Political Institutions Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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- History, Contemporary History, History of Political Violence, Police
- by Andrea Yaakov Lattes
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- History, Intellectual History, Cultural History, Economic History

The public sector of many African countries is notoriously corrupt; cultural inclinations and socialization processes largely have a tendency to lead public officials into tendencies that amount to corrupt practices. Providing seven (7) key pointers for reflection, this study explores public sector corruption in African countries by examining the interplay between culturally acceptable norms and professional expectations of public officials. The public official, by these two unparalleled expectations, tend to walk on a tight rope which often results in ethical dilemma and conflict of interest. The study adopts Riggs prismatic-sala model and uses the case of Ghana and traditional proverbs to explain the cultural context within which Ghanaian public official ought to operate. How can one combine these cultural expectations with professionalism? To what extent does the 'collectivity culture', 'culture of gift giving and acceptance', 'extended family system', 'ethnic loyalty', and 'unfettered respect of the aged' downplay professional bureaucratic and ethical principles?

This essay attempts to integrate the local paradigm of the Ionian State into the general structures of the British Empire, while at the same time examines the institutional continuities deriving from the Venetian dominion. An overall plan of the Ionian State's administration, focusing on governmental practices from the institutional point of view, is also being undertaken. The essay was based on primary and secondary sources' elaboration, referring to the administrative organization and to the state system in the Ionian Islands under the British Rule. Reflecting that, the social structure of the local society was interconnected to administrative mechanism. From a methodological perspective, the use of administrative archives is instrumental in synthetic process, in an effort to portray social networks and to clarify the formation of both individual and collective identities. Developing, however, the empirical work in the factual context is deemed necessary. The text is arranged in two parts: the first refers to the local economic realities, as well as to the economic mechanisms shaped in the context of the British Rule. Both subject matters are examined in very general terms. Public finance, the banking sector and the monetary system are research objects, aiming at a grosso modo description of Ionian State's economic practices. In this framework, a special mention is made to the financial mission of Gladstone to the Ionian Islands. British Rule's economic policy is also being considered with regard to the changes in property rights: although the policy of the abolition of the feudal rural estate is not completed during the period of the Ionian State, it is nevertheless indicative of the market's transition to more liberal (or more monetarized) forms. Finally, the economic reforms taking place between 1834 and 1836 are analyzed, with special focus on the protection of local agricultural products. A reference to commercial and maritime activity is also included, with emphasis on government interventions to support (or not support) private initiative. The second part of the essay examines the gradual articulation of the state mechanism and the way this is reflected to the intended rationalization of legislative and executive authorities. In this context, the language used in administration (Italian, English, and then Greek) elucidates reforms and alterations of the State mechanism, and is also related to the emergence of a local identity. The statecraft of the Ionian State is also being examined, with a reference to the previous constitutional texts of the Septinsular Republic, as an encounter of both institutional continuity and discontinuity. Thus, the administrative mechanisms of the Ionian State are analyzed in their interaction with the local society, as an indicator of British colonial practices. Beyond the articulation of the executive, juridical and legislative authorities, as expressed in the Constitution of 1817 but also as reflected in the relevant archive material, the text contains an analysis of the reforms of 1848/1849 that basically correspond to a more proportional representation of the local population and to alterations concerning the executive authority expressed by the Commissioners, the Senate and local governors (prefects). Finally, as the administration is ran by individuals, a special reference to the relevant social network deriving from governmental practices is made: The State's administration staffing during the period of the British Rule constitutes a qualitative indicator for the social formation of the Ionian Islands and for social mobility, mainly in the context of the higher and middle-class bourgeoisie.

- by Catherine Brégianni
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- European History, Liberalism, Nationalism, Colonialism

In recent years, the period between ca. 1280 and 1330 has attracted a growing interest among scholars who study Italian communes. As regards in particular the greatest popular communes, a specific attention to institutional dynamics has allowed to develop a complex model to explain the transformations of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries. However, there remain some difficulties in understanding fully the nature of the political conflicts that marked that phase. Popolani and magnati, guelphs and ghibellines, popolo grasso and popolo minuto, bianchi and neri: urban communities were traversed by multiple and overlapping lines of fracture, in a process of decomposition and recomposition of political identities in which horizontal “class” solidarities, family solidarities, conflicts of interest, clientelist logics and ideological claims acted simultaneously. The article puts forward the idea that a better understanding of these conflicts, of their protagonists – groups, families, individuals – and their political and discursive strategies would improve our ability to read the institutional evolution of the popular communes between the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth centuries.

