scholarly journals Warfare, Taxation, and Political Change: Evidence from the Italian Risorgimento

2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 887-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARK DINCECCO ◽  
GIOVANNI FEDERICO ◽  
ANDREA VINDIGNI
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Political Change ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Italian Peninsula ◽  
Analytic Narrative ◽  
Military Strength

We examine the relationships between warfare, taxation, and political change in the context of the political unification of the Italian peninsula. Using a comprehensive new database, we argue that external and internal threat environments had significant implications for the demand for military strength, which in turn had important ramifications for fiscal policy and the likelihood of constitutional reform and related improvements in the provision of nonmilitary public services. Our analytic narrative complements recent theoretical and econometric works about state capacity. By emphasizing public finances, we also uncover novel insights about the forces underlying state formation in Italy.“The budget is the skeleton of the state, stripped of any misleading ideologies.”Sociologist Rudolf Goldscheid, 19261

scholarly journals PITFALLS OF TAXATION POLICY IN TRANSITION ECONOMIES

2001 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15
Author(s):  
R. P. Vranceanu ◽  
D. Daianu
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Transition Economy ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Optimal Level ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Taxation Policy ◽  
Cooperative Equilibrium ◽  
Global Performance

This paper develops two stylised models of the transition economy that challenge, to some extent, the conventional approach to policy reforms. In the first model, the absence of market-oriented institutions is responsible for the occurrence of a non-cooperative equilibrium, where the amount of public services provided by the state is too low, which, in turn, adversely affects the global performance of the economy. In the second model, a benevolent government will choose a taxation level that pushes too many firms out of the market; hence global supply falls below its optimal level. In both models, disruptions specific to transitional systems lead to abnormal responses to standard fiscal policy.

The (Mixed) Times of Revolution

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaime Rodríguez Matos
Keyword(s):  
Political Change ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Jose Lezama Lima ◽  
Difficult Question ◽  
Revolutionary Politics ◽  
Political Foundations ◽  
The One ◽  
The Way

This chapter examines the role of Christianity in the work of José Lezama Lima as it relates to his engagement with Revolutionary politics. The chapter shows the multiple temporalities that the State wields, and contrasts this thinking on temporality with the Christian apocalyptic vision held by Lezama. The chapter is concerned with highlighting the manner in which Lezama unworks Christianity from within. Yet its aim is not to prove yet again that there is a Christian matrix at the heart of modern revolutionary politics. Rather, it shows the way in which the mixed temporalities of the Revolution, already a deconstruction of the idea of the One, still poses a challenge for contemporary radical thought: how to think through the idea that political change is possible precisely because no politics is absolutely grounded. That Lezama illuminates the difficult question of the lack of political foundations from within the Christian matrix indicates that the problem at hand cannot be reduced to an ever more elusive and radical purge of the theological from the political.

Croatia: Film under Ideological Pressure – The State, Its Citizen and the Faltering Future

2020 ◽  
pp. 69-86
Author(s):  
Jurica Pavičić ◽  
Aida Vidan
Keyword(s):  
Public Services ◽  
Recent Trend ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Women Filmmakers ◽  
Capitalist Economy ◽  
Point Of Departure

The chapter on Croatia refers to the year 2008 as a point of departure for several thematically and stylistically interesting films, due to the transformation of the financial and institutional cinematic landscape in the country, notably the establishment of Croatian Audiovisual Centre. The chapter explores recurrent themes in several recent films such as: the contemporary consequences of the Yugoslav-dissolution war, the political and patriarchal implications of intergenerational clashes, the dysfunctional public services, corruption, the adoption of a raw capitalist economy, as well as the growing concern for gender and minority rights. Moreover, the chapter highlights a recent trend of emerging women filmmakers and their achievements on the international film scene.

scholarly journals Calvin on church and government

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
W.A. Dreyer
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
High Regard ◽  
Civil Contract ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Civil Government ◽  
Church Government

This article examines Calvin’s understanding of civil govern- ment as well as the relationship between church and govern- ment against the background of radical political change during the sixteenth century. It becomes clear that Calvin had an organic understanding of church, government and people. These three entities are interwoven and interact on the basis of the covenant and civil contract. Calvin’s approach, however, is not limited to the covenant, but has a surprising richness and diversity. He integrated theological, juristic and philosophical concepts in his understanding of the state. It is further shown that Calvin’s high regard for civil government, entrenched the corpus christianum, even though he clearly distinguished between ecclesiastical and civil governance. It is also shown that Calvin had a fundamental influence on many of the political concepts which are generally accepted within modern democra- cies.

