Showing papers in "Canadian Journal of Political Science in 2006"
TL;DR: Gouverner par les instruments as discussed by the authors proposes a sociologie politique des instruments, i.e., the processus de naturalisation and de dépolitisation, de légitimation ou de délégitimation of instruments, and the effets qu'ils produce.
Abstract: Gouverner par les instruments., Pierre Lascoumes et Patrick Le Galès (sous la direction de), Paris : Presses de sciences Po, collection Gouvernances, 2004, 370 p. Dans un contexte où l'analyse des politiques publiques est devenue un axe majeur de la science politique française, cet ouvrage collectif propose de placer les instruments au cœur de la sociologie de l'État et du gouvernement. Il s'agit, selon les termes de Patrick Le Galès, grâce à une sociologie politique des instruments, de “ mettre en évidence les enjeux de pouvoir, les processus de naturalisation et de dépolitisation, de légitimation ou de délégitimation des instruments, et les effets qu'ils produisent ” (p. 237). Dans leur introduction générale, les éditeurs de la publication, Pierre Lascoumes et Patrick Le Galès, rappellent clairement les racines théoriques d'une approche par les instruments, ainsi que les hypothèses qui ont guidé la réflexion des contributeurs de l'ouvrage. L'angle retenu ici n'est pas celui de la nature des instruments, mais de leurs effets sur l'action publique. Dans une perspective néo-institutionnelle, les instruments sont considérés comme un type particulier d'institution dont il convient d'interroger les effets concrets et politiques. L'instrument d'action publique est envisagé comme un moyen de saisir la nature du rapport gouvernants/gouvernés, c'est-à-dire de théoriser la politique, tout en prenant au sérieux sa capacité à produire des effets indépendants des objectifs initialement affichés. Pour ce faire, un fort parti pris empirique a été retenu dans chacune des contributions, sans pour autant négliger des propositions plus théoriques, à la fois par chacun des auteurs, et par les éditeurs.
212 citations
TL;DR: Mansfield and Snyder as mentioned in this paper found that societies undergoing democratic transitions may in fact be rather warlike, and that democracies tend not to become embroiled in militarized disputes short of war.
Abstract: Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War , Edward D. Mansfield and Jack Snyder, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2005, pp. x, 300. Research by political scientists has established, fairly conclusively, that democratically governed states rarely go to war against each other. There is also evidence to suggest that democracies tend not to become embroiled in militarized disputes short of war. The policy implications of this body of scholarly research seem clear: one path to a more peaceful world is by encouraging, pressuring, even forcing autocratic governments to embrace democracy. Not so fast, say Edward Mansfield and Jack Snyder in Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War , for a glaring exception to the “democratic peace” is their finding that societies undergoing democratic transitions may in fact be rather warlike.
99 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the critical junctures approach is remoulded through the specification of standards, hence reducing uncertainty as to what constitutes a critical juncture, a concept employed in historical institutionalism for exploring change.
Abstract: . This paper improves our understanding of critical junctures, a concept employed in historical institutionalism for exploring change. However, the concept lacks rigour, weakening our ability to define critical junctures. Of late, academics have utilized other mechanisms to identify change in historical institutionalism. Thus, it is within this context that the critical junctures approach is remoulded through the specification of standards, hence reducing uncertainty as to what constitutes a critical juncture. The remoulded approach is employed here in examining change in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' (ICTU) influence over public policy in 1987.Resume. Cet article permet de mieux comprendre le concept de conjoncture critique, qui est utilise en institutionnalisme historique pour explorer le changement. Ce concept, en effet, manque de rigueur, si bien qu'il est difficile de definir les conjonctures critiques. Recemment, les theoriciens de l'institutionnalisme historique ont eu recours a d'autres mecanismes pour cerner le changement. C'est dans ce contexte que nous remanions la methode des conjonctures critiques en etablissant des normes de maniere a pouvoir determiner avec plus de certitude ce qui constitue une conjoncture critique. Nous employons cette methode remaniee pour examiner l'evolution de l'influence de l'Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) sur les politiques publiques en 1987.
70 citations
TL;DR: This article used data from the 2004 Canadian Election Study to analyze the factors that motivated a vote for each party and to identify the ones that mattered most to the outcome of the 2004 federal election outside Quebec.
Abstract: . This paper uses data from the 2004 Canadian Election Study to analyze the factors that motivated a vote for each party and to identify the ones that mattered most to the outcome of the 2004 federal election outside Quebec. Particular attention is given to the impact of the sponsorship scandal, the sources of support for the new Conservative party and the factors that explain the NDP's improved performance. The findings are used to address some basic questions about the 2004 election and its larger implications.Resume. L'article utilise les donnees de L'Etude electorale canadienne de 2004 pour identifier les principaux facteurs qui ont motive l'appui aux differents partis et pour jauger leur impact sur le resultat de l'election a l'exterieur du Quebec. Les auteurs accordent une attention particuliere aux effets du scandale des commandites, aux sources de l'appui au nouveau Parti conservateur et aux raisons sous-jacentes des gains du NPD. Les resultats permettent de repondre a un certain nombre de questions sur le sens et la portee de l'election.
