Reinterpreting ‘the Mason Court Revolution’: An Historical Institutionalist Account of Judge-Driven Constitutional Transformation in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Theunis Roux
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Development ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Exogenous Shock

There have been two major periods of judge-driven constitutional transformation in Australia. The first spanned the High Court's successful transformation over the course of the last century of the strongly federalist 1901 Constitution into a weakly federalist one. The second took the form of what is generally thought to have been the less than fully realized ‘Mason Court revolution’ – the Court's attempt, from 1987-1995, to turn the Constitution into a device for expressing core Australian political values. What explains these different outcomes – why was the first transformation so successful and the second only partially achieved? This article proposes an answer to this question based on a generalisable account of the role of constitutional courts in processes of constitutional transformation. In short, the argument is that the seminal Engineers decision triggered a self-reinforcing trajectory of institutional development that led to a stable politico-legal equilibrium by the middle of the last century. The judges responsible for the second attempted transformation sought to break free of this equilibrium in order to respond to what they thought were pressing social needs. In the absence of a significant exogenous shock to the system, however, the equilibrium structured and constrained what they were able to do.

The role of Constitutional Courts in Transitional Justice: Colombia and South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadiehezka Paola Palencia Tejedor
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Political Background ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Peace And Reconciliation

This work focuses on a compared analysis of the South Afri- can decision related to the “peace and reconciliation act” of this country’s Parliament, and the Colombian decision regarding the amendment of the constitution called “The juridical framework for the peace.” Turning to the structure, it is developed in three major topics: 1. It provides a brief of the historical context, political background and an overview of the two decisions.2. It gives a structural analysis of the powers that each Court has and the nature of the constitutional mechanism through which both Courts decided the constitutionality of the said norms 3. It presents a critical analysis on the similarities and differences between the two systems and judgments. It presents some con- clusions. 

The Role of National Constitutional Courts in European Democracy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Grimm
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Liberalization ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
European Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
European Court ◽  
European Democracy ◽  
And Function

This chapter examines the role of national constitutional courts in European democracy. It first provides an overview of national constitutional courts in Europe, focusing on the requirements that they impose on national institutions and the consequences of those requirements at the treaty level—i.e., transferring national powers to the European Union and regulating how these powers are exercised; at the level of the EU’s exercise of these powers; and at the level of implementing European law within national legal systems. The chapter also discusses how the European Court of Justice’s jurisprudence enabled the European treaties to function as a constitution; the non-political mechanism of EU decisions and how it promotes economic liberalization; and how the design and function of European primary law undermine democracy. The chapter suggests that the democratic legitimacy imparted to the EU’s decisions by its citizens can only develop within the framework of the European Parliament’s powers.

scholarly journals The Role of Employment Protection during an Exogenous Shock to an Economy

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 1850225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miki Malul ◽  
Mosi Rosenboim ◽  
Tal Shavit ◽  
Shlomo Yedidia Tarba
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Exogenous Shock ◽  
Unemployment Rates ◽  
World Crisis ◽  
Automatic Stabilizer ◽  
Medium Level ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Stability

This paper explores the role of employment protection when powerful external crises reduce demand for products. We first present a theoretical framework that shows that employment protection has a U-shaped effect on abnormal unemployment during a negative exogenous shock to an economy. Using data from the 33 OECD countries, we analyze how the level of employment protection affected the stability of unemployment rates during the recent global economic crisis. The results suggest that countries with an intermediate level of employment protection will have more stable unemployment rates during a world crisis. The policy implication of our paper is that countries should seek a medium level of employment protection that may act as an automatic stabilizer of the economy on the macro level.

Specific influence of the media on the transformation of political values and orientations of Russian youth

2020 ◽  
pp. 8-15
Author(s):  
Elena Nikolaevna Malik
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Political Consciousness ◽  
Information Culture ◽  
Political Values ◽  
The Media ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Specific Influence

The article reveals the role of the institute of mass media on the processes of forming political consciousness and socio-political guidelines of young citizens in modern Russia. The problems of hygiene of media policy, media literacy and improving the information culture of young people remain relevant and archival, given the new challenges of world politics and the geopolitical situation. The author argues that media education technologies to increase the media literacy of young citizens contribute to the realization of their socio-political subjectivity and initiative in the interests of the state and civil society.

