Power sector subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa are substantial and highly regressive. While subsidies can be quick, easy, and politically expedient to implement, they are equally quick to take root and challenging to remove. Optimal policies that are technically sound and welfare-enhancing over the long run have nevertheless been found difficult to launch and even more challenging to sustain. Of the barriers to reform, those associated with political economy are among the most powerful, yet their analysis is often lacking due consideration in the reform design process. This paper reviews the literature on power subsidies and their reform with emphasis on the political economy of such reform. It examines pricing principles in the power sector and different types of subsides; drivers for subsidies, benefits and costs of subsidy reform, and their distribution; and approaches to political economy analysis, tools available, and methodological issues. The paper draws examples from Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere...

Responding to a leaked Cabinet submission on possible future funding arrangements for higher education, Prime Minister Howard commented: ‘We have got to have a capacity in this country to have a sensible discussion about long-term policy issues without everything being distorted and blown out of the water by misrepresentation’ (Sydney Morning Herald, 16th October 1999, p. 49). This paper, in endorsing the Prime Minister’s observation, advances three propositions. First, this gap has emerged in the past couple of decades and ultimately reflects profound changes in the character of the Australian community. Second, it limits the effectiveness of the entire policy making system and is thus a significant impediment to state capacity. And third, the renewal of state policy-making capacity involves a transfer of tasks from the executive to the legislature. A threshold issue concerns the distinctive contribution of a strategic phase to broader policy making capabilities. Recent management literature offers guidance. ‘Learning organisations’ are in vogue. These are distinguished by their capacity to sustain activity in two modes termed respectively first and second order organisational learning. In the former mode, organisations focus on current operations. Information systems are designed to monitor such factors as product quality...

Mass media is the major source of information citizens use in forming their political opinions. As such, decisions made by the media define the scope of what we know about the political world. This dissertation argues that what the media decides to cover is a result of its own institutional and organizational structures, and that this has important implications for the information citizens are left with to make political decisions. Like any institution in a political context, the media is subject to its own internal pressures and organizational dictates. Institutional factors operate in media organizations as they do in any organization, with norms, rules and incentives shaping decisions and behaviors. Interestingly, how these factors work to shape the news agenda has not often been studied by political scientists. Though many acknowledge the vital role of the media as an institution within our political system, we lack any complete empirical investigation of the institutional factors by which the behavior of media outlets is governed. This work addresses the following research question: How do the institutional and contextual features of local media outlets affect their coverage of local political issues? Using election 2004 news coverage of two major competitive statewide races...

What effect does government responsiveness have on political participation? Since the 1940s political scientists have used attitudinal measures of perceived efficacy to explain participation. More recent work has focused on underlying genetic factors that condition citizen engagement. The authors develop a ‘calculus of participation’ that incorporates objective efficacy, the extent to which an individual’s participation actually has an impact, and test the model against behavioral data from FixMyStreet.com (n=399,364). The authors find that a successful first experience using FixMyStreet.com (e.g., reporting a pothole and having it fixed) is associated with a 54 percent increase in the probability of an individual submitting a second report. The authors also show that the experience of government responsiveness to the first report submitted has predictive power over all future report submissions. The findings highlight the importance of government responsiveness for fostering an active citizenry...

In an attempt to understand why the military tends to commit a coup in reaction to the rise of leftist popular forces, and why the military officers in the post-coup period are inclined to implement politico-economic policies which most benefit the business elite at the expense of the economically underprivileged classes, this study proposed the Interactive Model. This model critically examines the explanatory effectiveness of the structuralist approach, such as the Bureaucratic-Authoritarian model and Middle-Class Coup (or, Veto-Coup) hypothesis, in solving the above mentioned questions, but does not underrate its theoretical usefulness. In this study, which is primarily based on the voluntaristic approach focusing on the creative role of political actor, a synthetical framework of analysis is introduced. Regarding the officer corps as the prime political actor, the Interactive Model claims that the officers' political will, ideology, and commitment to their corporate interests play the most decisive role in bringing about radical political change like coup and the post-coup regime transformations. In the meantime, structural factors, such as political disorder, deteriorating class conflicts, and belief in economic rationality, are believed to indirectly influence the political actor. Four countries...