61 citations
TL;DR: It takes a candidate explains why professional women aren't running for political office in sufficient numbers to narrow the persistent gender gap in political representation in the United States as mentioned in this paper, by means of a comprehensive survey of men and women in the political pipeline professions.
Abstract: It Takes a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office, Jennifer L. Lawless, Richard L. Fox, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 203.It Takes a Candidate explains why professional women aren't running for political office in sufficient numbers to narrow the persistent gender gap in political representation in the United States. By means of a comprehensive survey of men and women in the political “pipeline professions,” the authors discovered that women remain less politically ambitious than men. Even highly qualified women tend not to envision political careers or to believe they have the right stuff for politics. Remarkably, women who do decide to run for office often doubt their credentials. In contrast, men with similar qualifications have little difficulty imagining holding even the highest political positions, as they accept their life and work skills as unique training for elected public service.
59 citations
TL;DR: Kirton and Trebilcock as discussed by the authors introduced the concept of soft law in the context of global trade, environment and social governance, and shed considerable light on the new forms of "soft law" governance (voluntary standards and informal institutions) emerging out of the confluence of rationally calculated interests, intersubjectively shared norms, and entrenched structures of power in the global economy.
Abstract: Hard Choices, Soft Law: Voluntary Standards in Global Trade, Environment and Social Governance, John J. Kirton and Michael Trebilcock, eds., Global Environmental Governance Series; Aldergate: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2004, pp. xviii, 372.This book sheds considerable light on the new forms of “soft law” governance (voluntary standards and informal institutions) that are emerging out of the confluence of rationally calculated interests, intersubjectively shared norms, and entrenched structures of power in the global economy. It benefits greatly from the analytical framework and meticulous exposition provided by the editors, John Kirton and Michael Trebilcock, whose introductory chapter repays close reading. The remaining chapters of the book are grouped in four sections.
54 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the institutional determinants of cross-ethnic electoral alliances in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 parliamentary elections in Lebanon and find that the main victims of these crossethnic alliances are the main victim of these intra-ethnic alliances.
Abstract: . Electoral engineering determines prospects for centripetal politics in postconflict societies. Lebanon's postwar elections have been contested by interethnic electoral alliances in multi-ethnic electoral districts. Interethnic coalitions, vote pooling and bargaining have structured the results of these elections, as have the electoral laws demarcating the boundaries of electoral districts. Democratization, peace building and ethnic harmony have been the main victims of these cross-ethnic alliances, however. This paper seeks to explain this Lebanese puzzle by examining the institutional determinants of cross-ethnic electoral alliances in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 parliamentary elections.Resume. Dans les societes post-conflictuelles, l'ingenierie electorale determine l'eventualite de politiques centripetes. Les elections libanaises d'apres-guerre se sont disputees entre des alliances electorales interethniques dans des districts electoraux multiethniques. Les coalitions interethniques, le “ vote pooling ” et le marchandage, de meme que les lois electorales qui determinaient la configuration des circonscriptions electorales, ont structure les resultats de ces elections. Or, la democratisation, la construction de la paix et l'harmonie ethnique ont ete les victimes principales de ces alliances interethniques. La presente analyse vise a expliquer ce paradoxe libanais en etudiant les determinants institutionnels des alliances electorales interethniques lors des elections parlementaires de 1992, 1996 et 2000.
54 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a synthesis of what we can learn from the federalism and urban politics literatures about the governance of cities in the twenty-first century, and conclude that both positions are premised on a traditional, hierarchical view of intergovernmental relations, which is out of keeping with the exigencies of a borderless world.
Abstract: . The literatures of both federalism and urban politics conclude that economic, technological and political changes on a global scale have produced limitations on the capacities of national governments, while enhancing the economic and political importance of urban-centred regions. A practical implication is that cities have become central to the study of federalism. This article attempts a synthesis of what we can learn from the federalism and urban politics literatures about the governance of cities in the twenty-first century. It considers the argument in favour of charter cities, as well as the advocacy of a stronger central government to preserve the social safety net, and concludes that both positions are premised on a traditional, hierarchical view of intergovernmental relations, a view that is out of keeping with the exigencies of a borderless world. Instead, it poses the following question: How can we have policies that are truly national and yet fully take into account the very significant differences among regions and communities? The article draws on recent research on the impact of federal policies regarding homelessness and immigration in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Saint John, as well as other research, to consider whether the federal government is doing the best it can to preserve national standards while respecting community difference. It concludes by defining three policy models that show varying degrees of promise in achieving that objective.Resume. Les recherches courantes sur le federalisme et sur la politique urbaine avancent que les changements economiques, technologiques et politiques qui se produisent a l'echelle mondiale affaiblissent les capacites des gouvernements nationaux tout en renforcant l'importance economique et politique des centres urbains. Il en decoule, sur le plan pratique, que les centres urbains sont devenus un sujet essentiel de l'etude du federalisme. Le present article tente de faire une synthese de ce que les recherches sur le federalisme et la politique urbaine peuvent nous enseigner sur la gouvernance des villes au 21e siecle. Apres avoir examine l'argument en faveur des villes a charte et celui qui preconise un renforcement du gouvernement central pour preserver le filet de securite sociale, l'article conclut que les deux arguments sont fondes sur une conception traditionnelle et hierarchique des relations intergouvernementales, et que cette conception ne repond plus aux exigences d'un monde sans frontieres. Puis, il pose la question suivante : comment peut-on formuler des politiques qui soient veritablement nationales et qui, en meme temps, tiennent compte des differences importantes entre les regions et les communautes? S'inspirant principalement d'une enquete recente sur le retentissement des politiques federales sur les problemes des sans-abri et de l'immigration a Vancouver, a Winnipeg et a Saint-Jean N.-B., l'article examine dans quelle mesure le gouvernement federal s'efforce de sauvegarder des normes nationales tout en respectant les differences regionales. En conclusion, il propose trois modeles politiques qui seraient susceptibles, a des degres divers, d'atteindre cet objectif.
