bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quebec Block Voting and the Canadian Electoral System
Authors: Bakvis Herman , Macpherson Laura G. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis article examines two contrasting views of Quebec block voting in federal elections. One view has it that the Quebec electorate tends to behave in a monolithic fashion; the other, put by Cairns in 1968, claims that this phenomenon is “a contrivance of the electoral system, not an autonomous social fact.” The evidence shows that block voting, namely, the degree to which an electorate mobilizes behind the largest party, is much more pronounced in Quebec than it is in other provinces, and especially when compared to that in Ontario. Quebec is also more likely than Ontario to determine which party forms the government. The tendency of the electoral system to magnify seat allocations to the largest party, however, is only marginally greater in Quebec relative to Ontario. At the same time, the composition of the Quebec “block” vote has varied considerably over time; it has not always been a distinctively francophone phenomenon. The article further challenges the assumption that the single-member plurality system is inherently inferior to proportional representation as a means of securing the protection of minorities in ethnically diverse societies.
Francis Bacon on the Political Dangers of Scientific Progress
Authors: Studer Heidi D. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractTechnological progress has brought some political difficulties: we have both too much power and too little control. Francis Bacon, a principal promoter of science and technology, was not naive about the uses to which the conquest of nature would be put; they may not all be good, humane and charitable. He was not uniformly optimistic about the result being “the relief of man's estate,” even though that is the overwhelming rhetorical thrust of his major writings. Bacon actually rejected many of our currently offered “solutions” for controlling science as being hopelessly impolitic and improvident. This is revealed in a little-known chapter, entitled “Daedalus,” in one of his most comprehensive political works, Of the Wisdom of the Ancients. He provides timely lessons for us to consider now, entering the twenty-first century.
Hegel's Conservative Liberalism
Authors: Cristi F. R. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractHegelian scholarship is rent between conservative and liberal interpretations of Hegel's political philosophy. These one-sided interpretations miss his attempts to reconcile freedom and authority. Conservative liberalism, I submit, rightly describes his posture. A dialectical procedure allows Hegel to derive rationally a conservative State from the liberal principles embodied in market society. The key to this dialectical derivation lies in the spontaneous order that springs naturally from the self-seeking behaviour of individuals. Hegel's realization of the negative ethical value generated by that spontaneous order, and the failure of corporations to discipline the business classes, prompts the powerful role he confides to the State and its monarch.
La démocratic semi-directe en Suisse: entre la théorie et la réalité: 1879–1987
Authors: Eschet-Schwarz André 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThe semi-direct democracy in Switzerland during the period 1879-1987 is a favourable ground for checking some assumptions related to the theory of participatory democracy such as those involving the inherent characteristics of the popular majority. This article presents a comparative description of the specific features of the referenda votes and general elections in representative democracies. Some aspects of the political behaviour in the Swiss cantons and at the federal level are analyzed as are the fluctuations in referenda participation in relation to institutional factors, competition intensity and the number of signatures collected. Different aspects of amicable agreement democracy, the functioning of interest groups and their relationship to the level of participation are subjects of comprehensive discussion.
Coups, Earthquakes and Hostages? Foreign News on Canadian Television
Authors: Hackett Robert A. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractForeign news coverage on Canadian national television was content analyzed in light of Third World criticisms of Western news agencies. Using a sample of CBC and CTV national English-language newscasts in 1980 and 1985, four hypotheses were considered: (1) the geographical distribution of foreign news is highly concentrated, focussing on the West and regions of violence involving Western interests; (2) news from the industrialized West and from the Third World tends to be characterized by different formats and topics; (3) differences between networks are limited; and (4) differences between the two years studied are minor. The results support these hypotheses, with the partial exception of the fourth one, to the detriment of the image of the Third World on Canadian television.
Representations in Crisis: The Roots of Canada's Permeable Fordism
Authors: Jenson Jane 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis article utilizes the “regulation approach” in order to rethink the origins and resolution of crisis. It provides an account of the political conflicts of the 1930s and 1940s which gave rise to a model of development in Canada which can be labelled “permeable fordism.” Rapid economic growth after the Second World War had specific national traits but these were based on wage relations and macro-economic policies similar to other countries which have been labelled fordist. The political compromise of Canada's “fordism” was, in contrast, quite different. The compromise was based on a new national discourse more than on one stressing the capital-labour relationship and organized by class-based parties. The article demonstrates how these differences were rooted in the political conflict of the 1930s and 1940s, the moment when the earlier model of development came apart around the challenges posed to Canadian federalism by the Depression and the Second World War.
Un réexamen de la loi de Converse sur le lien entre le degré d'information politique et la mobilité de court terme de l'opinion
Authors: Nadeau Richard , Guay Jean H. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis study proposes an empirical test of a classical hypothesis formulated by Philip Converse about the link between political information and opinion change. The study departs from previous ones on three aspects: (1) it is conducted outside the electoral field; (2) political information—the key variable of the analysis—is directly measured and is issue specific, and (3) the test of Converse hypothesis is carried through the utilization of a quasi-experimental design. The results—based on a sample of students expressing opinions about the Canada-USA free trade agreement—exhibit the expected non-linear relation between the individual's level of political information and his propensity to change opinion. This conclusion suggests that particular groups could be more sensitive to political information flows.
The Revitalization of United States Aterritorial International Logic: The World Before and After the 1989 Invasion of Panama
Authors: Sutley Stewart 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis article suggests the existence of two rival solutions to the political problem of territorial possession and appropriation among states. If we take territorial control as the analytical starting point, it is possible to examine the evolution, over the last two centuries, of two divergent solutions to this issue. The nineteenth-century European response of supreme sovereignty within the context of a true community of states may be contrasted with that of the comity of republican American states sharing a moral vision and, more recently, US refinements of an aterritorial logic. The US invasion of Panama in 1989 may be understood as marking the resumption of the historical rivalry between these two logics and the widening of the application of US state practices and principles. Tracing the expansion of the American logic in this way helps to explain the greater focus among states on problems of economic production and distribution and the lesser focus on territorial appropriation.
How Do Peaceful Secessions Happen?
Authors: Young Robert A. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis study is a comparative survey of the political processes through which peaceful secession has taken place. The main focus is upon Singapore-Malaysia, Austria-Hungary and Norway-Sweden, though some attention is paid to other cases, including Czechoslovakia. The object is to derive, inductively, a set of empirical generalizations about the politics of the transition from a union or federation to two or more sovereign states. The article presents 13 such generalizations. Each is discussed and shown to hold in the various cases. Together, they comprise the pattern of politics that characterizes instances of peaceful secession
Left/Right Orientation and Political Attitudes: A Reappraisal and Class Comparison
Authors: Langford Tom 
Published: November 2009

