VI National and Area Studies / Études Nationales et Régionales
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00208345211065592 |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
815
VI
NATIONAL AND AREA STUDIES
ÉTUDES NATIONALES ET RÉGIONALES
71.7876 AKLIN, Michaël ; CHENG Chao-Yo ; URPELAINEN, Johannes
— Inequality in policy implementation: caste and electrifi-
cation in rural India. Journal of European Public Policy 41(2),
June 2021 : 331-359.
We examine unequal outcomes in the implementation of India’s national
rural electrification program in Uttar Pradesh. We ask two questions: (1) to
what extent did Dalits, the lowest group in India’s caste hierarchy, receive
less attention when the state electrified rural communities? (2) Was BSP,
the state’s Dalit party, able to reduce this inequality? Using data from a
hundred thousand villages, we provide robust evidence for unequal out-
comes. Villages inhabited solely by Dalits were 20 percentage points less
likely to be covered by the program than villages without any Dalits. More-
over, a regression discontinuity analysis shows that the electoral success
of BSP failed to reduce such differences. These results highlight the mag-
nitude and persistence of caste inequality in the implementation of demo-
cratic public policy, despite political representation. [R]
71.7877 ALBALA, Adrián — When do coalitions form under presi-
dentialism, and why does it matter? A configurational
analysis from Latin America. Politics 41(3), Aug. 2021 : 351-
370.
This article proposes a new approach to the study of coalition formation in
presidential regimes. Drawing on a dataset covering 33 Latin American
governments, the article shows that coalition cabinets are, mostly, the
product of pre-electoral agreements. I present a six-stage timing of coali-
tion agreements, including four degrees of earliness. Then, I challenge this
consideration with the most common — institutional — arguments from
the literature about the survival of coalitions in presidential regimes. The
findings are quite interesting since they point out that earlier agreements
are relevant conditions for enduring coalitions. Moreover, and surprisingly,
I show that the institutional argument seems to have been overrated by
the literature. [R]
71.7878 BAEKKESKOV, Erik ; RUBIN, Olivier ; ÖBERG, PerOla — Mo-
notonous or pluralistic public discourse? Reason-giving
and dissent in Denmark’s and Sweden’s early 2020
COVID-19 responses. Journal of European Public Policy
28(8), 2021 : 1321-1343.
COVID-19 outbreaks forced governments into epic policy choices concili-
ating democratic legitimacy and science-based policies. We examine how
pervasive crises like this pandemic shape public discourses, proposing
two ideal-types that discourse may tend toward. One is pluralism, which
includes authoritative voices that represent viable alternative policies and
credible reasons for them. The opposite is monotony, where authoritative
voices offer credible reasons for one policy option only. Two crucial cases
for monotony are analysed, where news media represents public dis-
course. In initial COVID-19 responses, Denmark pursued hard lockdown
while neighbouring Sweden enacted voluntary distancing. Pluralism in
public discourses could be advantaged whil1e solutions remained uncer-
tain and social and economic disruptions high, in polities with mature dem-
ocratic and scientific institutions. [R, abr.] [See Abstr. 71.7348]
71.7879 CAPANO, Giliberto ; LIPPI, Andrea — Decentralization, pol-
icy capacities, and varieties of first health response to the
COVID-19 outbreak: evidence from three regions in Italy.
Journal of European Public Policy 28(8), 2021 : 1197-1218.
Effective response to a pandemic depends not only on national dynamics
and characteristics but also on the features of a country’s political and ad-
ministrative decentralization and on the organizational capacities of the
health system. As a result, different policy capacities can be present in the
same national health system, and this variance allows us to understand
local policy actions and their outcomes. Based on this assumption, this
paper compares the process and the content of the initial policy response
in three Italian regions (Lombardy, Ve neto, and Emilia-Romagna). These
three regions simultaneously experienced the most intense diffusion of in-
fections and adopted very different strategies to mitigate the transmission
of the virus. [R, abr.] [See Abstr. 71.7348]
71.7880 COURADE, Georges — L'Afrique des pauvretés à l'heure
Politique étrangère, 2021(1) : 39-52.
