Suchergebnisse

This book is mainly devoted to a discussion of the broad experiences of the opposition parties that have emerged as a part of the movement towards multi-party politics in Africa. The contributors to the book tackle an interesting mix of issues from a critique of opposition politics in the context of the economic decline in Africa to an assessment of the effors made by the opposition to establish an effective presence under extremely difficult circumstances. The book also draws attention to the many internal organisational/leadership problems that have contributed as much to the weakness of the opposition as the machinations of the ruling parties. Ethnicity, religion and regionalism are identified as crucial factors militating against the opposition. Case studies are drawn from Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. ; Contents: 1. Economic Crisis, Multipartyism, and Opposition Politics in Contemporary Africa / Adebayo O. Olukoshi -- 2. Contestation over Political Space: The State and the Demobilisation of Opposition Politics in Kenya / Karuti Kanyinga -- 3. Opposition Politics in Zimbabwe: The Struggle within the Struggle / Tandeka C. Nkiwane -- 4. The Senegalese Opposition and its Quest for Power / Aminata Diaw and Mamadou Diouf -- 5. The Rise to Power of an Opposition Party: The MNSD in Niger Republic / Jibrin Ibrahim and Abdoulaye Niandou Souley -- 6. The Dilemmas of Directed Democracy: Neutralising Ugandan Opposition Politics under the NRM / Johan Ssenkumba -- 7. From People´s Politics to State Politics: Aspects of National Liberation in South Africa / Michael Neocosmos -- 8. Political Opposition and Democratic Transitions in Nigeria, 1985-1996 / Osita Agbu

RESUMEN: Combinando aportaciones metodológicas de la Nueva Historia Política y de la Nueva Historia Social, el presente artículo acomete la reconstrucción de algunos de los aspectos nucleares de lo que fue la práctica política estadounidense a lo largo del siglo pasado. Teniendo en cuenta la situación y las características de los partidos políticos y el entramado social, étnico y religioso del país, esa reconstrucción se apoya sobre todo en el análisis del voto político y de su carácter público y no secreto. Las formas de votar y su larga permanencia tuvieron consecuencias decisivas en el marco político estadounidense. El caso de Massachusetts, que aquí se estudia pormenorizadamente, es un claro ejemplo de ello. Palabras Clave: Sistema político, elecciones, partidos políticos, voto, reforma electoral. ABSTRACT: By combining the methodological contributions of New Political History and New Social History, this article undertakes the reconstruction of some of the nuclear aspects of what political practice in the United States was during the last century. Taking into account the situation and the characteristics of the political parties and the social, ethnic and religious framework of the country, this reconstruction is based, above all, on the analysis of the political vote and its public and non-secret nature. The forms of voting and their long duration had decisive consequences in the political framework of the United States. The case of Massachusetts studied here in detail is a clear example of this. Key words: Political System, Elections, Political Parties, Vote, Electoral Reform.

The tourist calling of the ceretan area has been reinforced in the last decade. To offer a wider range of tourist activities, the local operators have tried to promote and develop their heritage, hence the transfrontier project of a museum dedicated to the ceretan culture. The museum as a symbol of the ceretan culture generates social consequences together with the expected economic consequences. MuseuS de Cerdanya reflects the idiosyncrasies which are part and parcel of the border notion. It embodies the ceretan reality. The project will increase the ground rent and cost. The ceretan operators find themselves at the center of a disruption and spatial re-arrangement, which they both activate and endure. It is an ambiguous context, where the opportunities offered by the opening borders go alongside with the fear of losing control. ; La vocation touristique cerdane s'est renforcée durant les dix dernières années. Afin de diversifier l'offre, les acteurs cerdans tentent de valoriser leur patrimoine. C'est dans cette optique qu'est apparu le projet d'un musée de la Cerdagne. A côté des retombées économiques attendues, il existe des retombées sociales qui relèvent de la symbolique du musée. MuseuS de Cerdanya manifeste les particularismes frontaliers : il cristallise la réalité cerdane. Les communes participantes tentent de créer une rente de situation. Les acteurs cerdans sont au coeur d'un bouleversement de leur espace pour partie animé par eux, mais aussi pour partie subi. C'est dans un contexte ambigu, où les opportunités et les craintes liées à l'ouverture des frontières cohabitent, que s'inscrit ce projet.

