Government Research Articles

Poderes partidarios y reclutamiento ministerial. El caso argentino

Objective/context: Party recruitment is a crucial governance tool in contemporary democracies. Presidential and parliamentary heads of government distribute ministerial portfolios to party members in exchange for essential political resources, such as legislative support. This article explores the relationship between government formation and political parties, with parties that are not very institutionalized. In particular, it examines the extent to which arguments about presidential cabinet formation hold up when the hierarchical level of party ministers is considered. Methodology: This statistical study uses a generalized linear model (GLM) with a binomial distribution and a logit link function with robust standard errors. It aims to carry out causality exploration to test the original indicators of the proposed dependent variables. Conclusions: Hierarchy and partisan powers are relevant factors to complement existing explanations of ministerial recruitment strategies. Originality: Comparative research on government formation and its connection to political parties has made significant progress, focusing on the distinction between ministers affiliated and not affiliated with a party. However, this dichotomous approach neglects consideration of the hierarchical position within the party structure, a fundamental aspect of the governing party model underlying parliamentary democracies. This article presents a trichotomous measure that considers the hierarchical level of ministers.

Assessment of vitamin B12 and folate status and their determinants in children aged 6–59 months with severe acute malnutrition admitted to a tertiary-care centre in North India

ABSTRACT Background Vitamin B12 and folate are essential micronutrients, a deficiency of which causes anaemia, poor growth and an increased risk of infections, along with irreversible neurological damage to the developing brain in children. Methods A hospital-based prospective observational study was conducted in 100 children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) aged 6–59 months admitted to a tertiary-care facility in northern India from July 2021 to June 2022. A structured proforma was used to record socio-demographic information, a detailed clinical history, results of general and systemic physical examination and a detailed anthropometric assessment. Serum folate and vitamin B12 were estimated by electrochemiluminescence. Results The mean age of the children was 24.18 months, and 64.0% were aged 6–12 months. The male-to-female ratio was 1.08:1. Anaemia was present in 87.0% of the children, and it was severe in 35% of them. There was serum vitamin B12 and folate deficiency in 61.0% and 19.0%, respectively. A deficiency of vitamin B12 was significantly associated with delayed developmental milestones in all domains, a mid-upper-arm circumference of <11.5 cm, severe anaemia, a low platelet count and folate deficiency, and a folate deficiency was significantly associated with older age, delayed developmental milestones in all domains, severe anaemia, a low platelet count and vitamin B12 deficiency. Conclusion Vitamin B12 deficiency is highly prevalent in children aged 6–59 months with SAM, but the prevalence of folate deficiency is much lower. Apart from iron and folic acid supplementation, government programmes should consider vitamin B12 supplementation for children aged 6–59 months.

Advancing Holistic Human Capital Development: A Perspective on the Presidential Amnesty Programme

The Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) was a policy thrust to tackle the intractable agitations and youth restiveness in the Niger Delta region due to utter neglect of the development of the region despite the enormous contributions to the national treasury from its rich-oil deposits and gas resources. Accordingly, this study uncovers human capital development in the Niger Delta states from the lens of the PAP. The study applied a quantitative research strategy with a structured questionnaire. A sample of 574 respondents was drawn through a multi-stage sampling design from 13,254 chiefs, community leaders, youths and the staff of the amnesty office, which served as the target population of the study. From the primary and secondary data collected and analysed, the findings demonstrated that the Presidential Amnesty Programme had a positive significant effect on vocational skills acquisition, there was a positive relationship between PAP and university educational advancement, and there was a positive relationship between budgetary provision and human capital development among others. We concluded that the PAP has contributed to the human capital development of youths in the region. We recommended inter alia that the amnesty programme of the federal government of Nigeria should be committed to exposing ex-militants to vocational skill acquisition scheme to ensure self-reliance, and also should improve on the university educational advancement for ex-militants to acquire professional certification in the Niger Delta States.

