How do dominant parties win in hybrid political regimes, that is, authoritarian regimes that permit significant political competition? Why do they ever lose? Mexico and Taiwan had, and Singapore and Malaysia still do, long-lived and comparatively low-repression political systems featuring elections free enough that opposition parties form and seriously contest the incumbents.
This book focuses its thoughtful, deeply researched coverage on a momentous half decade, the years 1941 – 1946, encompassing the transition out of World War II, through Bretton Woods and planning of a new international economic order, the conceiving and founding of the United Nations (UN), and the Nuremburg Charter and trials as an attempt at transitional justice which would affirm principles of humanitarian law, even before the UN's passage of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on 10 December 1948.
How does the ideology under girding national policy reform trickle down to state and local-level policy and front line service delivery? What are the ripple effects of such changes for other institutions and for population outcomes? This book assesses trends in welfare reform and workforce training and effects for single mothers. The authors trace the prominence and causal role of the idea of “work first” at multiple levels and institutional settings. They find it has become the singular operating rationale for welfare recipients and low income adults more generally across the United States since the late 1990s. They further argue that it has shut doors to higher education.
It was considered strange and a bit odd when many conservatives in Congress joined liberals to enact the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), which most political observers argued represented an unprecedented role for the federal government in education policy. By tradition, conservatives had been more likely to prefer state, local, and private initiatives to federal laws and regulations; liberals, on the other hand, favor the federal government offering solutions to help meet needs that states and school systems are unable to meet themselves. Lee Anderson traces the evolution of federal involvement in education as a function of the narrowing ideological positions of liberals and conservatives. While conventional wisdom holds that NCLB represents a marked departure from previous federal policies, Anderson's position is that NCLB was more of an outgrowth of (rather than as a radical departure from) previous federal education policies.
The legal-judicial transformation taking place behind China's Great Wall outpaces most other developing and transitional countries, but is reaching a critical crossroads. If the pace of judicial reform is maintained and implemented, it has the potential to impact on China and the world's future as much as the economic reforms of the last two decades, if not more so. The judicial system is emerging as a key institution in the reform process, and key decisions related to judicial independence in coming years will largely determine China's stature and place within the global community, and the government's relationship with its citizens. In a relatively short period of time, new criminal, civil and administrative law codes, anti- corruption laws, as well as thousands of judicial, economic and administrative regulations have either been passed, repealed or undergone substantial reform. Property rights and institutional reforms have also been enshrined in the constitution, an important Judges Law professionalising the judiciary has been passed and a number of important treaties have now been ratified. For the first time in modern Chinese history, the courts and legal profession are slowly but surely emerging as important, professional institutions with growing power. The main question of the day is whether China's leaders will now make the structural, judicial and political reforms necessary to address corruption and create an independent judiciary – albeit with Chinese characteristics.
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), based in Washington in DC, carried out a technical assistance program in support of the 2006 electoral process in Nicaragua, starting in October 2005. The counterpart institution was the Supreme Electoral Council, which together with IFES proceeded to define those areas in which IFES could collaborate. These were concentrated mainly in the fields of public information regarding the verification of the voter registration list, the preparation and distribution of voter identity cards and the direct training of members of the voting tables in all 153 municipalities in the country.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Development, and Politics
Michael Yard, Ronan McDermott, Linda Edgeworth, and Douglas Jones
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
IFES experts in countries around the world have run into these kinds of contradictions and difficulties in providing assistance to election officials in making decisions about and implementing election technologies.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Politics, and Science and Technology
Robert A. Dahl, Susan Palmer, Catherine Barnes, Beverly Hagerdon Thakur, and Catherine Kannam
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
IFES is pleased to present this comprehensive assessment report anticipating the upcoming constitutional referendum and general election in the Kingdom of Thailand. IFES hopes that these findings and recommendations can inform efforts to strengthen the democratic process within Thailand and can provide guidance as the nation seeks to reassume its position as a model for democracy within Southeast Asia. The field work and interviews that provide the substance of this report were conducted between March 14 and April 5, 2007.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, and Politics
Dates of Fieldwork: Nov. 17 -Dec. 20, 2006 Sample Size: 1,600 Consists of a base national sample of 1,400 and an oversample of 200 respondents in select areas of the country Data presented here reflects national distribution of population. Margin of error for national sample: ±2.75% Urban/Rural Distribution: Urban (51%), Rural (49%) Gender Breakdown: Women (53%), Men (47%).
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, and Politics
This report documents the opinions of the Nigerian people at an important time in their country's history—just before and after the historic elections that resulted in Nigeria's first ever hand over in power between one elected civilian ruler to another elected civilian. Overall, Nigerians show optimism in their society, the institutions that comprise it, and the future direction in which newly elected leaders will take them. At the same time, many show caution toward and disappointment in some aspects of government, especially when evaluating the conduct of the recent elections. Here is a summary of the key findings of IFES' pre- and post- election surveys. A more detailed examination of the results will follow in the subsequent sections.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, and Politics