The tourist calling of the ceretan area has been reinforced in the last decade. To offer a wider range of tourist activities, the local operators have tried to promote and develop their heritage, hence the transfrontier project of a museum dedicated to the ceretan culture. The museum as a symbol of the ceretan culture generates social consequences together with the expected economic consequences. MuseuS de Cerdanya reflects the idiosyncrasies which are part and parcel of the border notion. It embodies the ceretan reality. The project will increase the ground rent and cost. The ceretan operators find themselves at the center of a disruption and spatial re-arrangement, which they both activate and endure. It is an ambiguous context, where the opportunities offered by the opening borders go alongside with the fear of losing control. ; La vocation touristique cerdane s'est renforcée durant les dix dernières années. Afin de diversifier l'offre, les acteurs cerdans tentent de valoriser leur patrimoine. C'est dans cette optique qu'est apparu le projet d'un musée de la Cerdagne. A côté des retombées économiques attendues, il existe des retombées sociales qui relèvent de la symbolique du musée. MuseuS de Cerdanya manifeste les particularismes frontaliers : il cristallise la réalité cerdane. Les communes participantes tentent de créer une rente de situation. Les acteurs cerdans sont au coeur d'un bouleversement de leur espace pour partie animé par eux, mais aussi pour partie subi. C'est dans un contexte ambigu, où les opportunités et les craintes liées à l'ouverture des frontières cohabitent, que s'inscrit ce projet.

With prison populations increasing rapidly, more and more states are turning to privatization to trim their corrections budgets. Riding the crest of this trend are the private sector prison providers, whose combined business has grown more than fifty percent since 1996 and currently generates revenues of over a billion dollars a year. Industry spokespeople and other advocates claim that prison privatization also benefits the taxpayer by saving states millions of dollars annually in incarceration costs. Civil libertarians, however, fear that placing responsibility for prisoners in private hands may lead to violations of inmates' constitutional rights. In Richardson v. McKnight, the Supreme Court held that private prison guards are not entitled to qualified immunity from liability under 42 U.S.C. § I983. Finding that competitive market forces operate to discourage private prison guards from displaying unwarranted timidity in the performance of their duties, the Court saw no need to extend qualified immunity in this case." It did not, however, address the further question whether qualified immunity applies in the more likely situation in which private parties perform government contracts in the absence of competitive market forces. Lower courts should resist the temptation to conclude from this silence that an extension of qualified immunity is appropriate in such cases. As the private prison example - incorrectly characterized by the Court as a competitive market - illustrates, the profit motive animating private firms may mean that qualified immunity for private parties is inappropriate even, and especially, when competitive market forces do not obtain.

AbstractThis paper investigates the causes of the recent rise in extreme right and racist violence in Western Europe. In the first part, the available data on extreme right and racist violence in eight Western European countries ‐ Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway ‐ are discussed. Contrary to the image presented in the media, Germany is no 'Sonderfall' as regards the level of violence. Germany belongs to the countries with the highest levels of violence, but Switzerland and Great Britain are roughly comparable in this regard. The second part of the paper attempts to explain cross‐national differences by applying two theoretical perspectives from the social movement literature. The grievance model, which sees the causes of violence in grievances related to the main target groups of the extreme right (foreigners and asylum seekers) and more general feelings of anomie among the socially marginal, finds little support in the data. The opportunity model, which emphasizes the role of political elites in shaping mobilization opportunities for social movements, finds support in an analysis of the relation between the development of extreme right and racist violence and the political debate around asylum legislation in Germany. Moreover, cross‐national comparison shows that the amount of violence also depends on the prior strength of extreme right and racist parties. Contrary to common wisdom, but in line with the expectations derived from the opportunity model, the level of violence tends to be low where extreme right and racist parties are strong and vice versa.

This paper investigates the causes of the recent rise in extreme right and racist violence in Western Europe. In the first part, the available data on extreme right and racist violence in eight Western European countries - Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway - are discussed. Contrary to the image presented in the media, Germany is no "Sonderfall" as regards the level of violence. Germany belongs to the countries with the highest levels of violence, but Switzerland and Great Britain are roughly comparable in this regard. The second part of the paper attempts to explain cross-national differences by applying two theoretical perspectives from the social movement literature. The grievance model, which sees the causes of violence in grievances related to the main target groups of the extreme right (foreigners and asylum seekers) and more general feelings of anomie among the socially marginal, finds little support in the data. The opportunity model, which emphasizes the role of political elites in shaping mobilization opportunities for social movements, finds support in an analysis of the relation between the development of extreme right and racist violence and the political debate around asylum legislation in Germany. Moreover, cross-national comparison shows that the amount of violence also depends on the prior strength of extreme right and racist parties. Contrary to common wisdom, but in line with the expectations derived from the opportunity model, the level of violence tends to be low where extreme right and racist parties are strong and vice versa. (European Journal of Political Research / FUB)