Unpacking “the surprise chain”: the governance of food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia

AbstractFood systems are being affected by multiple shocks related to climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical events. Food prices and food insecurity are rising globally as a result, raising questions about the effective governance of food security during shocks. This paper critically examines the governance of food security in Melbourne, Australia during a major food system shock, the COVID-19 pandemic. It draws on document analysis and 34 stakeholder interviews with 41 participants from government, industry and civil society between May 2020 and March 2021. The paper examines the role of these actors in governance mechanisms for two important aspects of food system governance during the COVID-19 pandemic, continuity of food supply and delivery of emergency food relief. Clark et al.’s (2021) “governance engagement continuum” is used to show how civil society groups were excluded from these formal governance mechanisms, instead establishing their own spaces of “self-governance”. The resilience aims associated with these governance mechanisms are also analyzed using Zurek et al.’s (2022) “three R’s” (robustness, recovery and reorientation) framework. Our study highlights the significant role of food industry actors in the continuity of food supply and delivery of emergency food relief, and it shows the vulnerabilities of emergency food relief that depends on industry food “surpluses” as a model for addressing food insecurity during food system shocks. We conclude that greater government leadership is needed in the governance of food security during food system shocks, and in implementation of legislative and policy approaches that are grounded in the human right to food.

El perfil partidista de los secretarios de Estado en México

Objective/context: This article analyzes the affiliation of cabinet members in four post-transition governments in Mexico. The main goal is to contribute to the study of the role of parties in the dynamics of government formation. Methodology: The article is based on the description of an original database regarding the trajectory and partisan links of 148 secretaries of state in Mexico between 2000 and 2024. Conclusions: Our analysis shows that although alternation and divided government increased the incentives to appoint ministers with a political-partisan background, each president shaped their cabinet according to political circumstances and professional and political networks. Originality: A new proposal for categorizing the partisan profiles of ministers and their relationship with the type of cabinet appointment is tested by applying a partisanship index in ministries.

Benefits by Luck: A Study of Lotteries as a Selection Method for Government Programs

Lotteries could be a just and cost-effective procedure to distribute government benefits in contexts of oversubscription, with the added benefit of allowing assessments of the impact of government programs. However, little is known about whether there is public support for employing lotteries in this context. We examine support for a lottery that selects recipients of new government-built housing units in Brazil and find that neither lotteries participants nor the general public supports their use. We arrive at this result by employing a three-pronged multi-method approach. Quasi-experimental analysis of an original survey of lottery participants reveals that support not only is tepid, but substantially higher among winners than non-winners. In-depth interviews suggest that applicants believe lotteries miss the most deserving beneficiaries. A general population survey experiment reveals that lotteries are not perceived as just or efficient when compared to alternative beneficiary selection methods. While sometimes normatively desirable, the use of lotteries for government programs enjoys limited popular support.

The Impact of Local and Foreign Investments on the Domestic Development on an International Scale on Social Equality and Environmental Support (Green Governance) of the Indonesian People

This study examines the impact of foreign and local investors’ interference in the national development as a form of President Joko Widodo’s government program on social equality and environmental support for Indonesia’s lower-level communities. Joko Widodo as the Indonesian President since the beginning of his term initiated infrastructure development throughout Indonesia, inviting foreign and local investors. These investors can rapidly raise the value of the Indonesian economy. The high value of the Indonesian economy also hurts various communities, especially on the social level of Indonesian society. Social equality in Indonesia has not achieved a balanced value among its people, which leads to social inequality in all aspects of social welfare of the Indonesian people.. Environmental support for people who experience social inequality is not achieved, this can be viewed in terms of shelter, food, clean water intake, and several other aspects that do not support the lives of people with social inequality. This research aims to realize how influential investors and the development of the Indonesian nation are on their communities, especially among the lower level who are not reached by the Indonesian government as a form of support for environmental welfare. The study recommends investors make breakthroughs that provide benefits for people with low social levels so that they do not experience further deterioration in life, the government must also play an effective role in realizing decent environmental support (green environment) to achieve social equality. Keywords: green environment, social equality, interference of foreign investors, interference of local investors

‘A Chancellor’s Foot’: Certifying Justice with Fools’ Ballads in Seventeenth-Century England

ABSTRACT In the seventeenth century, issues of jurisprudence and legal consciousness plagued pamphlets and debates at the Inns of Court. John Selden and other lawyers sought to define justice. However, while we would expect to find such debates in legal writing and pamphlets, this article demonstrates that such debates can be found in other popular genres more accessible to the public: ballads. The article uses Autolycus from The Winter’s Tale as a case study to show how later Royalists balladeers and songwriters, including Alexander Brome, used the ballad genre to critique public opinion as a legitimate form of legal conscience and adjudicate the new forms of English government during the Interregnum. In doing so, the article underscores the importance of ballads for Interregnum writers and the public to counterbalance the varying legal conscience and equity in seventeenth-century England.

