Elite interests and political participation in Botswana, 1966–2014

ABSTRACT

Botswana’s tiny economy is overwhelmingly government-driven and political participation, particularly on the side of the ruling party, is critical for one’s economic survival and prosperity. This has led to enduring intrigue and conflict among the country’s political power elite. Opposition party activists traditionally have embraced leftist policies and claimed to be representing the country’s poor and downtrodden while castigating the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (in power since 1966) of being pro-rich and politically connected business. Ironically, some members of the opposition elite also engage in business ventures with their ruling party counterparts. The scramble for economic opportunities has fuelled debilitating factionalism within both the ruling and opposition parties over the years. In some instances tribalism was mobilised in intra- and inter-party elections for positions of influence even though voters are more interested in service delivery than traditional ethnic issues. Our paper considers the question: ‘Whose interests do Botswana’s politicians represent?’     

The rise and fall of “Novorossiya”: examining support for a separatist geopolitical imaginary in southeast Ukraine

In the spring of 2014, some anti-Maidan protestors in southeast Ukraine, in alliance with activists from Russia, agitated for the creation of a large separatist entity on Ukrainian territory. These efforts sought to revive a historic region called Novorossiya (“New Russia”) on the northern shores of the Black Sea that was created by Russian imperial colonizers. In public remarks, Vladimir Putin cited Novorossiya as a historic and contemporary home of a two-part interest group, ethnic Russian and Russian-speaking Ukrainians, supposedly under threat in Ukraine. Anti-Maidan agitation in Ukraine gave way to outright secession in April 2014, as armed rebel groups established the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhans’k People’s Republic on parts of the eponymous Ukrainian oblasts. Rebel leaders aspired to create a renewed Novorossiya that incorporated all of eastern and southern Ukraine from Kharkiv to Odesa oblasts. To examine the level of support for this secessionist imaginary in the targeted oblasts, our large scientific poll in December 2014 revealed the Novorossiya project had minority support, between 20 and 25% of the population. About half of the sample believed that the concept of Novorossiya was a “historical myth” and that its resuscitation and promotion was the result of “Russian political technologies.” Analysis of the responses by socio-demographic categories indicated that for ethnic Russians, residents of the oblasts of Kharkiv and Odesa, for older and poorer residents, and especially for those who retain a nostalgic positive opinion about the Soviet Union, the motivations and aims of the Novorossiya project had significant support.     

The gender gap in capital punishment attitudes: An analysis of support and opposition

This study examines the gender gap in attitudes toward the death penalty, including attention to global versus specific measures. The study is based on a survey in Tennessee of attitudes toward crime and criminal justice. Specifically, the study examines male and female global attitudes, attitudes toward a life without parole option, reasons that supporters and opponents give for their views, and how specific factors might change the level of support for or opposition to capital punishment. Although majorities of both genders favor capital punishment, important differences exist. Implications are discussed. An earlier version of this study was presented at the 1999 Annual Meeting of the Southern Criminal Justice Association in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dr. John Paul Wright was instrumental in conducting the Tennessee Crime Survey, the source of the data used in this study.     

Constitutional issues in reality-based police television programs: Media ride-alongs

Reality-based police television programs have been criticized extensively on the grounds that they overestimate the prevalence of violent crime, misrepresent the percentage of criminals who are minorities, and perpetuate myths about the effectiveness of law enforcement. However, few critiques have examined the constitutional issues behind reality-based police television programs. This paper examines constitutional issues arising from Section 1983 litigation against both the police and the media for media presence during the execution of warrants. It concludes that media presence has important implications for analyses regarding people’s right to privacy, color of law, qualified immunity, and Fourth Amendment reasonableness.     

Agenda-Building and Big Science

This paper extends concepts about agenda-building politics within the policy literature by considering the implications of `big science' agenda-building politics for policyrnaking. It argues that agenda-building in the `big science' policy arena is distinct from agenda-building in the general social problem-solving policy arena. The general policy development process and the `big science' policy development process are contrasted conceptually. Two different cases of agenda-building in big science are then highlighted to offer empirical evidence of the differences between the two processes. A distinction is drawn between the contemporary conceptualization of agenda-building in the general policy arena and the big science policy arena and comments are made about the value of the paper for policy learning. Accordingly, the paper has important implications for the science policy arena and perhaps the larger policy arena.     

Impact of compulsory competitive tendering on the structure and performance of local government systems in the State of Victoria*

Around the world, the public sector is introducing private sector management practices. Abandoning the binary model of public and private sectors the State Government of Victoria introduced the compulsory competitive tendering system under which local government bodies are required to tender out their services to private sector service providers. The aim was to encourage local government bodies to operate in contestable situations so that they can increase efficiency, decrease operating costs, develop clear programme goals and objectives, become responsive to client goals, and improve the quality of goods and services. The article describes how the practice of the compulsory competitive tendering system has introduced major changes to organizational cultures, attitudes of employees, power and authority structures, sytems of decision making, delegation of financial and managerial authority, and the nature of control and accountability. In addition, the article explains the degree of competitiveness and efficiency that local government bodies have achieved and describes how the corporatized structure has helped to achieve the financial objectives. The article also discusses how the role of the elected councils is diminishing under this new management structure and argues that in the absence of a genuine monitoring system and accountability mechanism the local government bodies find it difficult to assert their role as quality service deliverers. This has forced the councils to comply with the requirements of the competition laws which have reduced direct accountability of government to the public. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exit,voice and loyalty: Analytic and empirical developments

Abstract. This paper seeks to reconstruct and revitalize the famous Hirschman framework by providing a comprehensive review of the current use of 'exit, voice and loyalty'. We begin by critically examining Hirchman's original account, and then look at the way his argument has been extended in different fields both conceptually and empirically. We suggest that while advances have been made, the results so far are somewhat disappointing given the perceptiveness of the original insight. We believe this is because his apparently simple schema is more complex than it first appears, and different aspects of exit, of voice, and of empirical foundations of loyalty need to be analytically distinguished in order to produce testable empirical hypotheses about their relationships.     

Political Competition and State Government Size: Do Tighter Elections Produce Looser Budgets?

We test implications of politicalcompetition theory concerning government size, usingdata from U.S. states. We find that greaterpolitical competition in the race for governor actsas a check against bigger government. Evidence onthe effectiveness of legal limits on expendituresand/or revenues growth is mixed. The DemocraticParty is associated with bigger government, but onlywhen party representation in both the governor'shouse and the legislature is strong. The flypapereffect of grants is found to be strong. Our resultshave implications for models of fiscal illusion.     

Introduction: Changing Public Sector Industrial Relations in the Australian State

During the last two decades, governments have restructured their public services. Public administration has been largely replaced by public management, reflecting a more market oriented approach. In line with this pattern of change, the Australia public services at both state and Commonwealth levels, since the early 1980s, have undergone significant change. The aim of this symposium is to explore the dimensions, detail and impact of these developments, tracing the implications of public service reorganisation and operations for public sector industrial relations. The contributions therefore focus on government policies, management and industrial relations and implications for collective organisation and action. Changes in five states and one territory are considered as well as those at the Commonwealth level.