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An indepth study in participatory democracy in Zimbabwe with emphasis on local governance. ; This study raises a number of rather controversial issues regarding development, beneficiary participation and local government in Zimbabwe. None of the people or institutions mentioned above can be blamed for any of the contents of this study. The opinions, views and conclusions contained in this study are mine alone and not of those who worked with me or supported me during this study. I certainly hope that the study will result in serious re-examination of the way development has seemed to take place in Zimbabwe since 1980, and contribute to further studies of what changes need to be made to the status quo for the benefit of the poor and needy in our country. ; The Ford Foundation provided financial support for the project.

Le succès de l'élargissement à l'Est de l'Union européenne est le défi principal auquel les Quinze sont actuellement confrontés. Or, le cadre institutionnel de l'UE, qui s'inspire encore largement de celui de l'Europe des Six, n'est pas en mesure de garantir la transparence, l'efficacité et le fonctionnement démocratique d'une « grande » Union à 27 Etats-membres, dont le système politique reste à définir. Sans une réforme profonde de ses structures et procédures internes, l'UE sera en effet ingouvernable. L'Europe a donc besoin d'un concept d'intégration différenciée permettant de poursuivre parallèlement une politique d'approfondissement des institutions européennes et une stratégie d'ouverture vis-à-vis des PECO qui aspirent à y adhérer. D'où l'importance d'une restructuration de l'ensemble communautaire axée autour de plusieurs noyaux dans les domaines de la défense et de la politique économique et monétaire.

The invention of the M.P. Parlementary meetings and the specialization of the political activity in the XIXth century.
Jean Joana [23-41]
Weberian categories about «notables» and «professionals» present the first one as dilettantes who spontaneously dispose of resources and «savoir-faire» necessary to political activity. The analysis of representation and practices mobilized by notables who sit into chambers from 1815 to 1877 allows to contest this prospect. The involving of «réunions de députés», is showing an authentic specialization about the activity exerted by this staff, not only about specific interests and stake, but too on particular competences and savoir-faire. During this time, the increase of «réunions» proves the effect used by the parlementarian institution upon the definition of constitutive role about deputy craft and professionalization of political activity.

Asian cities with ancient origins & large populations are complex ethnic & cultural mosaics that tend to have less ethnic conflict & tension than other larger cities. Urbanization in nation building & subsequent rapid globalization as well as Western colonialism & socialism have diminished ethnic & cultural identities. Conscious of problems arising from ethnic conflicts, Asian governments have pursued policies & bureaucratic efforts in regard to housing, zoning codes & regulations, language, & civil society to maintain social harmony & stability. However, ethnic concentrations & reconcentrations have grown despite intervention measures. It is predicted that continued penetration by global economic & social forces, the information revolution, political socialization through family, school, & other social institutions, & the forces of urbanization will further erode ethnic identities. Overall, in the area of social & political integration, the future of Asian cities seems positive. 21 References. Adapted from the source document.

A number of writers have drawn upon the republican tradition in political thought to criticize liberals like Rawls and Dworkin for neglecting the importance of public service and civic virtue. In this article, I present and evaluate one version of this critique, which can be found in recent work by Quentin Skinner and Charles Taylor. I argue that their critique, which I term "instrumental republicanism", is caught on the horns of a dilemma. Depending on how the critique is formulated, either there is no interesting disagreement between liberals and republicans, or there is, but not one which should concern liberals. Either way, instrumental republicanism cannot be said to offer an improvement on the liberal attitudes towards public service and civic virtue. (British Journal of Political Science / FUB)

Administrative reforms that have increased credibility, efficiency, cooperation, & decentralization have enabled Barcelona, Spain, to: build a city with a system of public spaces & environment conducive to good fellowship; make citizen participation a form of government, involving permanent contact with the public; & develop a collective enterprise in which all citizens are engaged. The development of coordination mechanisms between the administration & powerful social, economic, cultural, & political forces was based on a special symbiosis between institutions & communities & given impetus by the Olympic Games of 1992. Challenge to future governability include: addressing on influx of impoverished ethnic groups & multiculturalism, maintaining the strengths of decentralization & citizen participation, & adopting a municipal charter. Additionally, rationale & structure are conceptualized for administration of a city-region that would serve as a focal point for supramunicipal investments & authorities. 11 References. Adapted from the source document.

If the assertions that this essay makes about the Court's "unfair" prosecution-orientation withstand scrutiny,"3 two further conclusions might follow. First, the highest court in the country is so fixated on ensuring that a particular side wins that it is willing with some frequency to sacrifice the most basic attribute of any court worthy of the name-the appearance of fairness. This conclusion is a much more fundamental challenge to the Court's integrity than is the simple acknowledgement that a majority of the Justices are biased in favor of the government. Second, to the extent the Court's unfairness becomes common knowledge, its credibility with the general public could be damaged. The potential threat to the Court's status as the preeminent judicial institution in the nation may not be grave, but it is certainly not trivial.

■ Anne-Marie Arborio : Savoir profane et expertise sociale. Les aides- soignantes dans l'institution hospitalière A l'hôpital, l'aide-soignante est en position privilégiée pour évaluer les caractéristiques sociales des malades dans l'assistance quotidienne qu'elle leur porte, ne serait-ce que pour ajuster son comportement à leurs demandes socialement différenciées. Dans une institution où le discours médical dominant insiste sur la neutralité d'une pratique fondée sur un savoir scientifique, cette prise en charge exclusive de l'être social du malade par l'aide-soignante, autorisée par une expertise sociale qui lui vient d'un savoir profane acquis dans sa propre trajectoire sociale, est sable. La connaissance intime du qui en résulte assure en outre à soignante le monopole sur les affectives avec lui : c'est là une source valorisation pour une catégorie subalterne dans la hiérarchie des hospitaliers.

The intellectual model of european nationalism had a powerful impact in the second half the nineteenth century upon Qajar intellectuals and officials, many of whom lived abroad, were fluent in some European language, or were influenced by translations of European works. These thinkers, beginning in the 1850s, were the first to attempt to "imagine" an Iranian nation. That they made this attempt is a result not only of the influence upon them of the modular nationalist experience, but also of their own encounter with the same forces of modernity that were hammering Europe itself—new media of communication, new forms of transportation, and processes of economic differentiation deriving from the rise of core industrial economies and vastly increased world trade—all of which afforded states and other institutions the resources for disciplinary technologies that reshaped the Self.