III: Governmental and Administrative Institutions/Institutions Politiques et Administratives
| Published date | 01 December 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002083451606600603 |
| Date | 01 December 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Abstracts |
692
III
GOVERNMENTAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS
INSTITUTIONS POLITIQUES ET ADMINISTRATIVES
(a) Central institutions /Institutions centrales
66.6549 ABDELLATIF, Lobna, et al. — Fiscal transparency puzzle
and electoral institutions: applying a 3Ds approach for
tracking the action cycle in Egypt. Journal of Legislative
Studies 22(3), Sept. 2016 : 424-444.
This article contributes to the discussion on the fiscal transparency
puzzle. The authors challenge the idea that fiscal disclosure can directly
increase fiscal accountability. Using an original data-set at the level of
individual MPs in the Egyptian parliament, constructed from content-
analysis of budgetary discussions during the period 2000-2010, we show
that political incentives determined by a majoritarian electoral system
curbed the willingness to check government fiscal behavior, even among
opposition MPs — because MPs still favored pork-barrel behavior to
boost their re-election chances. Moreover, fiscal data disclosed could not
be communicated to voters and the opposition showed a relatively higher
avoidance against fiscal disclosure. We conclude that the electoral
system is a dominant factor in shaping the final effect of transparency
given its influence on the structure of political incentives. [R]
66.6550 ABDULAI, Abdul-Gafaru ; HICKEY, Sam — The politics of
development under competitive clientelism: insights
from Ghana's education sector. African Affairs 458, Jan.
2016 : 44-72.
Debates over whether democracy or political clientelism would drive the
politics of development in Africa have increasingly given way to more
nuanced readings that seek to capture the dynamic interplay of these
forms of politics. However, most current analyses struggle to identify the
specific causal mechanisms through which politics shapes the actual
distribution of resources. A political settlements approach, which empha-
sizes the distribution of "holding power" — the ability to engage and
survive in political struggles — within ruling coalitions, and how this
shapes institutional functioning, can bring greater clarity to these de-
bates. Our analysis shows that patterns of resource-allocation within
Ghana's education sector during 1993-2008 were closely shaped by the
incentives generated by Ghana's competitive clientelist political settle-
ment, which overrode rhetorical concerns with national unity and inclu-
sive development. [R, abr.]
66.6551 AFIONIS, Stavros, et al. — Unpacking Brazil’s leadership
in the global biofuels arena: Brazilian ethanol diplomacy
in Africa. Global Environmental Politics 16(3), Aug. 2016 :
127-150.
Biofuels represent an opportunity f r Brazil to exert global leadership by
substantially scaling up the production, consumption, and internatio nal
trade of bioethanol. Africa represents an ideal venue in which to do this,
given its suitable agro-climatic conditions and extensive land area. Brazil
has consequently sought to establish bilateral partnerships with African
countries, as well as North-South-South trilateral partnerships involving
the EU and US. However, empirically grounded assessments of how
Brazil’s leadership aspirations have unfolded in practice through these
partnerships are limited. We examine Brazil’s potential to exert global
political leadership, by analyzing its policy-based, structural, and instru-
mental qualities in making bilateral and trilateral inroads regarding
bioethanol production in Africa. Interviews in Brazil, Africa, and Europe
suggest that both the bilateral and trilateral avenues have produced
meager results. [R, abr.]
66.6552 ALEXANDRU, Dana Georgeta — Decentralization and
territorial development in Romania. Trends and chal-
lenges. Lex Localis (Journal of Local Self Government)
14(3), July 2016 : 473-492.
Our analysis begins with the conceptual framing of decentralization, and
it moves towards identifyin g the problems related to R omania’s territorial
development in the context of administrative decentralization. Decentrali-
zation is a stumbling block for post -communist transformation in Centra l
and Eastern Europe, yet in a more complex sense decentralization is
both insufficient and excessive. European regional policies and the new
concepts of changing the type of intervention do set a different view of
how territorial development might look like in Romania. Nevertheless, the
local and regional levels are at a standstill due to mismanagement of
decentralization in the context of territorial reforms. [R, abr.]
