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Where Do Rules Come From? The Creation of the European Central Bank

Kathleen R. Mcnamara

in The Institutionalization of Europe

An analysis is presented of the creation and development of rules governing the organizational form and the policy content of the European Central Bank (ECB). The establishment of the ECB and the ... More

An analysis is presented of the creation and development of rules governing the organizational form and the policy content of the European Central Bank (ECB). The establishment of the ECB and the launching of the Euro constitute an extraordinary innovation, one that opens and organizes a new institutional space in Europe. The ECB system is assessed in the light of three broad theoretical approaches emphasizing, respectively, power politics, institutions as rational solutions to collective problems, and pre-existing normative (social) structures. Power politics and functional rationality approaches are found to fail to account for important aspects of the ECB’s rules and policy mandates, while, in contrast, a sociological emphasis on institutional context is useful in explaining the continuities linking the ECB to the normative structure that had previously developed – largely within the network of central-bank governors – and diffused throughout the organizational field in which monetary policy-making was embedded. It was the need to legitimize the new ECB in terms of these broader norms that shaped the ECB’s organizational structure and governing rules: in particular, pre-existing norms influenced three key aspects of the ECB – its political independence, its criteria for membership, and its rules for price stability.Less

Winning Hearts and Minds

David French

in The British Way in Counter-Insurgency, 1945-1967

Coercion was the mainstay of British counter-insurgency operations, and it was never welcomed by the people who experienced them. Conciliation, whether it took the form of a deliberate policy of ... More

Coercion was the mainstay of British counter-insurgency operations, and it was never welcomed by the people who experienced them. Conciliation, whether it took the form of a deliberate policy of making carefully calculated political concessions, as Thompson said it should, or whether it took the form of buying support thorough investment in projects to raise living standards, was only practiced on a limited scale. Attempts to buy support for the colonial regime by promoting investment in economic development foundered upon the shortages of money and the reluctance of the Treasury to provide more than the barest minimum of funding. Buying ‘hearts and minds’ was never a real possibility because the British could not afford the down payments.Less

The Material Basis of the Constitution

Roberto Gargarella

in Latin American Constitutionalism, 1810-2010: The Engine Room of the Constitution

The third chapter refers to the material basis of the Constitution. In this respect, it explores one particular characteristic of early constitutional discussions in the region during the “founding ... More

The third chapter refers to the material basis of the Constitution. In this respect, it explores one particular characteristic of early constitutional discussions in the region during the “founding period”, namely the attention that legal thinkers paid to economic issues. More specifically, the chapter explores the way in which early legal thinkers thought about the economic conditions that –they assumed- made the whole enterprise of constitutionalism possible or intelligible.Less

Confronting Impunity

in Making Law Matter: Environmental Protection and Legal Institutions in Brazil

This chapter analyzes the communicative impact of Brazilian prosecutorial enforcement. The first part sets forth the civil and criminal enforcement powers held by Brazilian prosecutors. The second ... More

This chapter analyzes the communicative impact of Brazilian prosecutorial enforcement. The first part sets forth the civil and criminal enforcement powers held by Brazilian prosecutors. The second part describes their use in the states of São Paulo and Pará. The final part of the chapter examines differences in political independence among prosecutorial institutions in São Paulo and Pará to help explain the variations in their environmental enforcement activities.Less

The West as Surrogate Shangri-La: Rock and Roll and Rangzen as Style and Ideology

Keila Diehl

in Echoes from Dharamsala: Music in the Life of a Tibetan Refugee Community

This chapter analyzes the Tibetan refugee dreams of political independence or autonomy for the homeland. It discusses the idealized romance with the West engaged in by young Tibetan refugees facing ... More

This chapter analyzes the Tibetan refugee dreams of political independence or autonomy for the homeland. It discusses the idealized romance with the West engaged in by young Tibetan refugees facing limited opportunities in their South Asian settlements and suggests that Western rock-and-roll music was a powerful resource for young Tibetan refugees trying to imagine and pursue personal and political rangzen. It argues that participation in an international pop culture was a way for Tibetan refugees to express solidarity with a wider human struggle through sounds that have a historical relationship with social change.Less

National Self-Determination

JOSEPH RAZ

in Ethics in the Public Domain: Essays in the Morality of Law and Politics

This chapter deals with the moral justification of the case for national self-determination. It subject lies within the morality of international relations rather than within international law and ... More

