Suchergebnisse

This article seeks to apply Kirchheimer's 'catchall party thesis' to the transformation of the Agrarian‐Center Party in Finland. On at least two counts this might seem a hopeless endeavor. First, Kirchheimer excluded most parties in the smaller West European democracies like Finland from his analysis on the curious grounds that they either had effective majorities or regular access to power and, therefore, had no need of catchall strategies. Second, he expressly excluded certain parties, including significantly Agrarian parties, from his purview because they were too narrowly based to become catchall parties. Kirchheimer also asserts that in general only major parties could successfully achieve a 'life‐saving transformation.' The Finnish Agrarian Party was certainly that. In the early 1960s, it was the largest single party, with a substantial classe gardée, and was also the pivotal party of governing coalitions. Accordingly, this article addresses three interrelated questions: a) Why did the Finnish Agrarians seek catchall status? b) What were the catchall strategies they pursued? c) Has an archetypal mass‐class party, contrary to Kirchheimer's submission, been able to extend the basis of its support to become a catchall party? It is argued that although the Center Party today exhibits the electoral attributes of the catchall party – and is the only Finnish party really to do so – it lacks the organizational characteristics of the genre as enumerated by Kirchheimer.

This paper examines recent European policy changes designed to support small and medium size enterprises (SMEs). These changes have resulted in both the development of specific support programs for SMEs and more general deregulatory measures to improve the economic environment for business. The rationale often provided is that SMEs contribute to a dynamic and innovative environment and generate high quality employment. An analysis of OECD material and a review of the literature on SMEs reveals that their role in innovation, employment growth and the adoption of new forms of work organisation is often over-emphasised. The vast majority of SMEs do not carry out research and development and are associated with low quality and insecure employment. Policies in support of SMEs need to be formulated with an awareness of the diversity of SMEs. There are only a very limited number of SMEs which make an important contribution to employment and innovation. Efforts to facilitate the establishment and growth of these high quality SMEs need to be based on targeted programs rather than general measures such as tax reduction or labour market deregulation. Targeted policies include R&D support, the improvement of SMEs' intangible investments and regional access to capital and technology. General measures are more likely to create an environment in which low quality, low wage employment is generated in SMEs with little future.

"Central Europe or, more exactly, Central and Eastern Europe as we perceive it today, in the year 1997, on the political map of the continent, is the outcome of numerous political processes, the consequences of which are experienced by the nations inhabiting that part of the continent, albeit those nations hardly ever have been asked their opinion regarding their belonging to one state or another, since the beginning of the 20th century. As has been emphasized oftentimes, when analysing the identity processes in Central and Eastern Europe, the 20th century is the century of determining borders in that part of Europe as a result of implementing the great European or global politics, with no respect whatsoever for the sense of national attachment of the nations inhabiting the region (Wódz J., 1994). Hence the grave problem of national minorities that is observed there, the problem of regions divided by state borders, hence also the vision of State-Nations (Etat-Nation) implemented forcefully by the creators of the post-Versailles Europe, meant to correspond with the political experiences of Western Europe, which were never shared by Eastern Europe. That Eastern Europe (and especially its easternmost part) had never had a chance to develop its identity, throughout the 19th century (Hobsbawm, 1989), having been controlled by the three empires: Germany, Russia, and Austro-Hungary." (fragm.)

At the centre of the international trading order, under the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO), lies a dispute-settlement system. This system offers a graduated conflict-resolution mechanism that begins with a consultation process; progresses to adjudication, through a panel system, and ends in an appellate process.1Under this machinery, in October 1996 India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand (the complainants) requested joint consultations with the United States, regarding the US prohibition on the importation of certain shrimps and shrimp products caught with fishing technology considered by the United States adversely to affect the population of sea turtles—an endangered species under CITES.2The US prohibition arose from section 609 of Public Law 101–1623and associated regulations and judicial rulings (hereafter referred to as section 609). In a nutshell the complainants claimed denial of market access to their exports, and the United States justified this on grounds of conservation. However, as a consequence of the failure of the consultations, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body established a panel, around April 1997, to consider a joint complaint against the United States in relation to section 609. Australia, Ecuador, the European Communities, HongKong, China, Mexico and Nigeria joined the complainants as third parties. In May 1998 the panel's report was published, containing a decision in favour of the complainants. In July 1998 the United States appealed to the WTO Appellate Body, and in October 1998 the Appellate Body issued its report.4