66.6553 ALFORD, John ; YATES, Sophie — Co-production of
public services in Australia: the roles of government o r-
ganisations and co-producers. Australian Journal of Public
Administration 75(2), June 2016 : 159-175.
Based on a telephone survey of 1000 Australian adults, this article
replicates a five-country European study focusing on three policy do-
mains: neighborhood safety, environment, and health [E. S. Loeffler, et
al., If You Want to Go Fast, Walk Alone, Paris, 2008). It shows that
individually performed and closely reciprocal activities with high levels of
private value are performed the most often, whereas group activities
producing mainly public value are the least performed. We found no
evidence of a relationship between service satisfaction and co-
production, or between information provision/inclusion/consultation and
co-production, which challenges some of the previous literature on what
might motivate citizens to co-produce. Citizen self-efficacy has a modest
relationship with co-production levels in each of the three policy domains.
[R, abr.]
66.6554 AMAN, Shahida ; JAN, M. Ayub — State-building interven-
tions and their impact on formal and informal institu-
tions: paradox of contestation and cooperation in post-
2001 Afghanistan. IPRI Journal 16(1), Winter 2016 : 22-41.
The authors examine the impact of state-building interventions on formal
and informal institutions in post-conflict Afghanistan and find that their
interplay shows complex patterns of contestation and cooperation. They
stress the need for bottom-up engagement for increasing the effective-
ness of formal institution-building. [R]
66.6555 AN-NA'IM, Abdullahi — La question de la charia et de l'État
au XXIe siècle (Sharia [Islamic law] and the state in the
21st century). Monde arabe Maghreb-Machrek 224-225,
2016 : 15-20.
The author reframes the discourse on Islam, the state and politics in the
post-colonial context. Essentially, he defends the right of Islamists to
pursue an independent, more endogenous, state project that does away
with the residues of colonialism — but only if they show a true commit-
ment to constitutional democratic governance, in the name of self-
determination. The Sudanese philosopher recalls as well the fact that
religion has always been invoked to legitimize political power, and that
this is the case in any religion. These dangers are inherent in the use of
religion or political ends, and must be of current concern. [R]
66.6556 ANGELOVA, Mariyana ; KÖNIG, Thomas ; PROKSCH,
Sven-Oliver — Responsibility attribution in coalition gov-
ernments: evidence from Germany. Electoral Studies 43,
Sept. 2016 : 133-149.
Models of coalition governance suggest that political parties pursue the
interests of their electorate through the ministerial control of policy in
their portfolios. Yet, little is known wheth er voters reward or punish
coalition parties for policy performance in their portfolios. This study
investigates voters’ evaluations of the policy priorities of coalition parties
and their responsibility attribution in twenty policy areas using survey
data from Germany. Specifically, we investigate whether voters attribute
policy responsibility equally across coalition parties, along the jurisdic-
tional lines of ministerial portfolios, or to the dominant party in the coali-
tion. Our findings suggest that party size, prime minister status, and
ministerial portfolios are decisive for responsibility attribution. [R]
66.6557 ARANDA BUSTAMANTE, Gilberto — Human rights, eco-
nomic liberalismo and social affairs in post-Pinochet
Chile. Contexto internacional 38(1), Jan.-Apr. 2016 : 133-
164.
The Chilean democratization process sought the international rehabilita-
tion of a country in the declarative triad of human rights, democ ratic
Institutions politiques et administratives
693
representation and economic liberalism. Since 1994, the country has
reached greater prominence through economic diplomacy and the
strategy of open regionalism, and with it the influence of business inter-
est groups. This article holds that, additionally, the human rights move-
ment gave the civilian governments a stamp of symbolic commitment to
this issue that, at the turn of the century, led to Chile's active participation
in multilateral forums on social inclusion. Additionally, the State opened
spaces for the interaction of border social groups, particularly the ethnic
groups, with which they had cultivated strong transnational dynamics. [R]
[See Abstr. 66.7259]
66.6558 ARGYLE, Lisa P., et al. — Economic performance and
[US] presidential trait evaluations: a longitudinal analy-
sis. Electoral Studies 43, Sept. 2016 : 52-62.
