Institutional History Research Articles

Revisiting Early Fiscal Centralisation in the European Coal and Steel Community in Light of the EU’s Transfer Budget

The last few years have resulted in substantial changes for the EU’s fiscal powers, primarily through the introduction of the Next Generation EU funds. This article argues that the assessment of these developments as federalisation processes is based upon a central misunderstanding of the EU budget as a public goods budget in a federal state. The EU is a compound polity comprising of mature states, and its budget may be termed a “transfer budget,” which allows member states to predict budgetary costs and benefits. To understand the transfer-oriented nature of the budget, this article adopts a historical institutionalist lens. Revisiting the fiscal centralisation in the European Coal and Steel Community allows us to understand how the six delegations agreed to combine economic and social aims in this budget, which was intended to serve the European Coal and Steel Community with similar elements to a public goods budget. Revenue consisted of debts and a levy on coal and steel produce, whereas expenditure ranged from investments to payments to individual workers. The Treaty of Rome, with its anti-supranational basis, triggered a critical juncture in Europe’s budgetary history: Since 1957, a transfer budget evolved. Revisiting the European Coal and Steel Community budget system allows us to understand the fiscal federal appearance of the Next Generation EU funds: While the EU makes new attempts to use its budget for the provision of common goods, its functions are limited by the institutional structure of the transfer budget.

Health-Related Caretaking in an Institutionalized Setting

Health-related caretaking was provided to individuals institutionalized in the Mississippi State Asylum (MSA), Jackson, MS (AD 1855–1935). However, because of limited associated documentary evidence on caretaking in the MSA and a general dearth of academic knowledge about caretaking in asylums in the Southern United States, information on caretaking and its efficacy in the MSA is limited. Accordingly, we apply a modified Bioarchaeology of Care (BoC) approach and associated web-based Index of Care to a single deceased individual from the MSA, referred to here as their burial designation—Burial 1—integrated with available documentary information, to generate direct insights into caretaking in the MSA. Burial 1’s skeleton exhibits recidivistic cranial trauma (i.e., cranial depression fractures) and substantial entheseal changes in the upper extremities. This trauma, paired with subsequent traumatic brain injury, suggests that Burial 1 may have experienced physical impairment and disability. Further, the disability Burial 1 experienced likely increased their risk of being institutionalized and created complications for them in the MSA. However, the lack of identifying information for individuals buried at the MSA complicates interpretations of the caretaking they may have received, both before and after institutionalization, as well as the efficaciousness of the caretaking and insights from the caretaking into patient and staff communities in the MSA and Burial 1’s social identity and agency. Despite this, findings affirm that future research applying the modified BoC approach could generate otherwise inscrutable information about the lived experiences of institutionalized patients with impairments and disability within historic institutions of care.

Колекції Миколи Дюкова та Віктора Дребенцова у Національному науково-природничому музеї (Київ)

The history of collections that became part of the academic zoological collection prior to the Second World War and which is now being housed in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), NAS of Ukraine was studied. The specimens in this collection had probably been kept in zoological centres of Kharkiv before. The collected specimens and their label data are considered as an important source for an entire series of reconstructions, such as the history of species, the history of research, the biographies of researchers, and the history of collections and museums. Along with bibliographic search and mentions of finds of species and their collectors, such data are promising for the reconstruction of important pages in the history of scientific research and scientific institutions. All such approaches were used to investigate the history of research related to the names of Mykola Diukov and Viktor Drebentsov (Drebentsiv) — two researchers who were not included in the list of the hundred most famous mammalogists of Ukraine (review of 2022), but turned out to be iconic persons. Their scientific careers turned out to be closely related to the Kharkiv plant protection centres, and both researchers carried out active research and collection work in the Kharkiv region and in a number of southern regions of Ukraine in the 1920s and early 1930s. The destinies of both of researchers took sharp turns during the period of Stalinist repressions in Ukraine (Union for the Freedom of Ukraine trial, Holodomor, political purges, etc.), and both left not only Kharkiv, but also Ukraine: Diukov ended up in Dagestan working in the plant protection system, whereas Drebentsov in Murmansk at the polar institute, and later in the regional museum of local history. In the new places, the researchers continued their zoological practices, collecting and organizing collections of vertebrate animals (mainly mammals and birds) and achieved a high level of recognition: Diukov became one of the key zoologists and nature popularisers in Dagestan, and so did Drebentsov in Murman. Their destinies turned out differently: M. Diukov was eventually repressed (spent five years in concentration camps) and went missing, whereas V. Drebentsov became a recipient of various state awards. The names of both researchers should be included in the registers of zoologists who formed the foundations of modern knowledge and collections. The authors associate the preservation and transfer of their collections with the activities of O. Myhulin, who in 1938 published the monograph “Mammals of the Ukrainian SSR”, which is largely based on the analysis of mammal collections.

