This edited volume examines the form and operation of intergovernmental relations in divided societies. Using eight country case studies, it explores the interplay between politicised ethno-cultural diversity and intergovernmental relations (IGR) in countries where the distinctive identity of at least one subnational unit is acknowledged in a form of territorial autonomy. The book examines whether and how the distinctive identity of particular subnational units and the attending competing constitutional visions shape the dynamics of IGR. The goal here is not simply to determine whether intergovernmental interactions in such societies are less cordial and more conflictual than in other societies. Such interaction in any society could be strained as a result of disagreement over specific policy objectives. The question is whether the distinctive identity of particular subnational units and the attending competing constitutional visions themselves have been a primary source of intergovernmental tension. The book also examines the impact of identity politics on institutions and instruments of IGR, determining whether the ethno-cultural divide and the tension it creates have the tendency to affect the type of institutions and instruments employed in IGR. It is also about the relevance and effectiveness of institutions and instruments of IGR in acknowledging and accommodating the distinctive identities and specific demands of subnational units, thereby contributing to the peaceful management of divided societies.

Stress tests highlight a system's weak spots. This second edition provides a stress testing of the United States by exploring in detail the background to the disasters of the War on Terror, Hurricane Katrina, the financial crisis, the Gulf oil spill and the COVID-19 epidemic. These major stresses-the country's longest war, its biggest natural disaster, its biggest financial collapse since the Great Depression, its biggest oil spill and its worst pandemic since the influenza pandemic of 1918-tell us much about structural flaws in the United States. This book explores each of these events in detail to locate the seed of the disasters, and highlights what we have learned and not learned from these stress tests.

This book examines the role of the legislature in the democratic governance of Nigeria. Once one of the foremost political institutions of governance established in the early days of Colonial administration in Nigeria, the legislature has had an inconsistent role since statehood, subject to repeat dissolution at the hands of various military regimes. Focusing on the Nigerian Fourth Republic's National Assembly (1999-present), this book discusses in detail the ways in which the national assembly has handled each of its major functions, the nature of the relationship between the assembly and the legislature, and the institutional mechanism through which its internal business is facilitated and executed. Furthermore, the chapters examine the level of assertiveness of the legislature, and the degree of importance and weight attached to their contributions to governance in motions, resolutions, and law-making. This book offers a unique look into legislative studies, an area which has been historically overlooked in the research on the Nigerian government, and will be useful to students and researchers in African studies, democracy and state-building and legislative studies.

This book presents selected papers by the keynote speakers and other presenters from various disciplines and includes their opinions and evaluations. The Fourth Global Summit of Research Institutes for Disaster Risk Reduction (4th GSRIDRR, 2019): Increasing the Effectiveness and Relevance of our Institutes, sponsored by the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI) and Kyoto University, was hosted by and held at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Uji Campus, Kyoto, Japan, 13-15 March 2019.. The Global Summit series provided a platform for researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and other stakeholders in both government and non-governmental institutes involved in disaster risk reduction and resilience to come together to discuss, share, and exchange ideas. It focuses specifically on contributing input to the contextualization and revision of the goals of the 2016 Science and Technology Roadmap to implementation of the Priority Areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Agenda 2015-2030, with input for GADRI to move forward in its contributions to the worldwide science community. The conference comprised an impressive array of global stakeholders whose expertise and experience encompassed the management of knowledge and its application for governments and industries, with shared outcomes to bridge science and decision making. It enhanced a process to confront new scientific challenges in disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management. The conference accomplished the following major goals, among others: (1) engagement in dialogue on issues related to disaster prevention and contributions to the Science and Technology Roadmap adopted to support the implementation of the Sendai Framework Agenda 2015-2030; (2) evaluation of current efforts on global and national involvement in the field of disaster prevention research in relation to the implementation of the Priority Areas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030; (3) assessment of the status of current research knowledge and efforts, and research results at the institutional level in each country.