39 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose five modes of institutional forging that produce different levels of autonomy and argue that autonomy refers less to legal provisions than to the empirical self-reinforcing and lock-in processes, which may or may not take place depending on power relations in the political arena.
Abstract: . Building upon the theoretical framework of new-institutionalism, this article concentrates on electoral management commissions (EMCs), which, though the raison d'etre of political battles in many African countries, have attracted very little analysis in academic literature. The sample includes seven countries and I concentrate on the issue of forging institutional autonomy. I propose five modes of institutional forging that produce different levels of autonomy. At the same time, I argue that autonomy refers less to legal provisions than to the empirical self-reinforcing and lock-in processes, which may or may not take place depending on power relations in the political arena. In turn, however, these differences may explain the contrasting trajectories African states have taken vis-a-vis democratization.Resume. Alors qu'elles sont au cœur des luttes politiques dans plusieurs pays africains, les commissions electorales sont peu etudiees dans la litterature sur la democratisation. Cet article utilise un cadre theorique neo-institutionnel pour analyser les commissions de sept pays en se concentrant specifiquement sur la question de l'autonomie institutionnelle. Il met a jour cinq modes de creation institutionnelle correspondant a differents niveaux d'autonomie qui, en retour, expliquent les trajectoires divergentes des pays en matiere de democratisation. L'autonomie est a rechercher moins dans les prerogatives juridiques que dans les rapports de forces entre acteurs au moment de l'emergence de l'institution et dans les processus subsequents d'autoreproduction institutionnelle.
35 citations
TL;DR: The Territorial Politics of Welfare, Nicola McEwen and Luis Moreno, eds., Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science; New York: Routledge, 2005, pp. xxv, 252 as mentioned in this paper, is the only non-European Union country included in this original collection about welfare regimes and nation building, sub-central states and supranational influences on solidarity.
Abstract: The Territorial Politics of Welfare, Nicola McEwen and Luis Moreno, eds., Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science; New York: Routledge, 2005, pp. xxv, 252. Canada is the only non-European Union country included in this original collection about welfare regimes and nation building, sub-central states and supranational influences on solidarity. Individual chapters are also dedicated to the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Nordic region. Included are two chapters on European influences on national practices.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the importance of social relations or social capital for voting turnout at three levels of Canadian government, paying particular attention to social contexts, socio-demographics and socioeconomic forces.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of social relations or social capital for voting turnout at three levels of Canadian government, paying particular attention to social contexts, socio-demographics and socio-economic forces. The data source is the Public Use Microdata File from the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participation, administered by Statistics Canada (2001). Results provide support for social capital theory. Those who donate to charities and/or volunteer have a stronger propensity to vote than their counterparts. Two other measures of social capital, social networks and participation in religious activities, are also related to turnout. However, their effects are comparatively modest. Among the social bases of social capital, community rootedness is an important predictor of turnout. Civic engagement or attentiveness to current affairs also significantly increases voter turnout at all levels of Canadian government. Finally, standard socio-economic and demographic predictors of political participation do show independent effects on turnout. However, with the exception of age, these predictors are not as consistent or as strong as social capital measures in explaining turnout. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors study the conclusions of Mr. Wright's report on the inquiry into the death of Neil Stonechild, and discuss the incident in the context of Aboriginal-settler relations in Saskatchewan.
