‘Can Governments Weather the Storm in the New Communications Climate?’

Government policies of privatisation, contracting-out and de-regulation have been major driving forces of globalisation in and through the communications industry. Ironically, however, globalism makes it increasingly difficult for national and state governments to influence the communications industry at national and state levels respectively. This article argues that globalism challenges governments to manage and develop their own communications systems and activities in ways which counter some of the major features of globalism in the communications industry. The article advocates rolling communications strategies at state and federal levels and outlines ways in which such strategies could develop.     

Concentrated deviance and the “underdass” hypothesis

The “underclass” is perhaps the defining feature of current research in urban distress and of current debates regarding urban policy. The leading measurement strategy (proposed in this journal) is somewhat divorced from the careful specifications of the leading theoretical work (notably that of W. J. Wilson). Several alternative measurement strategies demonstrate that the findings are extremely sensitive to the measurement used. Theory is the only reliable basis for choosing a measurement strategy and for avoiding the empiricist approach taken by other studies. If we cannot identify the best measurement strategy, then there is no basis for further research or for recommending policies.     

Reviews

The article begins with an analysis of China's past in terms of the interplay between Confucian teaching, local, or folk, tradition and the impact of foreign culture. There then follows an examination of the current situation in terms of continuity and change, with particular emphasis on alienation and the rise of nationalism in a post-Marxist society. The article concludes with a critique of Wolf Totem.     

Moving beyond rethinking the ‘state of the state’: to the challenge of reshaping international contributions to peace operations

The need for an accurate understanding of the environment into which peace- and capacity-building missions are deployed cannot be overstated. Suppositions about the mission environment inform every facet of an intervention's design and implementation, in addition to expectations surrounding success. Yet this critical element continues to be misunderstood by those most in need of an accurate grasp, a condition which severely undermines the war to peace transition. Rather than continuing to assume that recipient ‘states’ are states in the Western sense of the term, we must instead focus our energies on how best to enable sustainable peace in the hybrid political orders which do in fact constitute these troubled places. After setting out the largely unrecognised characteristics of recipient societies, the article explores alternative forms of assistance with promise to complement such realities.