Patient safety and quality improvement in health care remain a global priority. Subpar performance in health care, however, is still common more than a decade after the christening of patient safety in Africa. The core principle of safety and quality improvement systems is to identify and assess the root cause of failures in order to learn from them and devise a means to improve and to avoid recurrence. This book is designed to encourage, facilitate and empower healthcare workers in the development and implementation of strategically driven patient safety and quality improvement initiatives for safer healthcare systems and healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) of Africa. It also highlights some of the profound challenges and barriers to designing and implementing patient safety and quality improvement interventions or programmes in the region and reiterates the need to remain focused and determined to work out solutions with confidence and overcome these barriers. In the book, chapters highlight six essential components crucial for achieving evolutionary progress in safety and quality improvement in a healthcare system: Standard operating procedure Audit Research Safety management Quality management Evaluation Practical steps in planning and conducting these six essential components are outlined with some specific features to aid learning and facilitate their implementation. The authors have experience and expertise in the medical practice gained in Africa and a decade of knowledge and experience from consultancy work in safety and quality improvement in health care within and outside the region. Essentials for Quality and Safety Improvement in Health Care: A Resource for Developing Countries is authored for both medical professionals and those from other professions who are interested in and enthusiastic about patient safety and healthcare quality and therefore willing to build a career in this field. It is relevant to all health institutions, health and non-health workers, and can be used as a checklist while rendering quality and safe health care.

The study of violent extremism in the wake of ISIS has largely been devoted to the process of radicalization and strategies to counter and de-radicalize extremists. However, little has been written on the subject of Diversion - early, upstream interventions aimed at deflecting individuals from a pathway of radicalization. This volume addresses this gap in scholarship by analysing the Diversion strategies being deployed worldwide, aimed at diverting or deflecting individuals, and communities, from the path of radicalization. These include Diversion methods used among social workers, teachers, counselors and the police both in relation to individuals and communities. Case studies range across the Global North and South, presented by both academic and practitioner contributors, and address different branches of radicalization, the variety of strategies used as Diversion, and the results of these interventions.

This book traces the history of China's administrative reform in the past 35 years, focusing on the three phases of development, four guidelines and five major tasks of the reform since it is of great value to depict the entire process of China's administrative system reform, analyzing the achievements, problems and prospects of the reform, and exploring experiences and lessons from the relationship between the administrative system reform and China's economic, social and government transformation.

This book empirically examines a diverse range of groundwater issues and different approaches to deal with such concerns taking into account responses from government bodies, community organizations, scientists, private sector, and academia. The overarching objective of this book is to empirically examine groundwater governance and groundwater law. It aims to provide a better understanding of the complexities surrounding groundwater governance in order to reconceptualize and retheorize the governance of subterranean resources having as entry points equity and sustainability concerns. This involves understanding what people do when using, sharing, protecting, and measuring groundwater; and why do they do what they do, i.e., what are their motivations to resort to certain practices. This is done through the comparative and contrasting investigation of six case studies from countries from the Global North and Global South. It offers a different perspective of literature given that it explains how groundwater governance and law are in practice rather than what they should be. Additionally, the research presented in this book provides ideas on how to rethink the design and implementation of groundwater law grounded on empirically based descriptions and the understanding of groundwater problems.

Since the first and only constitutional convention in 1787, 26 amendments have been added to our governing document, but not one of them became law by virtue of the convention method. Despite more than 400 applications, no constitutional convention has been called in 202 years. Indeed it was James Madison who wrote, "Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention. . . . I should tremble for the result of a Second." In "Unfounded Fears: Myths and Realities of a Constitutional Convention," Weber and Perry present a balanced, scholarly look on this controversial topic and introduce surprising conclusions.

Weber and Perry seek to determine if, in fact, the first convention was a runaway, as common wisdom holds, and they examine the process by which the Convention was called. They also review the attempts since 1787 to call a second constitutional convention, and they confront many of the questions commonly raised about a potential convention, including the process for electing delegates and the ability of Congress to establish and control the convention's procedures and substance of what a convention does. In their final chapter, they reflect on the realities of a balanced-budget amendment.

This book examines the ways in which emergency management organizations make sense and learn from natural disasters. Examining recent bushfires in Australia, it demonstrates that whilst public inquiries that follow such disasters can be important for learning and change, they have ultimately created a learning vacuum insofar as their recommendations repeat themselves. This has kept governments and society focused on learning lessons about the past, rather than for the future. Accordingly, this book recommends a new approach to sensemaking and learning focused on prospective planning rather than retrospective recommendations, and where planning for the future is seen as the shared responsibility of the government, society, and the emergency management community in Australia and beyond.

