Wal Hannington and the unemployed workers’ struggles in Britain in the 1930s

Wal Hannington’s hallmark leadership of the National Unemployed Workers’ Movement (NUWM) in the UK in the 1930s was built on a clear understanding of the causes of unemployment and therefore possible remedies; a highly sensitive and morally profound awareness of the consequences of unemployment for both the unemployed and their families and for those still in work; and a realisation that the struggle was political in the true sense — a question of the abuse of power by those in charge and the need to mobilise countervailing power of the people in struggle. It was this communist emphasis on class struggle that enabled the movement to be effective at every level — in the labour exchanges, in the streets and homes, in the trade union offices, and in the council and parliamentary chambers.

Russia–China–Pakistan Engagement in the Changing Global Context: Scrutinizing the Realist Logic of a Trilateral ‘Axis’

Russia’s robust engagement with China coupled with the recalibration of its ties with Pakistan, coming at the backdrop of Russia’s increasing estrangement with the West, Pakistan’s dissatisfaction with the USA over the suspension of security assistance, and India’s closeness toward the latter are leading scholars and political analysts to remark that Russia, China, and Pakistan are gradually inching toward the formalization of an ‘axis’ or a strategic ‘counter alliance’ in a bid to push for a greater bipolarity in world affairs. Though there are not enough signs to prove that Russia–China–Pakistan ‘axis’ is a reality, what is of significance is the emergence of converging interests among these three states that is gradually leading toward deeper engagements among them. It is in this broader context that the article will endeavor to analyze the factors propelling such a development and seek to discern the possible implications it may have on the time-tested ties between Russia and India. The study will move beyond the realist concepts of a power-centric and relative-gain approach that presents this trilateral engagement as a ‘counter alliance’ to the USA and India’s supremacy in the region; instead the article argues that the factors as presented in the realist narratives are inadequate to explain the nature of Russia–China–Pakistan engagement in the light of (a) Russia’s invested relationship with India that is steeped in historical nostalgia which makes it highly unlikely for Russia to turn against the latter; (b) second, Russia’s tactical relationship with Pakistan inevitably weakens one leg of the so-called axis; (c) third, Russia’s robust partnership with China invalidates the realist argument that Russia retains an interest in countering China’s growing status as a countervailing power in the region; (d) fourth, the ‘other’ ( i.e., the USA and India) vis-à-vis which the realists attempt to posit the Russia–China–Pakistan ‘axis’ as a counter strategic alliance is itself noninstitutionalized and fraught with many challenges.

Do we need an anti-oligarchic constitution?

Camila Vergara’s Systemic Corruption is an extraordinarily rich, provocative and original work of political theory, which makes several compelling interventions in the normative literature. It develops a forceful critique of overly narrow definitions of corruption, insisting that a more ‘systemic’ conception is required in order to grasp the scale of oligarchic domination in contemporary democracies. It also points out the limitations of the ‘proceduralist’ model of contestation adopted by neo-republicans, and outlines a persuasive conception of the people as a partisan actor with specific interests to defend. Yet Vergara’s alternative vision of how popular power might be institutionalized is less convincing. Though she rightly insists on the importance of organized countervailing power and plebeian solidarity, the system of nested local assemblies that she proposes is not well-suited to foster the development of either.

International mega-corruption Inc.: the structural violence against sustainable development

Purpose This paper aims to determine the underlying structural foundations that explain why mega (large-scale) corruption exists in an ever-more sophisticated form and how and why the phenomenon remains an intractable threat to global socio-economic stability and sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach Post-colonial theory is used along with critical perspectives on corruption in international business. The paper privileges the decolonization of the current paradigm where “hegemonic orthodoxy” is maintained and enforced through domesticated criticism of corruption in academic literature and in the media. Findings The author explains the foundations of “International mega-Corruption Incorporated” (ImC Inc.) and concludes that apart from being the results of greed and criminal intent, it is a designed and weaponized violent instrument for undermining human progress. ImC Inc. occurs through resource control and the manipulation of institutions. Thus, the same theories, the same analyses and the same media exposés on the “pandemic of ImC Inc.” are followed by the same inactions or lacklustre interventions that ignore the powerful international financial institutions serving as the major facilitators. Social implications The nature of ImC Inc. as an existential threat requires mass awareness about its historicity and deep-seated influence on institutions, in order for stakeholders to form a countervailing power to proactively disrupt it in its complexity and in contextually meaningful ways. Originality/value This paper provides useful clarifications about specific factors that determine how ImC Inc. exists and thrives in its current form and how to deploy sweeping, corrective and pre-emptive interventions rather than reactionary policies against ImC Inc.

Parliamentary Regimes

This chapter focuses on parliamentary regimes. Parliamentarism, in its various forms, has the distinction of being the most widespread type of democratic government in the world. The chapter recounts the origins of parliamentary government in England, the cradle whence it was adopted and modified, in many different ways, in the rest of Europe, and was exported in tandem with the British Empire’s expansion. It next contrasts parliamentarism with presidentialism, highlighting the higher levels of executive-legislative comity in the former, and showing that the most consequential function of legislative assemblies under parliamentarism is not to legislate or even to scrutinize, but to make or break governments, which are typified by a countervailing power to convene or dissolve assemblies. The chapter then underscores the reality that parliamentary systems are not monolithic. It exhibits the variation and diversity in the universe of parliamentary regimes in the provisions for the head of state, the head of government and the cabinet, parties and elections, parliamentary control of government, and judicial review of administrative action. Finally, it concludes with a summary of major findings.

The Systemic Turn and Participatory Budgeting: The Case of Rio Grande do Sul

Participatory budgeting (PB) has been one of the most popular local democratic reforms in Latin America in recent decades. This article examines what happened to PB when it was scaled up to the state level and integrated in a participatory system in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (2011–14). Using theories of deliberative systems, multichannel participation, ‘venue shopping’ (the practice of seeking the most favourable policy venue) and countervailing power, as well as a multimethod research design, we explain how the systems approach allowed for both deliberation and direct democracy and mobilised new sectors to participate online. However, on the negative side, the different participation channels undermined each other. Social movements migrated to other spaces, leaving the budgeting process open to control by well-established, powerful public-sector groups.