Suchergebnisse

As the author notes, subsidiarity is supposed to be simple - the notion that issues should be handled at the most effective level of authority - but the devil is in the debate about what is 'most effective'. The notion of subsidiarity, in all its complexity, is a fact most appropriate for those considering the shape of the agenda for the next Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in London in 1998. He discusses issues that can best be handled at the ASEAN level by paying special attention to what can be done to enhance the basis of economic relations, how Europeans can help Asians to define new international roles and how Europe can support Asian security. (DÜI-Sen)

This paper described the institutional functioning of commonly owned forests in Sweden. A total of 33 common forests were designated in 1861 and have been regulated by the same legislation ever since. Shares in the commons were determined by shares in local arable land and benefits to shareholders have included cash payments, private subsidies and local infrastructure. The common forests have competed successfully in timber production with large-scale timber companies, which the author ascribed to their low transaction costs. They also scored highly on three of five criteria of institutional performance. Overall, their success might be due to their efficient integration into, rather than separation from, the formal economy. ; Godkänd; 1997; 20070125 (ysko)

Contemporary constitutional and political debates have for quite some time toyed with the concept of republican monarchy as a model which is becoming the common denominator of both presidential and parliamentary as well as mixed systems. Namely, the contemporary democratic state, regardless of its constitutional structure underlying it, has been asserting one of its aspects by which presidential, parliamentary and hybrid regimes have been regaining the efficacy they forfeited in the late 1930s. In that respect, elected monarchs; i.e. republican monarchies are characteristic for old as well as new democracies. In the text, the author gives the reasons for the emergence of republican monarchy, its forms, advantages, disadvantages, and offshoots. (SOI : PM: S. 46)

Die Verfasserin setzt sich in systematischer Weise mit der vielschichtigen Frage nach dem Charakter der Demokratie in Osteuropa auseinander. Grundlegend für ihre Untersuchung ist die Unterscheidung zwischen prozeduraler Demokratie im Sinne der Anwendung demokratischer Verfahren und substantieller Demokratie. Die Verfasserin zeigt, daß sich die Institutionen der prozeduralen Demokratie in den postkommunistischen Gesellschaften als überraschend robust erwiesen haben. Sie arbeitet im folgenden drei Spielarten substantieller Demokratie heraus, die liberaldemokratische, die nationaldemokratische und die egalitär- demokratische Variante. Jede dieser Varianten verknüpft die demokratische Regierungsform mit einer bestimmten Wirtschafts- und Gesellschaftsordnung, von denen in Osteuropa jedoch keine in reiner Form vorzufinden ist. Abschließend diskutiert die Verfasserin unter Bezug auf die drei genannten Typen substantieller Demokratie politische Optionen der Privatisierung sowie das Wahlverhalten im Verlauf der vergangenen fünf Jahre. (BIOst-Wpt)

THE AUTHOR STUDIES SOVIET MILITARY ATTITUDES, MOTIVES, AND PLANNING REGARDING THE EAST GERMAN UPRISING OF JUNE 1953. HE ALSO EXAMINES THE MILITARY ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE SOVIETS DURING THAT CRISIS. HE BASES HIS CONCLUSIONS ON RECENTLY-DECLASSIFIED ARCHIVAL MATERIALS AND ON INTERVIEWS WITH KEY SOVIET MILITARY OFFICERS. THE DOCUMENTATION CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE SOVIET GENERAL STAFF OBEYED THE WILL OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY LEADERSHIP DURING THE CRISIS. THIS REFLECTED THE NATURE OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE PARTY AND THE SOVIET MILITARY IN THE EARLY 1950'S. WHEN THE PARTY BOSSES DEFINED THE GENERAL POLITICAL LINE AND THE COURSE OF ACTION, THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT STRICTLY FOLLOWED IT, WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS.

