Suchergebnisse

In this introductory chapter to Life after Reform: When Bipartisan Campaign Reform Meets Politics, the author contextualizes the reform act in the two decades of debate since the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1974 & amendments, & the issues addressed by the Buckley court. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) is summarized, & the framework of analysis for the book is diagrammed. The model used throughout the book is a schematic of givers & receivers operating in an environment of tension between law as constraint & freedom within the law. The remaining articles of the book are introduced as unique perspectives written by a diverse group of political scientists brought together by the Campaign Finance Institute to address the impacts of BCRA on substantive issues. 1 Table, 1 Figure, 2 References. J. Harwell

Der Bundesrat steht im Mittelpunkt des deutschen Kooperationsföderalismus'. Da eine Neuregelung der Kompetenzaufteilung den Kern der jüngsten Föderalismusreformdebatte in Deutschland bildete, konzentrierten sich die Reformbemühungen auf Macht und Funktion des Bundesrats, die strukturellen Charakteristika der zweiten Kammer in Deutschland blieben bestehen. Entgegen den ursprünglichen Intentionen bedurften zum Schluss 50% aller Bundesgesetze der Zustimmung des Bundesrats. Dies führte häufig zu einer Blockade der Bundesgesetzgebung. Ein Hauptziel der Reform war es daher, die Zahl der zustimmungspflichtigen Gesetze zu reduzieren. Nicht mehr zustimmungspflichtig sind jetzt Bundesgesetze, die die Verwaltungsstrukturen und -verfahren der Länder beeinflussen. Die Länder können ihrerseits entsprechende Bundesregelungen modifizieren. Dieses Recht kann nur in Ausnahmefällen - und mit Zustimmung des Bundesrates - ausgeschlossen werden. Zustimmungspflichtig sind im Gegenzug Bundesgesetze, die den Ländern erhebliche Kosten aufbürden. Es besteht die Hoffnung, dass die Zahl zustimmungspflichtiger Gesetze insgesamt um 15% bis 20% sinken wird. (ICEÜbers)

In the last two years comprehensive legislative reforms have been passed in France which aim to change the territorial architecture of the Republic to ensure increased transparency and efficiency in public administration in the long term. The reforms focus on the metropolises, the merging of regions and the reorganisation of the powers of the various levels of regional bodies. Cross-border cooperation on the Upper Rhine and in the Greater Region is affected but not called into question by the reforms.

Welfare reform has transformed the significance of citizenship & democracy in the US. With its work-condition on welfare benefits, the reform demonstrated that citizenship involves responsibilities as well as rights. Work enforcement, & not solely in the context of welfare reform, functions to integrate the economically disadvantaged & to refashion politics. Work conditionality tends to limit state aid to the poor but it may also produce political consequences beneficial to the left. References. K. Coddon

Discusses the nature & implications of the debate between professional & radical educational reformers, with a specific focus on southern California, & Los Angeles. The professional reform movement is characterized by a loose confederation of mostly professional educators seeking a large & visible reform agenda, while the radical reformers comprise a smaller group from the noneducational sector with a less-public agenda. Despite the relative size & strength of the professional reformers, a number of recent developments have undermined their historical dominance: the perception that local schools are not recognizing or addressing local community aspirations; increasing cultural, ethnic, & socioeconomic differentiation in schools; & failure to connect local schools with the community. Therefore, parents, politicians, & local civic leaders have sought greater control over locally insensitive educational practices, & the universal reforms of the professionals have lost popularity. It is argued that granting local communities the option of raising local public revenues to support local schools would create greater connection between the school & community, & allow noneducational reformers greater voice & influence. 24 References. T. Sevier

"Close examination suggests at best a tenuous relationship between research and innovative educational policy. Even when research leads to experimentation, its results are difficult to evaluate, because the programs were not designed for rigorous scientific evaluation; moreover, besides unintentionally creating new problems, experimentation is sometimes too ideologically burdened to gain political success. Studies of educational reform must examine the linkages of research to practice, its ties to such goals as democratization, equality, and ideological legitimation, as well as how conventional paradigms of educational planning have actually inhibited reform, and most particularly the role of educational innovation in legitimating the existing political and social structure." (author's abstract)

