Book Review: Comparative
| Published date | 01 May 2007 |
| Date | 01 May 2007 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-9299.2007.00132_8.x |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
307
interest. The publishers have also let through a
ners and bureaucrats are deployed to understand
significant number of editorial mistakes.
their perspectives on municipal restructuring.
Chapter 6 generates conclusions about the
Alan Trench
future prospects for women’s citizenship in both
(University College London)
cities. The conclusions challenge the prevailing
focus on the economic and cultural contribu-
tions of cities and assert that the crucial role of
We welcome short reviews of books in all
urban institutions and leaders in shaping demo-
areas of politics and international relations.
cratic experiences of local citizens cannot be
For guidelines on submitting reviews, and
overlooked. Furthermore, Bashevkin argues that
to see an up-to-date listing of books avail-
while reform in London helped to create oppor-
able for review, please visit http://www.
tunities for civic engagement, the changes in
politicalstudiesreview.org/.
Toronto operated to stifle civic involvement.
Citizen
engagement
is
relatively
robust
in
periods of progressive local leadership and insti-
Comparative
tutional decentralisation but relatively weak
when powers are acquired by central govern-
Tales of Two Cities: Women and Municipal
ment and conservative mayors hold office.
Restructuring in London and Toronto by
This work makes a significant contribution to
Sylvia Bashevkin. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2006.
the literature on local government and the civic
184pp., $29.95, ISBN 0 7748 1279 6
engagement of women. It blends some impres-
The text analyses the impact of political leaders
sive empirical work with a lucid and well-
and institutions on women as urban citizens in
informed grasp of theory. In particular, this text
London and Toronto. Bashevkin uses citizenship
should feature prominently on the shelves of
theory to evaluate three dimensions of urban
those with an academic interest in British local
citizenship before and after the forced merger of
government for two key reasons: it places reform
local boroughs in Toronto and the establishment
in Britain in an international context and
of the Greater London Authority. First, office
deploys a well-developed theoretical context to
holding on municipal councils is examined as an
generate important insights. The book is written
indicator
of
liberal
political
representation.
primarily for the research community, although
Second, the development of municipal femocra-
its accessible style and innovative content mean
cies is considered as an indicator of difference
that it might win a place on the reading lists of
representation. Third, the study evaluates official
some taught courses.
spatial planning texts to identify a discursive
Michael Cole
aspect of representation that emerges from post-
(University of Plymouth)
structural approaches.
Chapter 1 evaluates the leadership and insti-
tutional contexts in both cities. Chapter 2 con-
Citizens Abroad: Emigration and the State
siders the patterns of women in public office,
in the Middle East and North Africa by
including on city councils and as mayors.
Laurie A.
Brand. Cambridge: Cambridge
Chapter 3 evaluates municipal women’s com-
University Press, 2006. 246pp., £48.00, ISBN 0
mittees and other bureaucratic units and assesses
521 85805 4
the evolution of representation at this level. In
chapter 4, Bashevkin considers official spatial
State institutions create the framework within
plans and assesses the manner in which they
which international migration becomes apparent.
integrate feminist discourse about women in
Much attention has been granted to integration
cities. In chapter 5, qualitative data obtained
measures and immigration policies but the poli-
from interviews with politicians, activists, plan-
cies adopted by sending states have often escaped
© 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Political Studies Association
Political Studies Review: 2007, 5(2)
308
C O M P A RA T I VE
the sight of political scientists. Laurie Brand offers
by emigrant-run projects like ‘Migration et
a valuable contribution to narrow this research
Développement’ to
the
legitimacy
of
the
gap.
Moroccan state. However, this is not to under-
Scrutinising this ‘other side of the emigration–
state Brand’s grand contribution to broadening
immigration nexus’ (p. 3), she focuses on the
the research towards sending countries and rela-
driving forces of emigration policies in a com-
tions to their citizens abroad.
parative historical approach which accounts for
Daniel Wunderlich
particularities of polities and contextual factors in
(University of Sheffield)
her case studies on Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon
and Jordan. This provides a comprehensive over-
Party Funding and Campaign Financing in
view of the institutional forms of states’ responses
International Perspective by K. D. Ewing
proactively to shape emigration or react to their
and Samuel Issacharoff (eds). Portland OR:
developing diasporas in countries of different cul-
Hart Publishing, 2006. 330pp., £40.00, ISBN 1
tural proximities, political systems and historical
84113 570 4
linkages. This helps to overcome the simplistic
understanding of migration being shaped by
Global
Electioneering: Campaign
Con-
push-and-pull factors and rightly places migration
sulting, Communications and Corporate
studies in the realm of political institutions.
Financing by Gerald Sussman. Lanham MD:
Despite arguments about the withering power of
Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 261pp., £20.99,
the state in a globalising world, it is still state
ISBN 0 7425 2692 5
institutions which decide about legal (re-)entry,
residence and access to political and civil rights.
The two books under review are important, well
Hence, questions raised around sovereignty, terri-
informed, but not unproblematic.They deal with
toriality and identity are of particular interest in
two different, yet related aspects of political and
this book, such as ‘what are the origins of gov-
electoral
campaigns. Ewing
and
Issacharoff
ernments’ willingness to engage in practices that
present perspectives on the input side of the
challenge
the
traditional
insider/outsider
political process and discusses how parties receive
dichotomy seemingly so basic to sovereignty in
funds for their activities. Sussman deals with what
matters related to maintaining ties with citizens
we might call the output side, namely how politi-
abroad?’ (p. 33).
cal parties and candidates spend their money by
In this respect, the theoretical chapter is of
employing political consultants, conducting focus
great clarity and of interest for a readership well
groups and by advertising in the media.
beyond migration researchers. The cases studied
These are issues that are too rarely discussed
are presented in great detail and based on field
in academic circles. This is a problem. The press
research
providing
valuable
information
on
often write about the influence of spin doctors
history, policies and institutions around emigra-
and too often there are reports about how
tion. At times, this falls short of clearly elaborat-
political parties seek to bend the spirit, and
ing the different empirical basis of citizenship
perhaps the letter, of electoral laws. Indeed, the
and obstructs the view on the ‘reciprocal rela-
governing British Labour party is currently
tionship’ (p. 38) of citizens and state institutions.
under investigation by the police following the
Although it is the state that structures access to
allegation that the prime minister gave promi-
status and opens or closes ways of migration, it
nent businessmen seats in the House of Lords in
should not be forgotten that the individual’s
return for loans to the party.
experiences and chosen linkages are decisive in
Party Funding and Campaign Financing in Inter-
determining their relationship to the state which
national Perspective is a valuable book as it presents
claims responsibility for its citizens. The inclu-
the major arguments of the debate. Using
sion of this aspect could have bettered our
examples from Western democracies like New
understanding of challenges posed, for example,
Zealand, Canada, Japan, the EU and America, the
© 2007 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Political Studies Association
Political Studies Review: 2007, 5(2)
B O O K R E V I E W S
309
book presents a good, and workmanlike, guide to
Sussman offers a sharp rejection of the implica-
the major issues.The book gives a good introduc-
tions of the increased use of political consultants.
tion to the new regulation of electoral contests in
As he writes in the conclusion, ‘The threats to
the United Kingdom, which were introduced
democracy that the electioneering system in the
with the Political Parties, Elections and Referen-
United States presents, especially the influence of
dums Act 2000, which, among other things, led to
big money – not to mention the baldly antidemo-
the establishment of the Electoral Commission
cratic capture of power in the 2000 presidential
and required that parties must disclose donations.
election and the increased fears arising from com-
As Navraj...
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