The paper discusses the choice between inflation targeting and monetary targeting as a strategy for the Eurosystem, the actual strategy the Eurosystem announced in the fall of 1998, the framework for policy decisions appropriate for achieving the goals of the Eurosystem, the role of exchange rate management in the EMU, and the accountabillity and transparency of the Eurosystem. The choice between inflation targeting and monetary targeting is, in effect, a choice between high and low transparancy. Inflation targeting and monetary targeting, in practice, imply similar policy decisions, but monetary targeting implies that policy decisions are explained in terms of money-growth developments that are not essential for policy. The Eurosystem has specified an operational inflation target, although in a somewhat ambiguous way. More importantly, its announced monetary strategy is deficient, since it proposes a prominent role for an essentially irrelevant money-growth indicator in analysis and communication, but will keep secret the inflation forecast that will, in practice, be the decisive input in policy decisions. Exchange rate policy is controlled by the Council of finance ministers in the EMu; this is a major inconsistency in the Maastricht Treaty and a possible threat to the independence of the Eurosystem. The European Parliament may have a crucial role in ensuring the accountability of the Eurosystem; the minimun transparency needed for effective outside monitoring and evaluation of the Eurosystem's policy decisions seem to require published inflation forecasts and, most llikely, published minutes and voting records of the Governing Council.

Although it is commonly accepted that investing in technology and research and development (R&D) is a basic catalyst for the genesis of economic activity, there is less consensus on the spatial significance and returns of the R&D effort for regional and local economies. It is often argued that innovation resulting from allocating local resources to R&D is likely to spill over to other areas, especially in the framework of open national economies. Hence, the incentive to free‐ride increases at the subnational level. This paper shows, however, that in the Western European regional context, regions with higher resources devoted to R&D tend to grow at a greater pace than the remaining spaces. Nevertheless, the passage from R&D to innovation and growth is not achieved in a similar way across Europe. Local social conditions play an important role in the formation of what can be defined as 'innovation prone' and 'innovation averse' societies. Innovation prone regions are those featured by a weak social filter, which facilitates the transformation of innovation into growth. Conversely, regions burdened by rigid labor markets, shortage of skills, outward migration of able individuals, and an aging of the workforce are less prone to assimilate innovation and to transform it into economic activity. They make up the innovation averse societies in Europe.

In developing an effective police response to 'organised crime' many practitioners look to the experience of Northern Ireland and interagency models of co‐operation. Recent action against organised offending in the province have been politically‐driven, reliant on both emergency legislation and the support of a Terrorist Finance Unit which was integrated within the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1996. Reviews of emergency legislation have sustained the profile of paramilitary funding, whilst the Northern Ireland Office has focused upon fears that ex‐paramilitaries would become 'organised mafia‐type'offenders. In exploring a number of developing models of interagency co‐operation in the UK, this article will focus on the creation of two interagency bodies: the Terrorist Finance Unit in Northern Ireland, and the Joint Action Group on Organised Crime of the Metropolitan Police. The aim is to show that an organisational response and a policing strategy within Northern Ireland directed against 'terrorist funding' is now the integrated criminal police response to all forms of crime in Northern Ireland. With the creation of the National Crime Squad and a statutory National Criminal Intelligence Service in April 1998, the prospect of these developments to be extended throughout the UK are all the more apparent. Despite the additional political momentum to enhance European‐wide action against 'international organised crime' it is cautioned that recent UK interagency initiatives lack transparency, and pose major challenges to existing structures of accountability.

This paper begins with a brief consideration of general approaches to technology transfer and its impact on the processes of late development, with the focus on industrial develop ment. Section II narrows down to the manner in which industrial historians have analysed that greatly significant era of global industrialisation, 1870-1914. Here the emphasis is on the influential writing of Alexander Gerschenkron, although with modifications including those of R.P. Dore, A. Sulejewicz and others. The purpose here is to show that models of late development must fully take into account not only the process of technology transfer, but also its technical imperatives, institutional and control requirements and socio- political impacts. The next section presents a brief case study of what has been termed as the South Russia Metallurgical Project (circa 1887-1900) in order to highlight the com plexities and sequences in the Russian-Western European technical interaction during the period. The following section draws some lessons of interaction from this more empirical material, much of the latter being based on British and American engineering reports of what was happening in Russia. Section V broadly considers the comparative perspective. Finally, a concluding section discusses needed revisions in the theories of late development which have implications for more generalised models in such areas as institutional inno vation and the role of the state in the industrialisation process.

Formerly, EC activity in the area of private law used to be content with approximating member States' substantive laws in specified areas, and, therefore, eventual conflictual implications demanded considerable interpretative efforts. Modern Community legislation, however, increasingly complements the intended substantive-law harmonisation with provisions on conflict of laws. Given the existence of the (Rome) Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations, implemented in the United Kingdom by the Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990, this new tendency, where it concerns areas falling within the Convention, raises complex questions on both legislative technique and policy. The Convention, in Article 20, expressly reserves the precedence of Community choice of law rules. However, merely to point to this priority rule appears to be too simple a solution as conflicts, before being solved, have to be defined, and that is what this article aims at. Further, as an analysis that deals with European law would be incomplete without taking into account the impact on member States' law, reference will be made to domestic English and, for the purposes of comparison, to domestic German law. The latter appears to qualify for such a comparative approach because, due to the Rome Convention already having been part of the domestic law for a considerable period, certain experience might be expected within that legal system in dealing with contract conflicts issues thereunder.

