Governance without a state: Can it work?

In this article we explore how much state is necessary to make governance work. We begin by clarifying concepts of governance and the “shadow of hierarchy” and we follow this clarification with a brief overview of empirical findings on governance research in developed countries. We then discuss the dilemmas for governance in areas of limited statehood, where political institutions are too weak to hierarchically adopt and enforce collectively binding rules. While prospects for effective policymaking appear to be rather bleak in these areas, we argue that governance research has consistently overlooked the existence of functional equivalents to the shadow of hierarchy. We assert that governance with(out) government can work even in the absence of a strong shadow of hierarchy, we identify functional equivalents to the shadow of hierarchy, and we discuss to what extent they can help overcome issues of legitimacy and effectiveness in areas of limited statehood.     

Book reviews

Turkey in the Middle East By Philip Robins. Pinter for the Royal Institute of international Affairs. 1991.130 pp. £22.50. ISBNO 86187 198 7. PBk £8.95. ISBN 0 86187 1995.

Hitler Slept Late and other blunders that cost him the war By James P. Duffy. London: Praeger. 1991.176pp. £17.50.

Alliance within the alliance: Franco‐German Military Cooperation and the European Pillar of Defense By David G. Haglund. Boulder: Westview Press, 1991. 213 pp.

Homeward Bound? Allied Forces in the New Germany Edited by David G. Haglund and Olaf Mager. Boulder: Westview Press, 1992. 299 pp. £24.95

Avoiding War: Problems of crisis management By Alexander L. George (ed.), Westview Press, 1991. 590 pp. £16.95.

The Future of NATO: Facing an Unreliable Enemy in an Uncertain Environment By S.N. Drew et al. Praeger Publishers, New York, 1991. pp. 206.

Parliament and international relations Edited by Charles Carstairs and Richard Ware. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, 1991. 195 pp. £12.99 (paperback)     

Eating Problems and the Self-Concept: Results Based on a Representative Sample of Norwegian Adolescent Girls

The joint role of self-esteem and unstable self-perceptions for eating problems was investigated in a representative Norwegian population sample of girls in 3 age groups (N = 5287; aged 12–19 years). Three scales from the 12-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-12) measured eating problems: Restriction, Bulimia-food preoccupation, and Diet. Girls low on all EAT scales were most often characterized by high self-esteem combined with stable self-perceptions, whereas girls high on all EAT-scales were characterized by having low self-esteem and unstable self-perceptions. Bulimic tendencies and dieting were more common in older groups, whereas high scores on all EAT-scales simultaneously were equally common in all ages. The findings gave initial support to the continuity hypothesis in indicating that the age trends for eating problems, except for restrictive tendencies, followed those of eating disorders and in that the risk factors found for eating problems parallel those reported for eating disorders.     

Under Two Flags: Symbolic Voting in the State of Mississippi

Participants in a specialelection held in the State of Mississippion April 17, 2001, voted overwhelminglyagainst changing the design of the state'sflag, which incorporates a symbol of theConfederacy. The determinants of voting onthe flag are analyzed and turnout rates inApril 2001 are compared with those forrecent gubernatorial and presidentialelections. We find that the flag votedivided Mississippians sharply along linesof race, class and political ideology. Akey empirical implication is that voterpositions in issue space tend to be morepolarized when political choices haveexpressive as opposed to instrumentalconsequences.     

Gender,nationalism and the colonial jail: a study of women activists in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

An important aspect of Indian women's political participation in the nationalist struggle against colonial rule was their imprisonment and confinement within the walls of the prison. To counter the difficulty and monotony of their prison existence, women developed strong solidarity networks which not only helped them to adjust to the temporary upheaval in their lives but also resulted in their becoming strong and determined individuals with a nationalist consciousness. These women resisted colonial rule through imprisonment and activities in the jail (such as writing poetry) just as they did through nationalist activities within the domestic sphere (such as spinning and weaving). The jail became a site where identities were continuously shaped and restructured. Feelings of pride, resentment, honour and humiliation were all experienced by women prisoners and were continuously sharpened. Women's entry into male dominated spaces dispelled the British stereotypes about Indian women as subordinate, weak and docile. Women were also aware that by endangering their womanhood on the streets and putting their bodies under risk of attack, they proved that they could share common experiences with their fellow men in the public sphere.