Federal Aid and Economic Development in Nonmetropolitan Communities: The UDAG Program

In 1977 Congress enacted the Urban Development Action Grant(UDAG) program to help distressed communities develop economically.This article draws from case studies of ten nonmetropolitancommunities with Action Grants. It focuses on the factors thataffect the completion and benefits of projects, particularlyrelations with private developers and local management capacity.The studies show that the UDAG program has been flexible inaccommodating differences in economic development needs as perceivedlocally. However, many of the projects have not produced thenumbers of jobs originally proposed. Several communities encounteredproblems with private developers who either abandoned the projectsor failed to produce expected results. Smaller communities inthe sample tended to lack grantsmanship, management, and legalresources.     

Siegfried Landshut: Politik. Grundbegriffe und Analysen. Eine Auswahl aus dem Gesamtwerk in zwei Bänden. Hg. von Rainer Nicolaysen

Politische Vierteljahresschrift -     

Analysis of the autopsy,toxicological, and psychiatric reports of Portugal’s first major forensic case: part III

This work presents an odd historical record obtained through more than 14 years of research regarding one of the first major European forensic cases. The presumed homicide of Mário Guilherme Augusto de Sampaio in 1890 was allegedly perpetrated by his uncle, the prestigious doctor Vicente Urbino de Freitas. This famous poisoning had international repercussions for decades, with the participation of several forensic experts that made the history of forensic sciences, namely forensic toxicology and pathology. This third work aims to collect, restore, and analyse all the forensic evidence, particularly from the autopsy, toxicological, and psychiatric forensic reports. Facts regarding the life of Vicente Urbino de Freitas during his exile in Brazil were also recovered, along with a vast and outstanding assortment of forensic medicine photographs from the 19th century.     

Attitudes toward Consent-Based and Non-Consent-Based International Law in a Regional Power Context

International legal scholars have identified and argued for and against new forms of non-consent-based international law. We study variation in Brazilian public opinion about adherence to international law created in three different ways: through a consent-based multilateral treaty, by the U.N. Security Council with the participation of Brazil, and by the U.N. Security Council without the participation of Brazil. Information that Brazil has participated in creating the international legal obligation through a multilateral treaty or membership on the Security Council yields levels of support for adherence to the legal obligation that are similar to those found when the origins of the legal obligation are generic. Information that the international legal obligation was created without Brazil’s participation, on the other hand, results in reduced support for compliance. This difference, which is particularly concentrated among highly educated respondents, is not driven by reduced concerns about reputational consequences or sanctions. Our results suggest that the increased use of non-consent-based forms of international law might be challenged by a lack of public support for compliance.     

Jewish Theology in Germany: The co-Existence of Secular and Religious Discourse

How often do secular and religious discourses communicate and interrelate at points where they intersect in society? When the Science of Judaism (Wissenschaft des Judentums) evolved at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it intended, through both theological and secular studies, to demonstrate the general value of Jewish culture and civilization. Although denied a place in the public university system until after the Shoah, Jewish Studies departments have since been established at various German universities, and, in 2013, the School of Jewish Theology of the University of Potsdam was opened as the first Jewish divinity school in the history of the German university system. With this, what was once a utopian dream became a reality, and both branches of the Science of Judaism, religious and secular, became undisputed parts of the German academic scene, using similar tools for differing aims. Two prime examples of the intersection of the secular and religious in Germany today are the proliferation of divinity schools at state universities, on the one hand, and the development of military chaplaincy in the armed forces, on the other. Both of these, through contractual agreements, aim to regulate and facilitate religious pluralism within a secular state. While the one has already begun to take place, the other is currently under discussion.     

Multi-Year Budgeting: A Review of International Practices and Lessons for Developing and Transitional Economies

In recent years, many developed countries have moved to develop their annual budget process in a strategic multi-year framework. While a common feature of multi-year budgeting approaches is the inclusion of revenue forecasts and expenditures estimates for two or three years beyond the current year, multi-year budget practices vary substantially between countries. This article reviews multi-year budgeting practices in six developed countries (Australia, Austria, Germany, New Zealand, Great Britain, and the United States) and attempts to draw lessons from these experiences for the potential application of multi-year budget techniques by developing and transitional countries. We draw five lessons from the multi-year budget practices of developed countries that are relevant for developing and transitional economies: (1) a multi-year dimension could be a valuable fiscal policy and management tool for developing and transitional countries; (2) the approach chosen in each developing or transitional economy should reflect the country's policy objectives, unique budget institutions and traditions, and administrative capabilities; (3) the introduction of a multi-year budget dimension is a gradual process; (4) the multi-year budget should be used to encourage the constructive involvement of line ministries in the budget process; and (5) the usefulness of the multi-year budget approach will crucially depend on the reliability and accuracy of the medium-term budget estimates.