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The presence of political parties has often been viewed as an integral part of democracy, and in particular, the Westminster parliamentary system. Parties representing different opinions, policies and ideologies are perceived as necessary for the representation of different interest groups. Also, political parties provide voters the opportunity to select leaders from a number of alternatives. It was, therefore, assumed that in order for democracy to work successfully parties must exist. Consequently, the newly independent states of Africa, Asia and Oceania that emerged in the post-World War II period and subscribed to democracy all attempted to develop a political culture where parties become significant. This is despite the fact that in most of these countries, especially in Melanesia, most voters had not yet understood the concept of party politics. When Solomon Islands gained constitutional independence on 7 July, 1978 and adopted the Westminster system of government from Great Britain, it inherited along with it concepts such as party politics. Consequently, Solomon Islanders who took over leadership of the government were faced with the fact that, in parliament, for the purposes of forming a government they had to align themselves with groups called political parties. The idea that the main governing body is made up of a government and an opposition was relatively new to most Solomon Islanders. However, despite this, political parties have become important in Solomon Islands politics today. Parties (or the absence of strong cohesive parties) have had a profound impact on the process of governance. This paper discusses the emergence and development of political parties in contemporary Solomon Islands. It analyses how party politics influences the process of governance and the nature of politics. The discussions here are drawn largely from my experiences as a member of the Solomon Islands parliament for eight years. ; AusAID

In this paper, the author deals with: (1) Definition of government; incentive structure under government: taxation, war and territorial expansion. (2) Origin of money; government and money; the devolution of money from commodity to fiat money. (3) International politics and monetary regimes; monetary imperialism and the drive toward a one-world central bank and fiat currency.

Este libro está diseñado para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes de gobierno y política en el Reino Unido. Este libro proporciona una cobertura actualizada del curso AS para enseñanza secundaria. Contiene once capítulos con ilustraciones que tratan de democracia y participación, elecciones y votos, estructura de los partidos políticos, políticas e ideas de los partidos políticos, grupos de presión, la constitución, el parlamento, el primer ministro y los principales ejecutivos, los juicios y libertades civiles, el gobierno local, y la Unión Europea (desarrollo, instituciones, sistema político). ; SC ; Biblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín, 5 - 3 planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; biblioteca@mecd.es ; GBR

Este libro está diseñado para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudiantes de gobierno y política en el Reino Unido. Este libro proporciona una cobertura actualizada del curso AS para enseñanza secundaria. Contiene once capítulos con ilustraciones que tratan de democracia y participación, elecciones y votos, estructura de los partidos políticos, políticas e ideas de los partidos políticos, grupos de presión, la constitución, el parlamento, el primer ministro y los principales ejecutivos, los juicios y libertades civiles, el gobierno local, y la Unión Europea (desarrollo, instituciones, sistema político). ; SC ; Biblioteca de Educación del Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte; Calle San Agustín, 5 - 3 planta; 28014 Madrid; Tel. +34917748000; biblioteca@mecd.es ; GBR

El artículo examina diferentes puntos de vista sobre el papel del monarca y el parlamento en la sociedad de finales del siglo XVIII, y se ocupa de los principales problemas políticos de los diferentes gobiernos de Carlos III. Partiendo de los planteamientos de algunos destacados pensadores contemporáneos como Adam Smith, Campomanes, Rousseau o Montesquieu, Alexander Jardine nos ofrece una perspectiva liberal de los problemas y nos aporta algunas posibles soluciones. Éstas se basan principalmente en una mayor representatividad democrática, el fomento de la libre competencia, la abolición de la Inquisición y la concesión de una mayor autonomía política y administrativa. ; This paper analyses different perspectives about the role of the monarch and parliament in the late Eighteenth Century. It also deals with the main political issues of the different governments of Charles III of Spain. Starting from the ideas of some outstanding contemporary thinkers, such as Adam Smith, Campomanes, Rousseau or Montesquieu, Alexander Jardine offers his liberal views and some possible solutions. They mainly include the fostering of free competence, the abolition of the Inquisition and political and administrative autonomy for Spanish colonies and regions.

This paper analyses different perspectives about the role of the monarch and parliament in the late Eighteenth Century. It also deals with the main political issues of the different governments of Charles III of Spain. Starting from the ideas of some outstanding contemporary thinkers, such as Adam Smith, Campomanes, Rousseau or Montesquieu, Alexander Jardine offers his liberal views and some possible solutions. They mainly include the fostering of free competence, the abolition of the Inquisition and political and administrative autonomy for Spanish colonies and regions. ; El artículo examina diferentes puntos de vista sobre el papel del monarca y el parlamento en la sociedad de finales del siglo XVIII, y se ocupa de los principales problemas políticos de los diferentes gobiernos de Carlos III. Partiendo de los planteamientos de algunos destacados pensadores contemporáneos como Adam Smith, Campomanes, Rousseau o Montesquieu, Alexander Jardine nos ofrece una perspectiva liberal de los problemas y nos aporta algunas posibles soluciones. Éstas se basan principalmente en una mayor representatividad democrática, el fomento de la libre competencia, la abolición de la Inquisición y la concesión de una mayor autonomía política y administrativa.

