Digital Commons Network^™

Does The Parliament Make A Difference? The Role Of The Italian Parliament In Financial Policy, Carolyn Forestiere, Riccardo Pelizzo

John N. WILLIAMS

A recent survey conducted in a sample of 83 countries by the Inter-Parliamentary Union in collaboration with the World Bank Institute on the Relations between the Legislature and the Executive in the Context of Parliamentary Oversight allows cross-national comparison for the role of legislatures in the budgetary process. One of the survey’s most significant indications is that legislatures in presidential systems are generally more involved in the preparation of the budget than legislatures in either parliamentary or semi-presidential systems. The picture, however, is very different when we look at legislatures’ oversight of the budget. Parliaments are generally more involved in …

Dialogic Cosmopolitanism And Global Justice, Eduard Christiaan Jordaan

John N. WILLIAMS

Although the term “cosmopolitan-communitarian debate” never really caught on, a national-global fault line remains prominent in debates about global justice. “Dialogic cosmopolitanism” holds the promise of bridging this alleged fault line by accepting many of the communitarian criticisms against cosmopolitanism and following what can be described as a communitarian path to cosmopolitanism. This article identifies and describes four key elements that distinguish dialogic cosmopolitanism: a respect for difference; a commitment to genuine dialogue; an open, hesitant and self-problematising attitude on the part of the moral subject; and an undertaking to expand the boundaries of moral concern to the point of …

Third Party Access And Refusal To Deal In European Energy Networks: How Sector Regulation And Competition Law Meet Each Other, Michael Diathesopoulos

Michael Diathesopoulos

In this paper, we will analyse the issue of concurrence between competition and sector rules and the relation between parallel concepts within the two different legal frameworks. We will firstly examine Third Party Access in relation to essential facilities doctrine and refusal of access and we will identify the common points and objectives of these concepts and the extent to which they provide a context to each other’s implementation. Second, we will focus on how Commission uses sector regulation and objectives as a context within the process of implementation of competition law in the energy sector and third, we will …

Not Quite The Sum Of Its Parts: Public Diplomacy From An Australian Perspective, Caitlin Byrne

Caitlin Byrne

While public diplomacy has emerged as the subject of much attention internationally, Australia appears disengaged from the discussions and Australia’s public diplomacy program appears to be lagging behind. Closer examination of Australia’s public diplomacy program, coordinated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) reveals that public diplomacy is not well understood within bureaucratic and academic circles; is lacking in strategic coordination, and is consistently under-resourced. Indeed, when it comes to Australia’s public diplomacy, it appears that the whole may not be greater than the sum of the parts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the current …

Não Uma Outra República, A Nossa República, Outra, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Porque é que as democracias nunca se defendem bem? E como não vêem alguns dos que, generosa ou utopicamente, advogam uma nova república (a que chamam IV, normalmente, contando como tal o salazarismo-caetanismo, que foi uma autocracia, logo não uma república, mesmo uma anti-república), estão objectivamente a levar água ao moinho dessa coisa-outra que pode ter fachada republicana (ou monárquica…), mas só poderia ser, de novo, uma autocracia?

What Drives Turkey's Involvement In Africa?, Mehmet Ozkan

Mehmet OZKAN

No abstract provided.

Economic Size And The Changing International Political Economy Of Trade: The Development Of Western Hemispheric Ftas, Gaspare M. Genna

Gaspare M Genna

Why are some free trade agreements (FTAs) in the western hemisphere successfully negotiated and implemented while others seem to stagnate during negotiations? FTAs are more likely to develop when there is an asymmetrical power relationship and potential partners are satisfied with projected trade patterns. The European Union (EU) and United States have been successful in negotiating agreements with the Caribbean and Central American (CCA) countries. However, current bilateral and multilateral trade talks between the EU, the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), and United States are at a standstill. Although all four sets of trade negotiations include dissatisfactory conditions for …

Challenges And Strategies Of Mobile Advertising In India, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

Advertising is paid communication through a medium in which the sponsor is identified and the message is controlled. Every major medium is used to deliver these messages, including: television, radio, movies, magazines, newspapers, the Internet and today’s growing mobile advertising. Advertisements can also be seen on the seats of grocery carts, on the walls of an airport walkway, on the sides of buses, heard in telephone hold messages and instore PA systems but get paid for reading SMS on our mobile phones .It is the new way of marketing strategy for reaching subscribers. Mobile advertising is the business of encouraging …

Changing Mutual Perception Of Television News Viewers And Program Makers In India- A Case Study Of Cnn-Ibn And Its Unique Initiative Of Citizen Journalism, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

