Suchergebnisse

Analysis is made of the way in which the Peruvian military government has achieved institutional control over the program of structural reforms that has been put into effect since 1968. This process has emphasized the instrumental function of the government apparatus; it was directed toward a proper execution of the government program, & it assured a firm control over the course of the revolutionary process. The changes that took place in Peru are reviewed: (1) the remodeling of the formal structure of the state apparatus, a redefinition of the function of various units; (2) the regulation of general appointment procedures, promotions, dismissals etc; & (3) direct appointment to key positions within the state apparatus on the basis of a more general assumed loyalty, especially involving members of the so called Inca military group. 5 Tables. Modified HA.

Dutch socioeconomic concertation has experienced some transformative changes in its modus operandi in recent years, which has given the 'Polder Model' a new lease on life for the time being. Building on an older tradition of sharing political space with civil society organizations, the recent liberal-social democratic government coalition, with Mark Rutte at the helm (2012-2017), has been able to enact a surprisingly successful structural reform agenda in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Governing in times of significant economic, social and political uncertainty, it is no mean feat that the Rutte II administration – de facto a minority government – is the first Dutch coalition to complete its term since the administration under Wim Kok (1994-1998). After the foundational Social Accord (the so-called Mondriaan Akkoord) in April 2013, a series of reform agreements were reached in the policy areas of education, housing, healthcare, industrial and energy policy. For each of these more meso-level accords, a variety of civil society organizations participated that were beyond the traditional social partners of business and labor. Over time these seemingly ad hoc, open and non-hierarchical agreements materialized in a trajectory of cumulatively transformative policy change. The political tactic of the Rutte II government stands out in comparison with the halcyon Dutch miracle era of the Polder Model in the 1980s and 1990. We explain the new modes of Dutch socioeconomic policy concertation and its political tactic as a kind of rallying around existing institutional arrangements to bring the contested political and social center together behind a major adjustment strategy, including retrenchment, compensatory social meas­ures and investments, when reform output and outcomes are fundamentally uncertain. Whether the new Polder Model will prove robust remains an open question. Recently, new multiple party covenants were negotiated in the textile and banking industry. Meanwhile a number of issues concerning regional labor market regulation and work-life balance reconciliation have yet to be resolved.

VARIOUS EXPLICIT MARXIAN THEORIES ARE CURRENT ABOUT THE DIRECTION OF POLITICAL BEHAVIOR TO BE EXPECTED OF POOR PEASANTS IN THE THIRD WORLD. IN CHILE, IN 1970, PEASANTS DID GET A CHANCE TO VOTE A GOVERNMENT INTO POWER THAT HAD PROMISED TO TAKE THE COUNTRY ALONG THE ROAD TO SOCIALISM. USING UNITS AS THE MORE AGRARIAN MUNICIPALITIES OF CHILE, AN ECOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WAS CARRIED OUT. PEASANTS DID NOT VOTE AS A BLOC, BUT ACCORDING TO THEIR POSITION IN THE PRODUCTIVE PROCESS AS INDEPENDENT OWNERS, TENANTS, FIXED, OR TEMPORAL WAGE EARNERS. EACH OF THE 3 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES APPEARS TO HAVE FOUND A PARTICULAR STRUCTURAL NICHE IN THE CHILEAN COUNTRYSIDE. FOR ALLENDE, THIS NICHE IS CHARACTERIZED BY IRRIGATED PLANTATION TYPE AGRICULTURE, THAT MAKES USE OF TEMPORAL WAGE LABOR PROVIDED BY MINIFUNDIA. THE SYNDICAL POLICIES OF THE FREI GOVERNMENT MAY HAVE BENEFITED THE CANDIDATE OF THE GOVERNING PARTY, BUT NOT ITS LAND REFORM POLICY. 7 TABLES. HA.

Ten years ago, now, the Eurozone began to shake on its foundations. This article traces the genesis of the crisis and the present state of affairs. As to the causes of the global financial crisis in 2008, I argue that contrary to common understanding, the financial crisis had its deeper causes in a decades old tendency towards crisis in the real economy, produced by the continuous overaccumulation of capital which can only return profits by undertaking speculative short-term investments (a phenomenon known as 'financialisation'). I then trace how the global financial crisis morphed into a crisis of public deficits and debt in 2010-2011, particularly in the Eurozone. Three factors are shown to be responsible: financialization, design faults in the European monetary union, and the neo-mercantilist strategy of especially Germany and the Netherlands. The paper next looks at the five main traits of the policy responses in the Eurozone: bailing out governments and banks through creating emergency funds; imposition of austerity and budget discipline for member state governments; attempting to create and complete a Eurozone banking union; subsequently the European Central Bank engaged on an unprecedented scale in 'quantitative easing'; and finally, institutional reform in an attempt to repair the most pressing design faults of the EMU. The paper concludes that the underlying structural factors leading up to the crisis have only been addressed incompletely: the overaccumulation of capital continues, the completion of the banking union is in an impasse, quantitative easing has mostly just intensified financialization by pushing up asset prizes, and institutional reform has taken the form of a fundamentally undemocratic attempt at monetary and political union by stealth. The broader legitimacy of the European project has been substantially undermined, and Europe is not in a better position than eight years ago in case of a new global crisis.