Increased Poverty: The Failure of Government Programs and the Natural Resource Factor

The Indonesian government, including local governments, has spent large sums of money and many programs to reduce poverty. However, in several regions in Indonesia, the number of poor people has increased, as in Central Kalimantan, where the poverty rate has increased in the last three years. The number of poor people in Central Kalimantan in 2020 is 132 thousand people; this number increased to 140 thousand people in 2021, then increased again to 145 thousand in 2022. Research on poverty has been carried out in Indonesia. However, research analyzing poverty caused by natural factors and mismanaged government policies has not been carried out. This research was conducted to analyze poverty in Central Kalimantan between state policy governance factors and natural factors. The research uses analytical qualitative methods and case study designs. The analysis uses the new institutional theory and the natural resource curse theory. The research finds that mistakes in managing government policies (structural dimension) and nature (natural dimension) are factors that both play a role in increasing poverty in Central Kalimantan. As a practical suggestion, the government needs to make more intense and detailed efforts to alleviate poverty in Central Kalimantan that are adapted to natural conditions. Keywords: poverty in Indonesia, poverty programs, the curse of natural resources

Evaluating a targeted selective speech, language, and communication intervention at scale – Protocol for the Happy Talk cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background In areas of social disadvantage up to 40–50% of children enter preschool with speech and language skills significantly poorer than would be expected for their age. The Happy Talk trial tests if a community embedded, targeted selective speech and language programme that simultaneously engages with parents and early childhood educators, (1) improves language outcomes in children aged between 2 years 10 months and 6 years and (2) is cost effective for the health care system. Method The Happy Talk trial is a large scale cluster randomised trial of a 12-week manualised intervention delivered in pre/school settings serving socially disadvantaged communities, in Ireland. Seventy-two clusters will receive the intervention (12 participants per cluster). Parents and pre/school staff engage in group training and coaching in the form of 12 1-hour sessions for parents and four staff workshops, over the course of the pre/school year. Training/coaching includes core interaction skills (modelling, expanding, balancing questions and comments), early literacy and phonological awareness. Blinded assessments pre- and immediately post-intervention and at 6 months follow up, will measure the primary outcomes of children’s receptive and expressive language and functional impact, and secondary outcomes of quality of life. Parental responsiveness and educator-child interactions will also be evaluated. Discussion This robust study evaluates a public health approach to the delivery of speech language and communication intervention in the ‘real world’ in the community, which focuses on prevention and equity of access. Pilot work indicates that the programme is feasible, acceptable to parents and staff, cost effective, and suitable for implementation at scale. The trial includes a process evaluation, a well-developed economic evaluation and the outcomes are directly relevant to children, families and educators. This work has the potential to improve the long-term outcomes and life chances of people living in social disadvantage. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov NCT06460090 Trial Management There is a formal governance structure to oversee the conduct and running of the trial, consisting of a trial management group and a steering committee. More details on the composition, roles and responsibilities of each committee can be found in the supplemental material.

Cross-country comparison analysis of individual and institutional factors of anomie and online offending

This article addresses the gap in the literature by empirically assessing a cross-national comparison of institutional anomie theory (IAT) and self-reported cyberoffending. We used survey data from Finland, Hungary, and the United States to examine the relationship between institutional anomie and cybercrime. Each country represents different types of societies, which makes them interesting cases for cross-national comparison. With Hungary representing a conservative welfare regime, Finland a social democratic welfare regime, and the United States a liberal welfare regime, we predict that the more political regimes intervene in economic relations and support non-economic institutions, the less applicable IAT's variables will be in predicting cybercrime perpetration. In line with these predictions, binomial regression models suggest that IAT works best in the United States, where individualism, achievement, and fetishism of money increased the indices of cybercrime offending. IAT variables were less useful in predicting cybercrime offending in the other nations. Yet, also in line with our prediction, family has a strong external control function in Finland, protecting participants from cybercrime offending. However, no IAT indexes achieved statistical significance in Hungary, where a work-based welfare system suppresses family-related values. Education has a mixed effect on cybercrime offending. Thus, IAT is valuable for understanding cybercrime offending; however, it should be examined in more countries with social institutions and individual value systems different from that of the United States.