This cohesive and challenging collection of academic essays represents a radical analysis, indeed re-interpretation, of the political, social and economic events which have occurred within the new South Africa since the momentous 1994 general election. Chapters by three of the leading authorities in the field of South African history and politics, Professors Marks, Spence and Gutheridge, concisely examine the prospects for stability and progress as the key fields of regional and international security, armed forces integration and social and economic policy. Three other authors examine, sometimes in controversial fashion, the progress of and prospects for the three main political parties: the ANC; the NP; and the IFP. A further three studies address the ramifications of recent elections, developments in the arms industry and changes in the political economy of the new South Africa. The book as a whole will be seen as the first comprehensive study of the security prospects of the New South Africa under the inspired leadership of Nelson Mandela.

This book investigates Turkey's departure from a 'flawed democracy' under Kemalist secularism, and its transitioning into Islamist authoritarian Erdoganism, through the lenses of informal law, legal pluralism, and legal hybridity. In doing so, it examines the attempts of Turkey's ruling party (AKP) at social engineering and gradual Islamisation of the Turkish state and society, by using informal Islamist laws. To that end, the book argues that the AKP has paved the way for Islamist legal hybridity where society, state, and law, are being gradually Islamised on an ad hoc basis. Informal law and legal pluralism in Turkey have had a non-state characteristic which have permitted Muslims to solve disputes by seeking the opinions of religio-legal scholars. Yet under the AKP rule, this informal legal system has become increasingly dominated by conservatives, sometimes radical Islamists, which the governing party has taken advantage of by either formalizing some parts of the informal Islamist law, or using it informally to mobilize its supporters against the opposition.

This book recognizes Mexico's effects and challenges in a natural disaster and offers empirical risk-reduction methods in critical cases. The proposals considered here include real and detailed analysis, a set of models, frameworks, strategies, and findings in the three stages of the disaster (before-during-after). This book: describes the methodology to find secure locations for the Regional Humanitarian Response Depot; offers recommendations for the sites and creation of an Export Logistics Cluster; shows how to use available technology and information to locate volunteers in the right spots describes mathematical models to help to allocate procedure of resources for restoring the affected community and proposes actions to create resilience in the country's main economic sectors, including agriculture and industry. The processes applied at recent disasters such as the 19S earthquake and their results are used as case studies, identifying possibilities for further improvement. The book also describes new trends for Mexico due to climate change and makes suggestions for mitigating future disasters. The proposals are also replicable to other highly populated societies with similar socio-economic structures. Finally, this book is the basis for generating more innovative recommendations by researchers, graduate students, academics, professionals, and practitioners to obtain better planning and better collaboration between all the humanitarian chain actors. This book intends to be of interest as a fundamental tool for decision-makers, governments, non-governmental organizations, and enterprises.

The controversial new thesis of Faces of Inequality is that a state's racial and ethnic composition, more than any other factor, directs its political processes and policies. Social diversity is therefore central to any understanding of state political cultures. Overturning long-established conventional wisdom, Rodney Hero has developed a completely new lens through which to view American politics.

The Citizenship Experiment explores the fate of citizenship ideals in the Age of Revolutions. While in the early 1790s citizenship ideals in the Atlantic world converged, the twin shocks of the Haitian Revolution and the French Revolutionary Terror led the American, French, and Dutch publics to abandon the notion of a shared, Atlantic, revolutionary vision of citizenship. Instead, they forged conceptions of citizenship that were limited to national contexts, restricted categories of voters, and 'advanced' stages of civilization. Weaving together the convergence and divergence of an Atlantic revolutionary discourse, debates on citizenship, and the intellectual repercussions of the Terror and the Haitian Revolution, Koekkoek offers a fresh perspective on the revolutionary 1790s as a turning point in the history of citizenship.

Political violence in Northern Ireland began in the late 1960s and has been part of life there and to a lesser extent in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain for nearly three decades. The crisis has perplexed politicians, strained democratic institutions, and has placed British policies under the microscope of international scrutiny. The volume of up-to-date essays places recent developments in context. It looks at the ideology of republicans and unionists, the impediments to peace, problems of gender and citizenship, the impact of partition on the island's economy, how The Troubles have been filtered through the press, and the impact of overspill violence in the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. This study adds an important fresh texture to the ongoing discussion of political violence and the problems in Northern Ireland.