- by Alma Poloni
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- Late Middle Ages, Italian Studies, Medieval Studies, Medieval urban history

Studia o niepełnosprawności odróżniają „uszkodzenie” (impairment) od „niepełnosprawność” (disability). Uszkodzenie lub uszczerbek dotyczą fizyczności, (nie)możliwości, jakie daje nam ciało, które zamieszkujemy, natomiast niepełnosprawność jest warunkiem społecznym związanym z kulturowym postrzeganiem osób z niepełnosprawnościami oraz ze stopniem dostępności miejsc wspólnych. Pierwsze to kategoria medyczna, drugie – polityczna. To o społeczeństwo, które uniepełnosprawnia, toczą się gorące debaty i aktywistyczne walki. W Polsce najbardziej znamiennym wydarzeniem w historii działań na rzecz godnego życia osób z niepełnosprawnościami pozostaje trwająca 40 dni okupacja budynku Sejmu w 2017 r. Na jej podstawie powstał spektakl Rewolucja, której nie było w wykonaniu aktorów(-ek) Teatru 21.

When making comparisons about politics in different states, it is important to understand the institutions that help create the framework for politicking in a particular state. This is what makes this paper on the similarities and differences between the institutions in Indiana and Oregon so important. People would think that the systems must be so much different. However, there are certainly similarities between the two states as well!

What happens to informal institutions and practices when political actors decide to implement democratic institutional reforms aimed at relieving formal institutions of informal constraints? Does informality disappear, or do the elites and affected populations continue to apply and abide by informal rules? What do we know about the relationship between institutional reforms and informal institutions? This book seeks to improve our understanding of how, when, and under which conditions democratic institutional reforms affect informal institutions and practices in countries transitioning to democracy, also known as hybrid regimes. With an empirical focus on three transitional post-Soviet regimes—Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine—this book aims to explain the contentious relationship between democratic institutional reforms and informality in the broader post-Soviet context. These findings have implications not only for hybrid regimes, but also for the majority of other post-Soviet, as well as other post-communist, countries. This book engages with a large and growing body of literature on informal institutions and practices and offers theoretical insights relevant to comparative politics, democratization and institutional development studies, political sociology, human geography and political economy.

- by Huseyn Aliyev
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- Institutional Economics, International Relations, Soviet History, Tax reform

El presente artículo es la presentación de una publicación colectiva titulara "Después del terremoto. El sistema político argentino a 20 años de la crisis del 2001". En el texto hacemos un repaso de las últimas dos décadas de política latinoamericana, haciendo foco en la instabilidad regional recurrente y en la singularidad argentina para sostenerse como caso testigo. Al mismo tiempo, planteamos el argumento central sobre el cual se desarrolla la publicación y una síntesis de los artículos que lo integran.

- by Facu Cruz and +1
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- Latin American Studies, Political Institutions, Argentina, Elections

Mardin Artuklu Üniversitesi İİBF Siyaset Bilimi ve Uluslararası İlişkiler Bölümü öğrencileri için hazırlanan dersin Yarı-başkanlık sistemi ve Fransa Beşinci Cumhuriyeti örneğini kapsayan bölümünde ülkenin tarihinden dönüm noktaları vermeye ve böylece yarı-başkanlık sisteminin nasıl bir iklimde geliştiğini aktarmaya çalıştım. Derste, Fransız Devrimi ve V. Cumhuriyet öncesindeki rejimler de özet olarak sunulmuştur. İsteyen herkes alıp kullanabilir, dilediği yerleri değiştirebilir, dilediği eklemeleri yapabilir.

