Selecting party leaders in the Republic of Ireland

Abstract. Traditionally Irish party leaders, elected by their own parliamentary parties, endured a security of tenure only likely to be broken by personal electoral defeat. Now they live under a much more demanding regime. Leaders are challenged frequently and at least one has been deposed. Whereas once successions were managed now contests are normal, and they attract considerable publicity. These changes are bound up with the shift toward greater competition in Irish electoral politics, and a greater uncertainty about the nature of the parties themselves.     

NATIONAL PROJECTS IN CIVILIAN TECHNOLOGY

National projects in civilian technology initiated and implemented by the federal government generally cost in excess o f $1 billion and often extend beyond the political lifetime of a particular presidential administration. The authors explore the consequences of the U.S. political and administrative system on government-sponsored technology development by examining four such national projects: the SST, civilian nuclear power, synfuels, and the supercomputer. They relate the absence of planning and often tortuous course that characterizes these cases to the functioning–for better or worse–of American pluralistic politics.