Bushwhacking the Democratic Peace

The invasion of Iraq has been justified, ex post , as for the purpose of promoting the democratic peace. It does not, however, appear to have been a principal goal ex ante . Most democratic peace theorists, moreover, do not endorse democratic regime change by great-power external military intervention. Success is difficult to achieve (usually at high cost), and the conditions in Iraq were not promising even had the occupation been carried out more competently. Greater success in democratization has been achieved by UN peacekeeping operations, and by various regional international organizations using a variety of peaceful measures to ensure free elections, constrain authoritarian leaders, and empower democratic forces. International organizations, notably those whose membership is largely composed of democracies, are especially likely to succeed in promoting democracy.     

Security Providers: Obstacles to Effectiveness in Democracies

To usefully discuss security, one must analyze the security providers states utilize to enhance international and domestic security. These are the armed forces, police, and intelligence agencies. This paper analyzes the implications of democratization on the requirements—posited as strategies, resources, and coordination institutions—these providers require in order to achieve the goals civilian leaders set for them. In analyzing case studies of how nations implement six different tasks, it becomes clear that the absence, or weakness, in any of the requirements leads to serious weakness in implementation. Two findings from the case studies are particularly important for policy. First, presidents, who are elected directly and for fixed terms, may ignore or even abolish institutions, including national security councils, that are created to coordinate policy. Second, as civilians are in control, if they lack clear incentives they are not willing to provide the necessary requirements for the security providers.     

Intergovernmental Agreements in Contemporary Russia

ABSTRACT

The paper discusses the evolution and current forms of agreements between federal, regional and municipal governments, as well as between the constituent units of the Russian Federation and municipalities. It analyses the problems and prospects of using these regulatory instruments. The purposes of this paper are to examine the current context of making intergovernmental agreements in Russia, to provide a comprehensive vision of contemporary state of this instrument of shaping intergovernmental relations, and to assess the prospects for their further practical use in the Russian Federation.     

The use of intergovernmental grants to municipalities for electoral purposes by subnational governments

Subnational governments devote a significant share of their financial resources to help municipalities provide local public services to their citizens. Compared to the large number of studies on national governments, little effort has been devoted to the influence of distributive politics on the use of intergovernmental grants by subnational governments. To fill this gap, this study uses a data set covering the period 2001–2011 to verify to what extent the Québec government used conditional grants to municipalities for electoral purposes. The results of this study show that the allocation of grants to municipalities is not exempt from electoral politics as municipalities located in districts held by governing parties or in high electoral competition districts receive more grants than other municipalities. However, the influence of electoral politics decreases substantially when the management of intergovernmental grants is under tight scrutiny by the opposition parties, mass media and the population. These findings suggest that distributive politics can be conceptualised as a political agency problem whose prevalence is seriously constrained by the improvement of the transparency of public policies management.     

Local elected administrators’ career characteristics and revenue diversification as a managerial strategy

Local governments have endeavoured to be fiscally better prepared against adverse economic downturns, and revenue diversification (RD) is considered one of such efforts. This study examines how Korean local governments have utilised diversification as a managerial strategy between 2007 and 2010. Focusing on local elected administrators’ (LEAs’) previous career, it reports that local governments with administrators with business experiences diversify revenues more than those with politics-turned administrators. It further finds that the effects of socio-economic and institutional factors are moderated by administrators’ career characteristics. Based on such evidence, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Intergovernmental Relations in the UK: Time for a Radical Overhaul?

Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic have put relationships between the UK government and its devolved counterparts under growing strain. Tensions generated by both of these developments have exposed the inadequacies of the existing, under-developed system for bringing governments together in the UK. The limitations of the current system include the ad hoc nature of intergovernmental meetings, and their consultative rather than decision-making character. Drawing upon an analysis of how intergovernmental relationships are structured in five other countries, the authors offer a number of suggestions for the reconfiguration of the UK model. They explore different ways of enabling joint decision making by its governments, and argue against the assumption that England can be represented adequately by the UK administration. Without a serious attempt to address this dysfunctional part of the UK’s territorial constitution, there is every prospect that relations between these different governments will continue to deteriorate.     

浅析国内府际博弈模式的缺陷与重构

本文通过归纳美国州际契约的成功要点，得出府际博弈“达优解”几个要件，即博弈主体地位独立而平等、获取资源的机会均等，博弈规则具法律效力、信息沟通快速顺畅，重视长期利益和相对利益等，认为造成目前我国府际博弈现状与“达优解”状态之间的差距的原因主要有传统的行政等级影响、获取资源的机会不公平，信息沟通机制滞后等因素，并提出相应的对策建议。     

服务型政府建设与政府间纵向关系调整

服务型政府建设对政府间纵向关系这一中国政府体制重要方面的调整和改革提出了迫切要求。中国的政府间的纵向关系在结构性要素上具有权力较为集中的特点,在体制性要素上也有一系列独特性。这样的政府间纵向关系有其优势,也有其不足。建设服务型政府对政府间纵向关系调整提出的基本要求是:使各级政府能够有效回应和满足公民日益增长的公共服务需求,实现基本公共服务均等化,有效推进行政管理改革和政府职能转变;进一步保持与提升政府间纵向关系的优势并克服其不足。     

从微观行为视角看中国政府间纵向关系

改革开放以来,中国上下级政府间互动模式发生了一定的改变,其主要原因在于制度环境的变迁。当前,上下级政府间互动模式具有一定的积极影响,但也存在个人化色彩较重、部分规范性文件法理权威不足、决策执行效率低等问题。因此,完善法制和加强人大的地位,有助于解决目前存在的问题,引导上下级政府间向互动良性发展。     

论我国地方府际关系法制化的实现途径

地方府际关系是指各级地方政府之间的纵横关系网络，包括地方政府上下级之间的纵向关系和各个地方政府之间的横向关系。改革开放前后，我国地方府际关系的变化促进了我国政治、经济、社会、文化的发展，但也出现了一些问题，解决问题的关键是实现我国地方府际关系的法制化。文章从现阶段我国地方府际关系法制化涉及的主要问题出发，在借鉴西方发达国家地方府际关系法制化基本经验的基础上，探讨了我国地方府际关系法制化的实现途径。