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Realities of Provincial Government: Hellas and Peloponnesos, 1180–1205

Judith Herrin

in Margins and Metropolis: Authority across the Byzantine Empire

This chapter examines how Byzantine administration worked on the ground in the provinces of Hellas and Peloponnesos during the period 1180–1204. The Byzantine Empire was governed through a complex ... More

This chapter examines how Byzantine administration worked on the ground in the provinces of Hellas and Peloponnesos during the period 1180–1204. The Byzantine Empire was governed through a complex administrative system, predominantly military in nature, within which civilian and ecclesiastical sectors played a key role. The theme of Hellas and Peloponnesos was created in the first half of the eleventh century when the two provinces were combined into a single unit. It was administered by both military and civil appointees. The chapter considers the administrative structure of provincial government, focusing on the triad of military, civilian, and ecclesiastical administration. It also discusses the diocese under the metropolitan of Athens that extended over central Greece, along with the local government officials of Hellas and Peloponnesos.Less

The Official White House Office of Political Affairs, the Unofficial Office of Political Affairs, and Personal Capacity Political Activity by Government Officials

RICHARD W. PAINTER

in Getting the Government America Deserves: How Ethics Reform Can Make a Difference

This chapter focuses on political activity by government officials. It argues that concurrent political and official roles put people in a position that is difficult and untenable. Critics will blame ... More

This chapter focuses on political activity by government officials. It argues that concurrent political and official roles put people in a position that is difficult and untenable. Critics will blame Office of Political Affairs staff members and other officials who engage in political activity for poor ethical judgment when problems arise. These problems, however, may be inevitable if government officials continue to be asked to perform official and political roles concurrently. The public image of the White House and the rest of the government will suffer as a consequence. These and other problems would be mitigated if White House staff members were prohibited from, or voluntarily refrained from, engaging in personal capacity political activity. A strong argument can also be made for not allowing any political activity on government property, whether in the White House or anywhere else.Less

The Transatlantic Shift in Regulatory Stringency

David Vogel

in The Politics of Precaution: Regulating Health, Safety, and Environmental Risks in Europe and the United States

This chapter discusses how within political systems, there are important linkages among many health, safety, and environmental risk regulations. Their public issue life cycles overlap and they often ... More

This chapter discusses how within political systems, there are important linkages among many health, safety, and environmental risk regulations. Their public issue life cycles overlap and they often follow parallel or convergent political trajectories. Each regulatory decision or non-decision has distinctive and multiple causes, and no single theory can adequately account for all the policy outcomes that have taken place in both Europe and the United States since 1960. The chapter then establishes an explanatory framework that focuses on the role and interaction of three factors: the extent and intensity of public pressures for more stringent or protective regulations, the policy preferences of influential government officials, and the criteria by which policy makers assess and manage risks.Less

Cuts and Squeezes in the Bureaucracy

Maurice Wright

in Japan's Fiscal Crisis: The Ministry of Finance and the Politics of Public Spending, 1975-2000

Japan's public sector is comprised of four broad organizational categories of central government officials. The first category (non-industrial) comprises the staffs of ministries, agencies, and ... More

Japan's public sector is comprised of four broad organizational categories of central government officials. The first category (non-industrial) comprises the staffs of ministries, agencies, and commissions, as well as teachers, doctors, nurses, and related educational and medical staff employed in national schools, colleges and universities, and hospitals and medical establishments. The second category (industrial) comprises the staff of four (previously five) government enterprises, each supervised within the jurisdiction of a ministry. This chapter examines the extent to which policies of fiscal reconstruction in the 1980s resulted in cuts and squeezes to the number and distribution of officials in the Spending Ministries and Agencies, compared with those employed in other parts of the central government—the staffs of national hospitals, schools, and government enterprises. It also looks at the distribution of those cuts among the Spending Ministries and Agencies to determine which of them gained or lost, and to test the familiar proposition that policies were implemented ‘evenhandedly’, to maintain ‘balance’, and to avoid competition and conflict.Less

Lessons Learned from the Bankruptcy

Mark Baldassare

in When Government Fails: The Orange County Bankruptcy

The biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history is now over. There remain some nagging questions about what we can learn from Orange County's mistakes. When the surprising losses in the Orange ... More

The biggest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history is now over. There remain some nagging questions about what we can learn from Orange County's mistakes. When the surprising losses in the Orange County Investment Pool were discovered in December 1994, many seemed to think that this strange event could only occur in this unusual suburban county. County Treasurer Bob Citron and the Wall Street investors that lent him money were not the sole causes of the Orange County financial crisis. But Citron was the catalyst for this event. The bankruptcy was made possible by the political, organizational, and fiscal context in which these actors were operating during the 1990s— specifically, the political fragmentation of local government, voter distrust of local government officials, and fiscal austerity in the state government. A resilience of the political fragmentation is seen in the local government reforms that were a product of the bankruptcy. This chapter informs policymakers and scholars about the lessons to be learned from Orange County in order to limit the chances of a repeat of the fiscal crisis.Less