This chapter deals with the moral justification of the case for national self-determination. It subject lies within the morality of international relations rather than within international law and international relations proper. It assumes throughout that states and international law should recognize such a right only if there is a sound moral case for it. The second section deals with the nature of groups that might be the subject of such a right. The third section considers the value served by the enjoyment of political independence by such groups. The fourth section considers the case for conceding that there is a moral right to self-determination. On the one hand, the right to self-determination is neither absolute nor unconditional. On the other hand, the interests of members of an encompassing group in the self-respect and prosperity of the group are among the most vital human interests.Less

Facing Diversity: The Case of Epistemic Abstinence

JOSEPH RAZ

in Ethics in the Public Domain: Essays in the Morality of Law and Politics

This chapter examines the contemporary philosophical responses of John Rawls and Thomas Nagel to the diversity of opinions, customs, and ideologies prevalent in society. Their responses differ in ... More

This chapter examines the contemporary philosophical responses of John Rawls and Thomas Nagel to the diversity of opinions, customs, and ideologies prevalent in society. Their responses differ in many important respects but share a common attitude marked by three features. First, the response of both thinkers to diversity is basically tolerant. Second, the justification of tolerance is based on the considerations of fairness. Third, these considerations lead them to draw boundaries to the reasons on which governments may act based on epistemic distinctions. The discussion challenges the cogency of reasons offered by both writers for epistemic abstinence.Less

The 1950s: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination

Vibert C. Cambridge

in Musical Life in Guyana: History and Politics of Controlling Creativity

This chapter explores how the governors of British Guiana during the 1950s had to navigate several significant international and domestic realities. They had to implement imperial policies related to ... More

This chapter explores how the governors of British Guiana during the 1950s had to navigate several significant international and domestic realities. They had to implement imperial policies related to decolonization and the “realpolitik” of the Cold War. India's political independence in 1947 signaled the end of the British Empire and the emergence of the Commonwealth; so for British Guiana, the question of independence was not if but when. Sir Charles Campbell Woolley, governor at the time, was engaged in preparing the colony for political independence, including the development of a more inclusive constitution. As a result of the state of organizing capacity in the colony's political and cultural realms, things moved quickly on all fronts. Music was associated with all of them, most evidently when the first national festival of music was held in July 1952—the British Guiana Festival of Music.Less

Liberalism, Scepticism, and Democracy

JOSEPH RAZ

in Ethics in the Public Domain: Essays in the Morality of Law and Politics

This chapter considers liberalism, scepticism, and democracy. It starts by criticizing the view that moral scepticism or moral fallibility provides an important moral foundation for respecting ... More

This chapter considers liberalism, scepticism, and democracy. It starts by criticizing the view that moral scepticism or moral fallibility provides an important moral foundation for respecting individual liberty. It then criticizes a certain conception of democracy which has some intellectual affinities with the previously considered views. It concludes with a brief summary of an alternative view of defending liberty as a positive value, as an element in the moral ideal of the free person. It notes that the value of freedom of the individual depends on the freedom of others because the value of political freedom lies in providing the conditions for personal autonomy and because personal autonomy can be realized only in a society which maintains an appropriate public culture.Less

E Pluribus Unum

Juliet Johnson

in Priests of Prosperity: How Central Bankers Transformed the Postcommunist World

This chapter explains why and how central bankers in the advanced industrial democracies formed a cohesive community advocating price stability and political independence in the 1990s. This community ... More

This chapter explains why and how central bankers in the advanced industrial democracies formed a cohesive community advocating price stability and political independence in the 1990s. This community shared two key operational principles. Most fundamentally, central bankers came to agree that a central bank's primary task should be to maintain a low and stable inflation rate, which they referred to as price stability. Moreover, because policies aimed at achieving price stability could be politically contentious, central bankers further agreed that they needed significant independence from their governments in order to do their jobs properly. Ultimately, central bankers agreed that if independent central banks successfully pursued price stability, growth and employment would follow.Less

Power, Freedom, and Political Independence in Jewish Thought

Ehud Luz

in Wrestling with an Angel: Power, Morality, and Jewish Identity

This chapter examines the concept of freedom, power, and political independence in Jewish thought. It explains that the primary meaning of liberty for late-first-century Jews was a political one and ... More