The Baltic Sea region has been subject to processes of both disintegration and integration. On the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, former CMEA trade relations as well as the traditional system of Soviet socialist division of labour has disintegrated after 1991. With the exception of the Russian Federation's oblasts of Leningrad and Kaliningrad, the transition economies in the Baltic Sea region have turned to the West and are eager to participate in the process of European integration. Poland and Estonia participate in the negotiations for EU enlargement, sooner or later Latvia and Lithuania will follow suit. Physically, integration is brought about by transport that results from trade and other economic interchange. Hence, trade and further economic development may be hampered by all severe obstacles to transport – in the fields of transport infrastructures, of transport markets, of complementary legal frameworks, or of the daily transport business. In the present study, the authors analyse the current pattern of transport in the Eastern Baltic Sea region with special reference to the economies in transition, and identify and assess the various obstacles to transport in this region. Based on the empirical findings, the study presents economic policy recommendations and shows potential remedies to overcome such obstacles. Although missing infrastructure links and insufficient capacities are easily visible, the authors hold that "software" problems (arising from regulatory regimes, but in particular from administrative procedures) are more pressing than infrastructure deficiencies and should be addressed with urgency.

The planned Polish motorway programme is widely expected to have beneficial spinoff effects on local and regional economies within Poland, and on the economy as a whole. Similar arguments were employed during the development of the British interurban road system (and other West European systems). The paper examines the likely relevance and viability of such arguments in the development of the Polish system. The results of current research in the UK are related to the analyses originally employed in the planning and implementation of the Polish network, along with analyses based on more recent data. The topic of the paper has started to assume particular importance in Poland as it becomes more obvious that the projected levels of interurban traffic within and through Poland are likely to be insufficient to finance more than limited sections of the proposed toll motorways. Pressure is building up in Poland for greater governmental support for the network, and possible "non traffic" justifications for construction have begun to assume greater importance. The situation is particularly controversial as environmental lobbies are vocal in opposing motorway developments. The paper will consider the extent to which current research supports, in the Polish context, the employment of such economic development arguments, or whether caution is advisable. The paper is based on work by the author currently in progress at the Department of International Transport of Warsaw School of Economics supported by a PHARE/ACE Research Fellowship.

In this thesis I examined political expressions of First Nations women. Using cultural studies concepts and aspects of Aboriginal theory, I reviewed literature in order to develop some cultural and historical understanding of First Nations cultures in Canada prior to conducting interviews with Aboriginal women. My objective was to answer three questions: how do Aboriginal women express their political interests; how do they define their roles in the politics of their communities; and finally, what do they consider "political?" First Nations women are virtually absent from mainstream politics in Canada. The women interviewed understood the politics of federal and Band governments. These political forums, however, were outside the range of the politically relevant. Despite their apparent absence on the political landscape the women interviewed illustrated a strong commitment towards the politics of healing. Healing within First Nations cultures refers to individual, family, and community recovery from the consequences of systemic racism by European colonialism (RRCAP, 1996, v.3, 53). The women varied in their approaches to healing, but all of them articulated a commitment towards building balanced and harmonious communities defined by the values and beliefs of First Nations cultures. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .C36. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0312. Adviser: Kai Hildebrandt. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998.

Regionalization has recently become a catchword both in political practice & academic discourse. Even if the idea of the "Europe of the Regions" is no longer uncritically accepted, regional imagination still frequently informs the analysis of the European political order. This article seeks to chart alternative ways of understanding political change in Europe. It first outlines the current understanding of the role of regions in Europe, & seeks to put contemporary ideas into historical perspective. The article then examines the standard way of analyzing regionalism, the "top-down, bottom-up" metaphor. By looking at the scales of politics from a social constructionist perspective, the article shows that this widely used metaphor does not adequately capture much of the political history of region building, nor is it able to identify the relations of power involved in regionalization in the era of expanding transboundary linkages & networks across state borders. By illustrating cross-border regionalization with examples for Karelia & Catalonia, the article seeks to assess some of the tensions that arise between the new deterritorialized forms of transregional governance & the traditional democratic practice, which is still tightly connected to area political spaces both institutionally & in terms of the inhabitants' collective identity. The article argues for a heightened awareness of the relational social power characteristic of network governance & potential leaks in the "territorial container" of democracy. Adapted from the source document.

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