Harnessing welfare state theories to explain the emergence of eco-social policies

As complex challenges such as climate change and social inequality become more and more politically salient, eco-social policies are emerging as suitable public policy tools to pursue integrated environmental and social objectives. In spite of this, the sustainable welfare literature has been, at least until now, dominated by prescriptive studies, paying little attention to the politico-institutional conditions required for these policies to emerge. Against this background, this article aims to help filling this gap, by proposing a set of four theoretical expectations pointing to possible causal drivers and mechanisms behind the adoption of this particular kind of policies. It does so by harnessing the most established welfare state theories and reflecting on their potential and limitations when applied to the study of eco-social policies. Selected theoretical strands – functionalism, historical institutionalism, interest-based and ideas-based theories – are first reviewed and then applied to the specific object of the study, with a view to deriving the four expectations by deduction. The ultimate aim is to generate a politico-institutional theory of eco-social policies, which can guide future empirical research. The article argues that eco-social policies can be expected to emerge in strong environmental states and/or in weak welfare states, in which equally powerful labour and green interests engage in political exchanges, or where advocacy coalitions form around ambiguous ideas, such as ‘just transition’. The article concludes by arguing that only an actor-centred approach based on empirically observable policy preferences can help us to craft minimally sufficient causal inferences about the emergence of eco-social policies.

Revisiting the historical state: Long-term effects of institutional history on deforestation

Existing work has shown long-run effects of historical institutions on economic development. However, few studies examine long-run effects of institutions on the environment. In this paper, we build on work by Dell et al. (2018) to demonstrate the effect of historical institutions in southern Vietnam on forest cover. Using a spatial regression discontinuity design, we find a larger coverage of forest and a lower rate of deforestation in a region that historically delegated administrative tasks from the central state to the village, fostering local cooperation. Thus, our findings are in line with previous work suggesting a connection between local cooperation and the preservation of common pool resources. Further, the results suggest that historical institutional differences should be considered for a better understanding of determinants and possible remedies of forest loss.

The Republic of Korea’s experience with an ocean dumping management system to enhance compliance with the London Protocol: highlights of major institutional history over 40 years

Since the late 1980s, in efforts to reduce the burden of waste treatment on land and to protect the nation’s rivers, the Korean government has licensed dumping at sea only for waste difficult to treat on land. However, owing to the “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) phenomenon and the higher cost of land-based treatment, the amount of ocean-dumped waste has increased rapidly. The categories of waste dumped have also expanded to include sewage sludge containing highly concentrated hazardous substances, raising concerns about damage to the marine environment. The Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has noted that compliance with the London Protocol could be essential for limiting ocean dumping activities. The Republic of Korea enacted comprehensive measures to ensure compliance and formally acceded to the London Protocol in 2009. This paper presents Korea’s implementation of the criteria that led to the cessation of ocean dumping of sewage sludge in 2016.