The Indian television system is one of the most extensive systems in the world. Terrestrial broadcasting, which has been the sole preserve of the government, provides television coverage to over 90% of India's 900 million people. By the end of 1996 nearly 50 million households had television sets. International satellite broadcasting, introduced in 1991, has swept across the country because of the rapid proliferation of small scale cable systems. By the end of 1996, Indians could view dozens of foreign and local channels and the competition for audiences and advertising revenues was one of the hottest in the world. In …

Constitutional Democracy And Women Structures Of Opportunity, Carlos Luiz Strapazzon

Carlos Luiz Strapazzon

This article is concerned to the concept of political inclusion. The first part investigates the relations between democracy and inclusion from a contemporary theoretical framework. The second part presents an unprecedented organization of electoral data from around the world, as well as results of local, state and federal elections in Brazil during the 90's in order to discuss its impacts on female political empowerment. The last part discusses the shortage of women inclusion. It aims to provide clarification to some challenges to brazilian democracy political system and the right of equal consideration of interests.

China’S Development Of International Economic Law And Wto Legal Capacity Building, Pasha L. Hsieh

Pasha L. HSIEH

No abstract provided.

Revisões Constitucionais Inconstitucionais?, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Algumas propostas de revisão constitucional parecem ignorar que tal procedimento está constitucionalizado, e que há regras para o fazer, assim como vários limites a respeitar. Só podem ser consideradas iniciativas de divulgação de ideários políticos porque, se por absurdo fossem por diante, acabariam por constituir revisões constitucionais inconstitucionais. Um dos pontos mais nevráligicos da polémica (não só portuguesa) sobre as mutações constitucionais é o Estado Social. Sobre ele se gerou um amplo consenso na Constituinte, que persiste e até talvez se haja aprofundado na sociedade de hoje. Ele faz intrinsecamente parte do programa da Constituição vigente, pelo que revê-la de …

Visões E Revisões Constitucionais, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Os tempos actuais são apesar de tudo excelentes para reflectir sobre o vero alcance das normas. E sobretudo das normas generosas da nossa Constituição democrática e social. Não se pense que a Constituição é milagrosa. As crises, como aquela em que nos encontramos, colocam-lhe desafios sérios, e é a força das coisas, dos factos, e não o normativo dos textos, quem impera normalmente.

Between Market And State: Directions In Social Science Research On Disaster, Daniel P. Aldrich

Daniel P Aldrich

In this extended review, I discuss three recent books on disaster: Governing after Crisis: The Politics of Investigation, Accountability, and Learning edited by Arjen Boin, Allan McConnell, and Paul ‘T Hart, Learning from Catastrophes: Strategies for Reaction and Response , edited by Howard Kunreuther and Micheel Useem, and The Next Catastrophe: Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorist Disasters by Charles Perrow. All three books invoke the market and state as core forces at work in mitigation and disaster recovery, overlooking the critical role of social capital.

How The Sufficiency Minimum Becomes A Social Maximum, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

This article argues that, under likely empirical conditions, sufficientarianism leads not to an easily achievable duty to maintain a social minimum but to the onerous duty of maintaining a social maximum at the sufficiency level. This happens because sufficientarians ask us to give no weight at all to small benefits for people above the sufficiency level if the alternative is to relieve the suffering of people below it. If we apply this judgment in a world where there are rare diseases and hard-to-prevent accidents that cause people to fall below the sufficiency threshold, all of our discretionary spending will have …

Public Opinion Reform In China, David S. Mason, Ken Colburn

Kenneth D. Colburn

As the People's Republic of China shifts toward a more market-oriented economic system, it has also begun exploring another Western institution: scientific public opinion polling. As Yang Guansan, one of China's leading pollsters, said recently in the Beijing Review: "Only five or six years ago, the public opinion poll was considered to be a 'bourgeois' or 'capitalist' method of social survey ... Now the taboo has been swept away in the strong tide of reform, which is challenging all of China's traditions, stereotypes and prejudices."

The Coevolution Of Networks And Political Attitudes, David Lazer, Brian Rubineau, Carol Chetkovich, Nancy Katz, Michael Neblo

David Lazer

How do attitudes and social affiliations co-evolve? A long stream of research has focused on the relationship between attitudes and social affiliations. However, in most of this research the causal relationship between views and affiliations is difficult to discern definitively: Do people influence each other’s views so that they converge over time or do they primarily affiliate (by choice or happenstance) with those of similar views? Here we use longitudinal attitudinal and whole network data collected at critical times (notably, at the inception of the system) to identify robustly the determinants of attitudes and affiliations. We find significant conformity tendencies: …

Is Necessity The Mother Of Innovation? The Adoption And Use Of Web Technologies Among Congressional Offices, Kevin Esterling, David Lazer, Michael Neblo

David Lazer

From first paragraph: Communication between legislator and constituents is fundamental to effective democratic representation, and devising the institutional means for citizen/legislator communication stands as one of the core and persistent problems in the practice of democracy. A legislator needs information about the preferences, ideals, norms, and beliefs of her constituents in order to do her job well. Similarly, citizens need information about the actions and decisions of their representative in order to maintain appropriate accountability. But as national problems become more complex, and as the political process grows more and more dominated by experts and organized groups, it is becoming …