What is the Senate for and what does it do? Everyone knows what the French president, the National Assembly and political parties are for and what they do, but not the upper house. At his inauguration in October 2008, the Senate's new speaker made it his goal to make this commonplace redundant by the end of his term in 2011. It may be the least well known of the institutions of the Fifth Republic, but the Senate is an assembly based on that most particular aspect of French political culture - local government and local elus. As Paul Smith shows here, it is an institution that has evolved with the regime, sometimes in unexpected ways, and finds itself, at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, on the brink of potentially great and certainly unexpected changes in form and content.

Two Gulf wars and the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict have highlighted the salience of military factors in the Middle East. This book argues, however, that many of the most serious 'security' challenges to Arab states and societies are rooted not in external military threats but in the imperatives of socio-economic development. Contributors examine the regional security environment; the social and political impact of regional militarization; and underdevelopment as a source of regional insecurity.

This is the first book that documents and analyses the paramount role of secret services in the decomposition of the communist system and the conversion of its elites into new capitalists. The surge of civil society in 1980s Poland prompted a parallel expansion of the police-state apparatus. The book traces the subsequent reconstruction and privatization of social, political and material resources of the police-state and shows how these covert operations shaped other, more visible aspects of the East/Central European transformation. A Note from the Authors: Since the publication of this book, the events in Poland and elsewhere have demonstrated the extraordinary influence and longevity of the power networks spawned by the communist police state apparatus and its eventual privatization. There is new evidence uncovered almost daily, whose interpretation would not be feasible without the conceptual and historical framework elaborated first in this book.

This open access book presents a topical, comprehensive and differentiated analysis of Germany's public administration and reforms. It provides an overview on key elements of German public administration at the federal, Lander and local levels of government as well as on current reform activities of the public sector. It examines the key institutional features of German public administration; the changing relationships between public administration, society and the private sector; the administrative reforms at different levels of the federal system and numerous sectors; and new challenges and modernization approaches like digitalization, Open Government and Better Regulation. Each chapter offers a combination of descriptive information and problem-oriented analysis, presenting key topical issues in Germany which are relevant to an international readership.

Victorian Britain is often described as an age of dawning democracy and as an exemplar of the modern Liberal state; yet a hereditary monarchy, a hereditary House of Lords, and an established Anglican Church survived as influential aspects of national public life with traditional elites assuming redefined roles. After 1832, constitutional notions of 'mixed government' gradually gave way to the orthodoxy of 'parliamentary government', shaping the function and nature of political parties in Westminster and the constituencies, as well as the relations between them. Following the 1867-8 Reform Acts, national political parties began to replace the premises of 'parliamentary government'. The subsequent emergence of a mass male electorate in the 1880s and 1890s prompted politicians to adopt new language and methods by which to appeal to voters, while enduring public values associated with morality, community and evocations of the past continued to shape Britain's distinctive political culture. This gave a particularly conservative trajectory to the nation's entry into the twentieth century. This study of British political culture from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century examines the public values that informed perceptions of the constitution, electoral activity, party partisanship, and political organization. Its exploration of Victorian views of status, power, and authority as revealed in political language, speeches, and writing, as well as theology, literature, and science, shows how the development of moral communities rooted in readings of the past enabled politicians to manage far-reaching change. This presents a new over-arching perspective on the constitutional and political transformations of the Victorian age.

Is the Prefect an exception, surviving only in France and some countries influenced by Napoleon? No! This book tells the varied stories of the resilience, in most European States and under different names, of the prefectoral institution. It is the first comparative book in English studying these territorial administrators who have a go-between role in centre-periphery relations and a nodal role in territorial governance. Gathering a multidisciplinary team of scholars under the auspices of the European Group for Public Administration, this volume offers a fine-grained analysis of 17 national cases, examines cross-country data, and proposes a theoretical frame made of a Weberian ideal-type with three variants, to better comprehend and explain the permanence and changes of the prefectoral figure.

The idea of the centralized State has played a powerful role in shaping French republicanism. But for two hundred years, many have tried to find other ways of being French and Republican. These essays challenge the traditional account, bringing together new insights from leading scholars.