COVID-19 Pandemic and the Establishment of the Recovery and Resilience Facility

The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented exogenous shock for the European Union (EU) and its Member States, one that demanded a joint response at the EU level rather than several differentiated responses at the Member State level. As such, the pandemic crisis opened up a “window of opportunity” for institutional change in the EU’s financial assistance regime. This change pertains to the development of a set of rules governing the disbursement and withdrawal of funding to Member States in the context of crisis management. The paper thus aims to answer the following question: How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect the EU’s financial assistance regime? Drawing on a revisited historical institutionalist framework that allows for the examination of different types of institutional development, the paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a “critical juncture” for the EU's financial assistance regime, resulting in a shift from intergovernmental coordination (with the European Stability Mechanism) to a form of limited supranational delegation (with the Recovery and Resilience Facility).

Theories behind Change of Land Expropriation Institutions in Cross-Strait: An Analysis from Historical Institutionalism Approach

Rapid urbanization in developing countries has led to an increasing demand for urban construction land. As a result, many farmers’ lands have been expropriated by local governments, exacerbating the imbalance between land supply and demand. This issue is particularly pronounced in Chinese Mainland, where land expropriation institutions have operated at a suboptimal level for an extended period. While existing research has explored the current practices and potential avenues for the optimization of the horizontal aspects of land expropriation institutions in Chinese Mainland, there remains a dearth of academic inquiry from a historical developmental and comparative analytical perspective. To address this gap, this article uses the analytical framework of historical institutionalism and combines it with the comparison case method and in-depth interviews to analyze the fundamental path, logic, and dynamic mechanism behind land expropriation institutional change in Cross-Strait and provide insights for similar developing countries. Research shows that Cross-Strait land expropriation institutions have gone through five different stages of development, and finally evolved in the direction of narrowing the scope of expropriation and increasing the compensation for expropriation. Cross-Strait land expropriation institutions show a triple logic in terms of change types, change paths, and change processes: in terms of change types, there are compulsory changes and mutual games between induced factors and actors pushing for compulsory changes; in terms of change paths, there are patterns of displacement, drift, conversion, and layering; and in terms of gradual change processes, path dependence characteristics become apparent within Cross-Strait land expropriation institutions. The synergistic interaction among the institutional milieu, ideas, and actors constitutes the dynamic mechanisms for the change of land expropriation institutions in Cross-Strait.

Evolution of Views on the Socio-Economic Role of Information Technology – the Example of the 60-Year History of Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences

The history of the information technology (IT) development at CEMI RAS and the rethinking of the IT role and associated expectations that has occurred over 60 years in this organization can be an illustration of the evolution of views in the scientific community regarding the socio-economic potential of IT. Over the years of its research work, CEMI RAS worked out the most effective way to use almost all major modifications of computers in scientific research, and also carried out the work related to the development of information and communication technologies, including the Internet. Gradually, views on the IT role as a tool for scientific research evolved into an understanding of the complex impact of IT on socio-economic processes, which has the form of widespread digitalization of socio-economic activities. Under these conditions, one of the key IT-related areas of research and development is the creation of a concept for digitalization of coordination mechanisms, the improvement of which affects the entire socio-economic system. The proposed study briefly presents the main milestones in the use and development of IT over the 60 years of CEMI existence and substantiates a qualitatively new task of using and developing IT to improve methods for coordinating scientific research. The rationale for this task is presented using the example of research activities, but the overall long-term goal of these studies is to develop the concept of digital infrastructure and corresponding institutional structures that will ensure better coordination and act as catalyst for the country's development in all major areas of economic activity.

Face of the Child as an Icon of the Victims of Dehumanization and Bestiality. At the Root of Pedagogical Concern for the Fate of the Child and the Endangered Identity of Children in a Situation of Wartime Aggression and Confrontation of Ethno-Cultural...

