Canada's views on North‐South negotiations

This article assesses the recent embrace of the concept 'civil society' within development discourses, both conceptually and in the context of the construction of civil society in El Salvador. It challenges the tendency to generalise about civil society, warning against its glorification as a panacea. In a critique of the liberal approach to civil society, commonly used among international agencies, the discussion highlights how civil society organisations in El Salvador are fragmented politically, socially, but also geographically. Furthermore, civil society is not a unified entity with its constituent organisations working towards common goals. Nor may it be created or imposed from above by governments or donors. Instead it comprises a diverse range of competing groups grounded in different historical, political and geographical circumstances. While it is suggested that fostering civil society is a useful aspiration, it is essential that the concept also be recognised as contested.     

Is there universality in the full range model of leadership?

Universality implies that the relations between attributes of the person and performance as a leader are a constant across situations. It also implies that similar concepts and behaviors associated with leadership can be relevant everywhere. It is a difficult position to maintain. Nevertheless, this lead article contends that a model of transformational and transactional leadership has some degree of universality. The article describes the elements of the model and summarizes the support for these elements which derives from research initiated in the United States. Three corollaries are discussed with supportive evidence gathered in studies conducted in India, Italy, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Sweden and elsewhere to document the universality of transactional and transformational leadership. We conclude that although this model of leadership may require adjustments and fine-tuning as we move across cultures, particularly into non-Western cultures, overall, it holds up as having considerable universal potential.     

Workers’ Capital: Industry Funds and the Fight for Universal Superannuation in Australia

Workers' Capital: Industry Funds and the Fight for Universal Superannuation in Australia . By Bernard Mees and Cathy Brigden (St Leonard's: Allen and Unwin, 2017), 270pp. AU$30.75 (pb).