- by İzzet Çıvgın
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- Comparative Politics, French History, French Revolution, Political Institutions
- by Rastko Jovanov
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- Anthropology, Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Philosophical Anthropology

During the transitions to multi-partyism that began in the late 1980s, presidential term limits were adopted into the constitutions of a majority of sub-Saharan African states. Yet, a sizable minority of African governments resisted implementing such restrictions on executive power. How can this variation be explained? This article proposes an expanded strategic choice approach that posits that the degree of electoral uncertainty affects institutional choice in cases of controlled, unilateral constitutional revisions (which were common across Africa) just as much as it shapes institutional choice in situations of cooperative constitution-making through bargaining and pact-making. Based on this logic, I argue that term limits were adopted as an electoral insurance mechanism in all cases where constitutional drafters perceive the degree of future electoral uncertainty to be high, regardless of whether the constitutional review process is cooperative or controlled. Alternatively, term limits are eschewed in cases where one unified party fully controls the constitutional review process and also perceives that they will win elections into the foreseeable future. The argument is tested through a statistical analysis of the determinants of term limit choice across all relevant sub-Saharan cases.

De nombreux écrits (layiha) et rapport consulaire (sefaretname) y voyaient une solution. Selim III, qui a ouvert des écoles militaires aux normes occidentales, a mené une correspondance avec le roi de France, Louis XVI, pour échanger des idées, au cours de son héritage. Dans l'empire ottoman la situation était différente et il y avait déjà une administration centrale préétablie. On peut dire que la communauté religieuse et ethnique basée sur le système «Millet» est relativement autonome en elle-même. L'un des principaux événements qui ont déclenché l'émergence de l'État moderne a été les guerres perdues.

The article assesses the current state of corruption literature and
conducts relevant empirical tests. It explores the validity of the
corruption indicators regarded as having high explanatory power
and juxtaposes them with empirical facts from several Eastern
European countries. The article points out the existing problems
with corruption indicators and the oversimplification of the term
corruption as well as calls for a more comprehensive approach to
studying corruption.

This is paperback edition of the 1999 book, unchanged except for a brief Epilogue dealing with Kosovo. I still think this is the most detailed study of constitutionalism at the end of Yugoslavia, and in the constitutional design of the... more

- by Robert M Hayden
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- Democratic Theory, Balkan Studies, Contemporary History, Nationalism

Si la Suisse est quelque peu singulière à de nombreux égards, elle n’est pas étrangère à certains blocages et
dysfonctionnements internes relatifs à l’organisation des prestations étatiques, ayant légitimés la prise en
considération de certains courants réformateurs du secteur public. Cette étude se construit autour de la plus
importante réforme effectuée en Suisse: la réforme de la répartition des tâches, votée en 2004 et mise en oeuvre en 2008. Réorganisation fondamentale du fédéralisme, elle est surtout le produit de conflits divergents, de visions qui s’affrontent et de logiques qui se restructurent. Elle bouscule les rapports de pouvoirs entre la Confédération, les cantons et les communes, afin de revitaliser en profondeur le
fédéralisme. Cet article s’intéresse donc, d’une part, à la manière dont la Suisse a fait évoluer son fédéralisme
conformément à son contexte spécifique et, d’autre part, aux répercussions que ces évolutions ont eues sur
l’autonomie des cantons et des communes. Pour ce faire, après avoir brièvement explicité la notion d’autonomie dans le cadre de l’approvisionnement des services publics, nous présentons la réforme de la répartition des tâches, sa genèse, ses spécificités, ses principes, ses influences et ses répercussions
constitutionnelles. Ensuite, nous nous intéressons aux impacts de la réforme sur l’autonomie cantonale et
communale respectivement. Nous mettons enfin les principales tendances en perspective, pour finalement en
tirer des conclusions.

يشهد العالم اليوم تطوراً هائلاً في وسائل الاتصالات وتقنية المعلومات حتى أصبح يطق على هذا العصر عصر الثورة المعلوماتية، وذلك للتغيرات السريعة والمتلاحقة المترتبة على التقدم العلمي والتقني والتي شملت معظم جوانب الحياة، حيث أن ثورة المعلومات هي القوة الأساسية القادمة لجميع الدول، ومن خلال هذه القوة تستطيع البلدان تحريك عصا اقتصادها وتوفير فرص العمل لشعوبها، وجذب رؤوس الأموال من جميع دول العالم، وقد كان التوسع في استخدام تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات عموماً وشبكة الانترنت خصوصاً، ناتجاً عن تأثيرات العولمة، كونها فرضت نفسها بقوة في البيئة العالمية، مما أدى إلى تطوير في المنتجات والخدمات المقدمة وحتى في بنية وتكوين المجتمعات، حيث أصبح معدل انتشار استخدام الانترنت مقياساً لمدى تقدم المجتمع.

