Seashore Settlement Patterns in the Koné and Naïa Periods: Case Studies from Southwestern New Caledonia

As part of a geological survey in southwest mainland New Caledonia, potsherds were recorded in the profiles at four coastal sites. Subsequent archaeological investigations at two of these sites have allowed us to diversify the ceramic data and show them to be local variants of Podtanean, Puen, and Plum ceramic types. These are characteristic of production in the southern part of the archipelago during the first millennium BC and first millennium AD. The presence of fishing sites showing no indication of permanent settlements on these seashores, and the clear absence of second millennium AD occupations related to the “Traditional Kanak Cultural Complex”, characterized by large sedentary hamlets, illustrate a significant shift in settlement patterns between the first and second millennium AD.     

Local Government Policymaking and Management in Russia

Local government in Russia is characterized by the collapse of traditional relationships between legislative and executive powers and between different levels of executive and legislative hierarchies. The re-definition of these relationships involves a struggle for power pursued against a backdrop of radical systemic change in the economic and social spheres. These changes are accompanied by a breakdown (and gradual realignment) of the system of distribution, which has accelerated the process of economic and social destabilization in the larger cities. The response of local administrations to the problems generated has been hampered by the fiscal crisis that affects both national and local levels of government. This article reviews the changing relationship between governmental levels and between legislative and executive powers in the context of these broader developments, and in the context of Russian and Soviet traditions of local government. Overall the article notes the perceived failure of the democratization of the legislature at local level to deal with the crisis, and the consequent shift of power towards a strengthened executive.