THE THATCHER GOVERNMENT, THE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE, AND THE 'NEW CML SERVICE'

The Thatcher era has been a traumatic one for the career Civil Service, so much so that one leading civil servant has suggested that the order of change is such that a 'new Civil Service' is emerging. This paper examines, first, interpretations of what has happened to the Civil Service under the Thatcher government; next, it reviews the developments relating to the economy programme and the Financial Management Initiative; then it considers the current state of the Civil Service pay and promotion system; finally, it concludes that thus far at least, essentially, the 'old Civil Service' has survived.     

Natural Law and Cosmic Harmony in Traditional Chinese Thought

Abstract. The article attempts to show (i) the way in which the notions of "natural law" and "cosmic harmony" have been applied by Western scholars in the interpretation of traditional Chinese thinking about the role of law in society, (ii) the extent to which the Western interpretations can be supported by the Chinese sources, and (iii), more specifically, the degree to which official Chinese thought subscribed to a correlation between the occurrence of natural disasters and acts of maladministration or injustice on the part of the emperor and state. Generally it is argued that the extent to which Chinese statesmen and administrators actually believed that errors in the infliction of legal punishment or the sentencing of offenders would produce aberrant natural phenomena has been exaggerated by Western scholars.     

Neo-corporatist theory and the politics of industrial decline

Abstract. The case of the French textile and clothing industry during the post-1974 crisis period illustrates a number of issues relevant to the debate about meso-corporatism and interest intermediation at the sectoral level in industry. It highlights the importance of attempts to understand the relationships between organised interests and the state in the analysis of the policy process. The pattern of state-industry relations which evolved was crucial in determining the outcome of conflict between state and industry over the management of restructuring during the crisis.
The inapplicability of the meso-corporatist model to this case becomes clear. There was a conspicuous absence of either political exchange or a shared policy agenda, each an important element of corporatist patterns of policy formation, in both the formation and implementation of adjustment policies in the sector. Mutual suspicion and a struggle to control the terms of the debate yielded a low level of co-operation. Eventually the industry was able to appropriate increased public funds on its own terms and to insist on a protective trade regime.
The complexity of the case points to the need to broaden the debate over models of interest intermediation and to relate it to issues in political economy. This is particularly important with regard to the structure of the bureaucratic state and notions of state autonomy.     

BRITAIN'S ADMINISTRATIVE ELITE: PERMANENT SECRETARIES 1900–1986

This article is based upon analysis of biographical data of those men and women who reached the rank of Permanent Secretary in the career civil service between 1900 and 1986. Among other matters, the article gives details of the schools and universities attended by Permanent Secretaries, their age on, and mode of, entry to the civil service, and their career pattern within that service, including the number of departments served in, the age of appointment to the rank of Permanent Secretary, and the length of tenure in that role. The evidence shows that for the present cadre of Permanent Secretaries the route to the top has been characterized by inter-departmental mobility, private office service, and experience in the key central departments of the Treasury and the Cabinet Office.     

SOCIAL TIES AND CRIME: IS THE RELATIONSHIP GENDERED?*

A fundamental concept in the systemic model of social disorganization theory has been the social ties among neighbors. Theoretically, social ties among neighbors provide the foundation from which the potential for informal social control can develop. Recent research, however, has shown that not all social ties are equally effective in producing informal social control and decreasing crime rates. Warner and Rountree (1997) have shown that the neighborhood context in which ties occur is related to their crime-fighting effectiveness, and Bellair (1997) has shown that frequent ties are not necessarily the most effective ties. Further examination of the crime-control effectiveness of specific patterns and placements of social ties, therefore, seems a fruitful path to pursue. For example, no research to date has examined potential demographic differences in the effectiveness of ties. This study begins exploration in this area by examining the extent to which the effectiveness of ties in decreasing crime is related to the gendered nature and context of those ties. Using data from 100 Seattle neighborhoods, we find that although women and men display similar levels of local social ties, the effects of these gender-specific ties on crime are different. In particular, female social ties are more effective in controlling crime, particularly in the community-level gendered context of few female-headed households.