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2721. The Spanish Experiment: A Social Democratic Party-Union Relationship in a Competitive Union Context

Author:
Javier Astudillo Ruiz
Publication Date:
05-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
A close relationship with a Social Democratic party has traditionally been regarded as one of the best strategies unions have to defend workers' interests. This conclusion still seems valid today, since the changes in the economic and social structure in the advanced capitalist societies alter the traditional content of their relationship, not the reason for cooperation. However, this belief assumes among a unitary labor movement. The experience of Southern Europe shows, on the contrary, that, when the union movement is divided according to different partisan preferences, union leaders are forced to choose between their relationship with their parties, or cooperating among themselves and being effective in the labor market. In addition, the divorce between the Spanish Socialist party and the Socialist Union reveals that, no matter how strong these organizations are, and despite their history of close ties, inter-union competition and a growing economy make their relationship even more damaging for the union's interests.
Topic:
Government, Human Welfare, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

2722. Continuity as the Path to Change: Institutional Innovation in the 1976 British Race Relations Act

Author:
Erik Bleich
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
Institutional innovation can, paradoxically, be a product of institutional continuity. New institutions often emerge in a bifurcated manner in which formal institutions (such as laws and written rules) are accompanied by informal institutions (such as ideas that motivate and help determine the precise nature of specific policies). When informal institutions include ideas that track policy developments in other spheres or other countries, they can influence innovations in formal institutions. The development of the 1976 British Race Relations Act illustrates this dynamic. When British race institutions were established in the 1960s, they reflected the prevailing idea that British policies should incorporate lessons learned from North America. When Britain revisited its anti-racism provisions in 1976, policy experts looked again to North America and found that much had changed there in the interim. They subsequently altered Britain's formal institutions to include U.S.-inspired “race-conscious” measures.
Topic:
Government and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and North America

2723. Continental welfare states in Europe confronted with the end-of-career inactivity trap: A major challenge to social protection in an aging society

Author:
Anne Marie Guillemard
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
The paper is an attempt to assess continental welfare state reforms that use the window of the end-of-career inactivity trap. The question addressed is: what is the most effective way to break up the vicious circle of early exit from the labor market, which is a specific pathology of continental welfare states. The cases of the Netherlands and Finland, two countries that have succeeded in reversing the early exit trend in recent years, prove that only a radical change in paradigms that govern social protection may turn the vicious circle of welfare without work for aging workers into a virtuous circle of active aging. In states in which reforms have focused on changing the rules and regulations that govern retirement systems, or on restricting early exit pathways, as is the case in France, they have failed to break up with the end-of-career inactivity trap.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Europe and France

2724. Access To Information: A Key To Democracy

Author:
Laura Newman
Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Citizens and their leaders around the world have long recognized the risk of corruption. Corruption diverts scarce resources from necessary public services, and instead puts it in the pockets of politicians, middlemen and illicit contractors, while ensuring that the poor do not receive the benefits of this "system". The consequences of corruption globally have been clear: unequal access to public services and justice, reduced investor confidence, continued poverty, and even violence and overthrow of governments. A high level of corruption is a singularly pernicious societal problem that also undermines the rule of law and citizen confidence in democratic institutions.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:
South America, Latin America, Central America, Caribbean, and North America

2725. Third Development Cooperation Forum: Human Security and the Future of Development Cooperation

Author:
Jimmy Carter and Robert Rubin
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
In 1992, The Carter Center hosted a conference for Global Development Cooperation. The purpose of the conference was to identify specific and practical ways to improve development cooperation on a global scale. President Carter and United Nations Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali co-chaired the event, which convened world leaders, development experts, and representatives from donor institutions, developing nations, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, private foundations, and the private sector. In the ensuing decade, the need for improved development cooperation was central to the formulation of strategies designed to reduce human suffering and narrow disparities.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, Government, Non-Governmental Organization, and Politics
Political Geography:
United Nations