The word “child” and the images depicting children and childhood in the context of acts of aggression, war and crime, in a situation of immense suffering, vividly show the processes of dehumanisation taking place and the acts of bestiality of wartime. For pedagogy, the wartime experience of children poses a particular challenge. Pedagogy is burdened with the duty to care especially for the fate of the child experiencing the horrors of war. It is never enough to emphasise that although the issue of concern for the fate of the child in a situation of wartime aggression is imposed by reality itself, it is a reality that, as ethical sensitivity suggests, should not be. One cannot succumb to stupefaction or indifference in reading the great numbers and the ever-increasing number of children experiencing the dangers and sufferings of war. It is necessary – in a pedagogical perspective saturated with axiology and ethics – to see the Face of the Child as an icon of the victims of dehumanisation and bestiality, which appeals to the consciences of people of good will to concretise and intensify pedagogical concern for the fate of the child and for the endangered identity of children in a situation of wartime aggression and confrontation of ethno-cultural differences. The current pedagogical challenge is to move towards a pedagogically deepened reading of what is written in the wounded or scarred Face of the Child as an icon of the victims of the brutality, dehumanisation and bestiality of wartime. It is important to draw attention to the features of children as the smallest, weakest and most vulnerable people – people who are quite defenceless – in the confrontation imposed on them with the barbarity and bestiality of wartime, which is unfortunately being experienced today by Ukrainian children, and it is their faces that are becoming the icons of the victims of dehumanisation and bestiality. The fate of the children of the war poses a current research and practical challenge also in the research field of history (including the history of education and the history of care institutions). Past – but not fully researched and described – crimes against children are also repeated in the 20th and 21st centuries. Therefore, the historical recognition of, among others, the Nazi genocide of children is essential for a better understanding of the current dramatic situation of the children of war. Special attention in the article is given to Ukrainian children of war who are migrants or deported. If a National Day for Polish Children of War has been established in Poland (as a state holiday “in tribute to the Polish Children of War”), an initiative should also be taken in Ukraine to establish a “National Day for Ukrainian Children of War”. This could be a joint Ukrainian-Polish initiative of academic circles, especially educators. The second postulate includes the creation of a “Virtual Network (Centre) for Children of War Documentation and Research” as a “space” for interdisciplinary and systematic scientific debate and information exchange in cooperation between Polish, Ukrainian and other countries’ academic centres, organising cyclical scientific seminars also in connection with the National Day of Polish Children of War, seminars with both theoretical and practical orientation (e.g. on education and readaptation of children of war).

CARACTERIZACIÓN DE LA DIETA EN PERFILES BIOQUÍMICOS Y ANTROPOMÉTRICOS CON ANÁLISIS DE COMPONENTES PRINCIPALES EN OBESOS EN GUAYAQUIL-ECUADOR

Objectives: To determine the characterization of the diet in biochemical and anthropometric profiles with principal component analysis in obese Ecuadorian patients. Methods: Descriptive, comparative, longitudinal studies; we had access to the institutional health clinical history database and a study group was formed, they were offered a low-carbohydrate diet. The sample consisted of 110 obese patients from the Hospital of Guayaquil-Ecuador. Results: The patients were between the ages of 25 to 65 years. The results showed a significant loss of BMI (kg/m2) (Δ-2.6±1.9) (p<0.001), waist circumference (cm) (Δ-5.1±4.7) (p<0.001), body fat (%) (Δ-3.6±3.6) (p<0.001), triglycerides (mg/dL) (Δ-25.4±72.9) (p<0.001) and glucose (mg/dL) (Δ-6.8±9.6) (p<0.001). Conclusion: The low carbohydrate diet reduces BMI, waist circumference, body fat, triglycerides and glucose in obese patients.

