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When Legislators Get Out of Step

in For the Many or the Few: The Initiative, Public Policy, and American Democracy

This chapter aims to weave together some of the theory that does exist to provide a framework for understanding why initiative and noninitiative states periodically choose different spending levels. ... More

This chapter aims to weave together some of the theory that does exist to provide a framework for understanding why initiative and noninitiative states periodically choose different spending levels. It suggests that representative government is subject to certain frictions that cause representatives to get out of step with their constituents. When they do get out of step, legislatures choose policies that a majority of their constituents dislike. In initiative states, policies are brought back into alignment with constituent preferences quickly. In noninitiative states, the adjustment process is slower, working through the machinery of periodic candidate elections. The chapter assumes that certain facts have been established—initiative and noninitiative states periodically select different fiscal policies and those in the initiative states are closer to what the majority wants—and attempts to assemble a theory that is consistent with them, what is essentially an exercise in inductive theorizing.Less

Electing the Peace?: Afghanistan’s Fast-Track Democracy

Noah Coburn and Anna Larson

in Derailing Democracy in Afghanistan: Elections in an Unstable Political Landscape

This chapter looks specifically at the process of setting up elections following the U.S.-led invasion—following the U.N. conference in Bonn, Germany—that led to a series of state-building ... More

This chapter looks specifically at the process of setting up elections following the U.S.-led invasion—following the U.N. conference in Bonn, Germany—that led to a series of state-building initiatives collectively known as the “Bonn process.” The exercise of building the Afghan state in the aftermath of the fall of the Taliban was characterized by simultaneous processes of change and compromise—of the establishment of basic democratic machinery that was consistently undermined by the demands of ongoing conflict and the instability this created. New institutions were not established in a vacuum, but affected and were affected by the context in which they were created. This became particularly evident in the results of international actors' emphasis on three key factors during the Bonn process: “tradition,” legitimacy, and timing.Less

Joining the Loose Ends

K. Kannan

in Medicine and the Law

The concluding chapter joins the loose ends to present a comprehensive world view of the field of medicine and law. Problems of medical education and reservation, it is concluded, are compounded by ... More

The concluding chapter joins the loose ends to present a comprehensive world view of the field of medicine and law. Problems of medical education and reservation, it is concluded, are compounded by poor resource allocation by the State and narrow political considerations. The Indian experience of allowing private initiatives to establish colleges has given place to commercialization of education and dilution of standards. Problems of illiteracy have made irrelevant the concept of informed consent, a key expression to register patient autonomy and professional responsibility. Beyond curing illness, medicine is an important business. Technological advancements in reproductive medicine and medical research for manufacture of new drugs offer immense possibilities of better health management, but here again, illiteracy, indigency and cultural practices among patients dictate modest policy considerations by the State and a more efficient justice delivery system, both of which are still dreams, yet attainable.Less