The Populist Contest: The Ilchinhoe’s Tax Resistance, 1904–1907

Yumi Moon

in Populist Collaborators: The Ilchinhoe and the Japanese Colonization of Korea, 1896-1910

This chapter traces in detail the Ilchinhoe's tax resistance movement in the northwestern provinces and identifies its leadership as “populist.” While the people's rights (minkwŏn) were reiterated ... More

This chapter traces in detail the Ilchinhoe's tax resistance movement in the northwestern provinces and identifies its leadership as “populist.” While the people's rights (minkwŏn) were reiterated both in the Ilchinhoe's statements and in the discourse of the elite reformers, the use of the word implied a very concrete course of actions in the movements of local Ilchinhoe members. The “protection of the people's property and life” in the Ilchinhoe's platform carried with it the concept's political connotation—confrontation with government officials. Minkwŏn for the Ilchinhoe members justified actions to direct the government in accordance with their will and wishes. In this sense, the Ilchinhoe's minkwŏn signaled a populist track, and the tax resistance movements of local Ilchinhoe members testified to that orientation.Less

Poland, Palestine, and the Politics of Belonging

Daniel Kupfert Heller

in Jabotinsky's Children: Polish Jews and the Rise of Right-Wing Zionism

This chapter traces Betar's complex relationship to Polish nationalism from the diverse and often conflicting vantage points of Betar's members, leaders, and Polish government officials. Betar's ... More

This chapter traces Betar's complex relationship to Polish nationalism from the diverse and often conflicting vantage points of Betar's members, leaders, and Polish government officials. Betar's efforts to link Zionism with Polish nationalism became a regular feature of their activities in the early 1930s. At the very moment that Betar's leaders claimed to perform a distinct national identity, they modeled their ceremonies on Polish patriotic rituals, called for their members to “act Polish,” and attempted to include Polish government officials as both observers and participants in their celebrations. The chapter then explores the dynamics and paradoxes of acculturation for young Jews coming of age in interwar Poland, as well as the complex factors at play when government officials attempted to determine the extent to which young Jews and other minorities could be integrated into the new Polish state.Less

Resistance and Petitions, 1820–1839

Ho-Fung Hung

in Protest with Chinese Characteristics: Demonstrations, Riots, and Petitions in the Mid-Qing Dynasty

This chapter focuses on the third of the three waves of protest in mid-Qing China. It presents detailed studies of several cases of tax riots, retribution against state agents, and other collective ... More

This chapter focuses on the third of the three waves of protest in mid-Qing China. It presents detailed studies of several cases of tax riots, retribution against state agents, and other collective violence against the state in 1820–1839, with a focus on retributive violence, which was more prevalent in this period. These protests resembled many of the antistate actions of the late eighteenth century as far as their violence and confrontational stance toward local governments are concerned. However, these protests seldom coalesced to become the building blocks of open revolt against the dynasty, as violent resistance in the late eighteenth century did. In contrast, many early nineteenth-century resisters restricted their antagonism to local authorities while maintaining their filial loyalty toward the central government. In particular, the surge of violent resistance in this period was concomitant with the rise of the practice of capital appeal (jingkong), in which local communities sent appellants to Beijing to petition representatives of the emperor against corrupt and abusive local officials. The chapter argues that this bifurcated disposition toward local and central authorities among aggrieved subjects—violence against the former and filial loyalty toward the latter—resulted from the successful regeneration of the empire's moral legitimacy under the reformist rhetoric of the Jiaqing and Daoguang emperors, even though this rhetoric never succeeded in arresting the worsening malfeasances of the bureaucracy.Less

The Story of Santa María del Tule: Zapata, Cárdenas, and “Good Guy” Officials

Lynn Stephen

in Zapata Lives!: Histories and Cultural Politics in Southern Mexico

This chapter discusses the story of Santa María del Tule, which was one of the first ejidos that was formed in Oaxaca in 1917. It shows that in the story of the formation of Santa María del Tule, the ... More

This chapter discusses the story of Santa María del Tule, which was one of the first ejidos that was formed in Oaxaca in 1917. It shows that in the story of the formation of Santa María del Tule, the locals recognize the positive role played by government agrarian officials in helping them gain access to the land they were granted from a local hacienda. It also relates their struggle with their Zapotec neighbors and the historical struggle that Zapata waged on behalf of the poor peasants.Less