This chapter examines the concept of freedom, power, and political independence in Jewish thought. It explains that the primary meaning of liberty for late-first-century Jews was a political one and discusses the Jewish ambivalence towards the use of force. It also considers the claim that the Jews did not engage in warfare and were willing to accept exile and subjugation because they had no alternative. This chapter also cites the view of some writers that the traditional Jewish ethos is an obstacle to be overcome if a life of dignity and freedom, both personal and collective, is to be achieved.Less

The Covenant of the League of Nations

Ian Brownlie

in International Law and the Use of Force by States

This chapter is concerned with the Covenant of the League of Nations and the particular forms assumed by restrictions on resort to force which appeared in that instrument. The Covenant was ... More

This chapter is concerned with the Covenant of the League of Nations and the particular forms assumed by restrictions on resort to force which appeared in that instrument. The Covenant was unsatisfactory in some respects from the legal point of view. The most unfortunate term employed in the Covenant was ‘resort to war’ in Articles 12 and 16. Article 10 of the Covenant contained an undertaking by members to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members of the League. The practice of the League invites two comments pertinent to this article. First, the attitude of members in the Council and Assembly during discussions of the Manchurian crisis would suggest that they did not accept the view that Article 10 was violated only if the attacking state formally annexed territory. Secondly, reference to the article was not entirely constant. Articles 11 to 17 were primarily concerned with machinery, either for effecting a peaceful settlement, or for imposing sanctions. In contrast, Article 10 stated a general principle that aggression was unlawful.Less

The Rise of the Fourth Estate: How Newspapers Became Informative and Why It Mattered

Matthew Gentzkow, Edward L. Glaeser, and Claudia Goldin (eds)

in Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America's Economic History

This chapter investigates the history of how newspapers became informative in relation to the issue of corruption in the U.S. It discusses the evolution of media bias using three types of evidence ... More

This chapter investigates the history of how newspapers became informative in relation to the issue of corruption in the U.S. It discusses the evolution of media bias using three types of evidence and constructs a basic measure of bias: stated party affiliation. The analysis reveals that while stated political independence is no guarantee of independence, stated party affiliation is surely a guarantee of bias. The result also indicates that the rise of the informative press was the result of increased scale and competitiveness in the newspaper industry and that technological progress was the cause of these changes.Less

The Right to Self-Determination of Religious Communities

Johan D. Van Der Vyver

in Religion and Human Rights: An Introduction

This chapter examines the right of religious communities to self-determination. It first outlines historical perspectives on the right to self-determination before turning to a discussion of the ... More

This chapter examines the right of religious communities to self-determination. It first outlines historical perspectives on the right to self-determination before turning to a discussion of the relationship between the right to self-determination and the principle of sphere sovereignty—the right of religious institutions to regulate and to administer their internal affairs without interference from external sources. It then considers the limitations of the right to self-determination and its relationship to the right to secession or political independence.Less

L’Esprit et les Lois: Celts and Saxons in Ireland, 1840–1848

Cian T. McMahon

in Global Dimensions of Irish Identity: Race, Nation, and the Popular Press, 1840-1880

This chapter roots the story of the Irish diaspora in the soil, people, idioms, and history of Ireland. Buoyed by a rising tide of popular support for political independence from Britain, yet wracked ... More

This chapter roots the story of the Irish diaspora in the soil, people, idioms, and history of Ireland. Buoyed by a rising tide of popular support for political independence from Britain, yet wracked by an unprecedented natural disaster in the form of the Great Famine, weekly periodicals such as the Young Irelanders’ Nation constructed and disseminated a highly elastic historical image of Irish Catholics as “the original Celtic owners of the soil.” Once it was dislocated from the Irish natural environment, this dexterous discourse subsequently provided the template for global nationalism. Following their abortive rebellion in 1848, many of the Young Ireland leaders were arrested and sentenced to exile in Britain’s Australian penal colonies.Less

Voice of Equality

Nikki M. Taylor

in America's First Black Socialist: The Radical Life of Peter H. Clark

Chapter Five, “Voice of Equality,” examines Clark’s political career between 1865 and 1873. Although initially very loyal to the Republican Party, Clark grew increasingly disillusioned because he ... More

Chapter Five, “Voice of Equality,” examines Clark’s political career between 1865 and 1873. Although initially very loyal to the Republican Party, Clark grew increasingly disillusioned because he believed it to be unresponsive to African- American voters and their quest for civil rights. This chapter examines how he advocated independent politics and even orchestrated a movement of other African- American voters away from the party: a movement called the Chillicothe Movement.Less