Abstract: . In this article, I study the conclusions of Mr. Justice David Wright's report on the inquiry into the death of Neil Stonechild, and discuss the incident in the context of Aboriginal-settler relations in Saskatchewan. I view these exemplars of the racism in Saskatchewan's, and Canada's, political culture. I argue that the processes of colonialism are the impulse for the racist ideology that is now encoded in social, political, economic, academic and cultural institutions and practices, and which functions to maintain the status quo of white dominance. Confronting systemic and institutional racism, and de- and re-constructing political culture, are essential for social health and for the possibility of a post-colonial future. Given Saskatchewan's demographic trajectory, which indicates a majority Aboriginal population in the near future, failure to deal with white racism will guarantee social stresses between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal populations, damaging the province's economic and social viability into the future. Therefore, a proactive, self-reflective, anti-racist policy and a strategy for building public support should be a priority for any Saskatchewan government. Social cohesion, a necessary condition for a healthy citizenship regime and a notion of considerable interest to provincial and federal politicians and to academics, cannot be constructed without tackling racism. I conclude by suggesting that decolonization is the necessary political project to eradicate the kinds of systemic practices that arguably killed Neil Stonechild and others.Resume. Dans cet article, j'examine les conclusions du rapport de l'enquete du juge David Wright sur la mort de Neil Stonechild. A mon avis, dans le contexte des relations entre Premieres Nations et Blancs, l'incident est un exemple du racisme present dans la culture politique de la Saskatchewan et du Canada. Selon moi, le processus du colonialisme est a la base de l'ideologie raciste qui est desormais encodee dans les institutions et pratiques culturelles, sociales, politiques, economiques et educatives, et qui maintient le statu quo de la domination des Blancs. Il est essentiel de confronter le racisme institutionnel et systemique, de deconstruire et de reconstruire la culture politique afin de recouvrer une sante sociale et d'entrevoir un avenir postcolonial. Etant donne la trajectoire demographique de la Saskatchewan, qui suggere dans un avenir rapproche une population en majorite composee de Premieres nations, l'incapacite d'enrayer le racisme des Blancs ouvrira la porte a des tensions sociales entre les populations des Premieres nations et les autres, mettant en danger la viabilite economique et sociale de la province. Ainsi, etablir une politique antiraciste, proactive, de meme qu'une strategie de soutien de la part du public devraient etre des priorites pour le gouvernement de la Saskatchewan. La cohesion sociale, condition necessaire d'une saine citoyennete et notion d'un interet considerable pour les politiciens du provincial, du federal et pour les universitaires, est impossible sans qu'on s'attaque a la question du racisme. Je conclus en suggerant que la decolonisation est le projet politique indispensable pour mettre fin a des pratiques systemiques dont on peut soutenir qu'elles ont tue Neil Stonechild, parmi d'autres.
TL;DR: Gomez-Perez et al. as mentioned in this paper present le phenomene de l'islamisme au sud du Sahara and present le fruit of recherches de terrain and se basent sur l'analyse de sources ecrites.
Abstract: L'islam politique au sud du Sahara—identites, discours et enjeux., Muriel Gomez-Perez (sous la direction de),, Karthala, 2005, 643p.Cet ouvrage collectif se propose de presenter le phenomene de l'islamisme au sud du Sahara. Les contributions sont le fruit de recherches de terrain et se basent sur l'analyse de sources ecrites. Certaines des contributions ont ete selectionnees suite a un colloque international organise en octobre 2002 a l'Universite Paris 7-Denis-Diderot, sous l'egide du laboratoire de recherches Societes en developpement dans l'espace et dans le temps (SEDET). Le livre est divise en quatre parties.
TL;DR: The authors conducted an empirical study on whether the International Monetary Fund staff "teaches" and Canada's finance department staff "learns" from the annual surveillance exercises and concluded that although involved Canadian finance personnel appreciate meeting with the Fund staff as an academic and intellectual exchange, the policy advice they receive in the Article IV consultations rarely, if ever, changes their economic analyses, because the Fund's advice tends to not be practical.
Abstract: The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) annual Article IV consultation meetings and ensuing reports are external assessments of member states' economies by highly regarded international economists, designed to ensure that member states conform to IMF-prescribed liberal economic standards. For non-borrowing advanced industrialized countries, like Canada, what is the perceived utility of these annual Article IV consultations? Constructivists suggest that the adept staff of international organizations (IO) teach state civil servants and officials how to better formulate sound policies. However, constructivists need to engage in further empirical study to back up their theoretical assumptions about IO teaching and state learning. Based on personal interviews with Department of Finance staff involved in Article IV consultations and on content analysis of IMF reports on Canada, this paper contributes an empirical study on whether the Fund staff “teaches” and Canada's finance department staff “learns” from the annual surveillance exercises. The findings of this paper suggest that although involved Canadian Finance personnel appreciate meeting with the Fund staff as an academic and intellectual exchange, the policy advice they receive in the Article IV consultations rarely, if ever, changes their economic analyses, because the Fund's advice tends to not be practical. Based on suggestions from Department of Finance staff, as well as IMF evaluations of its bilateral surveillance, this paper concludes with recommendations from the finance staff on how to improve on the utility of Article IV consultations.
TL;DR: Lightbody as discussed by the authors discusses the importance of globalization, social movements, race and ethnicity, social inequality, urban political culture, regional governance, the media, and federal policy in Canadian urban politics.
Abstract: City Politics, Canada , James Lightbody, Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2006, pp. 576. Scholarly research on Canadian urban politics has never been extensive, and the few who teach in the field have had to make do with a limited range of textbooks, mostly focused on the institutions of local government. Those wanting to extend their coverage to deal with such issues as the importance of globalization, social movements, race and ethnicity, social inequality, urban political culture, regional governance, the media, and federal policy, have been forced to rely on an assemblage of diverse materials. As well, the politics of, and role played by, the suburbs is often marginal to most texts, focused as they are on the politics of the largest central cities.
