Learning-Shaping Crises: A Longitudinal Comparison of Public Personnel Reforms in Italy, 1992‒2014

Abstract

This article analyses the attempts to reform public administration, notably personnel management, in Italy between 1992 and 2014, with a focus on implementation and the period following the multiple crises that have unfolded since 2008. By untangling the policy learning processes between multiple crises, past reform attempts and domestic and European “contexts in motion”, the article finds that efficiency-oriented reforms have floundered regardless of the political color of governments or indeed of the nature – political or technocratic – of the governments. Domestic factors, notably the frequency of government alternation, i.e. government instability, and European pressure have further reinforced the orientation towards single-loop lessons, i.e. the almost exclusive effecting of short-term cost-cutting measures.     

Interrogating ‘invisibilization’ and ‘instrumentalization’: women and current citizenship trends in Canada

This paper examines current citizenship discourses and practices in Canada, focusing on the implications not only of marketization, but also of growing securitization vis-à-vis citizenship, and the gendered ramifications of such developments. The repercussions of marketization and securitization and their interrelations, for women in general, as well as racialized and immigrant women in particular, are outlined and assessed. In this way, we see how women are at the receiving end of highly contradictory processes in that they are both ‘invisibilized’, in other words, rendered invisible, by the Canadian state, but are also are increasingly ‘instrumentalized’, in other words, used in strategic ways. Yet, women also challenge these trends and tactics, thereby interrogating these processes that serve to limit the terms and scope of citizenship in Canada.     

State retrenchment and informal institutions in Kazakhstan: people's perceptions of informal reciprocity in the healthcare sector

Despite government efforts, post-independence Kazakhstan has largely failed to provide high-quality medical services to its population. State retrenchment in the public healthcare system has led to the deterioration of medical service delivery. It has provided incentives for people to widely use informal reciprocal exchanges – personal connections and informal monetary and non-monetary payments – to gain access to better medical care. In contrast to the existing explanations focusing mostly on the cultural origin of the continuity of informal exchanges, I argue that state retrenchment from the social sphere and under-provision of state goods and services have perpetuated informal exchanges in post-Soviet Kazakhstan. Despite similarities in informal practices between Soviet and post-independence Kazakhstan, some important differences in terms of scope and the nature of informal exchanges are observed. This article draws on data collected from interviews, textual analysis, and original surveys of people's attitudes towards the healthcare system and informal help conducted in Kazakhstan in 2011 and 2013.     

Irish civil society: rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic? A case study of fighting Irish social security retrenchment

Examining the politics of Irish responses to crisis-related social security cuts gives insight into Irish agency and how crisis has shaped the contours of Irish civil society. Despite assertions of lack of protest, Irish retrenchment was resisted and sometimes partially defeated. Using political sociology frameworks to explore interactions between institutional, ideological and interest variables in three case studies of defending cuts enables analysis of resistance strategies. There are tensions when short-term defensive resistance strategies undermine or limit offensive political coalition-building that might offer greater long-term solidarity and more sustainable resistance to intensification of the neoliberal Irish welfare state.     

The welfare systems of the Baltic states following the recent financial crisis of 2008–2010: expansion or retrenchment?

ABSTRACT

This article aims to uncover major social security system reforms that were implemented following the recent financial and economic crisis of 2008–2010 and the post crisis period. Additionally, it explores the dynamics of the socioeconomic situation during the last 10 years, looking at how Baltic states compare with each other and how they compare with other central and eastern European countries in the EU. The findings show that retrenchment is difficult even during times of crisis. Although the Baltic states were affected by the crisis, especially Latvia and Lithuania, their social security institutions did not experience any structural shift.     

US-Arab Gulf Relations amidst Regional and Global Changes

Abstract

The Arab Gulf has long enjoyed privileged relations with the United States. Being home to the world’s largest oil reserves, the US saw it in its strategic interest to keep Arab Gulf states in its camp during the Cold War. The relation developed over the years to include other areas of cooperation such as in the military, economic and even academic fields. However, many factors today challenge this relationship. In the face of the US’ evident retrenchment from the region, the Arab Gulf is showing more inter-GCC cooperation, and Saudi Arabia is trying to forge alliances independently from the US. At the same time, Arab Gulf countries are intensifying their lobbying efforts in the US.     

Municipal Responses to Fiscal Austerity: The Thai Case

This article discusses the use and determinants of fiscal retrenchment strategies of Thai municipalities during the FY 2009/2010 economic downturn. Based on a survey of over 900 municipalities, the author finds that Thai municipal government did not prepare itself for a declining economy. It mainly employed short-term strategies by cutting down line-item and miscellaneous spending rather than utilizing more fiscally sustained schemes such as increasing the revenue from untapped resources or applying more stringent budgetary control measures. Reasons for the fiscal adaptation were several but mainly stemmed from the declining fiscal conditions during the recession as exhibited by fund balance ratio and debt service payment. The findings indicate that Thai municipalities are running at fiscal risk due to inadequate preparation for economic fluctuation and suggest that a local fiscal surveillance system be put in place.     

论单位受贿罪"账外暗中"的若干问题

随着我国政府加强对商业贿赂的打击力度,商业贿赂的手段不断翻新.用规避"账外暗中"的方式以逃避法律制裁,是其中之一.我国要加快反腐倡廉的进程和提高反商业贿赂的质量,单位受贿罪中的"账外暗中"方式应予以取消.     

县级政府机构精简人员难点与出路

县级政府机构改革多次在精简人员问题上搁浅或回流,本文提出难点所在及相应对策。     

国家角色的转变与新中国养老保障政策变迁

本文借助福利多元主义的视角,分析了自改革开放以来国家角色在养老保障政策变迁中的转变。文章发现,自市场经济改革以来的国家收缩在进入新世纪之后出现了国家回归的新趋势,这一转变是社会福利供给严重失衡所导致的结构性压力与政府执政理念转变共同作用的结果。国家角色从收缩到适度回归的变化对理解中国社会政策体系的变迁轨迹及其未来发展具有重要的意义。