Even though the legitimizing intents of both the modern penitentiary and the archive—the latter understood as the physical deposit of memory—are radically different, could the principles central to their founding discourses and eventual consequences be similar? Opened in 1900, Lecumberri Palace is, in the morphological sense, a modern penitentiary, the material result of an Occidentalization of dominant discourse. During its lifetime it has housed both types of institutions. It initially served as the Mexico City Penitentiary and is currently Mexico’s General National Archive (AGN, by its acronym in Spanish), both institutions perceived as attempts to Enlighten a Nation. Through the analysis of operations carried out in both facilities and with the help of Michel Foucault’s writings on discipline and domination, Jacques Derrida’s work on the concept of the archive, and existing historiography on Lecumberri Palace, this article proposes the possibility that both the archive and the penitentiary are doomed in as much as they both suffer the same ailment. Could Derrida’s Archive Fever also be rightfully called Penitentiary Fever?

- by William Brinkman-Clark
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- History, Philosophy, Archival Studies, Art History
- by Krista Wiegand
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- Methodology, Nationalism, Political Institutions, Comparative Federalism

El origen de este trabajo es indagar por qué dos países federales, con vasto territorio, similares formas de gobierno, con contemporáneos procesos de transición a la democracia, presentan muy disímiles modelos de sistemas de partidos. Mientras que en un país federal como Argentina encontramos un sistema de partidos bastante sólido e institucionalizado, en el Brasil la realidad es un pluripartidismo con una muy baja institucionalización. El objeto de este artículo es analizar concisamente las variables que inciden en el federalismo y en el sistema de partidos para poder contestar la pregunta central de este trabajo. Para ello se analizarán los siguientes aspectos:1) las diferencias entre el federalismo de Brasil y Argentina; 2) los diferentes sistemas electorales a nivel nacional para la cámara baja en ambos países; 3) El tipo de partidos que hay en cada caso nacional en base a su institucionalización y estructura interna; 4) Una recapitulación sobre el sistema de partidos. Finalmente, las conclusiones a las que se llegó tras el análisis de todos estos elementos tratarán de iluminar la cuestión y delinear perspectivas sobre estas temáticas.

- by Nelson D . Cardozo
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- Comparative Politics, Methodology, Nationalism, Political Institutions

หนังสือเล่มนี้ทำการศึกษาความสำคัญและความเป็นมาขององค์กรตามรัฐธรรมนูญ 7 องค์กร ตามที่บัญญัติไว้ในหมวดที่ 11 ของรัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย พุทธศักราช 2550 ประกอบด้วย คณะกรรมการการเลือกตั้ง ผู้ตรวจการแผ่นดิน คณะกรรมการป้องกันและปราบปรามการทุจริตแห่งชาติ คณะกรรมการตรวจเงินแผ่นดิน องค์กรอัยการ คณะกรรมการสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งชาติ สภาที่ปรึกษาเศรษฐกิจและสังคมแห่งชาติ ตลอดจนสภาพปัญหา เสถียรภาพ ความชอบธรรม ประสิทธิภาพประสิทธิผล การมีส่วนร่วมของภาคประชาชน และการบริหารงบประมาณขององค์กรตามรัฐธรรมนูญ
ดังกล่าว โดยอาศัยข้อมูลจากรายงานวิจัย เอกสารที่เป็นทางการและเอกสารอื่นๆ ที่เกี่ยวข้อง
ที่มีการศึกษารวบรวมไว้ก่อนหน้าแล้วเป็นหลัก โดยเฉพาะที่มีเนื้อหาเกี่ยวกับองค์กรตาม
รัฐธรรมนูญภายใต้บทบัญญัติของรัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราชอาณาจักรไทย พุทธศักราช 2550 และ
มีการเปรียบเทียบกับข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับองค์กรอิสระตามรัฐธรรมนูญภายใต้รัฐธรรมนูญแห่งราช
อาณาจักรไทย พุทธศักราช 2540 ในบางประเด็น

- by Stithorn Thananithichot
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- Political Institutions, Constitutionalism