TL;DR: Stasiulis and Bakan as discussed by the authors examined the status and condition of foreign domestic workers and nurses who migrated to Canada from two similar but different regions of the world: the Caribbean and the Phillipines.
Abstract: Negotiating Citizenship: Migrant Women in Canada and the Global System, Daiva K. Stasiulis and Abigail B. Bakan, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005, pp. 233. Negotiating Citizenship is a thoughtful, well-researched and insightful book concerned with the topical issue of citizenship and contesting citizenship rights within the context of global capitalism. It is a timely and comprehensive piece that interrogates and dissects traditional theories of citizenship, and offers an alternative theoretical perspective on the basis of examining the status and condition of foreign domestic workers and nurses who migrate to Canada from two similar but different regions of the world: the Caribbean and the Phillipines. In creating the context for discussion, the work takes the reader on the journey of these migrant women workers from their home countries in the “Third World” where national labour markets are becoming increasingly unable to absorb surplus labour and where they have been adversely affected by the anti-social structural adjustment policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to the more economically developed Canada where the state encourages them to work without providing them with citizenship rights. By so doing, as the text points out, the Canadian state, which still has primacy under globalization, reinforces the vulnerability of an already vulnerable social group for which migration is a survival strategy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the way that the NAFTA Chapter 11 dispute resolution mechanism is rooted in private arbitration processes and seek to determine the effectiveness of the means available to public authorities to alter decisions emanating from them, if they are deemed to be contrary to the public interest.
Abstract: . This article focuses on the claim that authority is shifting from public into private hands. To partially test that thesis it examines the procedures for settling disputes under NAFTA Chapter 11 (itself an example of the broader category of investor-state provisions found in bilateral investment agreements and some international conventions). The article detects evidence of a delegation or transfer of public authority to private processes. It deals only incidentally with NAFTA Chapter 11's grant to investors of the right to make direct claims against signatory governments; rather, it concentrates on the procedures for resolving such claims, and the means available to states to assert the public interest. Specifically, this article examines the way that the NAFTA Chapter 11 dispute resolution mechanism is rooted in private arbitration processes and seeks to determine the effectiveness of the means available to public authorities to alter decisions emanating from them, if they are deemed to be contrary to the public interest.Resume. Cet article considere l'argument selon lequel l'exercice de l'autorite publique est en train de passer du domaine public au domaine prive. Afin de verifier, au moins partiellement, cette these l'article passe en revue les procedures d'adjudication des differends aux termes du chapitre 11 de l'ALENA - qui est lui-meme un exemple de la categorie plus vaste des dispositions concernant le traitement des investisseurs, et leur droit d'apparaitre devant les tribunaux d'arbitrage au meme titre que les Etats, que l'on trouve dans certains traites bilateraux et internationaux. L'article decele les indices d'une delegation ou d'un transfert de l'autorite publique vers le secteur prive. Il ne porte que tangentiellement sur le chapitre 11 de l'ALENA et les droits des investisseurs de porter plainte contre les gouvernements signataires; il analyse, par contre,de maniere plus approfondie les procedures utilisees pour resoudre de telles plaintes et les moyens dont disposent les Etats pour defendre l'interet general. L'auteur examine plus particulierement l'enracinement de la procedure de resolution des differends du chapitre 11 de l'ALENA dans les processus d'arbitrage prive et cherche a determiner l'efficacite des moyens dont disposent les autorites publiques pour modifier les decisions qui en resultent si elles s'averent etre contraires a l'interet general.
TL;DR: In this article, Niosi provides detailed discussions of the emergence and evolution in Canada of what has been called regional innovation systems (RIS), and also offers some valuable policy insights with respect to promoting the growth of RIS.
Abstract: Canada's Regional Innovation Systems: The Science-based Industries, Jorge Niosi, Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005, pp. x, 171. Encouraging innovation in order to promote the growth of productivity and higher real incomes continues to be a centrepiece of economic policy in Canada. Canada's relatively poor performance in innovation and productivity growth compared to the United States remains a vexing problem in the minds of Canadian policymakers and academics. Notwithstanding much study of the issue, as well as policy initiatives designed to address the innovation and productivity gaps, it seems fair to say that we know much less than we should about the causes of and remedies for those gaps. In this respect, Jorge Niosi adds valuable information about how innovation activity has evolved over time in Canada. In particular, Niosi provides detailed discussions of the emergence and evolution in Canada of what has been called regional innovation systems (RIS). In the course of the discussions, he also offers some valuable policy insights with respect to promoting the growth of RIS.
TL;DR: In this article, the impact of the number of Catholics on the voting behavior of individuals in the 2000 federal election was examined by using multilevel methods to simultaneously capture the interactive effects of class and religion across different levels of spatial aggregation, finding that religious affiliations continue to structure vote choice for all pan-Canadian parties except the NDP.
