Suchergebnisse

The significance of the positive political theory is recognized in the text and a special emphasis given to the theory of public choice and the theory of voting. The main reasons for the study of political, particularly electoral processes from the viewpoint of the positive theory are listed. The author further questions certain fundamental postulates of the normative theories of democracy and their unviability. He goes on to analyse the phenomenon of the so called electoral or voting paradoxes and their possible influence on electoral results and, ultimately, on the democratic norms themselves. The existence of the voting paradoxes and their theoretical rationale is considered unequivocal and is mathematically proved. The author also gives a review of the most significant works on voting paradoxes and the theory of public choice. (SOI : PM: S 225)

Have the congressional budget committees' spending targets provided stringent budget constraints for appropriators? That is, are these budget targets below or above the levels that appropriators would have agreed to in the absence of the budget process? The author estimates a model based on appropriations data from before budget reforms were enacted to forecast budget appropriations figures in the postreform era. He then compares these predicted budget figures with actual Budget Committee targets (602[b] suballocations) to assess the degree of budget restraint. The author concludes from the analysis that the budget process has not generally operated as a procedural spending restraint on House appropriators, although the targets have been constraining in the early 1990s and have served a partisan role for congressional Democrats in redirecting spending priorities from defense to domestic nondefense appropriations.

AbstractIn this article the author analyzes comparatively several organizational models which were introduced in a dozen West European countries to address the problem of HIV/AIDS. Analyzing some aspects of the organizational design, the logic of intervention (sectorial or global), the type of actors (public or private) and the type of relations between actors, she elaborates a typology of responses. Three types are identified, presenting unexpected variants in respect to general typologies of the western welfare state. The author also notes that a form of social regulation based on private actors has been adopted in all countries under consideration. These results lead her to the hypothesis that the factors of innovation or modernization in administrations facing the management of such problems are grounded in new forms of collaboration between actors of different legal status.

This article considers one of the many ways in which the state might intervene in the life of a pregnant woman in order to prevent serious harm to the child she intends to bear: requiring a substance-abusing pregnant woman to live in a residential treatment center for the duration of her pregnancy. While the author agrees with those who argue that such state action is unjustifiable, she points out that the facts grounding this normative conclusion may change. Disagreeing with those who contend that, regardless of the circumstances, the state may never interfere with the activities of a pregnant woman in order to prevent harm to her future child, the author considers both the present situation and the most likely future scenario, and offers a compromise solution—civil commitment to an outpatient treatment facility.

After reviewing existing literature on party government, this article identifies the main information gaps regarding this topic. It points out the most important elements that a systematic study on govern ment-party relationships cannot overlook. The underlying question the author asks is who, in fact, governs in modern Western democracies— ruling parties or national executives? To answer this question, the author establishes a series of institutional variables, such as form of government, type of party and electoral system, among others. Next, depending on these characteristics, he constructs a typology on the forms that the government-party relationship can assume in terms of the greater or lesser autonomy of the former vis-à-vis the latter. Most of the study is devoted to suggesting an analytical strategy allowing for a comparative study on the topic.

The author emphasizes the necessity of linking thought & action in order to avoid the dangers of calamitous abstractions of sheer philosophy & sheer politics. Only a tension between philosophy & politics can be fruitful both for philosophy & politics. Jaspers's political writings, the author thinks, are not an appendage of philosophy but its component part. Philosophy is political in itself because it exists & functions solely in freedom. Nevertheless, Jaspers is not an acolyte of Plato's thesis about rulers-philosophers but of Kant's demand that philosophers have the right to speak in public. A man as a man is not only a political but also a philosophical being whose freedom depends on the encounter of philosophy & politics. This does not mean to neglect the fact that philosophers & politicians are faced with a different set of tasks. Adapted from the source document.

In this text the Balkan crisis caused by the collapse of the Yugoslav federation is analyzed in the international context. The author inquires into the causes of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, which also demonstrated the crisis of the European Union (EU). The basis for both developments is the end of the Cold War, although Yugoslavian disintegration also stems from additional internal factors that have been present from the very beginning of this state in 1918. The diagnosis is that the helplessness & discord among European countries vis-a-vis the Balkan war comes, paradoxically, from the excess of power in the EU, which is not adequately aggregated & subjected to a single command. The author concludes that the future outcome of the Balkan war will be ultimately determined by interests & mutual relations of the superpowers US & Russia. Adapted from the source document.