Presidential traits (i.e., morality, intelligence, leadership) have generally
been assumed to be idiosyncratic personal characteristics of the individ-
ual and are treated as exogenous from other political and economic
factors. Prior literature has shown that presidential characteristics and
economic performance are important elements of vote-choice and
approval. Using ANES data from 1984 to 2008, we demonstrate an
important link between these factors, showing that objective and subjec-
tive indicators of economic performance are significant predictors of trait
evaluations. Specifically, evaluations of the incumbent [US] president at
election time are directly related to changes in economic performance
earlier in the year. The effects of economic performance are not isolated
to retrospective policy evaluations, but also influence the overall evalua-
tion of the president as a person. [R]
66.6559 BAE Seong-O ; LIE, John — The coming crisis of scientific
and technological expertise in South Korea: science and
technology policy and trends in the supply of scientists
and engineers. Asian Survey 56(4), July-Aug. 2016 : 676-
706.
South Korea has shifted from a relatively well-educated but poorly
remunerated workforce to a highly skilled and compensated one in high-
value-added industries. This paper analyzes the South Korean govern-
ment’s science and technology policy and the supply of scientists and
engineers in emerging industries. We note a potential shortfall of skilled
talent in the near future. [R]
66.6560 BAEKKESKOV, Erik — Same threat, different responses:
experts steering politicians and stakeholders in 2009
H1N1 vaccination policy-making. Public Administration
94(2), June 2016 : 299-315.
Why do similar countries facing the same threat respond differently? To
throw light on this question, this article analyzes Dutch and Danish
vaccinations against the 2009 H1N1 “swine” influenza pandemic (most-
similar cases with different outcomes). Policy-making in the cases inter-
sected the politics of crisis-management (including risk-management and
disaster-management), pharmaceuticals and epidemic response. Uncer-
tainty and urgency were basic conditions and reduced the potential for
evidence-based policy. [R, abr.]
66.6561 BAGCHI, Sutirtha — The political economy of tax en-
forcement: a look at the Internal Revenue Service from
1978 to 2010. Journal of Public Policy 36(3), Sept. 2016 :
335-380.
This article looks at whether political ideology matters for enforcement of
the nation’s tax laws. An analysis of the IRS budget and personnel
suggests that the party affiliation of the President makes no difference to
the overall level of IRS resources. However, there are significant in-
creases in the number of IRS employees devoted to criminal investiga-
tion and revenue-collection under Democratic administrations. Audits of
tax returns filed by corporations, individuals and estates are also signifi-
cantly more likely under Democratic administrations. The body of evi-
dence points in the direction that while Congress has a greater influence
in determining the overall level of resources available to the IRS, the
President has a more pronounced influence on the allocation of those
resources. [R]
66.6562 BALCI, Bayram — Évolutions récentes de la laïcité en
Turquie (Recent developments of secularism in Turkey).
Monde arabe Maghreb-Machrek 224-225, 2016 : 73-90.
At the heart of Turkey's modernization, secularism was enforced with
much authoritarianism and disrespect of people's religious freedom and
diversity. However, this illiberal secularism progressively weakened in
the slow institutional democratization process that started after World
War II and accelerated in the 1990s and 2000s, when the country sought
to join the EU. The present political force in power, the AKP with the
informal help of his longtime ally, the Hizmet movement of Fethullah
Gülen played a major role in the liberalization of Turkish secularism. Yet,
since 2011, the AKP rules with more authoritarianism than ever and the
liberalization of secularism is at jeopardy. Now that the AKP broke with
the Gülen movement, they want to put an end to the neutral state secu-
larism for the benefit of a more religious society. [R]
66.6563 BALDINI, Gianfranco ; RENWICK, Alan — Italy toward (yet
another) electoral reform [2014]. Italian Politics : A Review
30, 2014 : 160-178.