Abstract: . Almost two decades ago, Richard Johnston advanced a provocatively counter-orthodox interpretation of the Canadian party system when he contended that “…far from lacking a social base, [it] is profoundly rooted in tribal loyalties.” Specifically, he argued that where Catholics appeared in significant numbers, the party system tended to be socially grounded in the religious cleavage (Catholic/non-Catholic divisions in party choice), whereas class politics (union/non-union partisan divisions) prevailed in areas where Catholics constituted no more than a small minority. Johnston argued that religious cleavages took priority over material cleavages because of the tendency of voters to cast strategic ballots when their preferred party was rendered locally uncompetitive by the concentration of Liberal-voting Catholics. Our analysis extends that of Johnston by using multilevel methods to examine the impact of provincial and constituency-level densities of Catholics on the voting behaviour of individuals in the 2000 election. This approach enables us to simultaneously capture the interactive effects of class and religion across different levels of spatial aggregation. Our analyses suggest that religious affiliations continue to structure vote choice for all pan-Canadian parties except the NDP. We also find that these individual-level relationships are conditioned by the religious composition of the electoral district. We do not, however, uncover evidence to suggest that the religious and class cleavages interact over territory such that there are pockets where each cleavage dominates. As such, to the extent that tribal loyalties anchor the Canadian party system, they appear to be those of religious communities rather than those of class. Resume. Il y a presque deux decennies, Richard Johnston a lance un pave dans la mare de l'orthodoxie en proposant une interpretation inattendue du systeme partisan canadien lorsqu'il a affirme que “… [celui-ci], loin d'etre denue d'une base sociale, est profondement enracine dans des fidelites tribales.” Il avancait, plus precisement, que lorsque le nombre de catholiques est assez eleve, le systeme de partis a tendance a reposer sur des clivages sociaux fondes sur la religion (la division catholique-non catholique determine le choix du parti), alors que la classe (syndique/non-syndique) est le facteur determinant dans les regions ou les catholiques ne constituent qu'une petite minorite. Johnston affirmait que les clivages religieux l'emportaient sur les clivages economiques parce que les electeurs ont tendance a voter strategiquement lorsque leur parti prefere n'est pas competitif au niveau local en raison d'une forte concentration de catholiques liberaux. Notre analyse prolonge celle de Johnston en utilisant une methode multivariee pour examiner l'impact de la densite de population catholique, au niveau des provinces et des comtes, sur le comportement electoral individuel lors de l'election de l'an 2000. Cette approche nous permet de capturer simultanement les effets d'interaction entre classe et religion a divers niveaux d'agregation spatiale. Notre analyse suggere que les affiliations religieuses continuent de structurer le vote pour tous les partis pancanadiens, a l'exception du NPD. Nous constatons aussi que la composition religieuse de la circonscription electorale influe sur la relation entre vote et religion au niveau individuel. Nous n'avons cependant pas decouvert d'interaction territoriale classe-religion qui creerait des enclaves ou l'un ou l'autre clivage predomine. Ainsi, s'il existe des loyautes tribales a la base du systeme partisan canadien, celles-ci se situent au niveau de l'affiliation religieuse plutot que de l'appartenance de classe.
TL;DR: Tilly applies carefully formulated categories and explanatory hypotheses to his subject in a way atypical of most historians while tempering the often inflexible approaches of sociological theory with an historian's sensitivity to nuance and complexity as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Contention & Democracy in Europe, 1650–2000, Charles Tilly, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004, pp. xiv, 305. A leading historical sociologist, Charles Tilly brings skills from both disciplines to this exercise in democratic analysis. The result provocatively illuminates democracy as it developed in Europe and advances challenging hypotheses for contemporary democratic theory and practice. Tilly applies carefully formulated categories and explanatory hypotheses to his subject in a way atypical of most historians while tempering the often inflexible approaches of sociological theory with an historian's sensitivity to nuance and complexity.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate that virtual policy networks, arrangements of public interaction between mutually supporting actors that form around policy activities, exist on the Web and consider whether or not Canadian virtual policy network are mimicking their respective national policy communities through the application of a methodological approach referred to as link structure analysis.
Abstract: The Internet, operating as a technologically embedded laboratory of human activity, provides social scientists with a new set of analytical tools by which to test and replicate models of social and political behaviour, with data extrapolated from the regularities of online activity, organization and information exchange. This research note demonstrates that virtual policy networks, arrangements of public interaction between mutually supporting actors that form around policy activities, exist on the Web. In addition, the note considers whether or not Canadian virtual policy networks are mimicking their respective national policy communities through the application of a methodological approach referred to as link structure analysis. Four sectorally based networks, including Aboriginal policy, agriculture, banking and women-centred policy, are analyzed to assess the extent of virtual policy networks' replication of real world policy dynamics.
TL;DR: A Civil Society? Collective Actors in Canadian Political Life by Miriam Smith, Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2005, pp. 224 as discussed by the authors, is an interesting book on collective actors in Canadian political life.
