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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to draw upon empirical research in order to demonstrate the ways in which trade unions have responded to the so‐called current UK pension crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses both theoretical approaches to neoliberalism, and empirical research in the form of interviews, to examine the contradictions between the rhetoric and reality of government policy towards, and trade union responses to, pension reform in the UK.FindingsThat trade unions have been constrained by: the fact that the labour party, which they support, has been in government but has increasingly become receptive to neoliberal economic policies; and by the broader discourse of pension reform, advanced by elites that are committed to neoliberal reforms to the British welfare state.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of the paper is large and thus certain issues regarding the pension crisis and ideology are not covered in as much detail as would be preferred.Practical implicationsThe paper offers forward a unique critique regarding the current favoured pension policies and solutions.Originality/valueThis paper draws upon front‐line theoretical contributions and combines them with the author's interviews with leading trade union general secretaries. As such, it is a unique insight into not only the current so‐called "pensions crisis" but also the responses of trade unions, and the labour movement more broadly, to this constructed dilemma.

This paper analyses the relationship between democracy and women participation in politics. Democracy is supposed to translate into equal power relations between men and women. Evidence on the ground shows little or no connection between democracy and levels of women political participation as those countries regarded as highly democratic have low women representation compared to those regarded as less democratic. This paper attempts to answer the following major questions: is there a relationship between a country's democratic level and the number of women in political positions? At political party levels, does it follow that democratic parties have more women than parties regarded as authoritarian? Are countries wholly committed to increasing women participation in politics to enhance democracy? Or is the signing of agreements aimed at increasing women in political decisions simply rhetoric? Is there a relationship between the wealth a country has and the number of women in political positions? Documentary evidence, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews highlighted that there is no positive rapport between democracy and women involvement in politics as democratic countries and parties have less women than autocracies. Political commitment to increased women participation by all countries is the solution to women involvement in politics. Gender should be preserved as an unequivocal goal of democracy.

Even though the terms "culture" and "reconciliation" are absent in the Élysée Treaty, this article looks at forms of cooperation that the Treaty nevertheless generated in the fields of education and youth, as well as foreign affairs and defense. In fact, the Treaty was quite important for the development of cultural and socio-cultural relations between France and Germany and the interactions between states and civil societies. Yet, contrary to the political rhetoric often heard, the Élysée Treaty was not the "year zero" of Franco-German rapprochement. The Treaty also has to be evaluated in terms of the new impetus it provided for societal initiatives, as well as its limits in the cultural field. The article also assesses recent debates among intellectuals in the two countries: Do the two nations still have something to share at the cultural level or have they distanced themselves from each other? Has the Élysée Treaty really exhausted its integrative capacities regarding socio-cultural matters? In sum, the Treaty has become an important framework for Franco-German socio-cultural cooperation, even if "culture" was not its main aim, and governments are far from having been the main actors in this field. But, thanks to the joint process of consultation and institutionalization, experiments with bilateral forms of exchanges and cooperation often occurred before being re-applied to a larger framework.

This article focuses on China's policy towards the peace process in the Middle East after the end of the Cold War and the American influence on Chinese policy. China has always charted its policy on the Arab-Israeli peace process to be 'balanced diplomacy', maintaining friendly relations with Arab countries, while not neglecting its relationship with Israel. Furthermore, China's policy regarding the Israeli-Arab peace process contains contradictory elements in its dual relations with the 'peace camp' and the 'radical camp' in the Middle East. Chinese diplomacy finds itself in a complex dilemma, balancing the perils and prospects of its economic and strategic goals in the Middle East and the international arena. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China states that it shares the great burden of ensuring that the Middle Eastern peace process is managed correctly. However, its declaration is merely diplomatic rhetoric; Beijing does not actively endeavour to advance the peace process but is mainly interested in promoting its own economic interests and balancing the US hegemony in the region. Therefore, its approach is chiefly one of conflict management, rather than conflict resolution. Paradoxically, by trying to maintain good economic relations with everyone, it helps strengthen forces opposed to peace, such as Iran and Hamas.

The central objective in this thesis is to explore the gaps between the normative justifications advanced for language rights and language legislative protection and the effective realisation of those rights and legislative provisions in practice. This objective is achieved by examining the scope and application of language rights and legislative provisions within language legislation in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Drawing on Canadian jurisprudence advocating for language rights to be recognised as "purposeful", the thesis considers the extent to which Ireland and the United Kingdom have limited the acceptance of positive obligations as they relate to the provision of language services in the public sphere. In arguing that language rights are distinct in nature, the thesis suggests that in order for language rights to be effectively realised, an approach to language rights and language legislation more generally must be underpinned by a substantive vision of equality, otherwise language rights and legislative provisions merely amount to symbolic recognition and vacuous rhetoric as opposed to being substantive and enabling rights and provisions. Having said that, the thesis also recognises and elucidates the practical difficulties that arise in the realisation of language rights and language legislative provisions and in doing so seeks to stimulate further dialogue about the nature and limits of language rights and language legislation.