EXAMINING STATE-BUILDING OF THE SYRIAN REPUBLIC AND THE LEGACY OF ITS COLONIAL PAST

2021 ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Ani MATEVOSYAN
Keyword(s):  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
State Building ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
Current State ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Political Consolidation ◽  
Historical Past

Abstract: This research tackles essential elements of Syrian state-building processes through a structural analysis incorporating several theories and concepts including but not limited to colonialism, nationalism, military interventions, institutional development, minority rule, and eventually neocolonialism. The article reveals how minority rule and different implications of military interventions shaped today’s Syria, as well as addresses some of the current issues such as the absence of domestic political consolidation. The primary aim of this research is to contextualize the role of France—as a former colonizer, within the state-building process of Syria by examining different phases of Syria’s historical past. An examination of Syria’s political developments proved that having inherited a colonial past, the current state of Syria has also inherited an unavoidable legacy of political instability from its colonial past. Keywords: Syria, Middle East, State-Building, Colonialism, Military Interventions.

The role of public libraries in the development of social capital in local communities – a theoretical study

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-196
Author(s):  
Maja Dorota Wojciechowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

PurposeSocial capital, understood as intangible community values available through a network of connections, is a factor in the development of societies and improving quality of life. It helps to remove economic inequalities and prevent poverty and social exclusion, stimulate social and regional development, civic attitudes and social engagement and build a civic society as well as local and regional identity. Many of these tasks may be implemented by libraries, which, apart from providing access to information, may also offer a number of services associated with social needs. The purpose of this paper is to present the roles and functions that libraries may serve in local communities in terms of assistance, integration and development based on classical social capital theories.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the classical concepts of social capital in the context of libraries. It analyses the findings of Pierre-Félix Bourdieu, James Coleman, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Putnam, Nan Lin, Ronald Stuart Burt, Wayne Baker and Alejandro Portes. Based on their respective concepts, the paper analyses the role of the contemporary library in the social life of local communities. In particular, it focuses on the possible new functions that public libraries may serve.FindingsA critical review of the concept of social capital revealed certain dependencies between libraries and their neighbourhoods. With new services that respond to the actual social needs, libraries may serve as a keystone, namely they may integrate, animate and engage local communities. This, however, requires a certain approach to be adopted by the personnel and governing authorities as well as infrastructure and tangible resources.Originality/valueThe social engagement of libraries is usually described from the practical perspective (reports on the services provided) or in the context of research on the impact of respective projects on specific groups of users (research reports). A broader approach, based on original social theories, is rarely encountered. The paper draws on classical concepts of social capital and is a contribution to the discussion on possible uses of those concepts based on an analysis of the role of libraries in social life and in strengthening the social capital of local communities.

The institutional development of skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine: Institutional settings, critical junctures and policy transfer

2021 ◽  
pp. 174549992110574
Author(s):  
Vidmantas Tūtlys ◽  
Daiva Bukantaitė ◽  
Sergii Melnyk ◽  
Aivaras Anužis
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Policy Transfer ◽  
Historical Institutionalism ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Critical Junctures ◽  
The Eu

The paper compares the institutional development of skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine by focusing on the implications of the post-communist transition and Europeanization and exploring the role of policy transfer. The research follows the theoretical approach of historical institutionalism and skills formation ecosystems. Despite similar critical junctures typical for the institutional development of skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine within this timeframe, the existing differences of these development pathways can be explained by the different policy choices and different impacts of the institutional legacy. The main implication of integration with the EU for skills formation in Lithuania and Ukraine is related with enabling holistic and strategic institutional development of skills formation institutions. The paper concludes that policy transfer was one of the key driving forces and capacity-building sources in the development of skills formation institutions in both countries.

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