AbstractIn this article the author proposes a schema conception of belief system structure, and employs confirmatory factor analysis, to investigate the connections between Left/Right Orientation and a range of policy-centred and operation-of-government attitudes. Contrary to the results of some earlier research, this study finds that Canadians' morality beliefs are moderately consistent with their evaluations of left and right. The examination includes education and class differences in the ideological integration and range of political belief systems. The major difference between workers and other classes is congruent with the notion that workers possess a dualistic political consciousness.
Pendulum Policy: Natural Gas Forecasts and Canadian Energy Policy, 1969–1981
Authors: Robinson John Bridger 
Published: November 2009

AbstractMajor energy policy decisions are usually based in part upon forecasts of energy supply and demand. However an examination of the Canadian National Energy Board's forecasts of natural gas supply and demand over the last decade indicates that these forecasts were not a reliable basis for policy decisions. An analysis of the policy context underlying those forecasts reveals that they were not neutral “best guess” estimates of future supply and demand, but instead closely reflected the policy context and major project proposals of the time. The reasons for this are rooted in the nature of forecasting techniques and the way that they are used by decision-makers. This, it is argued, has important implications for the use of energy forecasting in policy planning.
Relations Among Core Capitalist States: The Kautsky-Lenin Debate Reconsidered
Authors: Holloway Steven K. 
Published: November 2009

AbstractThis note reviews several recent developments in the Marxist “theory of the state” controversies with the hope of clarifying what those theories have to say about the international behaviour of core nations. It returns to the Kautsky-Lenin Debate over Ultra-imperialism and attempts to show its relevance to the recent Wallerstein “World Systems Debate.” The theoretical difference between Kautsky and “neo-Kautskyite” writers is demonstrated by introducing a two dimensional analytic construct of relations among core states. The discussion of “relative autonomy” points out a major ambiguity which now exists in the “instrumentalist-structuralist” controversy. The note should be useful to Marxist researchers on the theory of the state, comparativists interested in the autonomy of the modern state, and international relations scholars interested in the World Systems debate.
Note on the “Alternation” of French and English Leaders in the Liberal Party of Canada
Authors: Regenstreif Peter 
Published: November 2009