Hannah Arendt's theory of political judgment has been an ongoing perplexity among scholars who have written on her. As a result, her theory of judgment is often treated as a suggestive but unfinished aspect of her thought. Drawing on a wider array of sources than is commonly utilized, I argue that her theory of political judgment was in fact the heart of her work. Arendt's project, in other words, centered around reestablishing the possibility of political judgment in a modern world that historically has progressively undermined it. In the dissertation, I systematically develop an account of Arendt's fundamentally political and non-sovereign notion of judgment. We discover that individual judgment is not arbitrary, and that even in the complex circumstances of the modern world there are valid structures of judgment which can be developed and dependably relied upon. The result of this work articulates a theory of practical reason which is highly compelling: it provides orientation for human agency which does not rob it of its free and spontaneous character; shows how we can improve and cultivate our political judgment; and points the way toward the profoundly intersubjective form of political philosophy Arendt ultimately hoped to develop.

; Dissertation

The idea that populations participate politically outside of the formal mechanisms of a political system and through mass mobilizations is a reasonably accepted part of political science orthodoxy. Since the turn of the last century, in Indonesia, as in other developing countries, populations have mobilized en masse at particular stages of their histories into nation-state building processes, as well as have been mobilized by political authorities seeking to bolster or install their regimes. In the 1960s, Sukarno increasingly sought to mobilize a range of classes and interests behind his presidency and, in 1965-66, Suharto and his military backers organized anti-communist groups behind a systematic campaign to eradicate the Communist Party and remove Sukarno. Throughout the so-called 'New Order' period (1966-98), Suharto periodically mobilized groups behind his presidency and against opponents who, in turn, engaged in occasional street demonstrations against the regime. In the mid-to-late 1990s, the opposition leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri became an important rallying point for popular dissent against Suharto and, in 1998, the student movement played a crucial role in street demonstrations which helped bring down the president after three decades of strongman rule. In the post-Suharto period...

The economic crisis and the threat of default have had significant repercussions on the Greek political system. The handling of the crisis by the new PASOK government has led to a new political and has added new problems to the party system. The purpose of this paper is twofold: First, to trace the course and the causes that led to the present day crisis by pinpointing the major socioeconomic and political developments that paved the way to the crisis. Second, it seeks to explore the political management or mismanagement of the crisis, to identify the strategies of the main political actors, and to assess the problems facing the Greek political system. It is argued that apart from the obvious economic crisis, Greece is undergoing a protracted and serious political crisis.

The paper reviews the arguments for and against monetary union among the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council - the United Arab Emirates, the State of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait. Both technical economic arguments and political economy considerations are discussed. I conclude that there is an economic case for GCC monetary union, but that it is not overwhelming. The lack of economic integration among the GCC members is striking. Without anything approaching the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons among the six GCC member countries, the case for monetary union is mainly based on the small size of all GCC members other than Saudi Arabia, and their high degree of openness. Indeed, even without the creation of a monetary union, there could be significant advantages to all GCC members, from both an economic and a security perspective, from greater economic integration, through the creation of a true common market for goods, services, capital and labour, and from deeper political integration. The political arguments against monetary union at this juncture appear overwhelming, however. The absence of effective supranational political institutions encompassing the six GCC members means that there could be no effective political accountability of the GCC central bank. The surrender of political sovereignty inherent in joining a monetary union would therefore not be perceived as legitimate by an increasingly politically sophisticated citizenry. I believe that monetary union among the GCC members will occur only as part of a broad and broadly-based movement towards far-reaching political integration. And there is little evidence of that as yet.

We study theoretically and empirically whether natural resource windfalls affect political regimes. We show that windfalls have no effect on democracies, while they have heterogeneous political consequences in autocracies: in deeply entrenched autocracies the effect of windfalls is virtually nil, while in moderately entrenched autocracies windfalls significantly exacerbate the autocratic nature of the political system. To frame the empirical work we present a simple model in which political incumbents choose the degree of political contestability and potential challengers decide whether or not to try to unseat the incumbents. The model uncovers a mechanism for the asymmetric impact of resource windfalls on democracies and autocracies, as well as the the differential impact within autocracies.

This article examines critically the claims that digital networks (digital media infrastructures, especially social media platforms) fundamentally change the conditions of politics over the longerterm. Without doubt digital networks enable faster political mobilization, accelerated cycles of action, and some new forms of collectivity, but how consequential is this in the longer-term when set alongside other longer term consequences of a digitally saturated environment? The author argues that some leading accounts of digital media’s contributions to political change operate with a thin account of the social, the sort of thin account that historically has been supplemented by media’s mythical accounts over the past century of their role in supplying social knowledge. In the digital age, even the most detailed and rigorous accounts of digital networks’ contributions to political action (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012, 2013) fail to show that those networks also facilitate longer-term political action that builds longer-term political transformations: arguably, the resulting acceleration of action encourages short-term loyalties and less stability in political socialization. However, this limitation of existing accounts tends to be masked by a new myth for the age of digital networks: the myth of ‘us’...

