Why does Germany abstain from statutory bargaining extensions? Explaining the exceptional German erosion of collective wage bargaining

Against the European trend, German statutory collective bargaining extensions (SBEs) have decreased in the last two decades, contributing to the exceptional erosion of German wage-bargaining coverage. This article distinguishes between two liberalization dynamics: an intrasectoral dynamic that started with the introduction of employers’ association memberships outside the scope of collective agreements, and an intersectoral dynamic. The latter is the result of an abnormal German institutional feature, the veto power of the employers’ umbrella association in the committees that have to approve SBE applications. Activation of this veto enabled employers to promote collective bargaining erosion in sectors other than their own, in order to contain cost pressures. This intersectoral liberalization dynamic has been part of Germany’s transition into an asymmetrically export-driven growth regime and could be stopped by means of political reforms.

PEOPLE AS A COLELCTIVE POLITICAL ACTOR (ON THE EXAMPLE OF TUNISIA)

The article discusses the role of people as a collective actor in the Jasmine Revolution, which occurred in Tunisia at the beginning of 2011. The Tunisian revolution, that had aris-en from collective national sense of dignity and justice, was marked by its spontaneous character. It is shown, that this revolution was related neither to parties nor movements, preparing politically revolutionary renewing of the society. The revolution was guided neither by leaders nor authoritative persons. The program of country transformation also lacked. Taking into account positions of Tunisian scholars, the content of notion “people” and its changeable character, as well as its liberating function, manifesting during political reforms is revealed. Peculiarities of political transit during first months of its post-revolutionary development are analyzed.

The Democratic Struggle in the Sahel

The countries of the Sahel found themselves under intense domestic and international pressures to undertake political reforms in the name of democracy in the early 1990s, and indeed all of them launched efforts to do so. This chapter surveys the variations and the similarities in how the struggle to build and strengthen democratic institutions has played out in the Sahel. It examines some initial fundamental questions related to the nature of a democratic state that were raised by the transitions, before turning to a discussion of the core institutional debates that have defined the struggle. Subsequent sections discuss the political dynamics and the similarities and variations across countries in the institutions for organizing and administering elections and electoral systems; presidential term limits; the structure of legislatures; and the provisions for women’s representation.

The impact of economic and political reforms on environmental performance in developing countries

The humans of modern society are enjoying the luxuries and comforts today but future generations will be facing a more polluted environment and scarcity of natural resources. So the effects of global warming and climatic changes are a major policy concern nowadays around the world. The majority of the literature treats the Carbon Dioxide emissions as an indicator of environmental deterioration but this paper considers the environmental performance index as an indicator of environment. This paper addresses the role of institutional reforms for environmental performance that is hardly discussed in the earlier literature. It is argued that a novel approach of institutional reforms can provide some useful insights for environmental performance in developing countries. There is wide agreement that institutional quality is crucial for economic sustainability but rarely focused to explore the impacts of institutional reforms on environmental performance. The institutional reforms are generally divided into two categories; economic and political reforms. This paper investigated the impact of each category of institutional reforms for environmental performance by using panel data of 122 developing economies for a period of 1996–2020. Difference in differences technique is applied to determine the impact of each category of reforms on the environment. It is found that economic and political reforms significantly contribute to protecting the environment in developing countries, and it will be a good policy option to reform the economic and political institutions to preserve the environment in these countries along with sustainable development.

Uzbekistan’s Development under the Leadership of Various Political Reforms: The Case of Air Transport Industry

The First President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, continued to isolate the country for many years even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which in turn worsened all the strategic sectors in the country, especially the aviation market and tourism industries. However, in the period 2017-2018, the skyrocket in the number of tourists, from 2.69 million to 5.34 million, became possible due to the coming of Shavkat Mirziyoyev to power as the new President. But the lack of air connectivity kept reducing aspiration of traveling from non-CIS countries. To solve the issue, the new President Mirziyoyev’s large-scale policy reforms concerned the air transport sector, too. The main objective of the study is to compare the development of the country under the leadership of various political reforms using the aviation industry of Uzbekistan as an example. To achieve the purposes, the authors examine reciprocal action/influence between airlines, airports and government. In addition, a significant amount of data was collected from Russian-language sources to enrich the content. Even though the paper was written before the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors' research is still important to nudge readers into a new perspective.

Political Governance in the Light of the Constitutional Amendment in Algeria and the Mechanisms of Political Reform (Organizing Powers as a Model)

Since the transformation of the Algerian political system in 1989, the principle of separation of powers has emerged strongly in political life, as an inevitable alternative to what prevailed in the past from the consolidation of power under the one-party system, and with the fading of manifestations of enshrining the principle in the 1996 Constitution and the subsequent amendments that contributed to Strengthening presidential dominance of power, which resulted in a clear imbalance between powers, which called for the intervention of the Algerian constitutional founder in order to introduce new reforms in line with the urgent popular demands aimed at sending promising political reforms that guarantee good political governance, especially with regard to orga…

Indonesian anti-graft agency may be more politicised

Significance Many of those set to lose their jobs have filed appeals and lawsuits against their removal. In 2019, amendments to the law underpinning the KPK sparked protests over concerns that they would weaken the institution. Impacts The current government will try to reassure the public of its anti-graft intent in a bid to assuage concerns arising from the dismissals. Potentially effective staffers will be dissuaded from seeking employment at the KPK. A weaker KPK will reduce the impact of investor-friendly political reforms.