"The following address was given by Massachusetts Senate President William M. Bulger at the McCormack Institute's Moakley Award Ceremony at the University of Massachusetts Boston on April 23, 1993."

This paper deals with the politics of redistribution in local government. Traditionally, it has been assumed that redistributive policies are crucial in electoral competition and party politics, both in national and local political systems. From this perspective, differences in local competition and party systems are essential to an explanation of local redistributive efforts. Peterson (1981), however, claims that redistributive policies are excluded from the local agenda because they impair local economic prosperity. These policies are therefore not conceived as instruments in the vote-maximizing strategies of local political parties. In this paper, hypotheses on the impact of party competition and party politics on local redistribution are formulated and tested on data for 342 Dutch municipalities. The results show that, contrary to what would be expected from Peterson's perspective, municipal redistributive efforts were related to electoral competitiveness and the party system. The proposed model, however, proved to be unsatisfactory in accurately predicting the direction of the effects of these explanatory variables. These results suggest that, rather than abandoning the study of local redistribution as a non-issue in subnational politics, an effort should be made to develop a better theoretical understanding of the ways in which competition and party politics shape these policies.

U.S. government expenditures increased rapidly during the post-war period, then slowed in the 1980s and began falling in 1992. To examine the dynamics of the growth and subsequent reduction in government spending, we present a dynamic general equilibrium model in which politicians choose government spending to maximize support by their constituents. The model predicts that government expenditures will initially mimic Wagner's law - the tendency for government spending to increase with GDP - but eventually diverge from output due to the growth of the welfare state. After government expenditures become large, we identify an endogenous threshold on the economy's growth path where it is optimal for politicians to shrink the welfare sate, cut taxes, and stimulate output growth. We show that the policies chosen by politicians are Pareto suboptimal and cause endogenous cycles in output. Such cycles are of several types, and we characterize when the equilibrium growth path will result in a reduction in the size of the welfare state, as well as when the welfare state cycles between small and large.

The article examines questions of public law as they apply to some of the scandals that have affected the Thatcher regime in Britain. It looks at some of the principles which underlie parliamentary actions and the internal machinations of Governments. Finally, the article questions the application and development of administrative law which it seems is beset by inconsistency and contradiction in the courts of Britain.

We try to demonstrate how economists may engage in research on comparative politics, relating the size and composition of government spending to the political system. A Downsian model of electoral competition and forward-looking voting indicates that majoritarian - as opposed to proportional - elections increase competition between parties by focusing it into some key marginal districts. This leads to less public goods, less rents for politicians, more redistribution and larger government. A model of legislative bargaining and backward-looking voting indicates that presidential - as opposed to parliamentary - regimes increase competition between both politicians and voters. This leads to less public goods, less rents for politicians, less redistribution, and smaller government. We confront these predictions with cross-country data from around 1990, controlling for economic and social determinants of government spending. We find strong and robust support for the prediction that the size of government is smaller under presidential regimes, and weaker support for the prediction that majoritarian elections are associated with less public goods.

In this lucid and theoretically sophisticated book, G. John Ikenberry focuses on the oil price shocks of 1973–74 and 1979, which placed extraordinary new burdens on governments worldwide and particularly on that of the United States. Reasons of State examines the response of the United States to these and other challenges and identifies both the capacities of the American state to deal with rapid international political and economic change and the limitations that constrain national policy.

The relationship between elected politicians, local civil servants and the public has been a standard topic of Irish political science for decades. The usual characterisation of the relationship between the voter and the politician as being clientelistic is not questioned, but allegations that the civil servants are also involved in a clientelist network are challenged. Local bureaucrats are recruited in an apolitical manner and have career paths that render them independent of the classic local pressures.

Starting with the premise that the Aboriginal peoples of Canada have an inherent right of self-government which is constitutionally protected, this article analyzes the issue of whether Aboriginal governments exercising that right are subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This issue is examined from a legal perspective based on textual analysis and common law principles. It is concluded that, as a matter of Canadian constitutional law, with the exception of the section 28 gender equality provision, the Charter does not apply to Aboriginal governments. This avoids imposition of the Charter generally on these governments by judicial decree, leaving the more fundamental policy issue of whether the Charter should apply in this context open to negotiation and political agreement with the Aboriginal peoples.

Annual student essay contest endowed by Philip L. Carret aimed at having Elon University students reflect on the ideals and principles embodied in Thomas Jefferson's life and career. Top three prize-winning student essays from the competition based on the following topic: Write an essay which explores the differences and similarities between the views of Jefferson and Adams on the role of government in Americans' lives. Consider also the contribution their debates have made to our contemporary understanding of American democracy.