Blame It On The Russians: Tracking The Portrayal Of Russians During Cyber Conflict Incidents, Athina Karatzogianni Dr

Athina Karatzogianni

This article analyses various cyber conflicts and cyber crime incidents attributed to Russian hackers, such as the Estonian and Georgian cyber conflicts and the ‘Climategate hack’. The article argues that Russian hackers were blamed by dozens of outlets for the Climategate hack, because that was consistent with global media coverage of cyber crime incidents which portrayed Russians as highly powerful hackers responsible for many hacking incidents. This narrative also was congruent with the new Cold War rhetoric that consistently takes issue with Russia acting on its geopolitical interests. These interests are seen to manifest themselves in Russia’s objection to countries, …

Quién Responde? Las Sanciones A Las Organizaciones Políticas Y Sus Directivos, Juan F. Jaramillo, Javier Revelo-Rebolledo

Javier Revelo-Rebolledo

No abstract provided.

Turkey’S Opening To Africa (With Birol Akgun), Mehmet Ozkan

Mehmet OZKAN

No abstract provided.

Spiritually Integrative Archetypal Energies And Glimpes Into Soul Consciousness, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

In other writings I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies that have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice” unique to the individual that operate deep within our psyches, at both individual and collective levels. We tend to experience them as “creative urges” to move us toward our Highest Good or Optimal Realities. I use easily recognized terms to evoke a common sense of these Archetypal Energies (e.g., Love, Acceptance, Inclusion, Harmony, Peace). Here, I want to discuss Spiritually Integrative Archetypal Energies and how they can assist us in gaining glimpses into the nature of our unique …

Poland's New Trade Unions, David S. Mason

David S. Mason

With the declaration of martial law in December 1981 and the formal banning of Solidarity in October 1982, the Polish regime created for itself a dilemma: how to provide a channel for participation by the workers without reactivating Solidarity and without allowing that participation to assume political dimensions. The Jaruzelski leadership professed a desire to achieve reconciliation and understanding in the aftermath of the heady days of Solidarity and the depressing denouement of martial law. One of the principal means to do this was through the creation of new institutions, allegedly independent, which would absorb some of the creative and …

Solidarity, The Regime And The Public, David Mason

David S. Mason

This paper examines the extent to which Solidarity acted as a link between the population and the regime and as a representative of the interests of the workers. It looks first at the reasons for the emergence of Solidarity, and Solidarity's subsequent embodiment of the society's desire for a political and economic order more in line with the ideals of socialism, and more genuinely representative of the workers' interests. It concludes by assessing the charges against Solidarity made by the martial law authorities, the extent of current support for the union and the regime, and the possibilities for a resolution …

'What A Difference Democracy Makes', Mark Ensalaco

Mark Ensalaco

Human rights expert Mark Ensalaco talked to The New York Times and BBC Radio about how the rescue of the Chilean miners is tied to Chile's dark past.

Tlc Colombia - Unión Europea: Perspectivas Preliminares De Sus Relaciones En Contexto De Globalización., Iván A. Rojas V

Iván Rojas V

Palavras Claras, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Cuidemos das palavras. É tão fácil identificar um novo-rico cultural ou um tecnocrata vazio pela linguagem de plástico... Essa linguagem (voltei a ver agora numa releitura de António Telmo, mas já está em Confúcio), molda mesmo a mente. Quem assim fala, assim pensa. É critério infalível.

Lições Do Kiwi, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Nenhum desafio, nem mesmo o do sabor de um fruto descrito por palavras, pode ficar sem resposta – ainda que aproximativa; a ausência de convenções sobre o como fazer não deve paralisar quem quer fazer; a analogia com o fazer outras coisas pode servir de inspiração; mas não se pode fazer algo de novo, ou face a coisas novas meramente repetindo o antigo – é preciso alguma inovação, ainda que na reunião dos meios; finalmente, cada coisa, cada desafio novo, cada nova tarefa, convoca instrumentos adequados, e não outros.

Community Radio:History,Growth,Challenges And Current Status Of It With Special Reference To India, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

Community radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting content that is popular to a local audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters. Modern-day community radio stations often serve their listeners by offering a variety of content that is not necessarily provided by the larger commercial radio stations. Community radio outlets may carry news and information programming geared toward the local area, particularly immigrant or minority groups that are poorly served by other major media outlets. Philosophically two distinct approaches to community radio can be discerned, …

How The European Union's Legal System Works - And Does Not Work: Response To Carruba, Gabel, And Hankla, Alec Stone Sweet

Alec Stone Sweet

No abstract provided.