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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Rethinking Crises And The Accretion Of Executive Power: The "War On Terror" And Conditionality Evidence From Seven Political Systems, Riccardo Pelizzo, John E. Owens Jan 2013

Rethinking Crises And The Accretion Of Executive Power: The "War On Terror" And Conditionality Evidence From Seven Political Systems, Riccardo Pelizzo, John E. Owens

riccardo pelizzo

External shocks to democratic systems are likely to threaten the stability of relations between the executive and the representative assembly. This article investigates the impact of the so-called “war on terror” on executive-assembly relations in comparative perspective. We analyze data from seven countries, which varied in terms of form of government, level of democracy, culture, social structure, and geographic location, to evaluate its effects. We find that whereas in some systems the “war on terror” altered the balance of power between the executive and the assembly, in other cases the extant balance of power was preserved. We postulate various conditions …


A Strategic Interaction Model, Riccardo Pelizzo Jul 2012

A Strategic Interaction Model, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

The paper argues that institutional change and performance can bothe be explained on the basis of a simple startegic interaction model. The purpose of this presentation is to sketch this model.


Public Accounts Committees In The Commonwealth, Riccardo Pelizzo Jan 2011

Public Accounts Committees In The Commonwealth, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

By analyzing original survey data collected from more than 20 legislatures, the paper investigates what makes public accounts committees work effectively


Timbuktu: A Lesson In Underdevelopment, Riccardo Pelizzo Jan 2001

Timbuktu: A Lesson In Underdevelopment, Riccardo Pelizzo

riccardo pelizzo

Th e purpose of the present paper is to investigate Timbuktu’s economic decline in the three centuries elapsed between 1526, when Leo Africanus reached the Mysterious City, and 1830, when the fi rst European explorers arrived in Timbuktu. It is argued that Timbuktu’s decline was neither an accident nor the result of inevitable natural conditions. Timbuktu’s decay was the product of historical and social forces. Specifi cally, it is argued that Timbuktu lost power and prestige because its market decayed. However, it is also suggested that no single factor can account individually for this event. Th e crisis of Timbuktu’s …