In 2020, Africa was still the poorest continent in the world, despite interna-
tional aid supplied to its people. Official statistics only partially reflect the
diversity of African poverty, that is part of the history of societies without a
welfare state. While COVID-19 has not yet has as destructive an impact
in Africa as elsewhere, it is testing the "resilience" of its people and their
solidarity networks. [R] [See Abstr. 71.7368]
71.7881 DARDEN, Jessica Trisko ; ESTELLE, Emily — Confronting
Islamist insurgencies in Africa: the case of the Islamic
State in Mozambique. Orbis 65(3), Summer 2021 : 432-447.
The proliferation of Salafi-jihadi insurgencies across Africa challenges the
US’ counterterrorism approach. From its inception, the insurgency in Cabo
Delgado, Mozambique was driven by local and foreign dynamics, which
have been complicated by additional external intervention in the conflict.
Using the Cabo Delgado insurgency, we demonstrate how efforts to ad-
dress its global dimensions, such as the group's affiliation with the Islamic
State, can work against attempts to mitigate its local drivers. We conclude
with recommendations for a more effective US response that takes both
the local and global dynamics into account. [R, abr.]
71.7882 DATLER, Georg ; RÖSSEL, Jörg ; SCHROEDTER, Julia H. —
What is Europe? The meaning of Europe in different social
contexts in Switzerland. Swiss Political Science Review
27(2), June 2021 : 390-411.
Previous literature on European identification has often taken for granted
what respondents understand by this term. The present article addresses
this issue, and on the basis of a recent study in Switzerland seeks to iden-
tify the meanings that individuals associate with the concept of Europe.
Furthermore, it examines how these meanings relate to their identification
with Europe. It also explores the potential covariates of these various con-
ceptions of Europe — particularly transnational experiences and networks.
Our analyses identify six dimensions of the meaning of Europe, each of
which is differently related to identification with Europe. Although EU citi-
zens and non-EU citizens in different types of (bi-national) relationships
assigned similar meanings to Europe overall, they differed with respect to
the importance they accorded each of these meanings. [R, abr.]
71.7883 EBOKO, Fred ; SCHLIMMER, Sina — COVID-19: l'Afrique
face à une crise mondiale (COVID-19 in Africa: a conti-
nent's response to a global crisis). Politique étrangère,
2020(4) : 123-134.
The COVID-19 pandemic has struck Africa less than expected. The expe-
rience of previous epidemics and the age pyramid certainly has an impact,
as did the responsiveness of all actors: governments, civil society, regional
organizations, etc. The economic and financial effects of the pandemic are
no less daunting. International assistance is needed, but experience in
managing this crisis could help redefine relations between African coun-
tries and foreign actors. [R]
71.7884 ENGLER, Sarah, et al. — Democracy in times of the pan-
demic: explaining the variation of COVID-19 policies
across European democracies. West European Politics
44(5-6), 2021 : 1077-1102.
In fighting the spread of COVID-19, the drastic measures undertaken by
governments worldwide demonstrate a trade-off between public health
and fundamental democratic principles. Yet this behaviour is not con-
sistent across democracies, which motivates this paper to examine why
some democracies were willing to constrain individual freedoms and con-
centrate power more than others during the pandemic’s first wave. Creat-
ing two indices to measure the degree to which COVID-19 policies inter-
fere with these democratic principles in 34 European countries, the anal-
yses show that the large variation cannot be solely explained by pan-
demic-related factors. It is argued that the strong protection of democratic
principles already established in ‘normal’ times makes governments more
reluctant to opt for restrictive policies. [R, abr.] [See Abstr. 71.7890]
71.7885 ESBERG, Jane — Anticipating dissent: the repression of
politicians in Pinochet’s Chile. Journal of Politics 83(2), Apr.
2021 : 689-705.
Dictators can choose not only whether to repress but also how to repress.
This paper demonstrates that autocrats select their repressive methods
based on the anticipated likelihood of responsive dissent. While dictators
would prefer to use violence against their most prominent opposition, the
more visible the opponent, the more likely their death or detention will pro-
voke backlash. Instead, dictators can target these enemies with alternative
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