Quebec in the Canadian federation: a provisional evaluative framework

Abstract. The authors consider two separate questions concerning the independence of Quebec: would Quebec improve its standard of living if it left the federation? and would political independence make it easier for Quebec to solve its economic problems? They argue that the first question, which is entangled in the ‘battle of regional economic accounts,’ cannot be answered satisfactorily and has drawn too much attention so far. So they focus on the second question, which they dissect into four sub-questions: 1/the options open to Quebec in the international economy; 2/structural adjustment and development policies; 3/employment stabilization policies; and 4/the organization of production and income distribution policy. The authors stress that the margins of latitude open to an independent Quebec would be rather narrow at the international level. But they conclude that, if the rigidities injected by the federal bureaucracy into the functioning of the federation and into the debate between levels of government persist, an independent Quebec could reap some net benefits in terms of economic development, employment stabilization, production organization and income distribution. Hence, the cost of political independence would be an increasing function of the capacity of Canadian federalism to display more flexibility in those matters in the future.     

Quality Counts: Extending the Strategic Politician Model of Incumbent Deterrence

Competitive elections are essential to representative democracy. Competition in U.S. House elections is low in part because incumbents have strategic advantages that deter strong potential candidates from running. Many observers conclude that incumbents retain their seats without full accountability to the electorate, but the mechanisms of deterrence have never been fully explored from the perspective of strong potential candidates. Based on a survey of potential House candidates designed to capture perceptions of incumbents' personal quality and reelection prospects, we find strong evidence for the "strategic politicians" thesis ( Black 1972 ; Jacobson and Kernell 1983 ). We extend the logic of the strategic model first by showing that incumbents' reelection prospects are affected by their personal quality and second by demonstrating that incumbents' personal qualities deter strong challengers from running, independent of their electoral prospects. Our findings prompt us to suggest revisions to our understanding of competition and representation in contemporary House elections .     

Policy Information and Democratic Governance: Federal Social Policy Analysis, 1965–1997

This article considers the development of social policy analysis in the American central government in order both to present the highlights of that three-plus-decade history and to spell out the implications for the United States and other advanced industrial democracies. The argument is that (1) sound policy data and analyses have never been so needed in the face of increasing political polarization and overwhelming amounts of difficult-to-validate policy information produced in the electronic revolution; and (2) the American experience may be particularly useful to other advanced nations because what works in the United States should work better in these countries, in that they have less complex parliamentary structures without America's independent legislature to challenge the chief executive.     

Prison Population Inflation, Overcrowding and Recidivism the Situation in France

Before looking at the latest research into the recidivism of long-term prisoners which was carried out in France, a general overview is presented as well as an analysis of the change to the French prison population over the last 20 years; a study of the prison population inflation, based on the triptych: stock, flow, duration, as well as the evolution of penal and socio-demographic structures. To study the problem of prison overcrowding, the authors applied a statistical method called concentration analysis, first introduced into prison demography by Pierre Tournier in the work of the Council for Penological Co-operation (Council of Europe).     

Bright Lights,Big Cities? Metropolisation,Intergovernmental Relations,and the New Federal Urban Policy in Switzerland

Disparities between increasing urban economic power and cities' limited political autonomy have put pressure on intergovernmental relations in many countries. Some authors have claimed that this process leads to a strengthening of the position of cities with respect to higher state levels such as regions or the nation state. The aim of this article is to test this hypothesis for the case of Switzerland. In the first part, we show that, due to the existing intergovernmental framework, the current dynamics of urbanisation (which we describe as “metropolization”) have produced specific problems for governance in Swiss urban areas: spillovers in the distribution of costs and benefits, new political cleavages between core cities and surrounding communes, as well as increasing autonomy conflicts between cities and cantons. In the second part, we argue that initiatives taken in order to tackle these issues of urban governance have contributed to transforming Swiss federalism. “Politikverflechtung” is increasing in urban areas. In particular, the new federal urban policy has introduced a new vertical dimension of co‐operation between cities, cantons and the Confederation. Although Swiss cities have gained new influence in the process, we conclude that cantons still hold the key position. Therefore, like other federalist countries, Switzerland has not experienced a considerable strengthening of urban governments with respect to higher levels. Nevertheless, current developments in this area can be seen as a move away from the hierarchical pattern of co‐operative federalism towards a more heterarchical pattern of multi‐level governance in Swiss intergovernmental relations.     

An introduction to Decentralized Cooperation: definitions,origins and conceptual mapping

The term ‘Decentralized Cooperation’, coined in the 1980s, is interpreted differently by various organisations involved in development cooperation. However, there are points of convergence among these interpretations that suggest a common definition involving: (a) the lead actors (local governments), (b) an overarching objective (sustainable local development) and (c) the nature of activities carried out (exchanges and support). From a historical perspective, the origin of Decentralized Cooperation is two‐fold. On the development cooperation scene, the concept emerged when the array of actors involved in development projects widened as a result of major changes in aid themes and approaches. In the field of international relations between local governments, Decentralized Cooperation activities appeared as the scope of municipal twinnings also widened accordingly to involve partners from countries in development or in transition. Today, Decentralized Cooperation continues as an evolving concept located at the intersection of its two parent fields: development cooperation and international municipal relations. At this intersection, a fusion of experiences, resources and ideas is taking place. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance of the new rural development management system in thailand: A view from the korat development pilot project

Development management in national rural development has been the subject of much discussion as old-style integrated rural development planning met with increasing criticism. The Royal Government of Thailand is currently attempting to arrive at comprehensive reform of the development management system within the framework of implementation of its national five-year plans. This article highlights the reforms and the analysis of past failures. It introduces the new management organization and some procedural highlights. A first experiment with the new system which is currently being carried out in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima is documented, and the opinion of government officials on its performance is reported. The overall reaction is positive: the system does provide a more coordinated implementation. Two bottlenecks remain, however: project monitoring and evaluation should be strengthened; and additional technical training in development planning is needed.