International audience ; Economists have not dealt much with the issue of international security and defence economics. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due in part to an excessive effort in favour of the military-industrial complex, several studies have been undertaken to analyse disarmament procedures, their costs and their "dividends". Several questions are raised for the national economies. How to reconvert part of the armament activities? Should military activities be privatised or should arms exports be sought instead? How important are arms sales in this process and what is the potential for developing European solutions in the arms economy? Once removed from these questions about the links between the military sector and economic development, several leading economists have contributed their analyses on disarmament issues. ; Les économistes abordent peu la question de la sécurité internationale et de l'économie de la défense. Depuis l'effondrement de l'Union soviétique, dû en partie à un effort excessif en faveur du complexe militaro-industriel, plusieurs études ont été engagées pour analyser les procédures de désarmement, leurs coûts et leurs « dividendes ». Plusieurs questions sont posées pour les économies nationales. Comment reconvertir une partie des activités de l'armement ? Faut-il privatiser les activités militaires ou chercher plutôt à exporter les armes ? Quelle est l'importance des ventes d'armes dans ce processus et quel est le potentiel de développement de solutions européennes dans l'économie des armes ? Autrefois éloignés de ces questions concernant les liens entre le secteur militaire et le développement économique, plusieurs grands économistes ont apporté leurs analyses sur les questions relatives au désarmement.

International audience ; Economists have not dealt much with the issue of international security and defence economics. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due in part to an excessive effort in favour of the military-industrial complex, several studies have been undertaken to analyse disarmament procedures, their costs and their "dividends". Several questions are raised for the national economies. How to reconvert part of the armament activities? Should military activities be privatised or should arms exports be sought instead? How important are arms sales in this process and what is the potential for developing European solutions in the arms economy? Once removed from these questions about the links between the military sector and economic development, several leading economists have contributed their analyses on disarmament issues. ; Les économistes abordent peu la question de la sécurité internationale et de l'économie de la défense. Depuis l'effondrement de l'Union soviétique, dû en partie à un effort excessif en faveur du complexe militaro-industriel, plusieurs études ont été engagées pour analyser les procédures de désarmement, leurs coûts et leurs « dividendes ». Plusieurs questions sont posées pour les économies nationales. Comment reconvertir une partie des activités de l'armement ? Faut-il privatiser les activités militaires ou chercher plutôt à exporter les armes ? Quelle est l'importance des ventes d'armes dans ce processus et quel est le potentiel de développement de solutions européennes dans l'économie des armes ? Autrefois éloignés de ces questions concernant les liens entre le secteur militaire et le développement économique, plusieurs grands économistes ont apporté leurs analyses sur les questions relatives au désarmement.

International audience ; Economists have not dealt much with the issue of international security and defence economics. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, due in part to an excessive effort in favour of the military-industrial complex, several studies have been undertaken to analyse disarmament procedures, their costs and their "dividends". Several questions are raised for the national economies. How to reconvert part of the armament activities? Should military activities be privatised or should arms exports be sought instead? How important are arms sales in this process and what is the potential for developing European solutions in the arms economy? Once removed from these questions about the links between the military sector and economic development, several leading economists have contributed their analyses on disarmament issues. ; Les économistes abordent peu la question de la sécurité internationale et de l'économie de la défense. Depuis l'effondrement de l'Union soviétique, dû en partie à un effort excessif en faveur du complexe militaro-industriel, plusieurs études ont été engagées pour analyser les procédures de désarmement, leurs coûts et leurs « dividendes ». Plusieurs questions sont posées pour les économies nationales. Comment reconvertir une partie des activités de l'armement ? Faut-il privatiser les activités militaires ou chercher plutôt à exporter les armes ? Quelle est l'importance des ventes d'armes dans ce processus et quel est le potentiel de développement de solutions européennes dans l'économie des armes ? Autrefois éloignés de ces questions concernant les liens entre le secteur militaire et le développement économique, plusieurs grands économistes ont apporté leurs analyses sur les questions relatives au désarmement.

International negotiations between organizations project a complexity that makes them a challenge to describe, explain and improve. Their many elements and dynamics challenge especially those researchers and practitioners who seek a comprehensive yet essential understanding of these negotiations. Toward that end, this article develops a new analytic perspective that focuses on three key facets of negotiation—parties' Relationships, parties' Behaviors, and influencing Conditions (RBC)—and their basic B → R → C → B interaction. The first section defines international business negotiation, targets the subset of complex, interorganizational negotiations, presents as an example the 1985–86 CGE-ITT telecommunications merger, and considers the partial views of the merger talks provided by existing frameworks. Several reasons then enumerated underscore the need for and potential value of an inclusive, generally applicable perspective for complex negotiations. The RBC Framework, coupled with the Basic Model, are presented in detail, with each key facet defined, illustrated, and supported with references from diverse literatures. The Relationship and Behavior facets incorporate multiple levels of analysis (organizational, group and individual). Conditions encompass four types (circumstances, capabilities, cultures and environments). A temporal dimension completes the framework. The last section of the paper proposes empirical and practical applications of this perspective to international business. The former includes question-asking, model-building and testing, and cumulation of knowledge, and the latter, making sense of myriad details and identifying potential points of influence on counterparts. In these ways, the RBC Perspective integrates existing knowledge and will stimulate future work in the field.

