Search results for "political economy"
showing 10 items of 637 documents
The Security–Development Nexus in European Union Foreign Relations after Lisbon: Policy Coherence at Last?
2016
One of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty's objectives was to enhance the coherence of EU-level foreign relations by improving collective action. Policy-level innovations included ‘comprehensive’ and ‘joined-up’ approaches linking EU instruments and actors, especially the Commission and the new European External Action Service. Have these reforms improved policy coherence? We focus on a key EU policy domain illustrating Europe's engagement with the changing global context: the security–development nexus. Although we find that collective action has improved somewhat since 2010, decision-making is affected by bureaucratic actors catering to specific constituencies. Accordingly, the coherence of security …
France After the Liberation: The Labour Movement, the Employers and the Political Leaders in Their Struggle with the Social Movement
2018
The French defeat in the spring of 1940 and the ensuing German occupation, as well as the establishment of the authoritarian Vichy regime, made it theoretically impossible for social movements to emerge; that is to say, to allow the development of mobilisation(s) and challenge(s) to authority within companies and/or against any aspect of government policy. However, in the summer of 1940 and a fortiori from 1941 onwards, resistance movements were born precisely because of their ability to convey the discontent of the French society and to use its momentum. In this sense, the French Resistance undoubtedly was a social movement, whose members were leading a ‘normal’ life as civilians under occ…
Linguistic Diversity as a Problem and a Resource – Multilingualism in European and Finnish Policy Documents
2012
Societies in Europe and across the world are under constant pressure to cope with increasing multilingualism and multiculturalism. This development has its roots in different global and local societal and economic processes. On the one hand, globalization is putting pressure on the economy in that more varied language resources are needed in society. On the other hand, immigration is constantly on the increase, giving rise to what Vertovec (2006) has termed super-diversity, a ‘condition distinguished by a dynamic interplay of variables among an increased number of new, small and scattered, multiple-origin, transnationally connected, socio-economically differentiated and legally stratified i…
The Hidden Counterpoint of Spanish Federalism: Recentralization and Resymmetrization in Spain (1978–2008)
2010
The recent evolution of the Spanish ‘State of Autonomies’ has given rise to numerous political and academic criticisms, which argue that the initial federal logic of the system is giving way to a confederal logic that threatens the cohesion of the state. This article contradicts the negative diagnosis, outlining the main mechanisms that retain and in fact reinforce the powers of federalization in tandem with the fundamental political decentralization process that has taken place since 1978. This paper focuses on three critical areas: the distribution of legislative power, the fiscal system and the dynamics of the political process. In these three areas powerful mechanisms are at work reinfo…
Repeated Multiparty Elections Expand Civil Liberties
2008
Democracy and Elections in Africa. By I. Lindberg Staffan. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. 248 pp., $55.00 cloth (ISBN: 0-8018-8332-3), $24.95 paper (ISBN: 0-8018-8333-0). Democracy and multiparty elections are high on the agendas of many international actors, human rights groups, and African governments. Although the possibilities for free association, monitoring the use of power, and electoral competition have increased, electoral fraud and political violence are prevalent in many African countries. As a result, democratization remains a critical area for researchers and practitioners interested in African affairs. It is, therefore, exciting to come across a book that…
Religion and Culture of Origin. Re-Shaping Identity in the Integration Process: A Case Study in Sicily
2019
Cosa succede quando persone di differenti culture, valori, religione vivono insieme? Queste dinamiche sono stare analizzate in una ricerca sul processo di integrazione degli immigrati a Palermo.I principali risultati sono presentati in questo saggio. In questo caso studio, i dati della ricerca ipotizzano un modello teorico di integrazione in cui gli immigrati, liberi di esprimere le loro differenze religiose e culturali, tendono a ridurre la loro percezione di minoranza. What happens when people of different cultures, values, religion live together? Sociological studies on immigrative phenomenon often swing between immigration and integration policies. These policies actually reveal the dif…
How populist crisis rhetoric affects voters in Switzerland
2019
Right-wing populism has a long tradition in Switzerland. Nevertheless, only little is known about how populist messages in the media contribute to the success of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and to the acceptance of the party’s anti-immigration policies. In this study, we combine data from a large media content analysis (including newspapers and TV news shows) with data from a panel-survey in order to address this research gap. Thereby we differentiate between effects driven by the content and the form of right-wing populist communication. While right-wing populist content depicts immigrants and the political elite as a threat to the Swiss people, populist style evokes the sense of a cris…
We Had to Feed the People: The Italian Lira and the Political Economy of Currency in British Eritrea, 1941–1950
2021
Following the occupation of Eritrea in 1941, British authorities in London promoted a currency policy aimed at replacing the Italian lira with a sterling-based currency basket. In May 1942, they opted for the enforcement of the East African shilling as the new legal tender. The lire, however, did not disappear overnight. Their circulation was tolerated—and, in some cases, even encouraged—by British authorities in Asmara, which exploited the small deal of autonomy they enjoyed from London to adapt the new monetary system to the needs of local governance. The case study is a useful lens to analyse the multiplicity of interests that shaped the political economy of currency of the United Kingdo…
Surveillance and student dissent: the case of the Franco dictatorship.
2014
The rising of a powerful democratic student movement in Spain in the sixties represented a substantial stimulus to the repressive modernization of the Franco dictatorship. New containment strategies were adopted in the context of the counter-subversion and intelligence policies that the USA administration and their allies were also implementing. From this assumption, this paper analyzes the specific dynamics of surveillance on student protest, exploring the previous situation at university, the challenges introduced by the youth upheaval, the diverse responses of the establishment, the role of the American aid, and finally the consequences both for the dissidents and for the dictatorship it…
From ‘Awkward Partner’ to ‘Awkward Partnership’? Explaining Norway’s Paradoxical Relations with the European Union
2017
Norway is the only Nordic state to have rejected membership of the European Union four times. Applying the conceptual lens of ‘awkwardness’, as developed by Murray et al. (2014), it seems fair to consider the country as an awkward partner in the process of European integration. As a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), however, Norway has been tightly associated with the European Union ever since 1994, actively participating in a large number of EU policies and programs and effectively forging a close partnership that has in itself become increasingly ‘awkward’. This holds true despite the fact that successive Norwegian governments have recently started to embrace a generally more re…