The need to consider how contemporary US environmental policy has affected various communities throughout the nation is emphasized. An overview of the traditional managerial approach to realizing environmental policy reform is presented, illustrating this perspective's limitations. Three factors that hampered the environmental movement during the 1980s & 1990s are identified, eg, the emergence of grassroots activists who demanded greater participation in the debate concerning toxic chemical production & waste disposal policy. Several obstacles that have problematized the reform of environmental policy are then noted, eg, the ability of companies & governments to avoid responsibility for past actions & the litigious nature of environmental policy. To overcome these difficulties, it is claimed that government must provide the public with an adequate knowledge base of environmental disputes, augment citizens' capacity to participate, & stipulate guidelines for achieving environmental policy reform. Several additional recommendations for facilitating the policy reinvention process are offered, eg, establishing effective monitoring systems. J. W. Parker

"Günther Bächler explores the significance of state reform for transformation of war-tom areas. He points out that, especially for fragile states, state reform is a prerequisite for peaceful conflict resolution and democratic development and he argues that there is a need to involve the population in efforts to establish at least some 'islands' of security. The author presents three strategic approaches to state reform and conflict transformation. The first one consists of participatory strategies that might enhance social and political stability (democratisation, strengthening of civil society, dialogue-oriented approaches). The second encompasses all forms of institution-building and institutional reform, contributing to a stronger societal fabric (federalisation, decentralisation, the constitution and justice system). The third addresses security needs and demands (human rights, human security and absence of military threats). As the author concludes, there is widespread agreement among scholars that democracy is a necessary condition for stable peace. The debate revolves around whether it is a sufficient condition and which factors must be combined in order to prepare the ground for a constitution that will insulate society against violence. A number of open theoretical questions remain: Is there such a thing as 'democratic peace'? If so, which factors are important to it? How can a 'culture of dispute' be established or preserved in times of radical transition or rapid change in a society? " (author's abstract)

Offers a summary of the political significance of welfare & welfare reform & the impact of the latter. The primary focus is on the US, particularly the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 & its consequences. Secondarily, the British New Deal is also examined. The chapter's objective is chiefly descriptive rather than argumentative. References. K. Coddon

"Die zwischenstaatliche Steuerpolitik Russlands ist ein Kompromiss zwischen der Notwendigkeit, in ärmeren Regionen ein garantiertes Maß an öffentlichen Diensten bereitzustellen einerseits und in den Regionen, die sich in Entwicklung befinden, das wirtschaftliche Wachstum zu beschleunigen andererseits. Das System zwischenstaatlicher Beziehungen der 1990er Jahre hat viele Merkmale des sowjetischen Systems übernommen, in dem der Zentralstaat den Regionen und Gemeinden öffentliche Mittel aufgrund zentral gefasster Entscheidungen zuteilte. Seit dem Jahr 2000 sind die zwischenstaatlichen Steuerbeziehungen in Russland durchgreifend reformiert worden. Die Reform umfasste folgende vier Komponenten: 1. Eine klare und gleichmäßige Zuordnung der Ausgabenzuständigkeiten an die Bundesregierung und die regionalen und lokalen Regierungen. 2. Die Unterscheidung zwischen drei Arten von Ausgabenzuständigkeiten: a. die Regulierung der Zuständigkeit für die Bereitstellung öffentlicher Dienste (bzw. das Festschreiben entsprechender Normen), b. das Aufbringen ausreichender Mittel für die Bereitstellung dieser Dienste, c. die eigentliche Bereitstellung des öffentlichen Dienstes. 3. Eine gleichmäßige Zuteilung der Einnahmen auf alle Regierungsebenen und die dauerhafte Festsetzung gleicher Bundessteueranteile für die Regionen. 4. Die Einführung eines methodischen vertikalen Ausgleichsmechanismus. Die zwischenstaatliche Steuerreform Russlands ging mit einer Reform der lokalen Selbstverwaltung einher. In der russischen Föderation wurden einheitlich zwei Ebenen kommunaler Verwaltung eingeführt und jeder lokalen Selbstverwaltungsebene wurden durch Bundesgesetz Funktionen und Steuern zugewiesen. Ein Problem, das den regionalen und kommunalen Finanzwesen anderer Länder Sorgen bereitet, hat in Russland keine entscheidende Bedeutung: Infolge strikter Vorschriften des Bundes und erhöhter Steuereinnahmen (aufgrund der steigenden Ölpreise) konnte die Schuldenlast der regionalen Regierungen bis heute auf weniger als 2 Prozent des BIP verringert werden." (Autorenreferat). Die Untersuchung bezieht sich auf den Zeitraum 2000 bis 2006.