Francis Fukuyama and the Origins of Political Order and the State: A Historical Critique

This essay examines the model of state development put forward by Francis Fukuyama in his book, The Origins of Political Order. It argues that the evolutionary model used by Fukuyama experiences problems when it comes to dealing with specific historical examples. Its emphasis on the Qin state as the “first modern state” places an excessive emphasis on coercion and violence as the basis of the state. It attempts to relegate Rome to being equivalent to a chiefdom to fit it into his model whereas in reality Rome evolved differently to China and relied much more on cooperation and networks. England after 1688 provides another example of how Fukuyama's model is deficient. On this basis the paper argues that a universal evolutionary model is insufficient to explain political development and it is more appropriate to begin analysis with real political societies.     

Moving Up,Moving Out,or Going Nowhere? A Study of the Employment Patterns of Young Women and the Implications for Welfare Mothers

Conventional wisdom holds that women on welfare will be better off in the long run if they take a job, even if it means initially having less money to spend on their and their children's needs. Underlying this thinking is the belief that women who take low‐paying jobs will eventually move up to higher paying jobs either with their current employer or by changing employers. This paper examines the employment transitions of young women focusing on the likelihood that women who turn to the welfare system for support will make the transition from low‐paying to high‐paying jobs. The data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Based on the experiences of women who never received welfare, an estimated one‐quarter of young women who received welfare could be firmly established in jobs paying more than $9.50 an hour by ages 26 and 27. An additional 40 percent would work steadily but in low‐paying jobs, and more than one‐third would work only sporadically. © 2001 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Formal and informal dimensions of intergovernmental administrative relations in Canada

Abstract: The past two decades have witnessed significant changes in Canadian federalism and intergovernmental relations. This article investigates how developments in federalism and public administration in the 1990s have affected intergovernmental administrative machinery and the formal and informal structures, functions, and resources of intergovernmental relations compared to findings from the 1980s. Using a survey, interviews with senior intergovernmental officials, and government documents, this paper examines the evolution of the intergovernmental administrative state as opposed to the political realm of executive federalism. The authors outline how the formal structures and functions of intergovernmental agencies and officials have evolved and argue that informal intergovernmental networks are very important in understanding and explaining the capacity of the federation to meet current and future policy and administrative challenges. Sommaire: Au cours des deux dernières décennies, d'importants changements se sont produits au sein du fédéralisme et des relations intergouvernementales au Canada. Le présent article examine comment les récents développements intervenus dans le fédéralisme et l'administration publique dans les années 1990 ont affecté les rouages administratifs intergouvernementaux et les structures officielles et non officielles, ainsi que les fonctions et ressources des relations intergouvernementales au cours de deux dernièves décennies comparativement aux résultats des années 1980. A l'aide d'un sondage, d'interviews de hauts fonctionnaires intergouvernementaux et de documents gouvernementaux, cet article étudie l'évolution de l'État administratif intergouvernemental par opposition au domaine politique du fédéralisme exécutif. Les auteurs ébauchent la façon dont les structures et les fonctions officielles des organismes et des hauts fonctionnaires intergouvernementaux ont évolué et soutiennent que les réseaux intergouvernementaux non officiels sont très importants pour comprendre et expliquer l'aptitude de la fédération à relever les défis politiques et administratifs présents et futurs.