A theory of entangled political economy, with application to TARP and NRA

The recent financial crisis has provoked a raft of contending claims as to whether the cause of the crisis is better attributed to market failure or political failure. Such claims are predicated on a presumption that markets and polities are meaningfully separate entities. To the contrary, we argue that contemporary arrangements create an entangled political economy that renders theorizing based on separation often misleading. Within this alternative framework of entangled political economy, we illuminate both the recent Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) and the New Deal??s National Recovery Administration (NRA).     

Book reviews

Michael Parenti. Land of Idols: Political Mythology in America. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994. 208 pp. Endnotes; index.

Vicente Navarro. Dangerous to Your Health: Capitalism in Health Care. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1993. Pp. 127. $10.00 paper.

Mobilizing the Community: Local Politics in the Era of the Global City, (1993), edited by Robert Fisher and Joseph Kling, Urban Affairs Annual Review, v. 41, Newbury Park, Ca.: SAGE.

Howard L. Reiter. Parties and Elections in Corporate America. New York: Longman, 1993. 315p. $26.95 paper.

Marcuse: From the New Left to the Next Left, edited by John Bokina and Timothy J. Lukes. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.     

Information exchange networks at the climate science‐policy interface: Evidence from the Czech Republic,Finland, Ireland,and Portugal

Scientifically informed climate policymaking starts with the exchange of credible, salient, and legitimate scientific information between scientists and policymakers. It is therefore important to understand what explains the exchange of scientific information in national climate policymaking processes. This article applies exponential random graph models to network data from the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, and Portugal to investigate which types of organizations are favored sources of scientific information and whether actors obtain scientific information from those with similar beliefs as their own. Results show that scientific organizations are favored sources in all countries, while only in the Czech Republic do actors obtain scientific information from those with similar policy beliefs. These findings suggest that actors involved in climate policymaking mostly look to scientific organizations for information, but that in polarized contexts where there is a presence of influential denialists overcoming biased information exchange is a challenge.     

Die systematische Verankerung des Artenschutzrechts im Ordnungsrecht

Zusammenfassung  Die europarechtlichen Normen des sog. individuenbezogenen Artenschutzes (insbesondere Art. 5 lit. a Vogelschutz- und Art. 12 Abs. 1 lit. a FFH-Richtlinie) sowie die innerstaatlichen Umsetzungsnormen in § 42 Abs. 1 BNatSchG sind entgegen einer weit verbreiteten Tendenz als Verbote bestimmter gezielt auf individuelle Exemplare der geschützten Arten gerichtete Zugriffshandlungen ernst zu nehmen. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, wie auf dieser Basis der ausufernden Anwendung der genannten Normen vorgebaut werden kann. Die abgestufte Handlungsverantwortlichkeit von Verkehrsteilnehmern, Beh?rden zur ordnungsbeh?rdlichen Regelung des Verkehrsgeschehens sowie zur Zulassung von Verkehrsanlagen und -wegen wird verdeutlicht, zugleich ein praktikabler Weg zum ma?vollen und differenzierten Umgang mit dem besonderen Artenschutzrecht aufgezeigt.     

Evaluation of serum cortisol in the postmortem diagnosis of acute adrenal insufficiency

Normal adrenocortical activity is necessary for electrolyte regulation and the maintenance of cardiovascular function. Although chronic adrenal insufficiency generally presents with the gradual onset of a set of characteristic symptoms and signs, the more sudden loss of adrenal activity can present with acute, rapidly progressive cardiovascular dysfunction that can be fatal if not recognized and treated promptly. We herein describe a patient who had most of his adrenal tissue removed during resection of metastatic renal carcinoma, conventional clear cell type, with much of the remaining adrenal tissue undergoing necrosis during or shortly after surgery. Although the patient appeared to be stable and progressing adequately well, he died suddenly 2 days postoperatively. When the gross autopsy findings suggested the possibility of adrenal insufficiency, clinical laboratory assessment of adrenocortical activity was sought. Analysis of stored antemortem serum samples and of blood obtained at autopsy demonstrated a progressive decrease in cortisol levels which, in this stressed postsurgical patient, proved fatal. The use of both antemortem and postmortem blood in the demonstration of acute adrenal insufficiency at autopsy is discussed.     

Scripted Messengers: How Party Discipline and Branding Turn Election Candidates and Legislators into Brand Ambassadors

Political parties with strict party discipline are well-placed to demand that their election candidates and legislators promote the party brand. The franchise-franchisee relationship causes representatives to relinquish individual expression in exchange for centralized party messaging. This article looks at how a strategic desire for party unity combines with internal brand management to turn lower-ranking politicians in a parliamentary system into party brand ambassadors. Our Canadian case study draws on in-depth interviews with party leaders, Members of Parliament, political staff, candidates for office and prospective candidates. The implications for representative democracy in a Westminster system are considered, including the representational constraints for racial and sexual minorities.     

Explaining School Corporal Punishment: Evangelical Protestantism and Social Capital in a Path Model

School corporal punishment is associated with many negative outcomes. This research explores the antecedents to the practice and prevalence of school corporal punishment. A series of regression models indicated that two variables were significant predictors of a state’s practice of school corporal punishment: rate of evangelical Protestant adherents and social capital. A path analysis indicated that these two variables significantly predicted the rate of school corporal punishment in practicing states. The path analysis also revealed a significant and negative relationship between rate of evangelical Protestant adherents and social capital, but no relationship between rate of mainstream Protestant adherents and social capital. A mediation analysis indicated that social capital serves as a mediating variable between evangelical Protestantism and rate of school corporal punishment. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.