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The last quarter-century has seen a notable shift in the context of social policy as it relates to older adults in the United States and those who work with them. Critical dimensions in this shift include changes in the size and makeup of today's older population, the rise of conservatism in contemporary U.S. politics, and the more central place older Americans are coming to assume in policymaking around a host of social and economic policy issues. After briefly reviewing these contextual developments, the author presents 5 challenges they bring to social workers and other professionals working with the aged. Each of these reflect changing expectations, opportunities, and options confronting both policymakers and older people themselves as the dynamics of aging politics and policy evolve in ways that would have been hard to imagine 25 or 30 years ago.

In recent years an 'ethno-economic' interpretation of politics in the coffee state of São Paulo in the early twentieth century, associated particularly with the work of Mauricio Font, has gained widespread acceptance. Its claim that state politics in the period was increasingly shaped by a cleavage between a declining traditional coffee aristocracy on the one hand, and a rising, mostly immigrant, smallholding and industrial economy on the other, is challenged here. It is argued, in part on the basis of a re-examination of the sources used by Font, that ideological rather than economic concerns motivated the Liga Nacional, while at county level, in Araras and elsewhere, personal and clientelistic motives continued to shape political loyalties. Finally, the argument that the Partido Democrático was driven primarily by 'Big Coffee' reaction to the PRP is shown to be unfounded.

In this article, we develop the concept of nascent political ambition and offer the first empirical assessment of potential candidates' initial interest in seeking elective office. Our analysis is based on the Citizen Political Ambition Study—our national survey of nearly 3,800 individuals in the four professions that most frequently precede a career in politics. We find that a general sense of efficacy as a candidate, as well as a politicized upbringing, motivate well‐situated potential candidates' inclinations to run for office. Alternatively, status as a member of a group historically excluded from politics depresses the likelihood of considering a candidacy. These findings shed light not only on the prospects for political representation and democratic legitimacy in the United States, but also the means by which to study candidate emergence and conceptualize political ambition.

This book moves away from the common belief that Japan's international relations are firmly the preserve of the national government in Japan's highly centralised political system. Examining examples of subnational governments (SNGs) across Japan the book uncovers a significant and generally unrecognised development in Japanese politics: SNGs are ever more dynamic international actors as national borders 'weaken' across the world. Exploring what Japanese SNGs do, where they do it, and why, the book considers the implications of these factors for Japan's international relations and domestic politics. By bringing to light the scope and consequences of the international actions of Japan's SNGs, this book provides a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the country's foreign policy, at a time when it is pursuing a broader and more active profile in international affairs.

Der vorliegende Artikel sucht die Dimension konkreter Politik in Kants Philosophie und fragt anhand des Verhältnisses von Staatsoberhaupt und Untertan danach, wann eine Republik mehr ist als nur ein Wort auf einem Blatt Papier. Hierzu wird das Verhältnis zwischen Kants Ethik und seiner Pädagogik heranzuziehen sein. Weder kann die Lösung allein durch die Individualethik erbracht werden, noch befriedigt allein eine geschichtsphilosophische Hoffnung. Denn dadurch wird das Selbstdenken als zentrale Forderung der Aufklärung konterkarriert. Die realhistorischen Ereignisse in Frankreich und ihre systematische Erläuterung durch Kant weisen auf dasselbe Problem hin, wenn er die Abschaffung der Adelselite befürwortet. Die Institution des Adels genügt nämlich ebenfalls nicht dem Kriterium der Menschenrechte. Daraus ergibt sich für die Republikanisierung, damit sie für den Untertan nachvollziehbar wird, die Bildung eines politischen Bewusstseins. Hierzu antizipiert Kant dasjenige, was heute unter dem Begriff des Sozialkapitals diskutiert wird. (Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft / FUB)

This essay analyzes arabesk, a form of popular music in Turkey, as it pertains to debates around culture, politics, and modernity. I argue that arabesk, rather than being limited to discussions of music as an aesthetic form, reveals important issues as to the historical unfolding of discursive patterns that still very much outline the boundaries of cultural debates in Turkish society. The historic changes of arabesk music corresponds to turning points in the cultural and political history of Turkey. Furthermore, following the historical trajectory of arabesk makes it possible to analyze large-scale transformations in the ideological landscape of Turkey. In order to understand the complexity of these issues, it is important to trace the historical foundations of Turkish cultural politics, especially during the early Republican era (1920-1950), which was formative in establishing and maintaining an extensive regime of cultural classification.

Objective.An earlier article published in this journal reports that morality politics and political economy variables jointly affect the offering of both sexual and contraceptive health services at school‐based health centers (SBHC). Data are reanalyzed cognizant of structural linkages: general health → sexual health → contraceptive services.Methods.To correct for spurious correlations in the earlier article, three ordinary least squares regressions with robust standard errors are estimated.Results.General health services fit a political economy model. Sexual health services are associated with morality politics. The offering of contraceptive services is influenced by the number of sexual health services offered and urbanism, not directly by moral traditionalism and political economy variables.Conclusions.Opponents and advocates of school health services are likely to engage in political strategies that address characteristics of the arenas in which different types of services are offered.