Does innovation itself can be considered as a breakthrough? The emotional charge about what it is "new" or "different" often brings an enthusiastic response in various sectors; however, it can also trigger resistance. In the issue of rights of nature, an extensive legal literature has been developed, more than what is boasted, as an Ecuadorian contribution to global legal thought.This paper is a review of the constitutional innovation, its foundations, the legal categories involved, in order to make an initial assessment on the subject and lay some groundwork to understand whether it can be considered as a significant innovation or a legal rhetoric in service of a political project. ; ¿La sola innovación puede ser considerada como un avance? La carga emotiva de lo "nuevo", de lo "diferente" suele arrastrar una reacción entusiasta en muchos sectores, a la par suele provocar más de una resistencia. En el tema derechos de la naturaleza se ha desarrollado una literatura jurídica cada vez más extensa que la pondera como una contribución ecuatoriana al pensamiento jurídico mundial.Este trabajo es una revisión de la innovación constitucional, sus fundamentos, las categorías jurídicas involucradas, para realizar una evaluación inicial sobre el tema y sentar algunas bases a fin de entender si puede considerarse como una innovación trascendental o es una retórica jurídica al servicio de un proyecto político.

Corruption is an international issue that gets the recognition of the United Nations. International day was assigned to exchange ideas, sharing knowledge, to revitalize the commitment as well as to devise new strategies concerning this securitized matter of all member states. Besides, the UN provided convention that has been ratified by states of the world. Ethiopia is one of those which have signed this convention and currently institutionalized the ‘cosmetic’ anti-corruption practice. Yet, things have a different scenario in Ethiopia; its political systems are deficient in democratic power sharing formula, check and balance, accountable and transparent institutions and procedures. These deficits of democracy are clearly observed when one compares the significant steps of the country’s transition from its authoritarian legacy to the current ‘rhetoric’ good governance experience of the country. The artificial nature and the failure of the country's transformation to democratic governance and its legacy to the deficit of the political system open the door to corruption and facilitated the fertile breeding ground for this political gangrene. This article argued that the perpetuation of political corruption on the part of the incumbent government in Ethiopia, significantly aborted the country’s democratization process, eroded the country’s rule of law, prevail a politicization of the country’s civil service system, as well as the monopolization of the country’s economy.

Ecuador was 'refounded' at the turn of the 21st century, with the articulation of progressive and inclusive ideals in a new Constitution. Social movements and leftist intellectuals in Ecuador have expressed that president Rafael Correa has failed to uphold the 2008 Constitution's goals and values. President Correa and his Alianza PAIS government have utilized the rhetoric of the revolutionary ideals articulated in the Constitution, but in practice, they have continued to implement the status quo Western development model, and a large part of their development strategy involves 'neo-extractive' activities. Hydroelectric energy production is contributing to the 'neo-extractive' development model in Ecuador, and its implementation has often violated Constitutional rights. This thesis is an analysis of natural resource extraction in Ecuador and its social repercussions, with a focus on hydroelectric energy production. It is shown that the hydroelectric industry in Ecuador is not as "clean," sustainable, or non-extractive as it is purported to be, through a case study of the San José del Tambo hydroelectric project and the exploration of an international support for hydroelectric extractivism, the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism, and its misleading framing of extractive projects as "sustainable development." Social movements in Ecuador are acting to reverse the perversion of their originally revolutionary ideals, and to implement a post-extractive model informed by those revolutionary ideals.

Most academic systems and structures, as they exist today, are based on models which were designed centuries ago, at a time when men exclusively predominated in universities. There is certain scepticism towards what can be achieved, though. A continuing evident gap is apparent between principles, rhetoric and reality. In 2010, women were pursuing upper secondary and higher education more actively than men, but, evidently, women remain more strongly underrepresented among researchers than among highly qualified professionals in traditionally maledominated scientific and professional fields. This could point towards a situation where the organisational culture mounts resistance against the integration of women. Briefly, they require but often lack conceptual frameworks. The purpose of this study was to examine how institutional culture promoted or impeded the implementation of one of the EU flagship initiatives 'Implementing structural change in research organizations/universities' in Lithuania, which should be designed to improve the institutional culture for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, a conceptual framework and methodology was developed for designing institutional transformational change at STEM faculties of University to sustain the practice of gender equality. In the second stage, the design of the Model Institutional Transformational Change was attempted to be conceptualized in order to achieve change on institutional, departmental and individual levels.