This thesis aims at explaining the reasons behind Mexico's tax revenue stagnation, by exploring the structural weaknesses of the tax system, identifying the main actors in the tax policy making process, and studying the tax reforms attempts and the role policy actors played to shape them in the last thirty years. The dissertation first shows Mexico's low tax collection yield and its stagnation for more than thirty years. The analysis portrays an inefficient tax collection system, with a tax structure plagued with a plethora of privileges and exemptions that dilute collection. A large number of interviews with public authorities, politicians, intellectual, representatives of businesses, social and international organizations showed a common concern over Mexico's low tax effort. An issue, which surprisingly has always been in the rhetoric of the political agenda, but has received very little political, social or scholarly attention. The thesis rises a puzzling paradox. By looking at the dynamics of tax reform, the evidence seems to suggest that even in a strongly centralized and hierarchical state like Mexico, frequently depicted as authoritarian, policy makers have been constrained to shape tax policy. Government's policy objectives and the "uniqueness" of the relationship with socio-economic actors...

Over the course of (roughly) the past three decades, much of contemporary liberal political theory has followed John Rawls and taken a ‘political’ turn. Liberalism, it is now generally supposed, is a ‘political’ doctrine, not a philosophy of life. The most influential account of such a liberalism is public reason liberalism. According to public reason liberals, political rules and decisions have to be justified by appeal to ideas or arguments that those subject to them (at some level of idealisation) endorse or accept. Public reason is the standard by which moral or political rules can be assessed. In this thesis I do two things. First, I offer a critique of public reason liberalism. I argue that it fails to live up to the ideal of liberal reason, that it fails to take diversity seriously, and that it is based on a problematic account of political institutions. Second, I articulate a genuinely ‘political’ alternative, which I call a liberalism without liberals. I develop this alternative on the basis of a re-interpretation of David Hume’s critique of the social contract and of his account of pluralism, the moral order and social criticism. I argue that Hume understands political society as the product of shared interests and not (as social contract theorists suppose) as an embodiment of a common will. I also argue that Hume offers a compelling...

The dissertation is divided in three parts: Part I: It is suggested that Thucydides' History provides useful insights into Hobbes's political theory in so far as the link between glory, fear, and conflict postulated by Thucydides affords a deeper understanding of the role of glory and fear In Hobbes's political construct. In particular, it is suggested that the distinction between ultimate and proximate causes of the Peloponnesian War underlying Thucydides' argument is used by Hobbes in all three his political works in order to explain conflict in the state of nature. Part II: The meaning of 'Glory' in Elements of Law, De Give, and Leviathan is examined in detail and it is argued that, In spite of some changes in Hobbes's philosophy of man, the role assigned by Hobbes to glory in both pre-political and political associations is identical in all three works. The significance of Glory is emphasised and its role in Hobbes's theory is defined and explained in relation to other key elements of his political discourse, such as self-preservation, rationality, felicity, profit, power, etc. It is also stressed that Hobbes's definition of glory makes it compatible with a concern for self-preservation and thus differs from the current meaning of glory (that allows one to speak of 'glorious death'). Part III: Hobbes's political theory is axiomatised as a model resting on a small set of assumptions common to all three works. Contrary to current views...

Following 15 years of high policy attention to curbing corruption in developing countries, this thesis concerns the effects of polices induced by the international donor community on curbing corruption in sub-Saharan Africa. I approach this question by assessing, in three stand-alone empirical chapters, the effects increased political competition, economic liberalisation, and the use of judicial punishment for corruption-related crimes have had on curbing corruption in sub-Saharan Africa. In the first empirical chapter, I assess the effect on corruption from increased political competition following the third wave of democratisation. While popular theories propose that political competition helps curb corruption by inducing political accountability, I find instead, in the sub-Saharan African context that in times of tense political competition the incumbent ensures his victory by buying the loyalty of the elite through distributing state resources for private means. This prebendal politics is, in turn, associated with higher levels of corruption. In the second empirical chapter, which concerns economic liberalisation and its effect on corruption, I ask what happens to corruption as the formal institutions governing the market change. Using insights from a case study on Rwanda...