STRICTLY SPEAKING, THE TERM "LAND-LOCKEDNESS' REFERS TO COUNTRIES HAVING NO PHYSICAL ACCESS TO A SEA COAST. AFRICA HAS 15 OF THESE COUNTRIES. THE REPUBLIC OF NIGER IS ONE OF THEM AND THE POOREST AS WELL. THIS PAPER BRIEFLY PRESENTS THE REPUBLIC OF NIGER IN ITS DAILY FIGHT AGAINST DISTANCE. THE AUTHOR FOCUSES ON: A QUICK OVERVIEW OF NIGER'S HISTORY AND ECONOMY; THE MAJOR LAND CORRIDORS USED TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE SEA; AND SUGGESTIONS OF SOME APPROACHES WHICH COULD HELP TO OVERCOME THE HANDICAP OF LAND-LOCKEDNESS IN NIGER, FOCUSING ON THE VITAL NECESSITY OF LOOKING AT THE NIGERIAL CORRIDOR AS A POTENTIAL OUTLET TO THE SEA COAST.

Past research on policy subsystems has not attempted to explain the manner in which policy preferences for customary subsystem participants are formed as part of a system. The purpose of this research is to narrow the gap between the theoretical conceptualization and empirical articulation of policy subsystems. This study examines the formation of policy preferences for standard subsystem participants in the area of commercial bank regulation for the 1949-89 period. The findings reveal that the formation of (regulatory) policy preferences for these main subsystem participants reflects strategic behaviour rather than retrospective behaviour. This suggests that institutional participants within the commercial banking regulatory subsystem strategically operate in a policy environment with an abundance of information. (British Journal of Political Science / FUB)

PUBLIC CYNICISM REGARDING GOVERNMENTAL INEFFICIENCY, WASTE, AND CORRUPTION IN THE U.S. TERRITORY OF GUAM HAS LED TO THE INTRODUCTION OF A SERIES OF PROPOSALS FOR REFORMING THE GUAM SENATE. THE PROPOSALS RECOMMEND RESTRUCTURING THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH BY REDUCING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SENATORS AND LIMITING THE NUMBER OF CONSECUTIVE TERMS THAT CAN BE SERVED. IN THIS ESSAY, THE AUTHOR ASSESSES THE LIKELY IMPACT OF THESE PROPOSALS. HE CONCLUDES THAT A MODEST REDUCTION IN THE SIZE OF THE SENATE IS APPROPRIATE, BUT LEGALLY MANDATED TERM LIMITS ARE NOT. IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, THESE LEGISLATIVE REFORM PROPOSALS ARE INSUFFICIENT BECAUSE THE MOST SERIOUS PROBLEM FACING GUAM IS A RESOLUTION OF THE SYSTEMIC ISSUE OF POLITICAL STATUS.

THE AUTHOR ANALYZES THE ARGUMENTS IN "DEMOCRACIES: FORMS, PERFORMANCE, AND CONSTITUTIONAL ENGINEERING" BY AREND LIJPHART. IN HIS ESSAY, LIJPHART FOCUSED ON THE CHOICE BETWEEN MAJORITARIAN ELECTORAL SYSTEMS AND PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION (PR). THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM CONCERNING THIS CHOICE -- AND MORE BROADLY, BETWEEN MAJORITARIAN AND CONSENSUS FORMS OF DEMOCRACY -- IS THAT THERE IS A TRADE-OFF: PR AND CONSENSUS DEMOCRACY PROVIDE MORE ACCURATE REPRESENTATION AND BETTER MINORITY REPRESENTATION, BUT MAJORITARIANISM PROVIDES MORE EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF 18 WELL-ESTABLISHED DEMOCRACIES, MOSTLY IN EUROPE, SHOWS THAT PR AND CONSENSUS DEMOCRACY DO GIVE SUPERIOR POLITICAL REPRESENTATION, BUT MAJORITARIAN SYSTEMS DO NOT PERFORM BETTER IN MAINTAINING PUBLIC ORDER AND MANAGING THE ECONOMY.