Succession of government in the post‐colonial states of the South Pacific: New support for constitutionalism?

The mechanisms for changing governments in the post‐colonial states of the South Pacific constitute a unique variant of the Westminster mechanisms earlier adopted in the Dominions and in the ex‐British colonies of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. This is so to the point where we can speak of a ‘South Pacific model of succession’. In this model, the power to appoint governments is given to parliament, the head of state has no discretionary role on questions of succession, and the convention that a Prime Minister should resign following the passing of a no‐confidence motion is encoded. In contrast to the experience of most other post‐colonial societies, these constitutional mechanisms have actually governed the way in which power has changed hands. Force has not been used either to remove or entrench a government. Central to an explanation of this experience is that no significantly sized group within these states has felt itself to be fully excluded from the possibility of gaining government or from having some representatives of their interests in power. This, however, may not be the case in the future as many of the factors currently contributing to the legitimacy of constitutional succession of government are undergoing rapid change.     

Flowers for the doctor: Pro‐natalism and abortion in Fascist Milan∗

This article explores the reasons for the failure of the Fascist attempts to raise the Italian birth rate through an examination of the pro‐natalist campaign in the great industrial and commercial city of Milan and its surrounding province. It then considers one of the specific ways in which the birth rate was kept down ‐ illegal abortion ‐ focusing in particular on the dramatic events surrounding the arrest of an illegal abortionist in the small textile town of Rho in 1928.