Investigative reporting is a recent development in France, with the revelation of scandals becoming a legitimate practice for journalists only since the 1980s. To date, investigative reporting knows few practitioners and faces considerable obstacles. This article gives an account of its emergence and analyzes the reasons for its late development. The French journalistic tradition has long been influenced by literature and politics and therefore has not placed as much emphasis on the collection and exposition of facts as Anglo-American journalism. Until the 1980s, there was very little competition in the media field, acting as another disincentive for newspapers to seek out information. Until the beginning of the Fifth Republic, venality was widespread among French journalists, further hindering the revelation of scandals. Influential social theories prevented the personalization of politics, placing an emphasis on the systemic and collective causes of problems.

Since Aristotle, who observed that great economic inequality leads the wealthy to seek a share of power matching their share of resources and so to subvert democratic government, scholars of politics have theorized that the proper functioning of a democracy depends on a relatively equal distribution of economic resources. Inequality, though, has been rising in the nearly all of the world's rich and upper-middle-income democracies since the at least the mid-1980s, and in many countries this trend began in the early 1970s. Examining individual behavior in twenty-four countries at multiple points in time, this paper investigates whether increases in economic inequality have had a negative effect on the functioning of democracy, focusing specifically on citizens' political engagement. It finds that contexts of greater income inequality reduce interest in politics, views of government responsiveness, and participation in elections.

The consequences of Foucault's work for political theory have been subject to much reinterpretation. This article examines the reception of Foucault's work by the left of politics and argues that the use made of his work is overly negative and lacks a positive political dimension. Through a discussion of the work of Judith Butler and other interpreters of Foucault I argue that the problem facing the poststructuralist left is formulated in a confusing and unhelpful manner, what I will call the 'dilemma of the left libertarian'. Once we get around this formulation of the problem a more progressive political response becomes possible. I end by discussing the political possibilities of Foucault's work in terms of an account of autonomy derived from Foucault's later work on the Enlightenment. KEY WORDS: Foucault, Butler, Autonomy, Politics, Ethics, Critique, Left, Conservative, Rorty, Habermas

The policies of Australia's current government have been so close to the United States as to invite comparisons to an Australian 'deputy sheriff' executing the interests and policies of a US global marshal. Advocates of the ANZUS alliance disagree, citing the immense politico-strategic benefits Australia extracts from that relationship and insisting that ANZUS objectives are commensurate with a stable and just world order. Recent developments in international security politics such as the Iraq conflict and the persistence of global terrorism may now challenge that proposition and test the Australian electorate's future support for the American alliance. A greater determination by Australia to cultivate a more balanced approach to alliance politics will underwrite its national security interests more effectively than a sustained and rigid adherence to alliance loyalty under any circumstances. (Pac Rev/DÜI)

Nurturing Cameroon's fledgling democracy is proving a herculean task against the backdrop of disintegrative forces: flawed electoral process, ethnicity, identity consciousness, clientelism, endemic corruption, regionalism and neopatrimonialism inherent in the state apparatus. The undercurrents on the interface of statehood in Cameroon's democratization process from the '90s are explored. There is an enormous gulf between the state and the masses (...). The bureaucratic ethos still remains largely centralised despite the discourses on decentralisation. The simmering Anglophone problem is still brushed aside. The paper illuminates on the disruption and fragmentation of national politics which has led to the emergence of identity and ethnic constructions in the search for belonging to the polity (...). The fundamental question is whether Cameroon was adequately prepared for multiparty politics. Rekindling Cameroon's botched democratic process hinges on the institutionalisation of consensus building, democratic accountability and participative governance. (AAS/DÜI)

Starting from the older meaning of the word "queer" as referring to counterfeit money, the article looks at queer strategies of naming and self-naming and how they relate to issues of identity, authenticity, and socio-political validity. The author argues against the current modes of identity-based sexual politics and calls for an 'ecologization' that will insist on the ultimate namelessness of queer subjectivities. ; Starting from the older meaning of the word "queer" as referring to counterfeit money, the article looks at queer strategies of naming and self-naming and how they relate to issues of identity, authenticity, and socio-political validity. The author argues against the current modes of identity-based sexual politics and calls for an 'ecologization' that will insist on the ultimate namelessness of queer subjectivities. ; Rafał Majka

A shift in ethnographic vantage point from an exclusive focus on everyday worlds to the broader historical & cultural processes in which these worlds are embedded brings to light forms of politics that challenge traditional ways of understanding immigrant incorporation in modern nation-states. The author argues that the cultural politics of immigration & citizenship in the global era require this shift in ethnographic perspective. Multisited ethnography enables researchers to illuminate the more complex cultural processes of nation formation & the contradictory &, at times, incommensurate forms of cultural polities within which immigrants are made & make themselves as citizens. Viewing immigration from the perspective of nation formation, moreover, brings into question the explanatory power & political implications of traditional assimilation models of immigrant incorporation. 44 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2004 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]