Depression and repression: Global capitalism, economic crisis and penal politics in interwar Greece

Notwithstanding the significant advances made over the last twenty years in terms of charting and explaining the ways in which state punishment is influenced by economic and political forces, little is still known about the penal effects of conditions of economic crisis and about the role the incumbent government's political orientation plays in this regard. Because the few available studies on these questions have been preoccupied with the Anglo-American sphere and only in the context of recent decades at that, even less is known either about the implications that different types or experiences of economic crisis carry for state punishment, or about the influence exerted in this respect by government political orientations other than those found in established democracies. Irrespective of geographical or temporal scope, moreover, the impact that different extranational factors and actors may have in terms of economic, political or directly penal matters domestically remains poorly understood. With a view to helping fill these gaps in the literature, this article explores the effects on state punishment that economic crisis and government political orientation had in interaction with one another in the context of interwar Greece. Attention is first paid to various ways in which global capitalism was decisive in creating within Greece an environment conducive to increased punitiveness on the part of the state. The focus is on the economic, social and political consequences of the Wall Street crash of 1929 and Britain's exit from the gold standard in 1931, as these were exacerbated by Greece's long-term exposure to predatory lending, speculative investing and external interference in her domestic affairs in the context of engaging international capital markets. The article then proceeds to discuss how the Liberal government of 1928–1932 sought to handle the situation, particularly the approach it took towards punishment.

Trudeau begins his third term with continuity

Significance The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is beginning its third term with an emphasis on post-pandemic issues. While there was little new in the speech, which mostly signalled a continuation of existing policies, more action is likely on environmental and Indigenous reconciliation issues. Impacts New legislation will underpin the equality of the French language with English in federally regulated workplaces. Reform of the Broadcasting Act to cover online streaming services will require them to generate more Canadian content. Substantial increases in the foreign aid budget are likely, as are new diplomatic efforts in the Indo-Pacific region. Promises of renewed investment in defence are likely to be downgraded given the emphasis on social spending.

A Carefare Regime

Hungary’s anti-liberal government has invented a novel solution to the care crisis, which I call a “carefare regime”. This chapter describes four key features of the policies, policy practice and discourse that make up Hungary’s carefare regime. I argue that in contrast to welfare state models familiar from developed democracies, in post-2010 Hungary, women’s claims to social citizenship are most successfully made on the basis of doing care work. The state is re-engineered rather retrenched: services are not commodified but “churchified” in an effort to redistribute resources and build political loyalty. Women are constructed as “naturally” responsible for reproduction and care and this responsibility is tied to sentimentalized notions about femininity and true womanhood. In addition to providing care in the household, women are increasingly engaged in the paid labor market too, where the tolerance for gender inequality is officially mandated. A carefare regime provides limited financial advantages for a select group of women, while simultaneously increasing their devalued work burden both in and outside the household: it feeds a growing underclass of women workers.

An Inconvenient Obligation: How the Major Political Parties of Canada and Australia Justify the Restriction of Asylum Seekers

<p>This thesis surveys the politics of asylum seeking in Canada and Australia, charting the asylum policies and related parliamentary debates of Jean Chretien's Liberal Government (1993-2005) in Canada and John Howard's Liberal Government (1996-2007) in Australia, as well as those of their respective opposition parties. In doing so, this thesis reveals how the major political parties of Canada and Australia justified the disjunction between what they said about asylum (their rhetoric) and what they did (their policy). In regards to what they said, politicians of the centre-left and centre-right frequently affirmed their commitment to the state's obligations to refugees. Yet, in regards to what they did, the major political parties of Canada and Australia supported policy measures that restricted the entrance of asylum seekers. Given these findings, this thesis proposes to understand the politics of asylum as a conflict of aspirations. On the one hand, the major parties of Canada and Australia held an aspiration to provide asylum to refugees and, on the other, they held an aspiration to regulate the entrance of non-citizens into their national community. The practice of asylum seeking brought these aspirations into conflict because asylum seekers frequently entered nations by irregular means, frustrating a government's capacity to regulate entrance. In trying to reconcile this conflict, the major parties of Canada and Australia subordinated their aspiration to provide asylum, narrowing its scope to those refugees who arrived by regular means. This redefinition of the aspiration to provide asylum has substantial implications for the global refugee regime.</p>

An Inconvenient Obligation: How the Major Political Parties of Canada and Australia Justify the Restriction of Asylum Seekers

<p>This thesis surveys the politics of asylum seeking in Canada and Australia, charting the asylum policies and related parliamentary debates of Jean Chretien's Liberal Government (1993-2005) in Canada and John Howard's Liberal Government (1996-2007) in Australia, as well as those of their respective opposition parties. In doing so, this thesis reveals how the major political parties of Canada and Australia justified the disjunction between what they said about asylum (their rhetoric) and what they did (their policy). In regards to what they said, politicians of the centre-left and centre-right frequently affirmed their commitment to the state's obligations to refugees. Yet, in regards to what they did, the major political parties of Canada and Australia supported policy measures that restricted the entrance of asylum seekers. Given these findings, this thesis proposes to understand the politics of asylum as a conflict of aspirations. On the one hand, the major parties of Canada and Australia held an aspiration to provide asylum to refugees and, on the other, they held an aspiration to regulate the entrance of non-citizens into their national community. The practice of asylum seeking brought these aspirations into conflict because asylum seekers frequently entered nations by irregular means, frustrating a government's capacity to regulate entrance. In trying to reconcile this conflict, the major parties of Canada and Australia subordinated their aspiration to provide asylum, narrowing its scope to those refugees who arrived by regular means. This redefinition of the aspiration to provide asylum has substantial implications for the global refugee regime.</p>

The Enclosure of the Ejidos of Bogotá Imperial Wars and the End of Common Lands in Colonial New Granada

The article analyses the enclosure of the ejidos of the city of Bogotá in the second half of the 18th century, one century before the liberal government definitively abolished common property in Colombia. It shows how, as the land demand increased with population and economic growth, not only landowners but also the Crown sought to increase their income at the expense of common lands. Unlike the classic enclosures in England, the Cabildo kept control over the ejidos of Bogotá. By furthering the private use of municipal ejidos without expropriating Cabildos, the Crown sought to activate the agrarian economy safeguarding, at the same time, the local financial structure that sustained the empire. Emphasizing the fiscal nature of municipal ejidos, this article shows how imperial dynamics transformed land use on both sides of the Atlantic and explores the specificities of common-land enclosures in some of the Spanish colonies.

Trudeau must reassess China relations

Significance The timing of the release just days after an inconclusive election in Canada appears coincidental but, with campaigning now over, the newly returned Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is preparing to re-evaluate its relationship with China. Impacts China will draw the conclusion that strongarm tactics, including arbitrary detention of Canadian citizens, will work against Ottawa. There is a risk that distrust of the Beijing government may spill over into abuse of Canada’s Chinese diaspora. The Biden administration will remind Trudeau of the favour done by not requiring Canada to hand Meng over to US authorities.

Provinces blamed for COVID third wave shortcomings

Significance Some of Canada’s largest provincial governments have seen their approval ratings fall in the wake of the third wave, although there has been little impact on the Liberal government in Ottawa. The political consequences will remain significant in the coming months. Impacts Changes in government could see all provinces except Saskatchewan have a carbon tax in place by 2023. Manitoba could see the election of Wab Kinew as Canada’s first Indigenous provincial premier if current trends continue. Universal pharmacare is off the table for now, as Ottawa and provinces seek to woo back pharmaceutical investment. A return to power of the NDP in Alberta would see several significant mining and oil sands projects cancelled.