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Elections and Electoral Systems in Asia and the Pacific: The Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia

Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz, and Christof Hartmann (eds)

in Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume I: Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia

This introductory chapter discusses this book's approach to the task of providing a cross‐national analysis of elections in Asia and the Pacific. The aim is to offer a systematic comparison of ... More

This introductory chapter discusses this book's approach to the task of providing a cross‐national analysis of elections in Asia and the Pacific. The aim is to offer a systematic comparison of elections and electoral systems. The book does not draw a simplistic general picture of the whole continent, nor does it provide detailed explanations for all historical peculiarities of the relevant electoral provisions and their consequences. Rather, it follows a middle‐range approach to highlight the similarities and differences between regional and national contexts that have most clearly influenced the relevant structure of electoral provisions and electoral results.Less

Contrasting Images of European Governance

Helen Wallace

in Linking EU and National Governance

Chapter 1 comments on different understandings of European governance in different national research communities, with some striking differences evident between British and German scholarship. One ... More

Chapter 1 comments on different understandings of European governance in different national research communities, with some striking differences evident between British and German scholarship. One element is whether 'Europe' means the EU or the continent, another is whether Europeanization is more organic or more designer-led, and a third is the fit between national political contexts and the phenomenon of Europeanization.Less

Intellectual Background

Monika Baár

in Historians and Nationalism: East-Central Europe in the Nineteenth Century

Chapter 4, ‘Intellectual Background’, attempts to reconstruct the intellectual background which informed the historians' mindset and argues that the vantage point of such study must be their own ... More

Chapter 4, ‘Intellectual Background’, attempts to reconstruct the intellectual background which informed the historians' mindset and argues that the vantage point of such study must be their own national traditions. Relying on the methodology of intellectual transfer it looks at the influence of the Enlightenment in its national variations, as well as the impact of Romanticism on their work. Within the analysis of foreign intellectual influences, special attention is given to the Göttingen school and in broader terms to the Spätaufklärung. Herder's influence is also investigated and the conclusion is reached that his impact was not as crucial as one would expect. Further, the chapter assesses the inspiration which the Scottish Enlightenment provided for the historians and explores in what ways and to what extent they were indebted to the French liberal school and the writings of the Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin.Less

Issues in Africa's Industrial Policy Process

Matsuo Watanabe and Atsushi Hanatani

in Good Growth and Governance in Africa: Rethinking Development Strategies

This article explores the possibility of industrial policy in Africa based on Asia's experience from the 1970s onwards. African economies have seen a good performance in recent years. The growth ... More

This article explores the possibility of industrial policy in Africa based on Asia's experience from the 1970s onwards. African economies have seen a good performance in recent years. The growth pattern, however, remains largely dependent on world commodity prices. For the economies to realize a sustainable growth, the structure has to be diversified and upgraded. In this context, government-led industrialization can be an effective means for latecomers where markets are imperfect and risks are high for nascent private enterprises, despite persistent skeptical views on the governments’ insufficient capacity, rent-seeking, and corruption. It is certainly ridiculous to simply transplant the Asian experience to Africa because of the differences in international/domestic political, economic, geographic, and social conditions. Donors may want to acknowledge the diverse national contexts and to encourage Africa's trial-and-error approach and closer collaboration between public and private sectors, rather than to lay down “best practices.”Less

The Enlightenment in National Context

in Placing the Enlightenment: Thinking Geographically about the Age of Reason

This chapter discusses issues associated with the Enlightenment, Enlightenments, the utility of “the national” as a scale of inquiry in geography; with the production, movement, and reception of ... More

This chapter discusses issues associated with the Enlightenment, Enlightenments, the utility of “the national” as a scale of inquiry in geography; with the production, movement, and reception of Enlightenment; and with the local sites and spaces of Enlightenment. It looks at the national scale as one way—a prevalent yet problematic way—of thinking geographically about the Enlightenment. It also considers questions to do with national context and with the Enlightenment, using Roy Porter and Mikulás Teich's 1981 edited book as a guide of sorts. It examines the idea of an Enlightenment “core” and “periphery” with reference to Portugal and Spain, and to the Greek-speaking regions.Less

Wilful negligence: migration policy, migrants’ work and the absence of social protection in the UK

Mick Wilkinson and Gary Craig

in Migration and welfare in the new Europe: Social protection and the challenges of integration

