From Multiculturalism to Cultural Voluntarism: A Family‐based Approach

In the context of the current debate on multiculturalism, this article draws on three models of state policies towards families to propose a reframing of multiculturalist policies. They are the ‘authorisation’ model, wherein the state authorises families to define and enforce family obligations as law; the ‘delegation’ model, wherein the state prescribes the norms families are to follow and delegates to families the role of enforcing them; and the ‘purposive abstention’ model, wherein the state uses the voluntary performance family norms as a tool of policy, giving them limited legal recognition within the continued application of the general law. The article considers how these models might guide policy towards communities, which can be seen, substantially, as collections of families. It favours the ‘purposive abstention’ model, which, in the context of cultural groups, could be termed ‘cultural voluntarism’.     

Commission Newsletter: 1997

SUMMARY

In this article Sandro Guerrieri discusses the parliamentary proceedings in France of 9–10 July 1940, which set up the Vichy State under the leadership of Marshal Pétain. He was then head of the government of the Third Republic and the motion of 10 July authorized him to consider and promulgate a revised constitution for the French state. In August 1944, these proceedings were formally declared to have been a coup d'état, and therefore legally null and void. It is shown that some of the politicians who voted in the National Assembly against the resolution of 10 July had already asserted this interpretation of the process by which the Vichy State was established. The article reviews the arguments that have developed around this subject, and suggests that while the actual motion, voted by the two Chambers acting as a National Assembly, could be seen as in accordance with the Constitution of the Third Republic, the manner in which it was used by Pétain and his advisers, particularly Pierre Laval, is open to legal challenge, and can be regarded as a usurpation of the powers granted by the National Assembly. Hence while it could be argued that what happened was not a coup d'état, in that the element of intimidatory violence over the legislature, usually seen as one defining characteristic of a coup, was absent, the proceedings can be characterized as at least a coup de force.     

Hard Bases of China’s Soft Power

THERE is currently much discussion in China about "soft power," and I follow this discussion with great interest as a marketing professional and a lay observer. Here I would like to express my opinion in a professional sense. I was in charge of marketing and branding London for eight years, from 2000 to 2008. During that period the success of our work was recognized by international surveys that fre- quently ranked London as the world’s number one city.     

China's Labyrinth: The Rise of Monitory Democracy

The new element in governance is social media. Inexorably, its fertile networks of shared information shift power from authorities to citizens and amateurs, including to the “unknown” experts in the “dorm rooms and edges of society” who drive innovation. Tweets may bust trust and undermine authority, but can social media also be a tool for building consensus through deliberation and negotiation among interests? When it comes to governance, is crowd‐sourcing any better than populism at generating collective intelligence instead of disruptive “dumb mobs?” Can networks aid the self‐administration of society, or does that take institutions with governing authority? In this section, leading Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, technologists and network theorists from Google, Microsoft and the MIT Media Lab join with political scientist Francis Fukuyama and top thinkers from Asia to address these issues.     

Key Issues for Asia’s Growth

THE overall global context of Asia＇s economic growth in 20a3 remains negative, particularly in developed economies. At the end of last year Japan＇s GDP was 1.7 percent below its maxi- mmn prior to the international financial crisis, while GDP in the European Union was 9.1 percent below. U.S. GDP growth is ane- mic, having reached only 2.5 percent above its last peak five years ago. Some of the pre- viously dynamic BRICS economies are also encountering problems - India＇s annual GDP growth has fallen to 4.5 percent and Brazil＇s to 1.4 percent. World commodity prices,     

Revenue Estimation/Scoring by States: An Overview of Experience and Current Practices with Particular Attention to the Role of Dynamic Methods

Revenue estimates or scores identify the expected impact of a change in a tax law or a change in how existing tax laws are administered. The processes used by states to produce these estimates have been given considerably less attention than have those used to create the revenue baseline or forecast, although both are important to creation of fiscally sustainable budgets. A review of state processes shows that estimating responsibility most often is in a legislative agency, that states usually employ microdynamic estimating methods, generally make their work available on the Internet although infrequently showing the methodology used for an estimate, and rarely have formal quality control procedures for the estimates. Macrodynamic estimates are very rare and some states once requiring this approach no longer do so.