2726. Politics and Passions: the Stakes of Democracy

Author:
Chantal Mouffe
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster
Abstract:
For some time I have been concerned with what I see as our growing inability to envisage in political terms the problems facing our societies: that is, to see them as problems the solutions to which entail not just technical but political decisions. These decisions would be made between real alternatives, the existence of which implied the presence of conflicting but legitimate projects of how to organize our common life. We appear to be witnessing not the end of history but the end of politics. Is this not the message of recent trends in political theory and sociology, as well as of the practices of mainstream political parties? They all claim that the adversarial model of politics has become obsolete and that we have entered a new phase of reflexive modernity, one in which an inclusive consensus can be built around a 'radical centre'. All those who disagree with this consensus are dismissed as archaic or condemned as evil. Morality has been promoted to the position of a master narrative; as such, it replaces discredited political and social discourses as a framework for collective action. Morality is rapidly becoming the only legitimate vocabulary: we are now urged to think not in terms of right and left, but of right and wrong.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Government, Politics, and Religion

2727. Bicameralismo en América Latina

Author:
Jorge Schiavon
Publication Date:
10-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
More than half of the countries in Latin America have bicameral legislatures, and the vast majority of the larger countries in the region have dual legislative bodies. This paper explores whether bicameralism is an important institutional variable in the functioning of Latin American systems. It develops a typology of the different types of bycameralism in the region based on several specific characteristics that differentiate between them, and discusses the relevance of the institutional configuration of the system and the party configuration of the chambers for bicameralism. Then, it constructs a veto gates and players model in order to analyze the causal mechanism through which bicameralism impacts Latin America systems. Finally, it presents two examples (one with variation in time, the other with variation in space) to support the argument that bicameralism matters depending on its type, the institutional configuration, and party composition of the system.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Latin America

2728. Church and State: Leaders and Legitimacy, A Theoretical Review

Author:
Blaire M. Harms
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
This paper represents an introductory and partial review of the literature on elite politics and their use of myths and symbols for legitimacy. My full project will explain the connection (or relationship) between religious elites and political elites, the use of religious myths, symbols or ritual to generate nationalism, and political legitimacy. This project requires that I bring together a number of different fields that examine elites and nationalism, as well as the literature on myths and symbols. This includes work in international relations, comparative politics, culture/ethnicity, and religion. The starting point of most of the literature that looks at elite politics and nationalism (whether this is stated or not) is that politics becomes problematic when political institutions are weak. I will provide an overview of this broad literature to start with; then I will give a condensed look at some other positions that examine why competitive elite politics may generate nationalism; where nationalist symbology comes from; and the different roles religious elites may play in nationalist conflict; and finish with a description of how I see the relationship between religion, politics, myths and nationalism. You will see that my position is unique, yet combines elements from the other fields of inquiry.
Topic:
Government, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States

2729. Clausewitz and the Morality of War

Author:
Suzanne C. Nielsen
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
The ideas of Carl von Clausewitz have been the subject of endless controversy since the posthumous publication of On War in 1832. Did Clausewitz produce a time bound analysis of the wars of his age, or a timeless classic? Was he an objective analyst of war's complexities, or an advocate of wars of annihilation? This paper explores Clausewitz's perspective on the moral issues that war inevitably raises. This exploration will address two main questions. First, what views does Clausewitz express on the role for ethical considerations in war? Second, did Clausewitz think that the statesman's actions in international politics could or should take into account moral considerations? This paper argues that Clausewitz prioritizes the interests of the state over moral considerations. However, his approach leaves open the possibility that state interests can vary over time in ways that expand statesmen's opportunities for moral action.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Civil Society, and Government

2730. A Model of Electoral Competition with Two-Year Terms

Author:
John C. Hansen and John M. Barron
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
This paper will shed some light on the legislative voting literature by using a standard median voter model, however, the legislator's term is split into two distinct voting years. This allows us to analyze in more detail the voting decisions made by Congressmen. We estimate a voting record based on constituency variables and calculate the residual. We find that a higher first-year residual on the part of a congressman causes a lower probability of being reelected. In addition, we find that the first-year residual plays the key role in this lower reelection probability. The second-year residual lacks any consistent significance with regards to the reelection probability. In this paper, we also analyze two different effects that have been predominant in the literature: the sorting effect and the tenure effect. Using our comprehensive data set, from 1983-1996, we find that both effects do exist. Moreover, older congressmen (those closer to retirement) had lower residuals. For the years 1983 to 1992, the two effects counteracted each other and caused no net impact on the first-year residual. For the years 1993-1996, the sorting effect dominated the tenure effect and showed that members with higher tenures had lower first-year residuals.
Topic:
Defense Policy and Government
Political Geography:
United States