State, Centre and Bureaucracy

1981 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Birnbaum

THE STATE, IN THE STRONGEST MEANING OF THE WORD, IS NOT indispensable to the functioning of civil society. Indeed society can often so organize itself as to prevent the emergence of a state intent on establishing itself as an absolute power. The very existence of the state itself, the consequence of particular sociohistorical processes, upsets the whole of the social system which is henceforth ordered around it. The relationships between the nobility, the bourgeoisie, the working class or, today, the middle classes, differ profoundly according to whether these groups were confronted by a strongly institutionalized state or a centre which exercised essentially co-ordinating functions. Still today the political systems which have simultaneously a centre and a state (France) can be distinguished from those which have a weak state without a real centre (Italy) or a centre without a genuine state (Great Britain, the United States) or neither centre nor state (Switzerland). In the first two cases, in varying degrees, the state dominates and manages civil society; in the two latter, civil society manages itself. It is therefore possible to distinguish societies in which the state attempts to dominate the social system by endowing itself with a strong bureaucracy (ideal type: France; paralle development: Prussia, Spain, Italy) from those in which the organization of civil society makes it impossible for a powerful state and a powerful dominating bureaucracy to emerge (ideal type: Great Britain; parallel development: the United States and the consociational democracies like Switzerland). Without claiming to retrace methodically the history of each of these states or of their political centres, I should like to sketch a broad outline of their evolution with the object of showing that the different relations by which the many governing groups are linked together within the different social systems depend sometimes on the formation of the state and sometimes on the simple formation of a political centre.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-636
Author(s):  
THOMAS E. CONE

This little paperback book is a gem which may escape the attention of readers on this side of the Atlantic because it deals mainly with the state of contemporary pediatrics in Great Britain. For us not to be aware of this book would be a mistake; many of the problems and shortcomings which Drs. Joseph and MacKeith discuss are equally germane to the United States. The authors attempt to define in 11 chapters such elusive things as just what pediatrics really is, what are the crucial current problems, how the changing patterns of death and morbidity in childhood have altered the demands on pediatricians, and—throughout the book as a leitmotiv—how to make medical students and physicians more aware of preventive aspects of medicine.


2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenniver Sehring ◽  
Hans-Joachim Lauth

AbstractThis article proposes a typology of diminished subtypes of Rechtsstaat. Building on a historical overview of the different constitutional traditions in the United States, Great Britain, and Germany, an ideal type of Rechtsstaat is identified. This definition provides the foundation for the creation of subtypes, which are structured into two categories. First, four diminished subtypes of Rechtsstaat are defined: inconsistent, arbitrary, partly-implemented, and excluded. Second, three different causes for the deficiencies are identified: lack of capacities (LoC Type), powerful interests supporting alternative rules (PIAR Type), and high acceptance of alternative norm systems (HAAS Type). The latter two types of causes, PIAR and HAAS, are largely ignored in legal reform strategies and yet – according to our approach in this article – they are more prevalent empirically than the first type.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Paul A. Djupe ◽  
Ryan P. Burge

Abstract The sweep of the coronavirus pandemic across the world and the United States offers an almost unparalleled opportunity to study how social systems cope with the threat and opportunities for collective action. In this paper, we draw on survey data collected as the United States flailed in response and before a general consensus among executive officeholders developed in the following weeks. In particular, we assess how holding prosperity gospel views strongly shaped perceptions of the virus and reactions to state responses to the virus. Research on the prosperity gospel is slowly expanding and this paper helps to highlight some missing dimensions. At a time when concerted action for the social good could be uniting the country, prosperity gospel beliefs systematically undermine that possibility by augmenting threat, raising outgroup barriers, and decreasing social trust.


Author(s):  
Marc DiPaolo

Examines case studies of fictional heroes as analogues of real-life working-class figures to encourage greater empathy between members of different classes. Doing so will help scholar, undergraduate, and fan readers understand the very contemporary context of America through the lens of fictional characters who are understandably resonant with a broad swath of the public during this politically divided time. The essays in this anthology contemplate the social anxieties that attend class conflict in the United States and Great Britain, and consider how fictional comic book narratives depict these cultural anxieties.


Author(s):  
Hryhorii Sytnyk ◽  
Mariia Orel

The purpose of the article is to analyze the factors on which the stability of the social order depends and to substantiate the expediency of its priority in the sphere of national security. The scientific novelty of the article is the justification of the interrelationship between national security and the stability of the social order in the need’s context to merge society around the goals that guarantee its security. Conclusions. The study shows that the sustainability of the social order ensures the existence and security of society and social institutions. We analyzed the axiological dimension of social order and sustainability through the disclosure of the social function of value orientation. We see them as the basis for the choice of action of the elements of social systems. In this context, we emphasized justifying the importance of a conceptual framework for its sustainability that considers the socio-cultural specificities of society and the values of the indivisible. We have shown that the main reason for the danger of social order and stability leading to the disintegration of society is the disparity of traditional values. They inform society of the ideological principles, program goals, and legal norms concerning its existence and the development of the State, which are determined by the highest political leadership. This makes it advisable to study the social system in question, its hierarchical levels, and their interrelationships. Hierarchical levels (moral, legal, conceptual) are described, their interrelationship is described, and it shows the category of sustainability to reflect the qualitative and quantitative assessment of the social order as a social system. Level – the quality (conflict-free) of its internal structuring. Emphasis has been placed on the desirability of distinguishing, at the conceptual level, the social order from the conceptual and ideological, and programmatic aspects this ensures that political decisions are made at the strategic level of public administration and that the strategic objectives of society, the means, and means of achieving them in national security, are justified. It has been established that the most effective means of destroying the State is to generate the prerequisites for threatening the stability of the social order, Therefore, the priority task of the actors of public administration and administration is to develop and implement a set of measures aimed at structuring and harmonizing principles, values and objectives at and between hierarchical levels of social order. We have identified basic prerequisites for the effectiveness of these measures, including mutually agreed goals, timetables, means, and methods of implementing strategies for socio-political and socio-economic development. Key words: social order, national security, public administration, social order and stability risks, value orientations, social order levels


2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeleine C Pill

Abstract Philanthropic foundations have become increasingly important actors in the governance of cities in decline in the United States. The relationships between foundation and other actors within city governance are illuminated via contrasting interpretations of state-society power relationships which highlight the mutability of ‘civil society’ as an oppositional or integrated part of the state. After detailing a typology of philanthropy of place, the twofold role played by foundations in the governance of neighbourhood revitalization in the cities in which they are embedded is explored: not only as an important source of funding and support for neighbourhood-based organizations, but as contributors to the creation of neighbourhood revitalization policy agendas. Considering the cities of Baltimore and Cleveland reveals that the policy approaches adopted have tended to align with the predominant neoliberal policy agenda rather than revealing foundation actors as activists who assist the organizations they support in exerting agency to contest or seek to transform the prevailing hegemony. This makes clear the need for rigour in defining what constitutes civil society, and points to the importance of embedded philanthropic practices in enabling civil society agency.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. McLeod ◽  
Zackery D.O. Dunnells ◽  
Burcu Ozturk

In the United States criminal justice system, female sexual offenders are among the most unrepresented groups of individuals, and they have evaded detection and/or prosecution for many reasons. This chapter explores the characteristics and patterns of female sexual offenders based on the collection of available literature. We will discuss how personal trauma histories, mental health, substance abuse, and motivations of female sexual offenders differ from their male counterparts. Additionally, we cover how social perception presents female sexual offenders in a light that adversely impacts their interactions with the social systems and explore empirically validated myths, risks, and interventions for this population.


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