Abstract: A Civil Society? Collective Actors in Canadian Political Life, Miriam Smith, Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2005, pp. 224. A curious thing about Canadian political science is that, compared to its American or British counterparts, it offers very little analysis of collective action outside of political parties. Even the interest groups in Canada don't call themselves interest groups any more. So, when a book on collective actors by a respected scholar like Miriam Smith—who has made significant contributions to the study of Canadian institutionalism and whose book on the lesbian and gay movement is a gem—comes along, it is an event for the field. Because Smith starts the book with a quote from my 1996 article with Jane Jenson on regime shift, I was well invested from the first line and had high expectations that Smith would not only set the macro institutional context that she always does so well, but would provide an insightful analysis of developments in collective action over the past decade that would build on where Jenson and I left off.
TL;DR: Aboriginal Conditions: Research as a Foundation for Public Policy, the authors, brings together researchers and policy makers in an attempt to provide an empirical foundation for building better policy and better communities for Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
Abstract: Aboriginal Conditions: Research as a Foundation for Public Policy , Jerry P. White, Paul S. Maxim and Dan Beavon, eds., Vancouver: UBC Press, 2003, pp. 285. The situation of Aboriginal people in Canada deserves close attention from academic researchers and policy makers. While it is important to explore the larger questions of self-government, sovereignty, and land claims, it is also necessary to conduct research based on the current reality of Aboriginals in order to develop relevant and effective strategies. This collected volume of essays brings together researchers and policy makers in an attempt to provide an empirical foundation for building better policy and better communities for Aboriginal peoples in Canada. The research itself is structured around two central questions: What is the situation? How has it developed? The effort to answer these questions provides a substantial basis for future development and initiatives.
TL;DR: McDonald and Ruiters as discussed by the authors presented a cutting-edge study of neoliberal public service reform in Southern Africa, where privatization is more broadly defined to include the transfer of ownership and/or decision-making responsibility to NGOs and community organizations.
Abstract: The Age of Commodity: Water Privatization in Southern Africa , David A. McDonald and Greg Ruiters, eds., London and Sterling, VA: Earthscan Press, 2005, pp. xv, 303. This collection of essays is a cutting-edge study of neoliberal public service reform in Southern Africa. While most studies of water privatization, such as Karen Bakker's An Uncooperative Commodity: Privatizing Water in England and Wales (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004) and Vandana Shiva's Water Wars (Cambridge: South End Press, 2002), have concentrated on the transfer of ownership and control from the state to private corporations, privatization is more broadly defined to include the transfer of ownership and/or decision-making responsibility to NGOs and community organizations. The editors rightly emphasize, moreover, that privatization is not the only disturbing trend in public service reform. Corporatization—the creation of publicly owned and operated companies that run like private businesses—threatens to entrench the discriminatory aspects of infrastructure distribution that characterized colonialism and apartheid in the region in the previous era.
TL;DR: In this paper, the economic voting hypothesis was tested to explain voters' support for provincial governments in six Canadian provinces using pooled time-series data from six provinces and found that economic conditions have an effect on provincial government popularity.
Abstract: . This study tested if the economic voting hypothesis can explain voters' support for provincial governments. Using pooled time-series data from six provinces, a popularity function was developed and tested. Findings indicate that economic conditions have an effect on provincial government popularity. Voters attribute different responsibilities, however, to different political parties. Left-wing incumbent parties are held to be accountable for unemployment, while centrist and right-wing ruling parties are accountable for public deficits. Results also show that provincial government popularity depreciates over time and is correlated to the federal government's own popularity. Resume. Cette etude a pour objectif de verifier si l'hypothese du vote economique peut expliquer la popularite des gouvernements provinciaux aupres des electeurs. Ainsi, une fonction de popularite est presentee, puis testee a l'aide de series chronologiques provenant de six provinces canadiennes. Les resultats empiriques obtenus indiquent que la situation economique exerce une influence sur la popularite des gouvernements provinciaux. Toutefois, les electeurs attribuent differentes responsabilites a differents partis politiques. Ainsi, ils tiennent les partis de gauche responsables de la situation de l'emploi et les partis de centre et de droite responsables des deficits publics. De plus, les resultats demontrent que la popularite des gouvernements provinciaux se deprecie avec le temps et est correlee a la popularite du gouvernement federal.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that these postures are informed by their subjective conceptions of state sovereignty, a reflection of varying interests, values and capacities, and illuminates factors that may influence patterns and limitations of transnational cooperation by states.
Abstract: As a recent instance of transnational cooperation and governance, encompassing a novel combination of international and supranational legal properties, the International Criminal Court provides an instructive forum for considering increasingly complex sovereignty. This paper considers why Canada and the United States have pursued such divergent policies toward the Court. I argue that these postures are informed by their subjective conceptions of state sovereignty, a reflection of varying interests, values and capacities. As such, this case study illuminates factors that may influence patterns and limitations of transnational cooperation by states.
TL;DR: Mylvaganam and Borins as discussed by the authors analyzes an extraordinary tale of public policy making in Ontario: the construction and management of an innovative toll highway now known as the 407/ETR (Express Toll Route).
Abstract: “If you build it …” Business, Government and Ontario's Electronic Toll Highway, Chandran Mylvaganam and Sandford Borins, Toronto: University of Toronto Centre for Public Management, 2004, pp. ix, 164.This monograph analyzes an extraordinary tale of public policy making in Ontario: the construction and management of an innovative toll highway now known as the 407/ETR (Express Toll Route).
