What Made Me a Legal Aid Lawyer?

This article is a contribution to the occasional series dealing with a major book that influenced the author. Previous contributors include Stewart Macaulay, John Griffith, William Twining, and Carol Harlow.     

Transnational citizenship: problems of definition,culture and democracy

There is widespread disagreement over whether transnational citizenship provides defensible extensions of, or meaningful complements to, national citizenship. A significant strand of criticism relies upon empirical arguments about political motivation and the consequences of transnationalism. This paper addresses two questions arising from empirical arguments relating to the nation state and democracy. Do the alleged cultural requirements for effective political action provide an insuperable barrier to transnational citizenship? Does transnational citizenship necessarily require a commitment to transnational democracy? I argue that these largely empirical criticisms do not succeed in casting doubt upon the normative plausibility or practical viability of transnational projects. On the first question, I point to a growing transnational political culture that serves to motivate transnational citizens. On the second question, I argue for a legitimate category of transnational citizenship that, although inspired by cosmopolitan morality, is different from it, and that does not require transnational democracy.     

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service under stress

Abstract: In 1984 the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) replaced the Security Service of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This article assesses whether or not the new service is likely to be more effective than its predecessor and yet engender fewer fears that it might itself undermine what it seeks to defend. After briefly discussing the problems and events that led to the creation of the new service the article analyses the structural and legal changes that have taken place. The new instruments by which the CSIS is held accountable, such as the ofice of the Inspector General and the Security Intelligence Review Committee, are then examined followed by an analysis of the changes in the political ethos both within and without the CSIS. The article concludes by arguing that the new agency is likely to be both a more effective intelligence agency and a more responsible and responsive one. Sommaire: En 1984, le Service canadien de renseignements d'intelligence (SCRI) a remplacé le Service de sécurité de la Gendarmerie royale du Canada. Dans cet article, on examine la probabilité que le nouveau service soit plus eficace que son précurseur tout en réduisant les inquiétudes de ceux qui craignent qu'il ne détruise précisément ce qu'il est censé défendre. Après un bref exposé des problèmes et des événements qui ont amené l'établissement du nouveau senice, l'article analyse l'évolution structurelle et juridique qui a eu lieu. De nouveaux instruments qui assurent l'imputabilité du SCRI, comme le bureau de l'Inspecteur général et le Comité de surveillance des activités de renseignements de sécurité font alors l'objet d'examen; suit une analyse de l'évolution de la pensée politique à l'interieur comme à l'extérieur du SCRI. En conclusion, on y affirme que le nouvel organisme sera probablement une agence de renseignements plus efficace ainsi que plus responsable et plus susceptible de contrôle.     

The calculus of dissent: Party discipline in the British Labour government, 1974–1979

The strength of political parties is taken to be one central difference between the political systems of the United States and the United Kingdom. We analyze defection from party line voting within the British Labour Party in the House of Commons between 1974 and 1979 to suggest that this dichotomy is overdrawn. In fact, the analysis shows that the dynamics of legislative behavior are quite similar in the two systems, notwithstanding the significant institutional differences between a separation of powers system and the West-minster model. Members of Parliament, like American Congressmen, balance the demands of their constituents, activists within their local party, and party leadership, as well as wage intraparty battles over the direction of policy.     

Women and sport: A lost ideal

In their analyses of capitalism and patriarchy, socialists and feminists have tended not to view sport as a legitimate area for sustained study. Socialists have often been content to view sport as a peripheral and unimportant feature of a world order dominated by capitalist social relations and economic contradictions, or have viewed sport as essentially a cultural reflection of the material sphere.Similarly, feminists have focussed their attention on the primary loci of work, family and sexuality, thereby unconsciously reinforcing the patriarchal concept of sport as masculine. In this analysis we briefly outline women's involvement in the recent Olympics and assess competing strategies for overcoming women's subordination in the arena of sport.