a weakening of America's commitment to European security, an increasingly tumultuous European neighbourhood, and Europe's financial troubles. In order to meet the demands of a changing geopolitical environment, CSDP must break away from its distinctively reactive approach to security to include all the functions normally associated with the military including, chiefly, deterrence and prevention. This would allow the EU to actively shape its regional and global milieu.     

Politólogos on the Run: Contrasting Paths to Internationalization of Southern Cone Political Scientists

Political scientists from the Southern Cone have enriched the discipline with pioneering work. Many of them went into exile for political reasons, and thus produced part of their work abroad. Although Latin American political science has professionalized since the 1980s, many scholars still emigrate for study and employment. Argentines most numerously seek academic careers abroad, while Brazil has many more domestic doctorates and returns home after doctoral studies abroad. Uruguayans emigrate in proportionally high numbers and tend to settle in Latin American countries, while the number of Chileans and Paraguayans abroad is minimal. These contrasting patterns are explained by reference to factors such as the availability of high‐quality doctoral courses, financing for postgraduate studies, and the absorptive capacity of national academic markets. Paradoxically, the size and performance of the diasporas may increase rather than reduce the visibility and impact of national political science communities.     

The governance of the European patent system: effective and legitimate?

Abstract

This article argues that effectiveness and legitimacy are two inseparable issues for the success of economic governance systems. Moving beyond the conventional market failure and state failure approaches, the article develops the notion of network governance success, a notion that looks at the formal and informal dimensions of interactions in economic systems. This is further developed into an analytical framework which is then used in the assessment of the structural features of the current European patent system, one of the most advanced, complex, and contested economic systems in Europe. The conclusions elaborate on the normative implications regarding the current weaknesses of the European patent system, and examine the general theoretical implications of the findings, particularly looking at the effectiveness and legitimacy of technically complex governance systems.