This chapter talks about the important issues that are concerned with the social segregation and social exclusion of migrant workers in the UK. It presents an argument which states that the social ... More

This chapter talks about the important issues that are concerned with the social segregation and social exclusion of migrant workers in the UK. It presents an argument which states that the social and employment protection for this group of workers is often insufficient, and that the UK government has a moral obligation to attend to these deficits. The first section of the chapter shows the national context of migration policies in the UK. The chapter then reflects on the long history of immigration and the historical significance of questions of racial discrimination, ‘race’, and ethnicity to the integration of immigrant workers of the post-war period.Less

Enabling and Disabling National Innovation Environments in Europe, China, and India

William B. Bonvillian and Charles Weiss

in Technological Innovation in Legacy Sectors

The economies of other countries can display the systematic obstacles to innovation, favoring incumbents and defended by vested interests, by which we have defined legacy sectors in the United ... More

The economies of other countries can display the systematic obstacles to innovation, favoring incumbents and defended by vested interests, by which we have defined legacy sectors in the United States. We define the national innovation environment as consisting of the national innovation system—institutions and policies specifically concerned with research, development, and innovation—plus the equally important national innovation context—economic, political, legal, and cultural—in which it operates. A disabling context can suppress innovation despite investments and policies to stimulate it, as in the overregulated “license raj” of pre-1990 India, or in countries where risk aversion is a cultural norm, limiting cutting-edge start-ups on the US model. Still, there is much to be learned from other nations. The innovation environments in Germany and China are enabling as they encourage innovation in manufacturing; those in France and China support well-managed infrastructure.Less

Age-Specific Homicide Rates

Fred C. Pampel

in The Institutional Context of Population Change: Patterns of Fertility and Mortality across High-Income Nations

This chapter tests the argument that cohort size will have positive effects on homicide deaths among groups that depend on market earnings and will have negative effects on homicide deaths among ... More

This chapter tests the argument that cohort size will have positive effects on homicide deaths among groups that depend on market earnings and will have negative effects on homicide deaths among groups that depend more on public and private transfers. It does so by examining how the relationship of cohort size and homicide mortality varies with age, gender, national context, and time period. It also gives special attention to national characteristics related to collectivism, such as inequality, discrimination, and heterogeneity, that may contribute to group conflict and high homicide rates. Finally, it compares the similarities and differences between suicide and homicide victimization across ages, nations, and years.Less

A British Comparison

Zhou Xuelin

in Young Rebels in Contemporary Chinese Cinema

This chapter presents a sample comparative study of youth cultures. It compares and contrasts the British angry-young-man films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the Chinese young-rebel films of ... More

This chapter presents a sample comparative study of youth cultures. It compares and contrasts the British angry-young-man films of the late 1950s and early 1960s, and the Chinese young-rebel films of the 1980s. The British films include Room at the Top (1959), Look Back in Anger (1959), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), A Taste of Honey (1961), A Kind of Loving (1962), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) and This Sporting Life (Romulus, 1963). Drawing on the Western literature on youth rebellion, it compares the social history of the two countries in terms of structural similarities, and presents some general conclusions about the nature of youth rebellion and how it should best be understood within its particular national and historical contexts.Less

Age-Specific Suicide Rates

Fred C. Pampel

in The Institutional Context of Population Change: Patterns of Fertility and Mortality across High-Income Nations

The relationship between cohort size and suicide entails considerable complexity. Chapter 6 attempted to make sense of the diverse theories and findings by arguing that suicide has a contingent ... More

The relationship between cohort size and suicide entails considerable complexity. Chapter 6 attempted to make sense of the diverse theories and findings by arguing that suicide has a contingent relationship with cohort size. It presented a theoretical framework suggesting that the direction and magnitude of the influence of cohort size depended on the relative roles of market and transfer income in the economic support of groups and individuals. Based on the contingent argument, Easterlin's claims about the harm of cohort size should fit those groups most dependent on market earnings, while Preston's claims about the benefits of cohort size should fit those groups most dependent on public and private transfers. This chapter tests the hypothesis that the relationship of cohort size and suicide varies across social and economic conditions by examining the contextual influences of four factors related to the relative importance of state and market: age, gender, national context, and time period.Less

