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Since the retirement of President Kekkonen in 1981, a process of piecemeal constitutional reform has strengthened the core concept of parliamentary government at the expense of the old quasi‐monarchical elements in the Finnish political system; this modernization process has been propelled by a concern to avoid the possibility of a recurrence of the ‘enlightened despotism’ of the Kekkonen era, and has been aided by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Recent constitutional changes have also enhanced the involvement of the prime minister and government in the performance of the federative (foreign policy) function; above all, the institutional adaptation required by membership of the EU has emphasized the bicephalous character of the Finnish political executive in a way reminiscent of interwar practice. Political factors, notably the ability of the party system to deliver stable majority coalitions, have worked in the same direction, and indeed arguments have been made in favour of the abolition of the whole institution of the presidency. With parliament having recently accepted the main findings of the Nikula Committee's report and restricted the president's involvement in the process of coalition‐building, as well as vesting the government with powers jointly to manage foreign policy, it is clear that Finland is en route to becoming an orthodox parliamentary democracy: the head of state has lost his exclusive charge of the federative function; his involvement in the legislative process is limited and exceptional; and even his executive powers—particularly his powers of appointment—have been restricted in recent years. The different sections of the chapter are: Constitution‐Making 1917–1919: A Monarchical Republic?; The Shift to a President‐Dominant System, 1940–1987; From President‐Dominant to Pluralist Foreign Policy‐Making, 1987–1998; and Towards a Ceremonial Presidency?

China’s response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic evolved from four forces: 1) existing government structures and networks of relationships; 2) increasing scientific information; 3) external influences underscoring the potential consequences of an HIV/AIDS pandemic which accelerated strategic planning; and 4) increasing political commitment at the highest levels. China’s response culminated in dramatic action leading to legislation to control HIV/AIDS, the AIDS Prevention and Control Regulations. Three major initiatives are concurrently being scaled up. First, the government has prioritized interventions for controlling the epidemic in injection drug users, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and plasma donors. Second, routine HIV testing is being implemented among populations at high risk of infection. Third, the government is providing treatment for infected individuals. These bold programs have emerged from a process of gradual and prolonged dialogue and collaboration among officials at every level of government, researchers, service providers, policy-makers, and politicians, and have led to decisive action.

This concluding chapter takes up points in the introductory one about the popular component of constitutional democracy since wider participation had a high profile in devolution politics in the UK – most fully developed in arguments in Scotland for reform. But effective and meaningful participation can be far from easy to achieve. This chapter outlines efforts in Northern Ireland to try to bring about forms of inclusive policy-making, notably through the short-lived Civic Forum and the statutory duties in the Northern Ireland Act 1998. In drawing some comparisons with Scotland, the chapter assesses the depths of popular participation in the two devolved systems. The overall finding is that, while high expectations in Scotland for a more participatory polity have been somewhat disappointed, there have been some positive changes there, but that the situation in Northern Ireland may be less promising.

This chapter discusses the characteristics of German party policies and the prevailing conditions of their origin. It differentiates the functions and importance that German parties have to attach to policies as ‘organized anarchies’. Party policies do not only serve different, to some extent contradictory goals. Furthermore, they go through different arenas, each with their own logics of action, which the chapter systemise. The last section deals with the question under which conditions German parties can be capable of strategic action, including the strategic development of policies.

This chapter outlines the structure of the journal, the topics to be discussed, and the critical approaches utilised for analysis. It introduces each nation’s key objectives: the use of naval diplomacy and power to avoid conflict; the suppression of piracy through co-operation force; and the advance of their economic powers. It also outlines their clashing objectives surrounding the slave trade - Britain’s goal of suppressing the slave trade for economic gain and America’s reluctance to address the topic. It introduces the concept of naval relation studies, interest-based naval analysis, and the comparative methodologies used in the analysis. It also introduces the sources consulted in the following chapters - primarily American and British newspapers, policy documents, naval documents, and naval and economic statistics. It concludes by summarising each chapter’s aims.

This chapter studies the nature of the policy field and its impact on business-lobbying in the EU. Drawing from theories on institutional legitimacy and information-access it observes the variation in density and diversity across regulatory and (re)distributive policy fields, and committee hearings. Empirically, the chapter employs business group surveys, conducts meticulous analysis of a population of 12,000 interest groups lobbying preferences across multiple policy fields assessing their density and diversity as well as their clustering. It includes a case study on business diverse coalition building focusing on net neutrality. Finally, the chapter observes the distribution of business interests across the European Parliament’s committee hearings. In doing so, this chapter contributes to discussions on legitimacy and public policy, chameleon pluralism, business mobilization, and the nature of the policy good.

One of the most important and concrete outcomes of China’s G20 presidency was the establishment of a Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG), recognizing that robust and sustainable trade and investment reinforces economic growth and calling for enhanced G20 trade and investment cooperation. The Chinese presidency’s renewed approach was not only to bring stand-alone investment issues to the G20 table, but also to re-spark the conversation on investment and trade policy-making by bringing them closer together again, acknowledging the complementarity of trade and investment as the engines of economic growth. This has paved the way for coherent, integrated discussions on trade and investment for the first time in fifteen years in the global political arena. On the investment side, the TIWG delivered the G20 Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policy-Making (G20 Guiding Principles), a key outcome of the Chinese presidency. These were endorsed by trade ministers in Shanghai in July 2016 and then by heads of state at the Hangzhou Summit in September 2016, with the objective of fostering an open, transparent, and conducive global policy environment for investment; promoting coherence in national and international investment policy-making; and promoting inclusive economic growth and sustainable development. The G20 Guiding Principles are introduced in the chapter. It begins with a background review of their crafting and various attempts at devising guiding principles on international investment, and identifies some of the guidelines that have paved the way for the Principles. The chapter then focuses on the objectives, scope, and content of the G20 Guiding Principles and considers their potential impact on policy-making at the domestic and international levels. Finally, the chapter addresses the broader work of the G20 TIWG, including the trade and investment linkage, analyses the general state of play of G20 countries’ investment agreements, and offers some preliminary conclusions and ways forward.