In historical institutional analysis, critical junctures are rare moments in the development of an institution or a policy. Due to endogenous or exogenous disruptions, during critical junctures there is a substantial increase in the possibility that powerful political actors –be these individuals or organizations-- can, in a relatively short span of time, influence decisively the creation of new enduring, path-dependent institutions or the significant reform of existing ones. Pre-existing social, economic, and cultural conditions typically influence actors’ decisions, strategies, and interactions during the critical juncture --e.g. by limiting the range of plausible institutional options available, empowering or disempowering certain actors, offering different arenas for interactions-- but they do not predetermine its outcome. Hence, the defining trait of critical junctures is contingency: during a critical juncture, more than one option for institutional innovation must be available to actors, and must be plausibly attainable ex ante. The chapter conceptualizes and illustrates several situations in which the relexation of contraints on agency offers the opportunity for the establishment of new path-dependent institutions. In some cases, this opportunity is not seized: structural preconditions may be broadly favorable to the creation of certain institutions, but the failure to effectively mobilize supportive groups may fail to produce institutional innovation, or institutional innovation may be possible and attempted but may be narrowly missed. In other cases, against similar background conditions, short-term political imperatives may lead to the formation of different political coalitions that then support different institutional reforms. In other situations, even though the preferences of key actors are linked to pre-existing structural conditions, the institutional outcome that emerges from the juncture may not correspond to the actors’ individual or combined preferences (“out-of-winset” outcomes). In addition, the chapter pays particular attention to the importance of the politics of ideas during critical junctures, in which politically influential actors may seek to establish the legitimacy of new institutional arrangements. Looking at the politics of institutional formation during critical junctures through these theoretical lenses can inform comparative analysis and yield fresh findings, thus furthering the scholarly conversation on institutional change. The conclusion of the chapter locates critical juncture and path dependency analysis in the broader context of theories of institutional change, identifying the potential limitations of such theories and pointing to avenues of further theorization.

This chapter covers the steps you must consider when crafting a strategy for exposing corruption and mismanagement through social media. Along with practical advice and thought-provoking questions, it examines several case studies which... more

This chapter covers the steps you must consider when crafting a strategy for exposing corruption and
mismanagement through social media. Along with practical advice and thought-provoking questions, it
examines several case studies which throw light upon how social media has been and is being used to
expose corruption around the world.

- by Monica Guy
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- Social Movements, Ethics, New Media, Social Networks
- by Yuri Kazepov
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- Poverty, Methodology, Nationalism, Federalism

Constitutional democracies have allowed for patterns of accumulation of wealth at the top, leading to acute inequality and dangerous oligarchization of power. Moreover, the theoretical tools that liberal constitutionalism offers are inadequate to recognize systemic corruption and structural forms of domination that are enabled by law or its absence. As an alternative, the article proposes a material methodological approach to the study of constitutions. In the first section, it offers a critical analysis of the intellectual foundations of liberal constitutionalism, engaging with the right to property, political representation, and separation of powers. In the second section, it presents the intellectual foundations of plebeian constitutionalism in the works of Machiavelli, Condorcet, and Marx. Finally, it proposes a material approach to assessing constitutions, identifying the shortcomings of contemporary legal frameworks to materialize social rights, as well as new avenues for institutional anti-oligarchic innovation.

- by Camila Vergara
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- Marxism, Social Rights, Liberalism, Materialism
- by Andrea Bila
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- Religion, Political Institutions, Cultural Identities, Great Britain

En noviembre del año 2021 el Colegio Interamericano de Defensa llevó a cabo una nueva edición de sus talleres enfocados a cuestiones relevantes para la seguridad hemisférica. En esa ocasión, el tema elegido fue la corrupción y su impacto en la calidad institucional de los estados
modernos. Es que la corrupción, en sus diferentes gradaciones y sus distintas manifestaciones, genera múltiples perjuicios políticos, económicos y sociales, cuyos efectos padecen los ciudadanos
americanos. Y ese padecimiento se registra tanto en el plano individual como en niveles más amplios de interacción social. Por otro lado, no cabe ninguna duda que este flagelo erosiona y degrada las instituciones públicas modernas y, por extensión, la percepción de legitimidad que
tiene sobre ellas la sociedad civil.
El Taller en cuestión contó con la participación, en calidad de expositores, de expertos americanos y europeos procedentes de la esfera académica, los organismos de seguridad estatales e incluso las instituciones multilaterales. Los aspectos tratados incluyeron, entre otros, la corrupción como nexo de relación entre el estado y el crimen organizado; el concepto de “corrupción institucionalizada”; el vínculo entre corrupción e impunidad; los efectos de la corrupción en la seguridad pública del Hemisferio; el tratamiento de la corrupción en el marco de la OEA; la corrupción y las redes ilícitas en tiempos pandémicos, y las posibilidades de los gobiernos de erradicar de manera efectiva y duradera a la corrupción en nuestros países.