The topic of electoral reform, a recurring feature of the Italian political
agenda, resurfaced in 2014. At the start of the year, a ruling by the
Constitutional Court returned the country to a proportional system,
similar to the one in place during the First Republic. This chapter exam-
ines the key political responses to that ruling and how the decision has
spurred further electoral reforms, resulting in the most majoritarian
system in Italy's democratic history. [R] [See Abstr. 66.6934]
66.6564 BANHAM, Cynthia — The torture of citizens after 9/11
[2001]: liberal democracies, civil society and the domes-
tic context [UK and Australia]. International Journal of Hu-
man Rights 20(7), 2016 : 914-934.
Liberal democracies, despite sharing common political and legal systems
and values, responded differently when their citizens alleged they were
tortured after 9/11 [2001]. This article argues that understanding these
state’s different responses is a highly complex matter and cannot be
explained away by one factor or theory. However, a more nuanced
understanding can be gleaned by examining the domestic legal and
political context in terms of how it influenced civil society activism on the
issue of the torture of citizens. Using the cases of Australia and the UK to
illustrate, the article suggests particular features of the domestic context
enabled or constrained rights activism with consequences for how liberal
democracies responded to breaches of the UN Convention Against
Torture. [R, abr.]
66.6565 BARRERO ORTEGA, Abraham — La objeción de con-
ciencia farmacéutica (Pharmacy right and conscientious
objection [Spain]). Revista de Estudios políticos 172, Apr.-
June 2016 : 83-107.
In its Decision 145/2015, the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled on
whether staff of pharmacies could be granted the right to conscientious
objection. The Court upheld the constitutional right of pharmacy staff to
conscientiously object to selling the "morning-after pill". The Court,
however, did not extend the scope of such a right to the sale of contra-
ceptives. As a result of this decision, regarding a highly controversial
matter within Spanish doctrine, what should be understood as the new
scope of the right to conscientiously object? How does this decision
impact the precedent case-law on the issue? As could be expected,
Decision 145/2015 has sparked a lively doctrinal debate. This article
contributes to the debate under the assumption that the Constitutional
Court's ruling "may not have been fully understood". [R]
66.6566 BAŽAN, Evgenij Igorevi — Transformacija instituta pre-
zidentsva v Italii (1978-2015) (Transformation of the pres-
idency in Italy, 1978-2015). Mirovaja Ekonomika i meždu-
narodnye Otnošenija 2016(4) : 38-47.
The article reviews key aspects of the Italian presidents' activity under A.
Pertini, F. Cossiga, O. L. Scalfaro, C. A. Ciampi and G. Napolitano, as
well as of the external factors correlating with their ratings, considering
their significant influen ce on the head of state institute transformation
during the period of their tenures. The paper reviews the examples of
initiatives taken by C. A. Ciampi and G. Napolitano, which necessary for
highlighting new trends of the presidency development in Italy. Systema-
tization and sequencing of popular approaches in the research allow to
sort out distinctive characteristics of relations among the head of state,
political parties and the government. The article reviews the transfor-
mation of the role of a president as an actor responsible for the country's
political system stability. [R, abr.]
66.6567 BEAL, Amanda L. — Resources and opportunity for
change: democracy, labor and the welfare effort in Latin
America. Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies
41(2), Summer 2016 : 57-83.
The roles of democracy and labor power in welfare state development
have been generally accepted: democracies often spend more on social
programs than other regime types and labor is consistently associated
with a larger welfare effort. This article brings that literature in to ques-
tion, demonstrating a complex relationship in which the effect of regime
type is moderated by domestic pressures. Democracies have a greater
welfare effort when they are responding to organized and substantial
interest group pressures, specifically those from labor. In particular,
social security and welfare expenditure is highly influenced by the exis t-
ence of both democratic structures and labor pressures. [R, abr.]
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