What are MPs for?

After the expenses scandal, it is time to ask what Members of Parliament are for. The traditional formal arguments are inadequate as they fail to engage with what MPs actually do. A typology is useful in illuminating the different ways in which MPs see their role: as Lickspittles, Loyalists, Localists, Legislators, Loners and Loose Cannons. Current trends in the performance of these roles can be identified, raising questions about the nature of politics and the vitality of Parliament.     

Protecting Your IPR at China Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

Around 4,000 trade fairs take place on the Chinese mainland every year with Shanghai,Beijing and Guangzhou beingthe most important locations,followed by Dalian,Shenzhen and Zhuhai.One of the main concerns many foreign investors have     

Protecting Your IPR at Chinese Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

One of the main concerns many foreign investors have when approaching the Chinese trade fair circuit is how to protect their intellectual property while at a fair     

Protecting Your IPR at Chinese Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

One of the main concerns many foreign investors have when approaching the Chinese trade fair circuit is how to protect their intellectual property while attending these events. Here we examine what can be done to protect your interests. Protecting your IPR Filing for intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the form of patents or trademarks     

DEMOCRATIC SUBJECTIVITIES IN NETWORK GOVERNANCE: A Q METHODOLOGY STUDY OF ENGLISH AND DUTCH PUBLIC MANAGERS

Network forms of governance enable public managers to exercise considerable agency in shaping the institutions through which government interacts with citizens, civil society organizations and business. These network institutions configure democratic legitimacy and accountability in various ways, but little is known about how managers‐as‐designers think about democracy. This Q methodology study identifies five democratic subjectivities. Pragmatists have little concern for democracy. Realists regard networks as one of a number of arenas in which the politics is played out. Adaptors identify the potential for greater inclusiveness. Progressive Optimists think that network governance will fill the gap between the theory and practice of representative democracy, while Radical Optimists focus on its potential for enabling direct dialogue. Institutional design alone is not sufficient to enhance the democratic possibilities of governance networks. The choice of public manager is also salient. Adaptors or, preferably, Progressive or Radical Optimists should be selected for this role.     

INFORMAL CONTROL AND ILLICIT DRUG TRADE*

Antidrug legislation and enforcement are meant to reduce the trade in illegal drugs by increasing their price. Yet the unintended consequence is an increase in informal control—including retaliation, negotiation, avoidance, and toleration—among drug users and dealers. Little existing theory or research has explored the connections between informal control and drug trading. This article uses the rational choice and opportunity perspectives to explore the question: How and why does the frequency and seriousness of popular justice—as a whole or for each form—affect the price and rate of drug sales? The proposed theory is grounded on and illustrated with qualitative data obtained from drug dealers. This article concludes by discussing the scholarly and policy implications.     

CITY RULES OK? POLICY COMMUNITY,POLICY NETWORK AND TAKEOVER BIDS

This paper uses the concepts of policy community and policy network to analyse the particular set of industrial policy issues related to the conduct of takeover and merger bids. Within the general context of the law, the regulatory climate is governed by the principle of voluntary self-regulation, which since 1968 has been partly articulated in a written code whose rules are interpreted and enforced by a non-statutory body, the City Takeover Panel. The panel is one of several 'insider' organizations identified and categorized in terms of policy community. Relationships between it and other 'insiders' in the policy processes are analysed in terms of policy network and 'rules of the game'. It is argued that the stability of that network is increasingly threatened by the environmental turbulence provoked by the Guinness affair and the passage of the 1986 Financial Services Act.     

THE LEBANESE COMMUNITIES OF COTE D'IVOIRE

The Lebanese diaspora in Côte d'Ivoire is divided intotwo distinct communities: the established families, or durables,which have been in the country for two or three generations,and the relative newcomers, or nouveaux, who have arrived inthe country in the last two decades and have little or no connectionto the durables. Because of these divisions, and because oftheir status as a visible minority, the Lebanese have been politicallyand socially marginalized. They remain vulnerable to politicalpressure and manipulation, and find themselves unable—andunwilling— to assimilate to Ivoirian society. This studyprovides extensive factual information about this vital minorityliving and working in an import ant West African country. Moresignificantly, it provides insights into the ability of Africanpolitical leaders to manipulate and control an entrepreneurialgroup of some consequence. Finally, it illustrates some of thedifficulties of assimilation in a modern African social context,pointing out, in particular, that assimilation is a reciprocalprocess.