The politics of fiscal policy during economic downturns, 1981–2010

This article investigates fiscal policy responses to the Great Recession in historical perspective. It explores general trends in the frequency, size and composition of fiscal stimulus as well as the impact of government partisanship on fiscal policy outputs during the four international recessions of 1980–1981, 1990–1991, 2001–2002 and 2008–2009. Encompassing 17–23 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the analysis calls into question the idea of a general retreat from fiscal policy activism since the early 1980s. The propensity of governments to respond to economic downturns by engaging in fiscal stimulus has increased over time and no secular trend in the size of stimulus measures is observed. At the same time, OECD governments have relied more on tax cuts to stimulate demand in the two recessions of the 2000s than they did in the early 1980s or early 1990s. Regarding government partisanship, no significant direct partisan effects on either the size or the composition of fiscal stimulus is found for any of the four recession episodes. However, the size of the welfare state conditioned the impact of government partisanship in the two recessions of the 2000s, with left‐leaning governments distinctly more prone to engaging in discretionary fiscal stimulus and/or spending increases in large welfare states, but not in small welfare states.     

State,social policy and subaltern citizens in adivasi India

This paper argues that social policies work towards the subject-making of subaltern citizens by defining the grammar of state–subaltern relationship. The Forest Rights Act of India (2006) defines the state–adivasi relationship through a two-way process: claim-making by the indigenes for forest rights, and reduction of the discourse by the state into a politics of recognition without redistribution. While adivasis have employed their agency in wresting social policies from the state through protracted struggles, they are also made subjects of the state as they go about the Forest Rights Act procedure. The paper further points out that adivasi struggles and the organisations representing them constitute a distinct adivasi society contra the middle-class civil society. Though the spirit of the Act envisages substantive redistribution, the state institutions and the monitoring Non-Governmental Organisations have yet to adopt redistribution as a core narrative.     

Constructing a global commons in,against and beyond the state

The “commons” is emerging as one of the progressive political key words of our time. Against a backdrop of continuing neoliberal governance of the global economy, there is interest in a “translocal” global commons as an alternative that transcends both state and capitalist forms of appropriation. In this paper, I offer a constructive critique of the global commons. While sympathetic to arguments about the deficiencies of state-centric forms of socialist projects for emancipation, I nevertheless argue that realizing the commons vision of a more democratic politics means continuing engagement with the state, particularly for connecting up and scaling up local autonomous projects to achieve more transformative social change.     

Sub-State Diplomacy in Malfunctioning States: The Case of the Republika Srpska,Bosnia and Herzegovina

Diplomacy is no longer the preserve of the state. It is increasingly used by sub-state actors to contest state-level authority. In malfunctioning states like Bosnia and Herzegovina, where lengthy state-building efforts have not alleviated the risk of instability, this possibility is a cause for concern. This article builds on paradiplomatic and state-building studies to examine specific aspects of the Republika Srpska's (RS) bid for diplomatic actorness. Based on the content analysis of official documents and interviews, it assesses the level of diplomatic actorness of the RS in four dimensions (legal authority, external presence, internal presence, autonomy) and examines whether this has grown in collaboration or competition with state-level diplomacy. The article shows that the development of the RS's paradiplomatic activities is driven by ethno-political competition, facilitated by state and sub-state actors’ mutual disregard, and that it both echoes and amplifies the systemic malfunctioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina.     

十八大以来形成的“反腐高压态”及其走势——学习习近平总书记系列重要讲话精神

当代中国正在逐步走出腐败高发期,开始进入腐败高发的降减期,准确地说,正处于腐败高发降减期与高压反腐阵痛期相互交织的阶段。可以预见,随着全面建成小康社会、全面深化改革、全面推进依法治国、全面从严治党、全面推进社会主义现代化进一步取得成效,到党的十九大召开前后,有望"走出腐败高发期",到2020年左右可望度过"高压反腐阵痛期",进入党纪国法制度强制与公民本能反腐良性互动期,到2030年进入反腐红利集中释放期,伴随着这一进程,到建国一百年前后进入"反腐倡廉自觉期"。当然,这样的前景研判,在具体的时间点上不必以哪一年搞一刀切,这里所说的"期"相互之间有交叉,尤其是反腐红利的释放,实际上是一个缓释与集中释放相统一的过程。反对腐败是党心民心所向,有党心民心作力量源泉,随着依法从严反腐的深入推进,反腐败斗争必将取得胜利。     

