Interpreting the Rule of Law

International Journal for the Semiotics of Law - Revue internationale de Sémiotique juridique -     

Benefactors or Beneficiary—The Role of Industry in the Support of University Research Equipment

This paper examines the role of industry in the support of academic infrastructure, in particular university research equipment. Although the United Kingdom provides the framework for discussion the described situation should be a familiar one in most countries. The argument is constructed around the perceptions, opinions and positions of universities, government and industry. Drawing on results from a survey of academic departments the equipment situation at UK universities is outlined. Following that the position of the Government attempting to attract industrial support for university research equipment is discussed. And finally, industry's views of where the demarcation between public and private responsibility lies are presented.     

An appreciation of Alvey Adee

Alvey Augustus Adee (1842-1924) spent a diplomatic apprenticeship in the American legation at Madrid. In 1877, he entered the State Department in Washington and served there until his death. Adee spent almost four decades as the Second Assistant Secretary of State, the closest the United States has come to having a Permanent Under-Secretary. He managed American diplomacy in crises as well as quieter times, with an unparalleled expertise.     

Schweizerische Aussenpolitik im Wandel: Internationalisierung,Globalisierung und Multilateralisierung

Ausgehend von den drei Entwicklungen, wie sie sich in den Schlagworten Globalisierung, Internationalisierung und Multilateralisierung ausdrücken, geht der Artikel der Frage nach, inwiefern sich die genannten Prozesse auch in der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik identifizieren lassen. In der Untersuchung, die sich auf Staatsverträge beschränkt, wird diese Frage mit einer quantitativen Vollerhebung der aussenpolitischen Geschäfte für je vier Jahre in den 80er und 90er Jahren untersucht. Die empirische Analyse, die auf insgesamt 821 Fällen beruht, führt zu teilweise überraschenden Ergebnissen. Die Hypothesen zur Internationalisierung und zur Globalisierung liessen sich zumindest teilweise bestätigen. Punkto Multilateralisierung weisen unsere Auswertungen jedoch darauf hin, dass es in der schweizerischen Aussenpolitik, was die Zahl der Staatsverträge betrifft, von den 80er zu den 90er Jahren zu keiner Verschiebung von der bi- zur multilateralen Zusammenarbeit gekommen ist.     

A Prescription Rejected: Market Solutions to Problems of Public Sector Governance

The New Public Management includes the idea of incorporating market mechanisms in public sector governance. In the Danish case, market reforms have scarcely been used; private sector supplies of public services have not increased during the last decade. The lack of success of market reform in Denmark is explained by the strong institutions of traditional public sector governance operating at the micro-level. Formal and informal hierarchy and formal and informal corporatism hold a strong grip on public sector governance. The very decentralized structure of the Danish public sector decreases the importance of central government in terms of reform strategies. Strong interests and institutional constraints keep reforms in the Danish public sector within a hierarchical mode of governance.     

From plan to network: Urban elites and the post-communist organisational state in Russia

Abstract. This article uses the results from formal network analysis to test hypotheses about the character of Russia's post-communist transition, taking decision-making elites at the sub-national level as the unit of analysis. From the transition literature, the hypothesis generated is that city politics retains elements of its pre-democratic structure; from the urban regime theory, the hypothesis generated is that the elites' structure will show elements of convergence to a Western type, with the prominence of actors from the private sector. The data is drawn from a survey of elites in one city, Novosibirsk, undertaken in 1997. The results show that the membership and structure of the network has some similar characteristics to a Western city. Rather than being purely dominated by bureaucratic elites, the private sector plays a role. The private sector actors are grouped with the public sector actors, though they are not, however, equal partners to the networks as its members do not appear among the most networked in the city. We conclude that the legacy of the past may not be as much a constraint as the transition literature supposes.     

Partisanship and principle: Voters and the New Zealand electoral referendum of 1993

Abstract. In a two–stage referendum process, in 1992 and 1993, New Zealand voters authorised a radical change from a plurality electoral system to proportional representation. Although ad hoc groups, not the major political parties, led the debate for and against the change, the nature of the issue ensured that partisanship had a strong effect on voters' choices. Yet many voters were also guided by their political principles and values, including fairness of representation on one side, and preference for single–party, decisive governments on the other. Experience of proportional representation since 1996 has resulted in a fairly high level of uncertainty toward electoral change, independent of partisanship. Values and partisanship, however, remain the two stabilising influences.     

Information, Interests, and Environmental Regulation

This study contributes to the understanding of informational approaches to bringing about compliance with environmental regulations with particular attention to differences in the influence of information provided by different information sources. Based on theorizing from a combination of information processing and interest group literatures, we develop hypotheses about regulatees' reliance upon and the influence of different sources of information. We test these hypotheses for Danish farmers' compliance with agro-environmental rules. Our findings show that information plays a role in bringing about regulatory compliance, but its influence is not as strong and is less direct than might be thought to be the case. In addition, we show that not all information sources have the same influence. The findings demonstrate that interest groups have important roles in information provision and legitimization of policies that have often been assumed in the literature but have rarely been empirically examined.