From China’s “Political Meritocracy” to “Just Hierarchy”: the Elusive Search for a Viable Post-Democratic Governance Regime in the Era of Coronavirus

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-55
Author(s):  
Roda Mushkat
Keyword(s):  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
Societal Challenges ◽  
Governance Regime ◽  
Political Philosopher ◽  
Political Meritocracy

Abstract Students of comparative constitutional design grapple with myriad complex normative and empirical issues. Prominent among them is the relative effectiveness of different governance regimes. Concerns stemming from the perceived malfunctioning of modern democracies have intensified efforts to diagnose and rectify the supposedly proliferating ills. The seemingly solid post-1978 Chinese record of steadily managing intricate societal challenges has highlighted the possible advantages of the country’s tightly controlled top-down institutional apparatus and its potential value as a model worth broadly exploring and even embracing on a meaningful scale. This view, authoritatively and vigorously articulated by an influential and prolific political philosopher and his academic associates, has evolved to a point whereby the Chinese constitutional order and contemporary experience are portrayed as being capable of fruitfully supplanting democratic structures or, alternatively, productively revitalising them. Yet, on the whole, this remains a controversial politico-legal proposition, conceptually problematic and lacking sufficient factual support.

scholarly journals Understanding employee responses to COVID-19: a behavioral corporate social responsibility perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Aguinis ◽  
Isabel Villamor ◽  
Kelly P. Gabriel
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Relative Effectiveness ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Meaning In Work ◽  
Human Resource Management Practices ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Behavioral Perspective

Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically synthesize and integrate conceptual and empirical research on the behavioral perspective on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and explain why it is useful and necessary, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors explain why CSR can result in both positive and negative outcomes and provide future research directions and recommendations for practice and policymaking. Design/methodology/approach This study focuses on critical literature review and synthesis. Findings CSR policies in response to COVID-19 are created by organizations but are implemented by individual employees. The way employees perceive and react to CSR actions are key determinants of CSR’s implementation and success. CSR can be embedded within or peripheral to a firm’s core functioning. While embedded CSR is linked to several positive outcomes if correctly implemented together with employees, peripheral CSR is linked to “the dark side” of CSR and can result in negative employee outcomes. Practical implications Using the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors detail types of CSR actions that governments and organizations can implement and their relative effectiveness; why “one size fits all” top-down CSR does not work; how firms can use human resource management practices to re-engage employees through finding meaning in work; and the “dark side” of CSR. Social implications Using the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors detail types of CSR actions that governments and organizations can implement and their relative effectiveness; why “one size fits all” top-down CSR does not work; how firms can use human resource management practices to re-engage employees through finding meaning in work; and the “dark side” of CSR. Originality/value CSR research has focused mostly on why and when firms choose to engage in CSR. A behavioral perspective on CSR facilitates, through an employee-centric conceptual framework, a deeper understanding of when and why employee reactions lead to positive and unintended negative outcomes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

US State constitutional entrenchment and default in the 19th century

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 963-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Dove ◽  
Andrew T. Young
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
State Level ◽  
Fiscal Policies ◽  
Credible Commitments ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Lower Likelihood ◽  
The 19Th Century

AbstractConstitutional scholars emphasize the importance of an enduring, stable constitutional order, which North and Weingast (1989) argue is consistent with credible commitments to sustainable fiscal policies. However, this view is controversial and has received little empirical study. We use 19th-century US state-level data to estimate relationships between constitutional design and the likelihood of a government default. Results indicate that more entrenched and less specific constitutions are associated with a lower likelihood of default.

scholarly journals Ministerial Directives to Local Government in Zimbabwe: Top-Down Governance in a Decentralized Constitution

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-56
Author(s):  
Tinashe Carlton Chigwata ◽  
Varaidzo Violet Muchapondwa ◽  
Jaap de Visser
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
National Government ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Main Argument ◽  
Multilevel System ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Constitutional Right

AbstractUrban and rural local authorities constitute the lowest tier of Zimbabwe's multilevel system of government. These local governments have a constitutional “right to govern” that must be exercised within the constitutional, legislative and policy framework. Under the old constitutional order, the national government could supervise urban local authorities, for example by issuing policy directives to ensure that these authorities governed in a manner that enabled them to deliver on national and local goals. This article examines this supervisory instrument, the powers it gives the national government, its use in practice and its relevance under the new constitutional order. The main argument is that supervisory instruments, such as the power to issue policy directives to local governments, are necessary in any multilevel system of government. However, such supervisory powers must be balanced with the need for local autonomy, to allow local governments to deliver on their service delivery obligations and development mandate.