TL;DR: The authors examine Pocklington's contentions eight years on, after dramatic increases in research funds flowing to Canadian universities. But they conclude that we need to put the reverential enthusiasm for research intensivity in broader perspective, given the perennial concerns that are expressed over the imbalance between teaching and research.
Abstract: . In 1998, Tom Pocklington's presidential address examined what he believed was a progressive displacement of teaching by research in Canadian political science departments. The purpose of this address is to examine Pocklington's contentions eight years on, after dramatic increases in research funds flowing to Canadian universities. As research funds become more important to the financial health of Canadian universities, we have seen the growth in Canada of what I argue is a “cult of research intensivity.” I argue that the cult has serious implications both for the research that political scientists will do, and for our teaching of undergraduate students. However, I conclude that we need to put the reverential enthusiasm for research intensivity in broader perspective, given the perennial concerns that are expressed over the imbalance between teaching and research.Resume. En 1998, dans son message annuel, le president Tom Pocklington s'etait penche sur ce qui lui apparaissait comme la substitution progressive de la recherche a l'enseignement dans les departements de science politique au Canada. Notre objectif ici est d'analyser les propos de Tom Pocklington quelque huit ans plus tard, a la suite des hausses impressionnantes des fonds de recherche verses aux universites canadiennes. A mesure que les subventions de recherche prennent de plus en plus d'importance pour la sante financiere des universites canadiennes, nous voyons dans ce pays l'expansion de ce que j'appellerais le “ culte de la predominance de la recherche ”. Je soutiens que ce culte a de serieuses implications tant pour les recherches que meneront les politologues que pour l'enseignement que nous dispenserons aux etudiants de premier cycle. Je conclus que nous devons replacer dans un contexte plus vaste cet enthousiasme a tous crins a l'egard de la recherche, etant donne les preoccupations qu'a toujours soulevees le desequilibre entre l'enseignement et la recherche.
TL;DR: The notion of "reasonableness" has been a prominent feature of liberalism since the latter first emerged as a coherent philosophical project as mentioned in this paper, and it has been argued that the viability of political liberalism is dependent on the reasonableness of both the public conception of justice and the individuals who must live under its constraints.
Abstract: . The notion of “reasonableness” has been a prominent feature of liberalism since the latter first emerged as a coherent philosophical project. Indeed, arguably, reasonableness is the core value animating the liberal outlook. Such a claim is especially true with respect to the conception of political liberalism promoted by John Rawls. In essence, the viability of Rawlsian political liberalism is dependent upon the “reasonableness” of both the public conception of justice and the individuals who must live under its constraints. However, this reliance on reasonableness poses a number of potential difficulties for Rawls's argument, particularly insofar as his belief in the ability of his conception to secure the conditions essential to establishing and sustaining a just and stable liberal democracy is premised upon a number of questionable claims and expectations regarding the reasonableness of individual attitudes and behaviour. The primary task of this essay is to identify and explain a number of concerns that render suspect the plausibility of Rawls's conclusions regarding the extent to which it is realistic to presume the reasonableness of individuals and, by extension, the ability of his conception to achieve its stated goal.Resume. La notion du “ raisonnable ” constitue un aspect important du liberalisme depuis l'emergence de ce dernier en tant que projet philosophique coherent. En fait, le raisonnable est sans doute la valeur principale qui anime le point de vue liberal. Ceci est particulierement vrai de la conception du liberalisme politique defendue par John Rawls. Le liberalisme politique de Rawls depend essentiellement du caractere raisonnable de la conception publique de la justice, ainsi que des individus qui doivent vivre selon ses contraintes. Toutefois, l'importance du raisonnable dans ce concept souleve un certain nombre de problemes dans le raisonnement de Rawls. Il est persuade que ses idees garantissent les conditions essentielles pour etablir et maintenir une democratie liberale, mais ce postulat s'appuie sur de nombreuses affirmations et esperances discutables quant au caractere raisonnable des attitudes et comportements individuels. Cette dissertation s'efforcera principalement d'identifier et d'expliquer un certain nombre de problemes remettant en cause la plausibilite des conclusions de Rawls. On etudiera tout particulierement dans quelle mesure il est realiste de presumer du caractere raisonnable des individus et, par extension, de la capacite de la conception de Rawls a atteindre ses objectifs.
TL;DR: Reus-Smit as mentioned in this paper argued that America is unable to exercise international influence commensurate with its material preponderance in the world, and pointed out the fatal flaws of hubris and "immoderate greatness".
Abstract: American Power and World Order, Christian Reus-Smit, Themes for the 21st Century; Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2004, pp. xii, 184. This book begins and ends with analogies between the United States and Rome. The analogies are familiar ones. The remarkable military, economic and technological preponderance of America are acknowledged. The fatal flaws of hubris and “immoderate greatness” are asserted and warned against. In between, Christian Reus-Smit weaves a narrative of decline, in which he attempts to explain why America is unable to exercise international influence commensurate with its material preponderance in the world.