In this text the Balkan crisis caused by the collapse of the Yugoslav federation is analysed in the international context. The author inquires into the causes of the dissolution of Yugoslavia, which as well demonstrated the crisis of the European Union (EU). The basis for both developments is the end of the Cold War, although Yugoslavian disintegration also stems from additional international factors which have been present from the very beginning of this state in 1918. The diagnosis is that the helplessness and discord among European countries vis-a-vis the Balkan war comes, paradoxically, from the excess of power in the EU which is not adequately aggregated and subjected to a single command. The author concludes that the future outcome of the Balkan war will be ultimately determined by interests and mutual relations of the superpowers USA and Russia. (SOI : PM: S. 147)

Leonid Finberg, The major problems of Ukrainian society in 1995.
In this article, the author describes the main issues linked to the restructuring of the Ukrainian state and society. He outlines the main political tendencies and the course of action taken by the Parliament and the President. Then he assesses the economic transformations and sociological data related to the standard of living of the population, and he sketches the shaping of civil society, parties and movements, as well as the main ideological and political tendencies, whilst focusing on a few peculiarities in western or eastern Ukraine. The transformation of the young state is emphasized in the context of the new geopolitical realities in Eastern Europe, and of its relationship with Russia. In conclusion, the author presents the prevailing factors which will contribute to the development of the country in the near future.

The author considers Croatia's priority in foreign affairs to be the establishment of peace & reintegration of occupied Croatian territory. The international community lent its support to solving Croatia's problems only with certain conditions attached: respect for human & democratic rights, especially the rights of minorities; & respect for the integrity of other countries. The basic problem faced by the international community is that since the end of the East-West polar orientations, there is no concept for solving the conflicts that have erupted in postcommunist countries. In Croatia, the war was viewed (wrongly) as a civil war. The controversy in the Croatian policy, as seen by the author, is in the requirement for absolute adherence to democratic principles, which is difficult to realize in times of war, & in the acceptance of complete democracy as a precondition to peaceful reintegration of occupied Croatian territory. Adapted from the source document.

CONFLICTING EVIDENCE REGARDING THE ABILITY OF THE U.S. SUPREME COURT TO CONFER POLICY LEGITIMACY SUGGESTS THAT THE PROCESS OF LEGITIMATION IS BOTH SUBTLE AND MULTIFACETED. TWO ASPECTS OF THIS PROCESS ARE EXAMINED IN THIS PAPER. FIRST, THE AUTHOR EXPLORES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLICY LEGITIMACY AND POLICY AGREEMENT. EXPERIMENTAL TESTS DEMONSTRATE THAT POLICY LEGITIMACY EMERGES FROM A DIRECT PROCESS OF SYMBOLIC LEGITIMATION AND THROUGH AN INDIRECT PROCESS OF PERSUASIVE LEGITIMATION. SECONDLY, THE AUTHOR EXAMINES THE MEDIATED CHARACTER OF SUPREME COURT RULINGS AS IT RELATES TO THE COURT'S ABILITY TO ENHANCE POLICY LEGITIMACY. EXPERIMENTAL TESTS REVEAL THAT THE COURT'S POWER OF LEGITIMATION REMAINS CONSISTENT REGARDLESS OF VARIANCE IN THE SPECIFIC CONTENT OF NEWS COVERAGE. COLLECTIVELY, FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE INTRICACY OF POLICY LEGITIMATION WHILE PROVIDING EVIDENCE THAT THE INSTITUTIONAL LEGITIMACY MAINTAINED BY THE SUPREME COURT CAN PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SHIFTS IN POLICY EVALUATIONS.

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION'S RESPONSE TO U.S. SURGEON GENERAL JOYCELYN ELDERS' SUGGESTION THAT THE GOVERNMENT LOOK AT THE EXPERIENCE OF COUNTRIES THAT HAD DECRIMINALIZED DRUGS. SHE SAID IT WAS HER UNDERSTANDING THAT IN OTHER COUNTRIES THE CRIME RATE AND THE INCIDENCE OF DRUG ABUSE HAD ACTUALLY DECLINED WITH LEGALIZATION. THE WHITE HOUSE DISMISSED THE IDEA OUT OF HAND. ACCORDING TO THE AUTHOR THE RESPONSE OF THE ADMINISTRATION IS PARTICULARLY UNFORTUNATE SINCE THE SURGEON GENERAL'S PROPOSAL WAS NOT TO LEGALIZE DRUGS. SHE PROPOSED ONLY THAT WE LOOK AT THE FACTS TO SEE IF THE EXPERIENCE OF OTHER COUNTRIES MIGHT PROVIDE A BETTER CLUE TO THE WAR ON DRUGS. THE AUTHOR BELIEVES IT IS INEFFECTIVE AND ABSURD TO PUT SO MANY PEOPLE IN PRISON FOR DRUG OFFENSES. THIS ARTICLE PROVIDES STATISTICAL EVIDENCE THAT OUTLINES THE U.S. FAILURE ON THE WAR ON DRUGS.

Women, citizenship and policies in Québec in the 1920's and 1930's.
This text presents a historical overview of the rich life of feminine associative network in order to explain the context in which Canadian women obtained the right to vote in the 1920's. The author argues that in this feminine movement is practised the enlargement of social action, mainly in Québec, where women were still excluded from the right to vote until 1940.
They were therefore developing alternative modes of intervention, which analysts did not readily defined as political but social, but which eventually evolved into social policies adopted by the Welfare State. Through the presentation of the Québec case, the author underlines the close relationships that existed between those women associations in articulating a strategy, often ambivalent, to enlarge women pratice of citizenship.