Stuck in a Rut: The Problem with Australia's Electoral Apparatus

The origins of the distinguishing features of the Australian Electoral Commission can be found in nineteenth-century South Australia, when that colony led the world in electoral administration. It was the first jurisdiction to develop a professional, permanent, independent election management body, with salaried electoral officials, and to pursue continuous, State-initiated enrolment. South Australia evolved this way because, to extend path dependence terminology, it was ‘locked out’ of inefficient British practices. After Federation in 1901, the new Australian Electoral Office, largely based on the South Australian model, continued the tradition. One unique and defining feature was the strong, permanent role of divisional returning officers –‘Electoral Kings’, in the words of the first Australian Chief Electoral Officer. The ‘Kings’ were an integral component of much that was good about Australia's way of running elections. However, this structure is no longer the most appropriate for an organisation such as the AEC. It has long outlived its usefulness and is holding the Commission back. And, perhaps ironically for an organisation with a long record of resistance to political interference, it is House of Representatives politicians, of all major parties, who are restraining the AEC from adopting sensible arrangements. The AEC is now, in path dependence terms, ‘locked in’ to inefficient practices.     

丝绸中国的骄傲--兼评《浙江省丝绸志》

20年来的修志热潮,不要说通志,包括省(区)、市(地区)、县(市)志和乡、镇、村志,确实五彩缤纷,令人眼花缭乱;即从专志而言,不仅是传统的专志,如江河、水利、名山、寺院等志,各地纷纷推出,远胜古人;而方志史上绝未闻见、方志目录中从无著录的专志,也一时登场,使人如入山阴道上,应接不暇.以浙江省为例,诸如测绘志、电影志、外事志、围垦志、烟草志等等,不一而足.长江后浪催前浪,真是气象万千.这些年来,每一种前无古人的专志问世,虽然不关我的专业,但内心总感到一番激动,为我国专志修纂推陈出新的形势而无比兴奋.     

Stuck on disarmament: the European Union and the 2015 NPT Review Conference

The quinquennial Nuclear Non‐Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference represents a highly important event from the perspective of the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Though not a party to the treaty itself, the EU has made a consistent effort since the 1990s to coordinate the positions of its member states and achieve higher visibility in the NPT review process. The aim of this article is to examine the role of the EU in the 2015 NPT Review Conference deliberations. Drawing on on‐site observations, statements and in‐depth research interviews, it argues that the recent institutional changes notwithstanding, the influence of the EU as a distinct actor in the NPT context remains very limited, and the EU's common position is in bigger disarray than ever before. This year's Review Conference demonstrated the widening rift between the member states, in particular in the area of nuclear disarmament and the related issues. The inability to maintain a coherent common position limits the EU ‘actorness’ and impedes its striving for relevance in the NPT forums. The dynamics outlined in this article further highlight the limits of the EU CFSP in security matters in which the national positions of individual member states are as divergent as in the case of nuclear disarmament.     

Conclusion: Reflections on the Nuclear Order

ABSTRACT

The papers in this special issue examine the nuclear order that began to emerge in the 1970s after the entry into force of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970 and the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks agreements in 1972. Several general themes are discussed: the international economy and the nuclear order; strengthening the non-proliferation regime; reactions to US non-proliferation policy; the East–West arms race; the nuclear order in 1980; the international system and nuclear order. The argument is made that the changes in the international system in the 1970s had important effects on the nuclear order, creating a North–South axis alongside the existing East–West axis; provoking disagreements and disputes over the transfer of nuclear technology; and giving greater prominence to nuclear power in a period of energy crises. This is still an order of states in which transnational and international NGOs play a secondary role. There were a variety of responses to the new order: acceptance; resentment; attempts at modification; independence; evasion and circumvention. The constitution of the order was a matter of great interest to a good number of states and the focus of many debates and much political conflict.     

History and Globalization: Reflections on Temporality

Globalization emerged as the buzzword of the 1990s, and, at the dawn of a new millennium, it continues to transfix academics, the media and policy-makers alike. However, one of the key gaps in the research into the process(es) of globalization has concerned its historical identity: the story (and analysis) of its origins, its development and mutation over time, and the continuities and differences between past and present. In this article the author sketches a typology of claims made about the historical identity of globlization in the current literature, and points to some unexplored and fruitful avenues of enquiry. Following this, two recent books are reviewed which attempt, in different but complementary ways, to deepen our understanding of globalization in history. The article concludes with a call for further research on this and related topics.     

Reflections on a Geographic Dichotomy: Archipelago Russia

A noted economic geographer and Sovietologist conceptualizes Russia's current economy as an archipelago, consisting of widely scattered nodes of viable, integrated activity separated by an enormous expanse of "dead space." The dichotomy between metropolitan Russia and its hinterland is developed through an examination of contrasts in such major indicators of well-being as natural gas consumption, access to education, the middle class, retail trade and services, undeclared income, and port-hinterland multiplier effects. Also discussed are the major types of hinterland (classical, or resource frontier, versus backwater), the special case of the Russian Far East and Transbaykalia, and contrasts with developments on the North American continent. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: O10, O18, O50. 38 references.