Breakdown of Imperial Organization

Muzahpar Alam

in The Crisis of Empire in Mughal North India: Awadh and Punjab, 1707-48

This chapter outlines developments in and around the centre in the post-Aurangzeb period to set the scene for discussing the problems of imperial power, political formations in the regions and the ... More

This chapter outlines developments in and around the centre in the post-Aurangzeb period to set the scene for discussing the problems of imperial power, political formations in the regions and the changing economic scenario. By examining these developments, analysing the links with the factional politics, and the administrative relapse at the centre in four phases, the chapter highlights the gradual but steady alienation of the nobles, the smaller government officials, and the local magnates from the Mughal state, both at the centre and in the provinces. The chronological order of these events reflects the problems and the shifts of social and political alignments in the provinces, leading to their virtual breakaway from the imperial centre. Simultaneously, the chapter delves on the interlinkages of the political breakdown and the economic collapse of the imperial centre, the paucity of jagir(s) and the consequent breakdown of the jagirdari system, and the emergence of ijaradars. It deals with the financial effects of continuous wars, uprisings of zamindar(s), as well as the impact of droughts and famines. The result is a composite picture of the breakdown of the politico-economic order of the Mughal imperial organization.Less

Defending Global Legalism

in The Perils of Global Legalism

Global legalism depends on the assumption that states comply with international law routinely or habitually, but it is hard to make sense of this assumption with traditional international relations ... More

Global legalism depends on the assumption that states comply with international law routinely or habitually, but it is hard to make sense of this assumption with traditional international relations methodologies that emphasize state interest. Many scholars have argued that international legal compliance of states is due to substate processes—processes that involve the interests, incentives, and values of people who operate the government or pressure the government. Disaggregate the state, find out what makes it work, and you will see that routine compliance with international law, and hence global legalism itself, is not hard to understand. Or so the legalists argue. This chapter, which examines and rejects this argument, first examines the difference between the unitary state hypothesis and the disaggregated state hypothesis. It then discusses the way that non-state actors (courts, government officials, interest groups, nongovernmental organizations, and citizens) may cause states to comply with or violate international law. The chapter also looks at international law versus international morality and the diffusion of norms, before concluding with a discussion on global legalism and the disaggregated state.Less

Official Actions of the State of Oklahoma

Danny M. Adkison and Lisa McNair Palmer

in The Oklahoma State Constitution

This chapter addresses Article XXX of the Oklahoma constitution, which concerns the official actions of the state of Oklahoma. This article was adopted at an election held on November 2, 2010, making ... More

This chapter addresses Article XXX of the Oklahoma constitution, which concerns the official actions of the state of Oklahoma. This article was adopted at an election held on November 2, 2010, making English the state’s official language. Supporters of such measures commonly argued it would ultimately increase the incentive for immigrants to learn English and assimilate and succeed in the United States, and would reduce budgetary pressures on the state. This provision does not prohibit private individuals and businesses from using whatever language they choose. It only affects official government business of the state of Oklahoma. In 2014, Oklahoma’s Court of Civil appeals upheld the article, concluding there is “no federal law requiring that Oklahoma’s Implied Consent Advisory [in the context of driving under the influence] be given in any language other than English.”Less

The Connoisseurial Adviser: Matthew Prior, 1664–1721

Helen Jacobsen

in Luxury and Power: The Material World of the Stuart Diplomat, 1660-1714

The cultural activities of Matthew Prior demonstrate that, far from being a privileged occupation of high-ranking diplomats, collecting was a widespread phenomenon in the diplomatic service and ... More

The cultural activities of Matthew Prior demonstrate that, far from being a privileged occupation of high-ranking diplomats, collecting was a widespread phenomenon in the diplomatic service and artistic appreciation proved to be an important and influential attribute for a lesser government official. Despite never making it to the rank of ambassador, Prior’s diplomatic career provided the wherewithal – both cultural and financial – for his significant artistic patronage. It was also the means by which he was able to smooth his career path, acting as an adviser to his patrons and procuring art and luxury goods for them while he was abroad. A study of his collecting shows that he was a connoisseur in every sense of the word; his expenditure on furniture and furnishings, objets, and silver – as well as paintings and sculpture – demonstrates how much more was meant by a ‘work of art’ in the late seventeenth century than we understand by it now.Less

The Appointment and Removal of Rabbi Solomon Eli’ezer Mercado Alfandari in Damascus

Yaron Harel

in Intrigue and Revolution: Chief Rabbis in Aleppo, Baghdad, and Damascus, 1774-1914

This chapter assesses the appointment and removal of Rabbi Solomon Eli'ezer Mercado Alfandari as ḥakham bashi in Damascus. At the end of October of 1894, Rabbi Alfandari arrived in Damascus, where ... More