OPEN LETTERS IN CLOSED SOCIETIES: THE VALUES OF HISTORIANS UNDER ATTACK

ABSTRACTThis article explores a question of practical ethics: To which values do historians appeal when they come under sustained attack from political power? An important instrument of historians living in closed societies to express their values is the open letter, defined as an unauthorized public statement cast in epistolary form and addressed to either political leaders or fellow historians, but always with the general public as a silent reader in the background. Limited to the post‐1945 period, a search for such open letters yielded 106 examples from 39 countries in closed and open societies. Four types of open letters were identified: those describing repression effects, those rebutting official historical views, those defending basic principles, and those presenting transitional historiography. Nine telling cases from six closed societies were then reviewed in detail and analyzed from a variety of angles (authorship, rhetoric, audience, impact, criticism, regime stage, and regime type). When these cases were examined in light of the initial question, it was found that most letters contained a great diversity of values but focused on how the human rights of historians were threatened. Invariably, their theme was historical writing in its full breadth, including its documentary infrastructure and its ramifications in education and the public sphere. Respect for historical truth was invoked more than any other value. It was a minimalist truth conception, however, understood as the absence of historical lies and falsification. The reason for this emphasis on an integrity‐oriented conception of historical truth may lie in an old and deep‐seated professional fear: the fear that the dictator's corrupted and divisive version of history survives and triumphs as the final verdict.

Neuroliberalism in global education policy: towards a critical framework of neuroliberal governance in education

ABSTRACT This paper takes on the recent surge of neuroscience in global education policy and argues that the concept of neuroliberalism provides an insightful perspective through which to understand and critically analyze the contemporary mobilization of neurosciences within education. In particular, the paper unpacks the notion of neuroliberal governance as a context for examining emerging forms of behavioral government in education, and proposes a critical framework to enhance a research agenda on the implications of neuroliberalism in education policy and practice. The discussion explores the challenges for education scholars engaged in research and analysis that aims to bring the consequences of neuroliberal governance into view. In its account of what a critical neuroliberal framework might offer, the paper suggests that analyzing the ethical and political implications of neuroliberal governance in education is essential for unpacking the policy enthusiasm for neuroscience and its global reach.

The place of strategic ecological communications in change management (based on the national project “Ecological Well-Being”)

Comprehensive improvement of the state of the environment is currently the subject of government decisions, programs and projects in Russia. This affects the interests of various audiences: business, the public, federal and regional influence groups, and hence requires strategic communications aimed at explaining, expanding the number of supporters, uniting efforts, legitimizing the governmental decisions, and changing the behavior of the audiences. The purpose of the study is to analyze the place of strategic environmental communications in the action program for the implementation of state environmental strategies. The author relies on theoretical studies of Russian and foreign authors on this issue. In the practical part, she analyzes communications in the process of forming the national project “Ecological Well-Being”. The results of the conducted study of the media and official resources of state authorities allow to consider several communicative models of behavior: public and non-public. The stage of formation of the national project is accompanied by non-public communication, which creates certain risks when information is released into the public space, since criticism and disagreement with the adoption of relevant decisions may arise from various groups. The author offers a list of possible conflict topics and examines the features of the formation of strategic environmental communications, based on M. Harvell’s matrix.

Quantile via Moments Panel Data Analysis: Dissecting Political Regimes and the Spectrum of Internal Conflicts

AbstractThis study investigates whether the political regime affects internal conflicts and specific types (e.g., civil war, political violence, and civil disorder). The study reveals that even incremental movements toward democracy are associated with reduced internal conflict, challenging some elements of the inverted U hypothesis. Moreover, factors such as government stability are better indicators of smaller-scale forms of internal conflict than the political regime type. Finally, scenarios of acute internal conflict, cultural tension, and government instability serve as more reliable indicators, implying that these elements eclipse the stabilizing influence of a regime's progression toward a more inclusive government.

Coups and refugee flows in autocracies and democracies

ABSTRACT Much research stresses the impact of armed conflict on refugee flows. This article focuses on another form of political instability that has yet to be systematically examined: coups. It presents a typology of coups by considering (a) whether coup plotters succeed or not in seizing power, and (b) the type of regime after the coup. It identifies four types of coup attempts: (1) failed coups in autocracy, (2) failed coups in democracy, (3) autocratic coups, and (4) democratic coups. We argue that failed coups in autocracies and autocratic coups increase government repression and hinder economic performance, creating societal environments that trigger refugee flows. This contrasts with more stable environments following failed coups in democracies and democratic coups that are expected not to affect refugee flows. Quantitative analysis of all countries between 1980 and 2016 supports the theory, and qualitative analysis of varieties of coup attempts in Egypt, Spain, and Turkey illustrates the postulated theoretical mechanisms.