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln is a film geared to the tastes of another time and place. Charged with the herculean task of considering the legacy of "the Great Emancipator," the film is a marathon of rhetoric-laden vignettes that would surely have satisfied the elocution-hungry crowds that gathered for the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The film is not so much a Lincoln biopic as an ensemble-led lesson in crafting legislation in the nineteenth-century United States. While one would perhaps expect a split focus between the public and private personae of Lincoln (and there is plenty of that), it is clear from the onset that the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is, in fact, the central character of this narrative. One of the film's virtues is that it shows that while the end of slavery was all but assured, the legal status of formerly enslaved persons was by no means certain when the Civil War ended. If the war measures Lincoln took to emancipate slaves were not confirmed by a constitutional amendment, emancipation (at least in a de jure sense) could be repealed with a single act of peacetime legislation. The future of former slaves, and those who still remained in slavery as in the border states, would have been uncertain.

В статье исследуется проблема писем во власть, во-первых, как проявление демократического права населения на участие в управлении государством и права на правосудие, во-вторых, как оружие репрессивных политических кампаний, в-третьих, как важнейшая форма идентификации с властью. Дается характеристика жалоб как значимого явления советской действительности. Приводятся примеры характерных и особенных жалоб на материалах Пермского государственного архива новейшей истории. Рассматриваются способы работы с письмами граждан на местах. Исследуется содержание жалоб послевоенных лет, которые позволяют понять особенности повседневности тех лет, риторику эпохи, формы сопротивления несправедливости. ; The article is devoted to the Soviet phenomenon of «letters to authorities». Three major interpretations of «letters» are presented: 1) as a way to implement the democratic right for participating in state management and right for justice; 2) as an instrument for repressive political campaign; 3) as a significant form of personal identification with authorities. Claims were an important social phenomenon of the Soviet life. The author presents typical and specific claims (on the materials of Perm State Archives of Contemporary History) and ways of dealing with them on the local level. The author analyses the post-war years' claims, which help to understand the peculiarities of the Soviet everyday life, the rhetoric of the era, and the forms of citizens' resistance to injustice.

Human trafficking in Scotland has entered the realms of political rhetoric, governmental consciousness and academic debate. Following a summit on human trafficking in October 2012 in Edinburgh Justice Minister Kenny MacAskill said 'We want to send out the message that Scotland is closed for business to traffickers'. The Scottish Government notes on its website that 'Trafficking in human beings is an abhorrent evil practice which has no place in a civilised society'. The non-departmental Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published a thorough report on the subject, in November 2011, following its Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland (EHRC Report 2011). The Report describes in considerable detail human trafficking in Scotland and set out ten findings with accompanying recommendations. A Follow-on Report was recently published, in March 2013. In it the progress made on the recommendations in the period since publication is adjudged. Academically, a body of work focusing on human trafficking in Scotland is beginning to emerge. Through this research a clearer picture of the insidious and complex nature of human trafficking is being demonstrated. There is no doubt that a serious problem exists and that governmental bodies and commentators have started to campaign and research in the area. A specific question arising, from a legal perspective, concerns the nature and adequacy of the legislative response.

The relationship between the U.S. and Yugoslavia is traditionally interpreted as having been at its pinnacle during the years of President John F. Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson. However, on a substantial level, Kennedy, Johnson and their Administrations did not excel at maintaining relations with the Yugoslav leadership despite recommendations from the State Department that saw the relationship as an important geopolitical element. In contrast, the Nixon and Ford Administrations with Henry A. Kissinger as their chief foreign policy strategist, are usually interpreted as having reduced interest for ties with Yugoslavia. However, the Nixon-Ford Administrations made substantial efforts to maintain relations at a constant, following the State Department line emphasizing the relationship with Yugoslavia. Their efforts with Yugoslavia via should also be viewed in light of their other geopolitical goals, such as the rapprochement with China and the detente with USSR. Furthermore, despite Yugoslavia's repeated 'balancing acts' of anti-American rhetoric and even action (the Cypriot assassinations plot, Yom Kipur War, etc.), there were notable improvements such as Nixon's visit to Yugoslavia, the first U.S. President to do so. The constancy was due to Nixon-Ford Administrations' adherence to policy set by Helmut Sonnenfeldt and Art Hartman -- under Kissinger's tenure. Adapted from the source document.

This paper examines the political ecology of a participatory environmental management setting. It argues the failure of participatory forums to meet their goals reveals more generalized features of the state, namely its fractured quality and inconsistent actions. Thus, rather than premise questions of how participatory forums might be more effective, researchers should first consider what cleavages and inconsistencies in the state that participatory forums reveal. How do the various actors involved negotiate these cleavages and inconsistencies? The paper explores disputes surrounding the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, North Carolina, USA. The argument centers on whether or not off-road vehicles might access the Seashore. Parties to the dispute have lobbied elected representatives, participated in a public forum, enacted litigation, and carried out campaigns of public admonishment. While using one part of the state to counteract the actions of another, supporters of off-road vehicles proffer a moral assessment which contrasts "gentlemen-type rules" with "backroom deals". The paper argues this rhetoric acts as a kind of cultural script that people use to corral heterogeneous state institutions into a single discursive framework that premises the kind of face-to-face relations where they are more likely to achieve their goals.Keywords: conservation; state formation; environmentality; environmental governance