This chapter assesses the appointment and removal of Rabbi Solomon Eli'ezer Mercado Alfandari as ḥakham bashi in Damascus. At the end of October of 1894, Rabbi Alfandari arrived in Damascus, where the community had great hopes of him. But, great as the hopes were, so were the disappointments. Just two weeks after Rabbi Alfandari's arrival in Damascus, complaints were already beginning to be heard regarding his shortcomings and his comprehensive lack of ability in modern community administration. He was not fluent in Arabic, the language of the country, in which most of the community's business was conducted, both internally and between itself and its immediate environment. Nor did he have proper command of Turkish, the language of the senior government officials. Thus from the outset there was a gulf between himself and the community on the one hand, and between himself and the local officials on the other hand. Members of the community were also troubled by the considerable expense involved in the appointment of Rabbi Alfandari. The Damascus community might nevertheless have borne the cost had it not been for the fact that Rabbi Alfandari became embroiled in arguments and disputes with nearly all the groups around him, both within and outside the community. The opposition to Rabbi Alfandari was of course led by Rabbi Yitshak Abulafia.Less

Dealings with the Chinese Authorities

Joshua A. Fogel

in Maiden Voyage

This chapter focuses on how the Japanese aboard the Senzaimaru felt about the government officials that they encountered in China. It focuses on two people: Wu Xu, the local circuit intendant, and ... More

This chapter focuses on how the Japanese aboard the Senzaimaru felt about the government officials that they encountered in China. It focuses on two people: Wu Xu, the local circuit intendant, and Theodorus Kroes, the Dutch Vice-Consul who mediated the meetings. It also considers Wu's enthusiasm for trade with Japan as well as his reflections on the guests' attitude and behavior.Less

Civic Values and Political Engagement in Two Hmong American Communities

Carolyn Wong

in Diversity in Diaspora: Hmong Americans in the Twenty-First Century

This chapter surveys political and civic activism, examining how Hmong politicians and communities mobilize Hmong American engagement in politics, including an investigation of references to a Hmong ... More

This chapter surveys political and civic activism, examining how Hmong politicians and communities mobilize Hmong American engagement in politics, including an investigation of references to a Hmong cultural reverence for those in governmental positions. To extend understanding of opportunities and challenges for Hmong political engagement, this chapter examines in this study how Hmong Americans themselves describe the nature of their interest in American politics. Interviews of Hmong first-generation immigrants reveal a high regard for political engagement as an avenue to improve the lives of Hmong in the United States. In addition, first-generation immigrants tend to hold aspirations for their children to pursue careers as government officials.Less

Ethics of Ministers and MPs *

A.G. Noorani

in CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTIONS AND CITIZENS' RIGHTS: An Omnibus Comprising Constitutional Questions in India and Citizens' Rights, Judges and State Accountability

This chapter begins with a discussion of how the various codes of conduct that are supposed to govern ministers and MPs can themselves encourage corruption. It points out that even the freedom ... More

This chapter begins with a discussion of how the various codes of conduct that are supposed to govern ministers and MPs can themselves encourage corruption. It points out that even the freedom movement and the early Congress themselves regimes were not free from corruption. The problem became worse during Indira Gandhi's rule. It then suggests that even if men in power are not interested in ensuring ethics in government, the people are not helpless. Public opinion can be aroused. The best approach is to work for a national consensus on a set of specific and effective measures. The legal system provides machinery for investigation that can be set in motion irrespective of the will of the men in power. In India, however, the investigation machinery as well as the prosecution agency are subordinate to the government. Many statutes require the consent of the government for launching prosecution. The chapter concludes with an agenda for reform.Less

Authorities Replaced Others

Kevin G. Barnhurst

in Mister Pulitzer and the Spider: Modern News from Realism to the Digital

This chapter examines the shift in the roles persons play in the news. Studies of newspapers and newscasts show that by the mid-twentieth century, the number of individuals who take action in a news ... More

This chapter examines the shift in the roles persons play in the news. Studies of newspapers and newscasts show that by the mid-twentieth century, the number of individuals who take action in a news event, or become the victims of those actions in the press, dropped to less than three in the average crime, accident, or job story. Others took their places. A century ago, an official would appear in only one of four stories. However, the number of officials involved in or having direct responsibility over activities in the news has increased steadily until at least one official appeared in almost every news story. Studies of Internet editions for the same newspapers found that the number of officials continued to be large through 2010. Ordinary citizens and unaffiliated individuals continued to appear in stories, but as news grew longer, it replaced more of them. Political stories from the newspapers and their Internet editions are the most pronounced example: officials and others have come to outnumber individual actors.Less