There’s nothing more permanent than temporary solutions: the solar panel transition and everyday coping in Lebanon’s multi-dimensional crisis since 2020

What happens when a country, a population, or at least a segment thereof, navigates in a permanent state of crisis that becomes normalised into their everyday? Engaging with this question, this article analyses the evolution of Lebanon’s post-civil war electricity sector, with a particular focus on the on-going electricity crisis since 2020. We challenge perceptions of the temporary nature of crisis within much of the crisis literature and argue that processes of ‘everyday informality’ in the Lebanese context are structured by citizens’ assessment of effective service provision. This provides impetus for the contemplation of alternative forms of governance, often unfolding as coping mechanisms against adversities, that bypass and supplant state regulations in the energy sector in order to sustain the energy needs of individuals, households and businesses, manifesting informality in spite of the state.

Legal Protection for Workers on Job Loss Guarantee in the Tourism Sector

In Indonesia, labo u r social security is a right of workers, as exemplified by the provision of job loss insurance . In essence, social security is designed to ensure that workers retain a decent standard of living in the event of job loss. One of the most frequently demanded rights of workers is the right to social security. The Indonesian Social Security Administration Body (BPJS) programme comprises two distinct categories: social security for health and social security for employment . The following ques tion is posed: How is the job loss insurance programme in the tourism sector implemented at BPJS Ketenagakerjaan Cabang Bali Gianyar ? Furthermore, what form of legal protection is afforded to workers who lose their jobs in accordance with Indonesian Govern ment Regulation No. 37/2021 on the implementation of the Job Loss Insurance Program? Methodology: empirical research employing a soc iological approach. The findings indicate that the implementation of the job loss guarantee programme at BPJS Ketenagakerjaa n Gianyar is conducted in accordance with the submission of job loss insurance claims from workers who have been laid off. At PT CH B Villa, 26 workers who experienced layoffs were eligible to receive the benefits of job loss insurance , including 24 worker s (92%) who were entitled to receive them and two workers (8%) who were not. In conclusion, the implementation of the job loss insur ance programme at the Villa of PT CHB Gianyar has been effective in providing legal protection and benefits for laid off wo rkers. In the event that an employer violates the rights of a dismissed worker, the employer may be subject to administrative sancti ons in accordance with the provisions of Article 46 of Indonesi an Government Regulation No. 37/ 2021 concerning the implement ation of the job loss insurance . These sanctions may include written warnings to the employer and the cessation of certain public se rvices.

Accommodating Journalism in Authoritarian Political Regimes. The Interventionist and Loyal-Facilitator Roles in Cuba and Venezuela

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between accommodating journalism and journalistic roles in authoritarian regimes, focusing on Cuba and Venezuela. Through content analysis of news from influential media outlets in both countries, the study assesses professional roles including loyal facilitator, watchdog, civic, infotainment, service, and interventionist roles. In particular this study aims to measure the presence of the loyal-facilitator and interventionist roles in the media of Cuba and Venezuela; to explore potential differences between both countries; and to contrast whether media ownership influences the performance of interventionist and loyal facilitator roles. Findings show similar patterns, but they especially indicate significant differences between Cuba and Venezuela, with Cuban journalism showing higher prevalence of interventionist and loyal facilitator roles, while the other roles are more frequent in Venezuelan journalism. Media ownership can also influence the adoption of journalistic roles: while in Cuba accommodating discourses are not only dominant in state-owned media, in the case of Venezuela private and civil society media tend to show a more critical discourse compared to state-owned ones. These findings contribute to understanding journalistic roles in authoritarian regimes, supporting the existence of accommodating journalism in these contexts, but with a somewhat more independent journalism in Venezuela.

Правосознание и юридическая аномия

The article is devoted to the problem of the reverse influence of the state of legal culture on the state of individual and public legal consciousness. In conditions of transit, which the domestic political regime began to undergo since the mid-80s of the 20th century, the legal culture of Russian society was also under constant pressure from changes occurring at the state level. Such a “transitional” form of legal culture can be revealed through the concept of legal anomie.