Norwegian higher education futures

AbstractThe paper deals with the future of Norwegian higher education as part of a Nordic project on higher education futures. To identify future scenarios for Norwegian higher education (HE), the paper uses the theoretical lens of historical institutionalism to focus on scenario building. Like in the other Nordic countries, Norwegian HE and research are characterized by easily accessible and free public HE provision, high participation rates, and a high level of investment in HE and research. However, the question is this: If we look back at the development of Norwegian HE the last decades, to what extent can we expect present developments to persist and to what extent can we expect more or less sharp breaks and deviations from past and present developments? Departing from an institutionalist position, two historically grounded visions and related scenarios are identified: an academic excellence scenario and a national service scenario. The scenarios reflect tensions between different visions of the shape, emphasis, and orientation of HE and research. The empirical focus is on the developments of HE along five dimensions: growth, systemic integration, academic drift, labor market relevance, and governance. First, the conceptual approach is presented, outlining the use of scenarios and an institutionalist approach to thinking about the future of HE. Secondly, the paper outlines the five trends regarding past and ongoing developments. Third, some ideas about future developments are outlined, before the conclusion is drawn.

Publishing Educational and Educational-Methodical Literature in Siberia at the End of the 18th – 19th Centuries

TThe purpose of the article is to form an idea of publishing educational and educational-methodical literature on disciplines taught in various educational institutions of Siberia at the end of the 18th– 19th centuries. Statistical information on publishing literature by year in the cities of the West Siberian and East Siberian educational districts is provided, the variety of topics of published works, the structure and content of a number of publications based on data from the volume 1 of the “Unified Catalog of Siberian and Far Eastern Books”. 1790–1917." (Novosibirsk, 2004) demonstrated. This article is the first attempt to present generalized data on statistics and topics of educational and educational-methodical publications issued inprinting houses of Siberia and the Far East at the end of the 18th–19th centuries. Such literature mostly prevailed in publishing in the West Siberian educational district, than in the East Siberian one. The bulk of publications were programs, reports of educational institutions and societies, charters, instructions, protocols, rules, regulations, works on the history of educational institutions, other works.The leaders in publishing such literature were Tomsk, Irkutsk, Tobolsk, with the largest number of printing houses involved.

Faszination Rom. Die Musikgeschichtliche Abteilung des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom (DHI)


 
 
 The article presents the early history of the Music History Department of the German Historical Institute (“Deutsches Historisches Institut”) in Rome in the context of the cultural and political activities of other Roman cultural and research institutes in the postwar period. A visit of German President Theodor Hess in Rome in 1957 paved the way for the foundation of the Department in 1960. The article also addresses the role of the “Gesellschaft für Musikforschung” (GfM) with its newly founded “Commission for Foreign Studies” (“Kommission für Auslandsstudien”): For more than twenty years its chairman Karl Gustav Fellerer oversaw the research activities in Rome. The Department, especially its library, soon became a meeting point for German and Italian musicologists. A second section focuses on the current fields of research and the numerous funding opportunities offered by the Music History Department to researchers, especially young scholars.
 
 

Historical-institutional paths through archival documents (and more)

The history of institutions and archival science have been two closely related disciplines since their beginnings. With this article, we examine some paths in the history of institutions highly dependent on archival records that pertain mainly to the Italian history of the 1800s and 1900s, particularly the history of the judiciary and administration. For today's and the future situation concerning the preservation and use for historical purposes of digital sources, it is hoped that the common path between archivists and historians will know new developments, as, moreover, is already the case

Explaining Cross-Strait Relations with Regional Integration Theory

Abstract Regional integration theory can explain past and present processes of cross-strait integration and disintegration. Historical institutionalism can analyse how the path dependence of the ‘One China policy’ shapes cross-strait relations until today and how fundamental changes can occur through critical junctures. Neofunctionalism can well explain the dynamics of economic integration through spillovers and spillbacks driven by transnational actors since the 1980s. Liberal intergovernmentalism can shed light on the bargaining processes and their outcomes during the negotiation of various cross-strait agreements under the Ma Ying-jeou administration. Postfunctionalism offers the best explanation for the central role that identity has played in cross-strait relations, in particular since 2014.