Bien qu'on ne l'ait jamais établi explicitement dans les traités de politique canadienne, il règne une large croyance au sujet de la tradition d'une alternance entre leaders d'origine française et anglaise à la tête du Parti libéral du Canada. Cette note examine les opinions à cet égard des délégués au congrès de leadership du Parti libéral des 4–6 avril 1968. Elle se fonde sur les réponses données à une section d'une enquête, faite à différents niveaux, à la mi-mars 1968. L'échantillonnage était de 215 délégués sur 2475.Tandis que 61 pour cent des délégués compris dans l'échantillonnage étaient d'avis que la tradition avail déjà existé, 58 pour cent opinèrent que ce n'était pas une tradition valable. Les délégués de langue anglaise étaient encore plus enclins à s'opposer à la tradition que ceux de langue française. Davantage, parmi ceux qui estimaient qu'il s'agissait là d'une tradition valable, seulement 43 pour cent furent d'avis qu'il fallait la maintenir. Ainsi nous avons la preuve que, bien que le choix de Pierre Elliott Trudeau semble prolonger une tradition apparente, les délégués qui Font élu voulaient rompre la tradition.
Acculturation ou assimilation: technique d'analyse et tentative de mesure chez les Franco-ontariens
Authors: Comeau Paul-André 
Published: November 2009

In describing the nature of an ethnic minority, the author distinguishes between two concepts: assimilation and acculturation. The former is the end result of a minority's contacts with the society in which it exists and through which it has lost its cultural heritage; the latter can be conceived of as a dynamic process, through which the individual is constantly absorbing, in various degrees, the norms, values and customs of the majority.On the basis of this notion of acculturation the author has devised a simple instrument permitting the measuring of the degree to which various minorities have adhered to the total (majoritarian) society. Two criteria, a person's educational background and his use of language, are utilized to place an individual on a graph, showing the degree to which he is part of the majoritarian or minoritarian community.The data required were collected through a questionnaire administered to two samples of Franco-Ontario school children, one in grade eight, the other in grade twelve. There were 2,900 respondents drawn from five different regions of Ontario.The principal findings are that there are marked differences in the degree of acculturation of Franco-Ontarians in the different regions (the score usually ranged from 20 per cent to 80 per cent), and that over 43 per cent of the school children were in fact undergoing the process of acculturation.
Personality and Decision-Making: John F. Kennedy in Four Crisis Decisions
Authors: Mongar Thomas M. 
Published: November 2009

L'article vise à préciser le rôle de la personnalité dans la dynamique politique. On a considéré que la personnalité est un paramètre significatif (a) lorsque les agents politiques sont en position et ont les moyens d'exercer une influence stratégique sur le processus politique et (b) s'ils sont momentanément dégagés des impératifs de l'éthique et de la raison qui tendent à banaliser le comportement humain. La décision prise par un chef d'Etat moderne, lors d'une crise, correspond à une telle conjoncture.L'auteur assume au départ que les situations qui exigent la formulation d'une politique sont fréquemment porteuses de caractéristiques en harmonie avec la personnalité et susceptibles, de ce fait, de ramener le circuit décisionnel du système politique aux éléments de thérapie associés aux réactions psychiques du gouvernant. Pour vérifier le valeur heuristique de cette hypothèse, on a groupé, selon diverses conjectures, des faits révélateurs de la personnalité, chez Kennedy, d'après les exigences d'un modèle cybernétique. Après quoi fut examiné le rôle hypothétique des facteurs spécifiques à quatre décisions.L'étude révèle que la personnalité de Kennedy suivait un seul schème de motivation et que ce schème était différemment affecté par deux aspects dans chaque décision à prendre. Placé devant ce qui lui semblait être la perspective de régler une affaire (l'affaire cubaine et la crise de l'acier), il réagissait positivement, de manière à rétablir l'image qu'il se faisait de lui-même; placé devant un problème auquel il n'entrevoyait pas de solution (l'affaire de la Baie des Cochons et le cas Meredith), il se retranchait dans l'expectative. Une réaction positive se trouvait done à intensifier chez lui le besoin d'agir, alors qu'une réaction attentiste réduisait de fait ce besoin. La différence de résultat (succès ou échec) s'expliquait par le fait que ses mécanismes de réglage (pessimisme, prudence et scepticisme) affectaient chaque situation de façon identique: une réaction aggressive se trouvait ramenée à des proportions manœuvrables, ce qui entraînait des programmes d'action adaptés; une réaction défaitiste se trouvait amplifiée au point de le confiner à des stratégies marginales et inadaptées.
La démarche critique d'Herbert Marcuse ou un nouveau type de critique sociale
Authors: Solasse Bernard 
Published: November 2009

