THE SPATIAL LEGACY OF INFORMAL EMPIRE: OIL,THE SOVIET UNION,AND THE CONTOURS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA'S FAR WEST

Abstract

Beginning in the 1930s, Soviet geologists, engineers, and economic planners began laying the infrastructure of informal empire in China's westernmost province of Xinjiang. Seeking to gain access to its rich petroleum wealth in particular, these Soviet state agents helped create a blueprint for state investment and development in Xinjiang that continues to resonate today. Confronting the substantial Soviet investment in the province and driven by a border policy intent on minimizing capital expenditures for distant peripheries, economic planners in the Republic of China and the People's Republic alike relied heavily on Soviet reports, technology, and infrastructure in their own economic development plans. In the end, the efforts of Chinese and Soviet planners, often working in collaboration, helped create an enduring pattern of state investment in Xinjiang. Focusing on oil extraction, processing, and transport operations in Xinjiang, this work reveals the long-term resonances of informal empire in Chinese border regions.     

Considering the Tower of Babel: Correlates of Assimilation and Multiculturalism among Ethnic Minority and Majority Groups in the United States

Survey data collected from multiethnic samples of geographically dispersed college students and a national probability sample of US adults were utilized to examine the correlates of support for multiculturalism and assimilation—two competing interethnic ideologies, or ideals for how an ethnically diverse society should optimally function. Endorsement of multiculturalism and assimilation was related to perceived ethnic group differences, intergroup bias, and voting behavior on a number of public policies, but in opposite directions. Relative to white participants, ethnic minority participants endorsed multiculturalism to a greater extent, reported higher levels of group identification, and were more likely to support pro-diversity public policies. Discussion focuses on explanations for the variety of observed differences between ethnic minority and majority respondents, on the meaning of assimilation and multiculturalism, and on the argument that harmony between ethnic groups and dissimilarity between ethnic groups need not be thought of as mutually exclusive.

Building Civic Capacity Through an Elastic Local State: The Case of St. Louis

Since World War II the civic leadership of St. Louis has overcome the extreme fragmentation of public authority by building civic capacity through a variety of strategies and means. Three successive strategies for building civic capacity have unfolded in St. Louis to facilitate the revitalization of the downtown and other large‐scale initiatives. Between 1950 and 1965 a regime strategy was employed in which city hall and the city's corporate elites shared a common vision for urban renewal and the significant national resources that were provided to meet that end. By the mid‐1960s, however, a second strategy for downtown revitalization emerged that featured a corporate‐centered politics during which time the successful assembly of civic capacity hinged largely on the ability of the mayor to present and provide projects in which corporate elites and their companies would be willing investors. Since the early 1990s, building the civic capacity to undertake large initiatives has been made possible through the creation of a constellation of quasi‐public corporations and special districts. This third strategy of “shadow governments” are the most recent means of achieving civic capacity in St. Louis and we argue in this article that these new institutions are transforming the local state because they are capable of forging political coalitions, mobilizing resources, and making decisions that transcend general‐purpose governmental jurisdictions. For cities and for urban regions, the importance of this development is far‐reaching.     

Carriers of the Creed: Examining Democrats’ Commitment to Egalitarianism as Principle and Policy

Political Behavior - The Democratic Party is a coalition of interests sharing a common desire to use government to ameliorate societal inequities. Research shows that the party’s programmatic...     

THE STATES' ROLE IN LAND USE POLICY

Historically, land use had been an exclusively local function. By the early 1960s, a "quiet revolution" broke the local government monopoly over zoning and land use, with a larger state role. Those states which passed land use legislation soon were faced with substantial political opposition, especially from rural dwellers and developers. When Congress considered national land use legislation in the early 1970s. these same interests united in effective opposition.     

Book reviews

This paper considers the effect of rent-seeking on the welfare implications of price discrimination by a monopolist. It is shown that even when rent-seeking fully dissipates monopoly profits, it is possible for price discrimination to raise social welfare. Thus, the recognition that monopoly profits attract resource using, socially wasteful activities, does not necessarily negate price discrimination as a defence of monopoly.     

Body-Worn Cameras and Citizen Interactions with Police Officers: Estimating Plausible Effects Given Varying Compliance Levels

Recent citizen deaths involving police use of force have increased discussion surrounding police accountability and community relations. One piece of this discussion is the use of body worn cameras (BWCs) by officers. Unfortunately, little rigorous research has been conducted to estimate the effectiveness of BWCs in reducing problematic police-citizen interactions. In this paper, we estimate two measures of effectiveness of BWCs by comparing incidents that occur in a squad assigned cameras to incidents that occur in a squad assigned control. First, we estimate the effect of being assigned a BWC (but not necessarily using the camera) on reducing complaints and resistance associated with incidents. Second, we employ data on BWC use to estimate the effect of cameras if they were used with full compliance. Together, these two estimates provide a plausible range of effectiveness that policymakers can expect from BWCs. We find that BWCs have no effect on the rate of arrest or resistance, but can substantially reduce complaints.     

Disagreement,Diversity, and Participation: Examining the Properties of Several Measures of Political Discussion Network Characteristics

Recent advances demonstrate that individuals think and act differently depending upon the political views of their discussion partners. However, issues of both conceptualization and measurement remain. We argue that some of these issues result from conflating what are two distinct characteristics of political discussion: disagreement and diversity. The purpose of this paper is to provide clarity to this literature by more formally distinguishing these two concepts. In doing so, we recommend a preferred measure of each. Substantively, we demonstrate that although exposure to disagreement is associated negatively with political participation, including the decision to vote, exposure to diversity is unrelated to participation. The evidence supports our argument that more formally separating the concepts of disagreement and diversity will help scholars better identify how and when social networks matter for political attitudes and behavior.