El año 1968 fue de capital importancia, en los países capitalistas del orbe. Como nunca antes y constituyéndose en catapulta para el cambio social del futuro inmediato y mediato, universitarios y trabajadores se unieron para dar un mentís a las instituciones del mundo. Prohibido prohibir: el lema sintetiza la esencia del movimiento, todavía en etapa contestataria, que hoy en día vemos florecer. México no fue la excepción: toda una generación -la del 68- aun hoy continúa impulsando las grandes transformaciones nacionales. En 1970, dos años despues de la conclusión de la fase proactiva y visible del movimiento, ¿cómo piensa un estudiante de los primeros semestres de la licenciatura en sociología, en una universidad también inflamada con los valores y motivaciones de esta gran energía social? Con retrospectiva histórico-social, el material que aqui se presenta, es una fuente original de información al respecto.

- by Xavier Gamboa Villafranca
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- Sociology, Political Sociology, Social Change, Social Movements
- by Zhang Guodong
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- Political Institutions
- by Michele Campopiano
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- Economic History, Medieval History, Early Modern History, International Trade

Characters bearing names which illustrate their own personality or feats – «speaking
names» – not only feature prominently in epic and mythic narrative, and in other ‘fictional’ literary genres, but also appear in historiography. In assessing the historical value of these characters and/or accounts, careful investigation is essential.
Sometimes we face simple coincidences, sometimes people were assigned a task because of their names, but certainly ancient historians who indulged in stressing the fatal course of events liked to repeat received traditions about ominous names.
In tales about origins, the oikist personalities (like Phalanthos or Battos) were understandably object of rich constructions playing on their speaking names; but historians could also create and introduce fictional characters with speaking names into near-contemporary events. The present paper focuses on two ephors with speaking names, Asteropos and Epitadeus. The former was probably the fictional founder of periodic asteroscopy, a practice of obscure origins and uncertain antiquity, the latter – in line with the meaning of his name – is credited with having proposed a bill to satisfy his own interests. Thus, Epitadeus seems to be a fictional character and therefore existing doubts on the historicity of his law are reinforced.

- by Massimo Nafissi
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- Ancient History, Political Institutions, Sparta, Spartan/Messenian history
- by Tomas Larsson
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- Buddhism, Comparative Religion, Comparative Politics, Globalization

In 1995 the FDRE constitution institutionalized multi-party democracy and since then Ethiopia held five consecutive national elections which tested the journey of Ethiopian democratization process. The central objective of this paper is to explore democratization process in Ethiopia by focusing on the challenges and prospects of post 1991 situations. To this end qualitative methodology was employed to gather data from secondary sources. For this purpose journal Articles, official documents, constitution and other legal documents and policies were used. Based upon the data the study revealed that the post 1991 FDRE Constitution espouse new democracy friendly laws and orders which contain detail lists of human rights, introduction of multi-party politics and commencement of democratic institutions which are amicable development for democratization process in the country. However, there are problems in implementing these opportunities on the grounds. Among others, the 2005 election aftermath political and legal measures (CSO Law, Press Law and Anti-Terrorism Law), authoritative nature of Ethiopian politics, weakness of actors in democratization process, Political polarization among political parties, weakness of democratic institutions and corruption are the major challenges to the realization of democratization process in Ethiopia. Hence, the study implies the need for reforming the 2005 election aftermath politico-legal measures on the one hand and strengthens actors in democratization process and democratic institutions on the other hand.