This thesis investigates the role of politics in implementing educational reform in India during the period 1994 to 2011. Much of the recent research on politics and educational reform has been dominated by the analytical framework of formal political economy, but this framework has not been able to explain how reforms are successfully adopted. Also, the main focus has been on the negative role of politics, controlled by powerful interest groups and biased institutions, in constraining changes likely to benefit poor people. I focus instead on understanding the political dynamics in cases of success. In particular, why do political leaders and public officials support educational reform even though this does not suit their political calculations, and is likely to encounter resistance from teacher unions and educational bureaucracies? To understand these dynamics, I use the framework of comparative institutionalism, and examine the contested interaction of ideas, interests, and institutions, leading to success or failure. To analyse the process of reform implementation, I have selected two Indian states—Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Both were educationally backward at the beginning of the 1990s and were confronted with a common agenda for reform established by the federal government. However...

In its broadest aspect, this thesis constitutes a demonstration of the substantive utility of a political sociology that pays serious regard to the issues surrounding the notion of subjectivity. More specifically, it takes the form of a sustained argument concerning the relationship between political mobilisation and the various structures and dynamics associated with subjectivity. In the first part of the thesis, a theory of consciousness, subjectivity and intersubjectivity is developed. It is argued that as a result of a number of existential facts about consciousness, individuals manifest and are subject to various socio-existential dynamics of subjectivity. The most important of these are: (a) the necessity experienced by individuals to reaffirm their senses of self; (b) their desire for the symbolic mastery of the "external-world"; and (c) the compulsion experienced to negate symbolically the foreignness of the other. The second part of the thesis is devoted to exploring some of the political consequences and implications of the existence of these dynamics. By means of a number of case studies - specifically, analyses of political conflict, political ritual and populism - it is demonstrated that in order to understand various kinds of political mobilisation...

Few recent studies have shown how Mexico, like many other Latin American countries at the beginning of this century, has adopted new policies and programmes in order to maintain and (re)build economic, social and cultural bonds with its migrant communities in the US, who represent about 15 percent of Mexico's population. Less research has been conducted on the constitutional reforms and electoral laws that allow Mexicans abroad to participate politically in their home country's domestic affairs from afar. Employing a transnationalist approach to international migration and democratization studies, this thesis is the first major study of the politics of Mexican emigration to the US and the impact of migrants' electoral participation in their home country's affairs presented in political and institutional terms. The main question is how and with what consequences did the Mexican state extend formal political membership to its emigrant population both at the national and subnational level. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, this thesis shows that the implementation of emigrants' political rights in Mexico has resulted from cross-border coalition formations between US-based political migrant groups and domestic non-PRI political parties (mainly the centre-left PRD) in a context of democratization and decentralization unfolding in Mexico...

This thesis makes a contribution to the study of Israeli foreign policy, Israeli-American relations and the role of Israeli political culture in foreign policy. First, all the works on American-Israeli relations focus on American policy. Second, works examining the role of Israeli values in foreign policy focus primarily on the values of the Israeli right, usually purely in regard to the Palestinian question and use a concept of political culture that is static. In contrast, this thesis examines, US-Israeli relations from the Israeli view point and encompasses the impact of the Israeli left's values on policy. Moreover, it uses a concept of political culture that is fluid rather than static. Following a brief introductory section outlining the interpretative concept of political culture employed, the thesis turns towards a section on Israeli political culture. Here two main sub-cultures are identified; a universalist orientation which views Israel as a normal country and which aspires to normalisation and a particularist orientation which sees Israel as 'a nation that dwells alone', with a particular mission to fulfil. From this basis, four approaches within the Israeli elite towards relations with the United States over the Palestinian question are drawn out. The next section then examines and accounts for shifts in Israeli political culture...

Research on Brazilian federalism and state politics has focused mainly on the impact of federal arrangements on national political systems, whereas comparative analyses of the workings of state political institutions and patterns of political competition and decision-making have often been neglected. The article contributes to an emerging comparative literature on state politics by developing a typology that systematizes the variation in political competitiveness and the extent of state elites’ control over the electoral arena across Brazilian states. It relies on factor analysis to create an index of " electoral dominance" , comprised of a set of indicators of party and electoral competitiveness at the state level, which measures state elites’ capacity to control the state electoral arena over time. Based on this composite index and on available case-study evidence, the article applies the typological classificatory scheme to all 27 Brazilian states. Further, the article relies on the typological classification to assess the recent evolution of state-level political competitiveness. The empirical analysis demonstrates that state politics is becoming more competitive and fragmented, including in those states that have been characterized as bastions of oligarchism and political bossism. In view of these findings...