Fiscal Policy in Fragile Situations

2021 ◽  
pp. 271-296
Author(s):  
Gary Milante ◽  
Michael Woolcock
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Fragile States ◽  
Political Dynamics ◽  
Specific Policy ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Policy Guidance

While in principle fiscal policy in all countries is a central component of the “long route of accountability” binding citizens and the state, in fragile states the political dynamics shaping the extent to which this “route” does in fact deliver incrementally better key services (such as security and health) to citizens—and for which citizens, in turn, give the state due credit—are highly fraught. Using five governance measures across two time periods (2005–10, 2010–15), we document the wide array of pathways by which the fiscal policy space can and does change and can lead to variants in outcomes. The absence of a clear singular empirical story connecting fiscal policy to effective outcomes suggests the limits of what can be asked of aggregate governance measures in providing context-specific policy guidance in fragile situations; such measures need to be closely accompanied by solid theory, experience and context-specific knowledge.

scholarly journals The Political Translations of Monteiro Lobato and Carlos Lacerda

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Milton ◽  
Eliane Euzebio
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Don Quixote ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Julius Caesar ◽  
Peter Pan ◽  
Getulio Vargas ◽  
Brazilian History

Abstract This article examines the connection between translation and politics, concentrating on a specific period in Brazilian history, the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas, from 1930 to 1945, and then from 1950 to 1954. It initially looks at the link between fiscal policy and translation. It then analyzes the translations, or rather, adaptations, of Peter Pan and Don Quixote, by the Brazilian writer and publisher, Monteiro Lobato. The final section of the paper will describe the situation surrounding the translation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by the Brazilian politician, Carlos Lacerda, governor of the state of Guanabara (greater Rio de Janeiro) (1960-1965).

Part 3 Institutional Control of Constitutionalism, 3.2 Constitutional Jurisdiction and Its Limits in the Maghreb

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gallala-Arndt Imen
Keyword(s):  
Arab Spring ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institutional Control ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Arab Spring

In the wake of the “Arab spring” constitutional reform is enjoying a prominent place in the debates on the future of the Maghreb countries. The potential and actual amendments of relevant constitutions are captivating the attention of all the political actors in and outside the region, since these new or amended constitutions will be the primary tools for the institutionalization of political change. This chapter examines the constitutions in the Maghreb before the pro-democratic upheavals. This helps explain, at least partly, the reasons for the unrest and puts into perspective the size of the challenges faced by the Maghreb countries in the process of constitutional reform and their prospects for success.

scholarly journals Framing Metagovernance in the Context of Developing Democracies: An Institutionalist Viewpoint

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Athaulla A Rasheed
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Developing Democracies

Metagovernance has traditionally been evolving as an effective mode of governance in developed democracies for states or governments to legitimately steer and coordinate stakeholder governance across jurisdictions. This article extend this work to understand the application of metagovernance in the context of developing democracies. Using an institutionalist viewpoint, the article explores the conceptual and empirical bases of metagovernance, drawing from the political science and political economy literature on developing economies to explain how political institutions can shape the state capacity to metagovern socio-economic activities in developing democracies. This article finds that the state capacity to metagovern can be challenged by weak democratic political practices.

The Invisible Hand of the Royal Family in the Political Dynamics of Swaziland

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mfaniseni Fana Sihlongonyane
Keyword(s):  
Political Change ◽  
The State ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Invisible Hand ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Political Resistance ◽  
Royal Family ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Constructivist Perspective

AbstractWhy does Swaziland remain authoritarian despite the democratic political changes that have occurred in the other parts of the African continent since the 1990s? Does it mean that Swaziland is immune to political change? The answers to these questions are diverse and wide-ranging from the international relations view to the radical perspectives and to the functionalist view. But the tendency of these views is to analyse Swazi politics according to historically constructed and particularised contexts and dynamics without fusing the wide-ranging factors that play various roles in the politics of the country. One of the major assumptions by these views is that the state (royal family) and the nation (subjects) are the same as was the case in the pre-colonial period and that the state has a sole privilege to cultural instrumentalism. These views therefore have a tendency to explain political change in terms of class structure and capital relations without taking the multifunctional dimensions of culture into consideration. This paper brings together the various views to explain political resistance in the country in terms of a cleavage between the state and the nation. It provides a historical overview of the political transformation in the country within a framework of cultural nationalism. The thrust of the paper is to look at how the royal family has survived between a primordial and constructivist perspective to political change from the colonial to the post-colonial period. It subjects both the incumbent and the opposition onto a critical analysis and points out a possible direction for political resolve.

scholarly journals Nigerian Pentecostalism, Alternative State, and the Question of Accountability

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benson Ohihon Igboin
Keyword(s):  
State Capacity ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Alternative Source ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Alternative State ◽  
The Status ◽  
Low Levels

The debate on the status of the Nigerian state has been controversial, but it portends more towards a failing state, because it has low to very low levels of state capacity. Most state institutions do not have the capacity to inspire socio-economic confidence in the citizenry. Coupled with prevailing insecurity and the inability of the state to address it, many people find an alternative source of hope and confidence within Christianity, and particularly an African Pentecostal state-like formation that makes its leadership a multinational and cross-regional political leadership of a sort. While the political leadership of the failing state would be examined as the main cause for thriving Pentecostalism, there remains the question of accountability on both sides of the spectrum; especially as both concern the same citizenship, whom I will argue are cheated both ways, and yet somehow hold ambivalent attitudes towards accountability. Since there is little attention devoted to demand for accountability at both state and alternative state levels, this paper will do a contrastive analysis of both leaderships and show that the issue of accountability remains unresolved at both ends.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document