Campaign Context, Uncertainty, and Nonvoting

Lyn Ragsdale and Jerrold G. Rusk

in The American Nonvoter

Abstract: The chapter introduces the specific indicators of uncertainty in the national campaign context, which include economic volatility, technology shock (with the invention of new mass ... More

Abstract: The chapter introduces the specific indicators of uncertainty in the national campaign context, which include economic volatility, technology shock (with the invention of new mass communication devices, including radio, television, cable television, and the Internet), dramatic national events such as US involvement in major international conflicts, and federal expansion of the franchise. The more change in each indicator, the greater the increase in uncertainty. The increase in uncertainty produces a decrease in nonvoting. Conversely, the more stable the indicator, the less uncertainty and the more likely nonvoting increases. The chapter tests an aggregate model across the full time frame from 1920 through 2012 for presidential and midterm House elections. The results show that relative to such personal factors as age and education, measures of economic volatility, new communication technology, and visible national events decrease nonvoting in both presidential and midterm House elections.Less

Introduction

Lyn Ragsdale and Jerrold G. Rusk

in The American Nonvoter

This chapter presents how uncertainty in the national campaign context affects whether people vote or not. The focus on the uncertainty of the national campaign context is in contrast to four primary ... More

This chapter presents how uncertainty in the national campaign context affects whether people vote or not. The focus on the uncertainty of the national campaign context is in contrast to four primary explanations for nonvoting. Prior research has suggested that nonvoters lack sufficient psychological involvement in politics, are limited in their personal resources including education and income, are hampered by inadequate social networks, or have not been sufficiently mobilized by candidates’ campaigns. Instead, the chapter suggests that it is uncertainty associated with economic change, the invention of new mass communication technology, dramatic national events, and suffrage expansion that helps understand how many people do not vote and who does not vote.Less

A Theory of Uncertainty in Nonvoting

Lyn Ragsdale and Jerrold G. Rusk

in The American Nonvoter

Abstract: This chapter sets out the theory of uncertainty in nonvoting. It rests on five premises: (1) uncertainty prohibits candidates and the eligible electorate from accurately predicting the ... More

Abstract: This chapter sets out the theory of uncertainty in nonvoting. It rests on five premises: (1) uncertainty prohibits candidates and the eligible electorate from accurately predicting the future. (2) Uncertainty arises from novelty or surprise—how drastically elements of the national scene change in the months prior to the election. (3) This uncertainty produces risk—the likelihood of making a decision that leads to a negative outcome—electing the candidate who is least likely to reduce uncertainty. (4) People choose to vote to reduce uncertainty in response to the novelty of political occurrences. (5) The higher (lower) the level of uncertainty, the more (less) likely eligible voters will go to the polls.Less

The National Campaign Context in Retrospect

Lyn Ragsdale and Jerrold G. Rusk

in The American Nonvoter

This chapter summarizes the book. The central conclusion of the book is that when uncertainty is high, nonvoting decreases. Three generalizations arise about this uncertainty. First, dramatic changes ... More

This chapter summarizes the book. The central conclusion of the book is that when uncertainty is high, nonvoting decreases. Three generalizations arise about this uncertainty. First, dramatic changes in economic conditions reduce nonvoting. This is true when the economy is moving upward or downward. When there is economic stability, nonvoting rates increase. Second, technology shocks with the advent of new forms of mass communication technology decrease nonvoting. The rise of radio, network television, and the Internet creates uncertainty about how the communication will work and nonvoting decreases. Third, in general, the rising costs of war reduce nonvoting. The greater the uncertainty about the war the more likely people will go to the polls.Less

Variety of Rationales for Due Process Requirements

Giacinto della Cananea

in Due Process of Law Beyond the State: Requirements of Administrative Procedure

This chapter examines the set of rationales for due process requirements. It first clarifies the meaning of the term ‘rationales’ in order to observe that in a transnational context such rationales ... More

This chapter examines the set of rationales for due process requirements. It first clarifies the meaning of the term ‘rationales’ in order to observe that in a transnational context such rationales are slightly different from those that are usually observed in a national context. The chapter introduces the distinction between principles and values and its implications for understanding the ‘rationales’ for the requirements of administrative due process of law, before placing them in a national and transnational context. It also employs a distinction between instrumental and non-instrumental rationales, explaining how both rationales pervade the procedural requirements that law imposes on public authorities. Furthermore, instrumental and non-instrumental rationales have different intellectual origins, serve different purposes, and must thus be kept distinct.Less