- by Shimellis Hailu
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- Comparative Politics, Human Rights, Foreign Policy, Political Institutions
- by Bruno Wilhelm Speck
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- Criminal Law, Terrorism, Research Methodology, International organizations

The limits on presidential authority in premier-presidential regimes permit legislatures to wield preeminent influence over government formation and termination. This article shows that even without formal powers to dismiss the prime minister, the president may play a decisive role in government replacement. The article compares three successful and one failed attempt by the president to unseat the prime minister in Ukraine under a premier-presidential system. Based on a review of the significance of 10 variables accounting for presidential activism, it finds that the president’s informal control over institutional veto players as well as the unity of his party faction and cooperation of opposition groups were necessary for the success of attempted cabinet turnover.

This book is about multi-level governance. That implies that federalism is not just two tier system but a three tier system. Therefore the book contends that the studies on federalism should include the third tier of local government and local government and decentralisation studies should conduct their studies within the ambit of federal government institutions and relations and processes. Besides this the book is also written with the conviction that within Indian polity and its contemporary political economy the State governments can do enormously more to further the cause of local government than the distant Union government can. Three reasons attest to this: a) The constitution privileges the State governments to carry out decentralization further to the local people b) In the present scenario of liberalized market economy it is the States which are locus of economic growth and development c) many observers of Indian polity too confirm that there is a shift towards the States and regions in determining even national electoral fortunes. While the above reasons strengthen federalism these three reasons are also sufficient to reconsider the relationship between federalism and local government in today’s India. Does the constitutional sanction, more economic freedom and more recognition of states role within the Union-do these lead to making the lives of ordinary people better at the ground level? Does federalism mean more powers functions and resources to local governments too? These are some of the questions this book attempts to address.

While leadership scholars increasingly acknowledge the influence of followers in the leadership process, less attention has been paid to their role in the destructive leadership process. Specifically, the current debate lacks a broad-based understanding of different susceptible follower types that synthesizes related research across academic domains. Expanding on Padilla, Hogan, and Kaiser's (2007) toxic triangle model of destructive leadership, we integrate research and theory across various academic literatures to derive a cohesive taxonomy of vulnerable followers that we call the susceptible circle. We describe the core characteristics of each follower type, drawing on Barbuto's (2000) theory of follower compliance to highlight the psychological processes that motivate each follower to comply with destructive leaders. We then conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications, as well as avenues for future research.

- by Nikos E. Karapidakis
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- Political Institutions, Corfu History and Art

Introduction describes the main aim of the volume as to present a novel approach to the study of social evolution. This approach is based on a look at, and analysis of social evolution through the evolution of social institutions associated with the rise and development of social complexity. Evolution is defined as the process of structural change. Within this framework, the society, or culture, is seen as a system composed of a great number of various social institutions that are interacting and changing. As a result, the whole structure of society is changing, that is evolving. Evolution does not have any particular direction, as any significant (that is, transforming the societal structure in any direction) change is evolutionary. Introduction gives an outline of the history of the notion of social institution and its conceptualization, and describes social institutions’ main characteristics and functions. It also summarizes the volume’s theoretical chapters and case studies.

- by Flavia Freidenberg and +1
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- Gender Studies, Political Science, Political Institutions, Women and Gender Studies

The European Union is now facing several crises at the same time, including major security issues inside and outside its territory. The need for a real European defence is more than ever essential for the very survival of the Union. France, as the last European military power remaining in the EU since the Brexit, has a key part to play in order to push member States towards more integration in defence and security
matters. His leading role in Europe is undisputed due to its historical position for the development of a more political union and all its continous fight against terrorism with its oversee military operations. Moreover, France takes part in many multilateral cooperations, with the UK and Germany as its closest partners. This way to work on defence issues seems to be much more efficient and flexible than under the supervision of the EU.
Indeed, the CSDP is now stopped by its way of decision making (intergovernmentalism) and the various and often contrary national interests or strategic cultures of the EU member States ; even
if supranational institutions as the High Representative and its diplomatic service the EEAS are now fully operational. EU security strategy is therefore very consensual, stressing on multilateralism,
international law and comprehensive approach but not really on combat missions. This situation leads the EU to inaction on security and defence matters while treaties forecast several tools for more cooperation on these issues, as the European Defence Agency or the EU Battlegroups. However they seem inefficient. The international context with all the crises in the close European neighbourhood (Ukraine, Libya and Syria particularly) and the question of terrorism call however for an urgent response from the EU on defence and security issues. Some measures can be implemented quite quickly because only member States' political will is still missing.