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This study aims to explore the concept of authoritarianism, which – presented in terms of the "wicked problem" of the contemporary world – seems to be a severe challenge to present-day International Relations (IR), both in theoretical and practical dimensions. The author of the article defines the concept of authoritarianism as a form of the political system in which the power and material resources of the state have been centralized, appropriated, and put at the disposal of either an individual or an elitist group "in power." In this way, the possibilities of integrating the authoritarian state – both in the political and economic dimension – with the global system of international relations are limited, and the vital administrative institutions of the state have been manipulated and appropriated. The applied research method allows for interpreting the discussed issues in a complex – albeit specific – systemic form, characteristic not only for politically fragile or declining countries and regions but also for politically stable and economically developed ones. The author's analysis allows for the presentation and reinterpretation of the issue of contemporary authoritarian regimes concerning international relations in terms that not only define but often legitimize – and repeatedly even validate – some of the most despotic, autocratic, and hegemonistic forms of the political systems in modern times.

Old-growth forest is an often-used term that seems to be intuitively understood by ecologists and forest managers, and the wide-ranging discussion of its social and ecological values suggests it has currency among the general public as well. However, a decades-long discourse regarding a generally acceptable definition of old-growth, in both conceptual and practical terms, has gone largely unresolved. This is partially because old-growth is simultaneously an ecological state, a value-laden social concept, and a polarizing political phenomenon, each facet of its identity influencing the others in complex ways. However, the public, scientific, and management discourse on old-growth has also suffered from simplifying tendencies which are at odds with old-growth's inherently complex nature. Such complexity confounds simple or rationalistic management approaches, and the forest management arena has witnessed the collision of impassioned and contradictory opinions on the 'right way' to manage old-growth forests, ranging from strict preservationism to utilitarian indifference. What is clear is that management approaches that circumvent, trivialize, eliminate, or ignore old-growth's inherent complexity may do so at the expense of the very characteristics from which old-growth derives its perceived value. We explore the paradoxes presented by the various approaches to old-growth description and definition and present some plausible paths forward for old-growth theory and management, with a particular focus on managed forests.

This study explores the concept of authoritarianism. The author defines this concept as a form of a political system in which the power and material resources of the state have been centralised, appropriated and put at the disposal of either an individual or an elitist group in power. In this way, the possibilities of integrating the authoritarian state with global international relations are limited, and the vital administrative institutions of the state have been manipulated and appropriated. The applied research method allows for interpreting the discussed issues in a complex – albeit specific – systemic form, characteristic of not only politically fragile or declining countries and regions but also of politically stable and economically developed ones. The author's analysis presents and reinterprets the issue of contemporary authoritarian regimes in the context of international relations in terms that not only define but often legitimise some of the most despotic, autocratic and hegemonic forms of political systems in modern times.

Le présent article cherche à résoudre la question de l'inégalité économique des femmes à partir de la perspective de la théorie de la conception. Le concept des «problèmes pernicieux» qui a pour exemple paradigmatique, l'égalité des sexes, permet aux féministes d'examiner les multiples approches que nous avons adoptées dans le passé pour contrer les désavantages des femmes comme des éléments nécessaires et utiles dans la démarche menant à la résolution de l'inégalité. L'article passe en revue une diversité d'efforts au Manitoba, aussi bien que la mise au point de l'analyse fondée sur les genres par le Comité sur l'élimination de la discrimination à l'égard des femmes, comme exemples des façons par lesquelles les féministes ont abordé les problèmes pernicieux depuis des décennies et conclut que nous devons continuer d'exiger que les gouvernements mettent en oeuvre des politiques qui peuvent aider le Canada à se rapprocher de cet idéal d'égalité.

The Commonwealth's periodic attempts at housing and urban policy reform since the 1940s have been made in the face of a federal structure that allocates responsibility for such matters to the states. This paper explores the experience of federal governments since the 1940s, considering the various styles of political leadership, varying ways in which the problem has been framed, and differing policy settings that have been employed in resolving policy challenges. The historical narrative clarifies phases of active engagement and reaction, linking these to fiscal asymmetry and distribution of federal–state responsibilities, historical 'gateway' events, and transitions in policy paradigms. We argue that housing is a perpetual concern (both a basic need and an aspirational objective) and is so integrally related to other policy domains—in which decisions may have unintended consequences for housing—that it is never conclusively resolved. The complexity (and uncertainty) consequent upon these inter‐relationships ensures that housing remains a wicked problem. The visual metaphor of a complexity cascade, however, may assist a more nuanced appreciation of the direction of policy travel.

The lack of shared expert knowledge capacity in the U.S. Congress has created a critical weakness in our democratic process. Along with bipartisan cooperation, many contemporary and urgent questions before our legislators require nuance, genuine deliberation and expert judgment. Congress, however, is missing adequate means for this purpose and depends on outdated and in some cases antiquated systems of information referral, sorting, communicating, and convening. Congress is held in record low esteem by the public today. Its failings have been widely analyzed and a multitude of root causes have been identified. This paper does not put forward a simple recipe to fix these ailments, but argues that the absence of basic knowledge management in our legislature is a critical weakness. Congress struggles to make policy on complex issues while it equally lacks the wherewithal to effectively compete on substance in today's 24 hour news cycle.This paper points out that Congress is not so much venal and corrupt as it is incapacitated and obsolete. And, in its present state, it cannot serve the needs of American democracy in the 21st Century.The audience for this paper is those who are working in the open government, civic technology and transparency movements as well as other foundations, think tanks and academic entities. It is also for individuals inside and outside of government who desire background about Congress' current institutional dilemmas, including lack of expertise.

AbstractThis article reviews and critically assesses evidence on input subsidy programs implemented in selected countries over the past decade in Africa. We believe that input subsidies should be considered wicked problems because of the indeterminacy and difficulty surrounding how they are evaluated. Main findings from the current body of literature are that input subsidies provide some measurable but relatively small positive benefit to recipient households' well‐being. In addition, most studies find that subsidized inputs crowd out commercial input purchases, mitigating the extent to which subsidy programs contribute to total fertilizer use and crop production. African governments may wish to carefully consider the benefits and distributional effects of input subsidy programs relative to other uses of scarce public resources.