Herbert Marcuse owes his notoriety primarily to the loud echoes evoked by his words among American and European student militants; he is in danger of becoming their first victim as is the wont of fashionable men and ideas.But the real interest of his intellectual approach lies elsewhere, in his unceasing and relentless efforts to criticize advanced industrial societies which he judges to be repressive; to explain the mechanisms through which this repression is internalized, thus blocking any perspective allowing for radical change; and to found a new type of industrial society, compatible with, and favourable to, the “liberation” of man.This paper retraces the main lines of this intellectual development, stressing particularly its philosophical foundations and its innovations with respect to the sources from which it is derived.
Structuredes « fonctionnalismes » en science politique
Authors: Bergeron Gérard 
Published: November 2009

Even if “functionalism” is a relative newcomer to the study of politics, its theoretical roots are in the classics of political science. Thus it is ironic to note that the political theorists who have reintroduced the notion of functionalism have relied upon models inspired by anthropological and sociological theory.Every functionalist approach is fundamentally holistic and system-oriented. Functionalist theorists may be in error when they deny their common origin, whether direct or metaphorical, in biology. If “the great curse of functionalism is its ‘ism,’ the least of its weaknesses is its plural.” There is more than one functionalism. With respect to political science alone, the author considers the contributions to functional theory of Ernst Haas, Karl Deutsch, David Easton, Gabriel Almond, and Amitai Etzioni.An outline of the author's own research is then presented in the light of the works considered. He argues for a more rigorous functionalism – a “functionalism of functions” which would be derived from specificallypoliticalbehaviour, rather than cross-disciplinary borrowings from other sciences that are theoretically more fertile. The ideal would be the development of apolito-logiqueof the emergence of political from social phenomena which would depart from the core or nerve centre of political functioning: the interplay of the four essential functions of government, legislation, administration, and adjudication.Although they are usually differentiated, political and social systems overlap and are interdependent. It is useful to consider them as a single organism, responsive to internal as well as external exigencies. With the notions offunction, level, perspective,andfieldof analysis, the author indicates how one can move from a model of the functions of the State(Fonctionnement de l'état)to a dynamic conception of the state in operation(L'état en fonctionnement).Finally, the author emphasizes the importance of not denying the political, but of remaining at the level of the political, in order to achieve the greatest theoretical success.
The Fishermen's Vote in Newfoundland
Authors: Copes Parzival 
Published: November 2009

Le vote des pêcheurs à Terre-NeuveNous tenterons de voir ici comment le pouvoir politique du premier ministre de Terre-Neuve, J. R. Smallwood, se trouva raffermi, de façon capitale, par le vote collectif et massif des pêcheurs en sa faveur. Monsieur Smallwood semble avoir réussid à mobiliser ainsi ce groupe d'électeurs pour lui, grâce aux facteurs suivants qu'il a su utiliser habilement: l'importance numérique des pêcheurs; leur mode de distribution géographique; leur état de dépendance économique; et leur manque d'autonomie et de cohésion politiques.L'analyse montre l'affaiblissement des modes traditionnels de vote à Terre-Neuve. Ceux-ci dépendaient largement de divisions religieuses et régionales, lesquelles semblent devoir s'estomper devant un nouvel ordre industriel et occupationnel. Cette nouvelle structure est liée à l'ambivalence de l'économie, où la pêche côtière traditionnelle se trouve coupée des secteurs industriels modernes. M. Smallwood a d'apparence dirigé sa stratégic vers une consolidation du pouvoir: en s'assurant, d'une part, le soutien politique du secteur traditionnel de la pêche; tout en poursuivant, d'autre part, des objectifs de croissance économique en s'appuyant sur les secteurs industriels modernes.Le vote des pêcheurs fut acquis à grands frais: on dissipa les ressources économiques en dépenses visant à apaiser cette population à court terme, mais sans qu'elles rendent leur industrie viable, de façon sensible, à long terme. Les améliorations prévues s'étant soldées par un échec, la confiance des pécheurs risque maintenant de se briser. En même temps, le gouvernement fédéral exige des réformes économiques profondes, avant d'accorder toute aide financière supplémentaire à cette industrie. Ces réformes vont entraîner l'abandon de certaines techniques traditionnelles, une baisse de l'emploi et une concentration géographique plus poussée des populations de pêcheurs. Toutes ces mesures tendent à détruire le pouvoir électoral de ce groupe social, en tant que tel.