Unraveling the European Agricultural Policy Sustainable Development Trajectory

Amidst growing concerns about the impact of agriculture on the environment, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been overhauled to prioritize sustainable rural development in European agriculture. Based on this line of thought, the present contribution delves into the details of the CAP’s shift, focusing on the main environmental concerns faced in the policy-making framework. Grounded in a political science perspective, the current study looks at how environmental and climate change concerns were gradually elevated inside the CAP’s policy-making framework and how they helped create the “green architecture” for European agriculture. Examining the process of policy change under the lens of historical institutionalism and neo-institutionalism within the multilevel governance framework of the European Union (EU), the key role played by the gradual introduction of measures aimed at promoting measurable environmental criteria and climatic targets is highlighted. For instance, measures aimed at preserving carbon-rich soils and enhancing water resources can have positive impacts on the environment. However, these measures were also recognized to increase the cost of production for the European farmers, who faced serious difficulties in adjusting to the new framework. Within this context, this research delves into the roles played by two additional fundamental entities: the consumer and environmental activism. Additionally, the study underscores the EU’s commitment to addressing climate change and sustainable development challenges and how conditionality is being used to link funding to results. Upon analyzing the CAP’s shift, the reflection of a more flexible and rational approach is argued to be embodied by the new policy architecture. By incorporating both CAP pillars, encouraging collaboration with compatible policies, and allowing for greater adaptability in response to the unique circumstances and objectives of each member state, the CAP is taking significant steps towards sustainability and climate action. These insights into the significance and implications of the CAP’s shift towards sustainability offer valuable recommendations for future policy developments, emphasizing the need to balance environmental concerns with the needs of farmers and other stakeholders.

Practical Witchcraft

This article argues for the usefulness of collaborations between academic and public libraries for community outreach and engagement. After an overview of the problematic history of special collections institutions as inaccessible gatekeepers of culture, the article argues that in the twenty-first century, special collections must become members of public communities and actively involve themselves in community work in order to foster mutual understanding and values. A case study of a shared event, a witchcraft lecture that went viral on the internet, is described.

What's in a Name? Archives and Special Collections at American Research Institutions in the Middle East: Repositories at the American University of Beirut, the American University in Cairo, the American Center of Research in Jordan, and New York University Abu Dhabi

ABSTRACT In today's Middle East, a number of institutions of research and higher education have American origins, and several maintain archives and special collections. This article offers case studies of repositories at four of these institutions: the American University of Beirut (AUB), the American University in Cairo (AUC), the American Center of Research (ACOR) in Jordan, and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). The article traces the origins of these archives and how those were shaped by the development of each one's parent organization as an American-inspired institution, as well as by the historical, social, and cultural framework of their host countries. The authors also consider the landscape of archives in the nations where these institutions are based: Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The evolution of the collecting program of each repository is outlined, with strategies and key acquisitions and collections mentioned. Access and dissemination methods, including digitization initiatives, are also covered. In presenting such activities, the ways in which American traditions and standards of archival practice contrast with or complement those of local archival traditions are examined. A central theme is the way that the archives at AUB, AUC, ACOR, and NYUAD go about documenting not only institutional history but also the heritage of their host countries and the challenges and opportunities inherent in that work.

The Evolution of China’s Environmental Protection Inspection System

The environmental protection inspection system has undergone four stages of evolution: the initial cultivation phase of "bureaucratic transmission", the trial period of "regional corporate monitoring", the mobilization and transitional phase of "national government oversight", and the accelerated transitional phase of "party and government co-inspection". Examining the environmental protection monitoring framework through the lens of historical institutionalism, it has been discovered that the inspection system in my country has been impacted by broader changes in history. There are four crucial junctures of institutional transformation, including the passing of the "Environmental Protection Law" and the establishment of regional monitoring centres. The maintenance of system stickiness is reliant on factors influencing the paths of sunk cost and internalization. Drawing on historical experience, the environmental protection inspection system should adopt an active approach to exploring both "bureaucratization" and "de-bureaucratization" bi-regulation coupling mechanisms, while simultaneously enhancing relevant legal safeguards and the external inspection and participation systems.