Why Is There Less Public Trust in Local Government Than in Central Government in China?

The public’s trust in government, whether at national, regional, or local levels, is always a subject that arouses interest and debate among researchers as well as politicians. This article presents findings from an analysis of survey research conducted in 2011 and provides insights both on a hierarchical trust pattern of public trust in central and local governments in China, and on the key factors accounting for variance in this respect by multiple regression analysis.     

Enclosing the global commons: the convention on biological diversity and green grabbing

‘Green grabs,’ or the expropriation of land or resources for environmental purposes, constitute an important component of the current global land grab explosion. We argue that international environmental institutions are increasingly cultivating the terrain for green grabbing. As sites that circulate and sanction forms of knowledge, establish regulatory devices and programmatic targets, and align and articulate actors with these mechanisms, they structure emergent green market opportunities and practices. Drawing on the idea of primitive accumulation as a continual process, we examine the 10^th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity as one such institution.     

One Nation's Electoral Support: Economic Insecurity versus Attitudes to Immigration

Goot and Watson's article on One Nation 1 represents a considerable advance on other studies of One Nation, its electoral support and its social foundations. They correctly identify the importance of conservative social attitudes amongst One Nation supporters. However, we take issue with the strong conclusion reached by the authors, which more or less rejects the argument that One Nation has emerged out of the growing economic insecurity of its supporters.2 We do not agree that this conclusion is either the unambiguous finding of their own analysis or a conclusion that can be reached without considering a wider range of factors. Our criticisms fall into four areas:     

C. Reviews and notes bibliographies and works of reference

GRAMMAIRE ARABE A L'USAGE DES ELEVES DE L'ECOLE SPECIALE DES LANGUES ORIENTALES VIVANTES. By A. SILVESTRE de SACY. Paris 1831, reprinted Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, [ca. 1987]. 2 vols. xxx, 608; 697pp. FF. 350.‐.

LERNWORTSCHATZ ARABISCH. By INGELORE GOLDMANN‐MUTLAK. (Modernes Arabisch, eds. Wolfgang Reuschel and Günther Krahl.) Leipzig, Verlag Enzyklopädie, 1990. 315pp. DM40.‐.

DICTIONARY OF POST‐CLASSICAL YEMENI ARABIC. By MOSHE PIAMENTA. Leiden, Brill, 1990. 2 vols. xxiv, 541 pp. Hfl 165.‐.

IRAN AND THE ARABIAN PENINSULA: ECONOMIC STRUCTURE AND ANALYSIS. London, Economist Intelligence Unit, 1991. 245pp. £145.

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1992. London, Europa Publications, 1991. xxii, 1024pp. £115.

KURZBIBLIOGRAPHIE: PROBLEME UND PERSPEKTIVEN EINER VOLLMITGLIEDSCHAFT DER TÜRKEI IN DER EUROPÄISCHEN GEMEINSCHAFT. Compiled by G. HANSEN. Hamburg, Deutsches Übersee‐Institut, 1989. 26pp. DM8.‐

ALBANIA. Edited by WILLIAM B. BLAND. (World Bibliographical Series, 94.) Oxford, Clio Press, 1988. xxxvi, 290pp. 1 map. £39.50.

THE TIMURID ARCHITECTURE OF IRAN AND TURAN. By L. GOLOMBEK and D. WILBER. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1988. 2 vols. 510pp., 16 colour plates, 481 black‐and‐white plates, 8 maps, 162 plans and sections, 45 text figs. US$130.‐