Gorbachev's democratic revolution in the former Soviet Union fundamentally reshaped not only the political process of his nation but redefined the very nature of the nation itself. Begun as an attempt to implement guided reforms and to develop a political formula that would undercut conservative opposition, the interlocking policies of perestroika, glasnost, and demokratizatsiia acquired a life of their own, setting loose political and social forces that escaped the control of leadership at all levels. The abolition of the monopoly role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the creation of democratically elected legislatures at all levels, and the proliferation of political parties and interest groups have created a truly pluralistic political system. But with such pluralism comes the need to develop mechanisms that will mediate among newly empowered political forces, finding some common ground of compromise and adjustment. In the Soviet context, four such sources of mediational activity are possible: (1) a reformed Communist Party might transform itself into a broad pro-reform coalition; (2) the newly formed political parties and groups might form broad coalitions; (3) the legislature(s) might develop mechanisms fostering the emergence of consensus; and (4) coordination might be provided by the all-union and republic presidencies. Yet even before the coup attempt, little progress had been made in finding widespread consensus, and the post-coup dispersal of power to the republic level has made the system even less likely to produce such agreement.

La procédure applicable en matière de Protection de la jeunesse soulève parfois des interrogations. Elle est régie par des dispositions qui se trouvent en partie dans la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse et en partie au Code de procédure civile. On y trouve des éléments inspirés du régime contradictoire, d'autres du régime inquisitoire et même quelques emprunts à la procédure pénale. Ceci dit, ce processus judiciaire répond-il adéquatement et de façon cohérente aux objectifs de la Loi sur la protection de la jeunesse? Cet exposé offre des éléments de réponse en décrivant les principales étapes de l'instance où il apparaît que tantôt l'un et tantôt l'autre des régimes procéduraux mentionnés prévalent en fonction de l'objet particulier de chacune des phases du processus. ; Abstract: Procedural matters relating to youth protection raise a number of difficulties due to the various legislative sources which pertain thereto. These procedural aspects are governed by provisions found in the Youth Protection Act as well as in the Code of Civil Procedure. Some of these aspects appear to follow a more traditional adversarial approach while others seem closer to an inquisitorial model. In certain cases, the influence of the law relating to criminal procedure is evident. Does such a judicial process adequately and coherently fulfill the aims of the Youth Protection Act? The goal of the paper is to answer this query by examining the principle stages of the trial process in light of the procedural influences most prevalent at each step.

This paper consists of a critical appraisal of a number of aspects of the Canada Student Loans (CSL) program. In the first part of the paper it is argued that the current CSL program lacks horizontal and vertical equity and creates a work-disincentive. Furthermore, it is shown that the program rules are badly in need of up-dating to take into account the effects of inflation and tax rate increases since 1982. In the second part of the paper it is argued that the government is controlling the cost of the CSL interest subsidy inefficiently. An alternative design fro the CSL program is proposed and it is argued that this new design benefits both students and parents at little or no additional cost to the government. ; Ce mémoire consiste en une évaluation critique d'un certain nombre d'aspects du Programme canadien de prêts aux étudiants (PCPE). La première partie du mémoire argumente que le PCPE actuel manque d'équité horizontale et verticale et que ce programme décourage le travail. En outre, on démontre que le règlement du programme a absolument besoin d'être mis à jour pour prendre en considération les effets de l' inflation et des augmentations d' impôt depuis 1982. La deuxième partie du mémoire soutient que le gouvernement contrôle inefficace­ment les frais de subvention des intérêts du PCPE. Une contreproposition pour le PCPE est présentée et on argumente que cette nouvelle proposition profiterait à la fois aux étudiants et aux parents, sans pour cela augmenter de façon significative les coûts du programme.

In the West German general election of 1983 the newly formed Green Party received 5.6 per cent of the popular vote and was (at only its second attempt) able to send 27 delegates to the federal Parliament (Bundestag). It was the first time since the 1950s that a new party had joined the three major parties (SPD, CDU-CSU, FDP) in the federal Parliament. In the 1987 federal election the Green Party achieved an even better result: it received 8.3 per cent of the popular vote and 42 seats in the federal Parliament. Because of this remarkable success the analysis of the Green Party in Germany has become a major research object in political science. Several studies have described the development of the Green Party, its social bases, its organizational structure and its ideology.1 However, these findings have not been related to the role as well as the function of the Green Party in the West German party system. This research note represents such an attempt. The debate on 'realignment' and 'dealignment' of West European party systems is the most useful in this respect.2 Is the Green Party vulnerable and consequently likely to disappear from the political scene or will it become a stable component of the party system? It is hypothesized that the Green Party will consolidate its position as the fourth party in the German party system because it is a 'new type of party' that differs significantly from the established parties and hence can mobilize its own voter clientele.