Suchergebnisse

How democratic regimes should engage with authoritarian regimes, or self-proclaimed authorities in states under occupation, has long been a subject of debate. The work examines Canada's relations with member-states of the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War. Central and East European communist states were nominally independent but established under occupation. Canadian leaders explored whether engaging in foreign relations with these countries would encourage liberalization or embolden dictatorships. Over time, Canada's position evolved as a policy of encouraging bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, while calling for the respect of human rights. However, Canada's economic relationship with East European states was at times at cross-purposes with its democratic principles. Andrea Chandler concludes that while Canada did play a role in encouraging democratization, the country's leaders did not sufficiently consider the impact of these policies on the citizens of Warsaw Pact countries.This book treats Canadas engagement with Hungary, Poland, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakiaduring the Cold War, in which the Western countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (including Canada) had an adversarial relation with the Soviet bloc nations

Through compelling and insightful analysis of the Russian case, this book explores the role that social welfare plays in regime transitions. It examines the role that gender and social welfare has played in Russia's post-communist political evolution from Yeltsin's assumption of the presidency to Putin's return for a third term as president in 2012

Do populists pursue distinct kinds of policies, and if so, how successful are those policies? Populist rhetoric often invokes themes of redistribution insofar as leaders claim that power and resources need to be restored to "the people." As a result, populists tend to offer a very broad view of social policy that emphasizes security, order, rewards, and punishments. Populists' narratives may be simple, but once in office, they may face complex problems that call for more sophisticated policy solutions. This study examines whether populist policies fit the messages they deliver to their target voters, and aims to contribute to the development of a methodology for determining that relationship in specific empirical cases. I focus on the case of Russia, which enacted a major change in its old‐age pension system in 2018 under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.

<p><strong>Sabine Dullin. <em>La frontière épaisse: Aux origines des politiques soviétiques (1920-1940).</em><em> </em></strong>En temps &amp; lieux 55. Paris: Éditions de l'École des hautes études en sciences sociales, 2014. 356 pp. Illustrations. Maps. Tables. Bibliography. Index of places. Index of names. Paper.</p>

In 2013 the European Commission presented a draft directive calling for member states to increase the presence of women on corporate boards. Some countries, such as France, have taken a quota approach by passing legislation requiring corporations to increase the numbers of women on their boards over time, while the governments of other states, such as the United Kingdom, have preferred measures to encourage corporations to have more inclusive boards. While there is a growing literature on the impact that an increased presence of women can have on corporate boards, as well as a solid feminist literature on the role of quotas in political structures, there has been relatively little attention to the specific ways in which political actors have viewed the question of women on corporate boards. This article compares the ways in which quotas for women in corporate boards have been examined by the legislatures of the United Kingdom and France, with attention also to parliamentary debates in Canada and Russia. It is hypothesized that variations in political discourse help explain why conservative governments adopted such different approaches toward gender balance on corporate boards.

Since 2004, governments in a number of countries have initiated tense political debates over the question of whether religious symbols should be permitted in public places. Frequently, such debates have focussed on the head and face coverings worn by many observant Muslim women, as has been explored by a rich scholarly literature. However, relatively little has been written about the specific reasons why these laws have been adopted, and few cross-national comparisons have been made. This paper will examine the following cases: first, the law against wearing face coverings in France, adopted during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency in 2010; and second, the extensive debates about access to government services for people wearing religious clothing in Québèc (Canada). Finally, the paper will examine the distinct case of Russia, where high court decisions have revealed a reversal in the authorities' former tolerance of the wearing of head coverings in public places. Three variables help to explain why these laws came upon the political agenda in these admittedly very different countries. First, all three adopted previous measures to limit citizens' ability to don face coverings during political protests; second, these countries' choices influenced each other, showing the importance that global influences can play in policy formation; and finally, political leaders attempted to use laws on face and head coverings as a strategy to reinforce their power. Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v9i2.230

Since 2004, governments in a number of countries have initiated tense political debates over the question of whether religious symbols should be permitted in public places. Frequently, such debates have focussed on the head and face coverings worn by many observant Muslim women, as has been explored by a rich scholarly literature. However, relatively little has been written about the specific reasons why these laws have been adopted, and few cross-national comparisons have been made. This paper will examine the following cases: first, the law against wearing face coverings in France, adopted during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency in 2010; and second, the extensive debates about access to government services for people wearing religious clothing in Québèc (Canada). Finally, the paper will examine the distinct case of Russia, where high court decisions have revealed a reversal in the authorities' former tolerance of the wearing of head coverings in public places. Three variables help to explain why these laws came upon the political agenda in these admittedly very different countries. First, all three adopted previous measures to limit citizens' ability to don face coverings during political protests; second, these countries' choices influenced each other, showing the importance that global influences can play in policy formation; and finally, political leaders attempted to use laws on face and head coverings as a strategy to reinforce their power.

During a regime transition, are citizens more likely to appeal to the courts to protect their rights, or less likely? The study examines 107 decisions of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court on social welfare, passed between 1991 and 2010. As the political system became more authoritarian under President Vladimir Putin, citizen petitions to the Supreme and Constitutional Courts greatly increased, reflecting discontent with the content and implementation of social welfare reforms. Furthermore, citizen petitioners won a surprisingly large number of their cases. The analysis reveals the Constitutional Court to be a strong defender of social rights overall, while establishing an implicit hierarchy of groups entitled to special protection. Its rulings posited that the state has an obligation not just to uphold its current social contract, but to honour the previous social contract for people who spent their productive lives under a different political regime. Adapted from the source document.