Introduction Building Constitutionalism in Fragile Democracies

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Yvonne Tew
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
State Building ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Constitutional State ◽  
Facilitative Role

What role do courts play in developing constitutional democracy in Asia? Constitutional Statecraft in Asian Courts explores the role of judicial review and constitutionalism in safeguarding democratic governance and facilitating constitutional governance. It offers an in-depth look at contemporary Malaysia and Singapore, helping us understand how courts engage in constitutional state-building even as they confront dominant political parties and negotiate democratic transitions. The book considers how the judiciary can negotiate institutional power to consolidate its position vis-à-vis the dominant political branches of government. It also examines the facilitative role courts can play in crafting the foundational principles of an evolving constitutional order. The judicial strategies evident in Malaysia and Singapore suit the challenges of many other emerging Asian democracies, providing both guidance and caution as these states negotiate their emerging constitutionalism. At the heart of this book is an account of how judicial strategies of constitutionalism can sculpt the contours of state-building. It is, in brief, about how courts engage in constitutional statecraft.

scholarly journals Disaster Risk Governance in Indonesia and Myanmar: The Practice of Co-Governance

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annisa Gita Srikandini ◽  
Dorothea Hilhorst ◽  
Roanne Van Voorst
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Risk Governance ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Competitive System ◽  
Governance Institutions

This article discusses the discourse and practice of co-governance in disaster risk reduction (DRR). It is based on an extensive ethnographic study of DRR at global level and in two disaster-prone countries in Southeast Asia: Indonesia and Myanmar. These country cases were selected not only because of their similarly high vulnerability to disasters, but also because the overlaps and differences between them in disaster governance allowed for a comparative study of the impacts of co-governance in DRR. Indonesia is characterised by a longer history with democratic governance institutions and a largely national-led response to disasters; Myanmar has only started to develop DRR in the last 10 years, and its policies are still largely led by international actors. In both countries, disaster response has shifted from being top-down and state-centred to following a co-governance approach. This reflects a worldwide trend in DRR, the idea being that co-governance, where different state and non-state stakeholders are involved in governance networks, will lead to more inclusive and effective DRR. Our findings suggest that, in Myanmar and Indonesia, DRR has indeed become more inclusive. However, at the same time, we find that DRR in both countries has remained highly hierarchical and state-centred. Although the possible gains of encouraging future initiatives among different actors negotiating disaster response is under-explored, we find that, to date, the multiplication of actors involved in DRR, especially within the state, has led to an increasingly complex, competitive system that negatively affects the ability to conduct DRR.

Cameroon's Stalled Transition to Democratic Governance: Lessons for Africa's New Democrats

2002 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 125-163
Author(s):  
JOHN MUKUM MBAKU
Keyword(s):  
Rent Seeking ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Top Down ◽  
State Reconstruction ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Enabling Environment ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACT Cameroon's stalled transition to democracy is examined. It is argued that most of Cameroon's present political and economic problems can be traced to non-democratic constitutionalism at independence. Elite-driven, top-down, non-participatory constitutionalism left the country with institutional arrangements that discouraged entrepreneurship but enhanced political opportunism (e.g., rent seeking and corruption). In addition, it is shown that the inability of the country's main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), to successfully lead the country's transformation has been due to many factors. Some of them include poor and fractured leadership, political miscalculations, rivalry within the party and between the party and other opposition parties, Biya's political acumen, and strong French support for the incumbent government. The most important first step toward successful institutionalization of democracy is state reconstruction through people-driven, participatory and inclusive constitution making. Unless such a process is undertaken, Cameroon will not be able to provide itself with the enabling environment to deepen, consolidate and institutionalize democracy, as well as deal effectively with pressing issues such as the desire by the Anglophone minority for greater levels of political and economic autonomy.

The application of electron microscopy to diagnosis in gynecologic neoplasms and tumor-like conditions

1984 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 102-105
Author(s):  
Lawrence M. Roth
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Malignant Tumors ◽  
Frozen Section ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Ultrastructural Examination ◽  
Specific Diagnosis ◽  
Potential Value ◽  
Gynecologic Neoplasms

The female reproductive tract may be the site of a wide variety of benign and malignant tumors, as well as non-neoplastic tumor-like conditions, most of which can be diagnosed by light microscopic examination including special stains and more recently immunoperoxidase techniques. Nevertheless there are situations where ultrastructural examination can contribute substantially to an accurate and specific diagnosis. It is my opinion that electron microscopy can be of greatest benefit and is most cost effective when applied in conjunction with other methodologies. Thus, I have developed an approach which has proved useful for me and may have benefit for others. In cases where it is deemed of potential value, glutaraldehyde-fixed material is obtained at the time of frozen section or otherwise at operation. Coordination with the gynecologic oncologist is required in the latter situation. This material is processed and blocked and is available if a future need arises.

Relative effectiveness of selected sunscreens

1970 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. I. Katz
Keyword(s):  
Relative Effectiveness
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