Different Approaches,Different Results in Small State Studies: Complementary Views on the Monarchy and Traditional Governance in Liechtenstein

The research note comments on W. Veenendaal's article “A Big Prince in a Tiny Realm: Smallness, Monarchy, and Political Legitimacy in the Principality of Liechtenstein”. It is argued, inter alia, that the phenomenon of “princely self‐restraint” should not be underestimated in Liechtenstein's constitutional reality. The character of the microstate's actual political system strongly depends on the individual personality of the Reigning Prince . A strong monarch who acts as a political actor with his own agenda should not be conceptualized as a neutral traditional leader. From the perspective of many citizens of Liechtenstein, the principality's political system is legitimate since it combines traditional authority and legal‐rational authority in a unique way. Largely due to the powerful role of the government, the microstate is characterized by consensus‐oriented hierarchical governance. Elite surveys can be seen as a useful instrument to overcome some of the methodological pitfalls of the elite interview approach.     

Gaming the state: consequences of contracting out state building in Afghanistan

The operation of a vibrant illicit economy and government corruption are widely acknowledged as obstacles to the post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan. However, massive influxes of money tied to the international efforts have led to ‘legal’ corruption that similarly obstructs state consolidation and peace. This paper considers the various ways in which Afghan entrepreneurs have learned to ‘game the state’ by taking advantage of donor and especially US procurement systems since 2001. The conceptual framework and evidence suggests that designing ways to limit corruption arising from the state-building process is key to improving the long-run prospects for post-conflict reconstruction in Afghanistan and similar states where rapid and steep increases in foreign aid and associated contracts create fertile ground for malfeasance.     

Introduction: understanding the consequences of the Arab uprisings – starting points and divergent trajectories

This introduction sets the context for the following articles by first conceptualizing the divergent post-uprising trajectories taken by varying states: these are distinguished first by whether state capacity collapses or persists, and if it persists, whether the outcome is a hybrid regime or polyarchy. It then assesses how far starting points – the features of the regime and of the uprising – explain these pathways. Specifically, the varying levels of anti-regime mobilization, explained by factors such as levels of grievances, patterns of cleavages, and opportunity structure, determine whether rulers are quickly removed or stalemate sets in. Additionally, the ability of regime and opposition softliners to reach a transition pact greatly shapes democratic prospects. But, also important is the capacity – coercive and co-optative – of the authoritarian rulers to resist, itself a function of factors such as the balance between the patrimonial and bureaucratic features of neo-patrimonial regimes.     

城镇规划区违建执法困境及其解释——国家能力的视角

既有理论框架难以全面解释违建执法的困境.实际上,违建执法的困境反映执法领域国家能力的不足.从执法的结构和过程看,国家能力不足表现在多个层面:执法机构的"孤岛现象"普遍,不同机构之间难以有效合作;一线执法人员的素养欠缺,且其工作难以被执法机构有效考核;执法人员在进入社区空间、处理执法事务时受阻严重.由于国家能力的不足,执法人员常常接受执法对象的讨价还价,违建执法表现出"日常惰性—专项治理"的循环结构,强力执法与违法不究处于共生状态.改善社会治理,需要在执法领域强化国家能力,需要从执法机构、执法人员及其与社会的互动等多方面着手.     

依法治国与国家治理现代化

十八届三中全会提出推进国家治理现代化,十八届四中全会又提出全面推进依法治国,"国家治理现代化"与"依法治国"是什么关系?本文基于国家盒子里的系统分析,在考察和概括现代国家治理经验的基础上,提出"法治"是现代国家治理的主要标志,认为"依法治国"作为中央全会的核心主题具有标志意义,它表明执政当局对现代政治文明核心价值的认知和认可,也展示了执政党将中国国家治理纳入法治轨道的决心,同时预示了中国政府将把法治建设作为下一步改革重点的政策方向。作为对中国政治的一种观察,文章还提醒,尽管"依法治国"令人鼓舞,但要真正实现法治的有效运转,中国还需要走很长的路。